Application Advice + Why Vandy
Hope everyone has been having a wonderful holiday season! Since it’s almost the deadline for Early Decision II and Regular Decisions, here are two last-minute application advice/advice during the waiting game that I believed helped me in the application process, and also my reasons for choosing Vanderbilt.
1. Be genuine and be yourself. This may sound self-explanatory or unnecessary, but don’t list extracurricular activities for the sake of listing them. Don’t try to list as many as you can just because you think it’ll look impressive to the admissions committee. Focus on the few activities that meant the most to you and that you were the most involved in, instead of putting a laundry list of activities that don’t really represent you.
2. While you’re waiting for results/if visiting campuses are too much of a financial hassle, research not just about the schools’ programs/academics, but also about the surrounding city and college life. Even though the surrounding environment might not seem important, it does influence the campus atmosphere and off-campus activities. For me, both Vanderbilt and Nashville are just right; the campus and city are big enough to meet new people every semester and there always seems to be new places to explore, but both are not too large that it feels overbearing.
If you’ve been following my blog posts, you’ll know that I am a music performance major with a French minor. At the start of college, I knew I wanted to study other subjects besides music. I wanted to study music at a high level (not just a general music major), but also take other rigorous academic classes in other fields of interest. Vanderbilt has been a perfect balance of both and the flexibility has allowed me to take classes even outside of my major and minor.
I also wanted to attend college outside of California since I have lived there all my life. I wanted to be in a more culturally diverse environment since the Bay Area is predominantly Asian. The South is definitely more racially diverse and I have been in classes where there are only a handful of Asians. Despite it being uncomfortable at first, I think this expanded my horizons and worldviews as I listened to different opinions and met many people. I think being surrounded by non-Asians also made me more appreciative of my culture. Southern hospitality is definitely real as well and a very nice change from the uptight, ultra-competitive Bay Area. I’ve found that my Vandy classmates are super motivated and extremely smart, but they are also kind and caring. Because college is an academically stressful environment, I’m grateful to have found a group of friends to lean on and support me.
Thanks for reading and if you have any questions about Vanderbilt, don’t hesitate to email me at meghan.leong@vanderbilt.edu!
(The featured image is Furman Hall, home of our French & Italian Departments; isn’t the exterior gorgeous?)