Letters Are Out…
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Decisions are officially out the door. We have an annual tradition where we dress down on mailing day, load the mail truck, and clean the office from top to bottom. The letters are on their way to your doorstep as we speak. Just a reminder, we will not release decisions over the phone until Thursday, April 3rd, so give your letter some time to arrive before you call us up. :)
As we have often discussed in this forum, Vanderbilt approaches the review of your application in a holistic way, considering the applicant in his or her totality. This year, our applicant pool featured an amazing depth of personal and scholastic excellence. The level of energy, passion, leadership, and commitment to a range of ideals (diversity, community, humanity, service, etc) we saw in this year’s applications was truly inspiring. These are the true intangibles that will be the hallmark of this 2012 incoming class.
From a numbers perspective, this year’s Vanderbilt applicant pool was truly historic:
- As of today, we have received a record 16,875 applications, the most ever at Vanderbilt. That’s compared to 12,911 total applications last year, officially a 30.7% overall increase.
- The amazing growth in the ethnic diversity of Vanderbilt’s community continues as record numbers of students of color as well as international students applied.
As far as some statistics on the admitted students for the Vanderbilt class of 2012:
- 23% overall admit rate (Regular and Early Decision I & II combined)
- SAT middle 50%: (CR & M) 1380 – 1540
- ACT middle 50%: 31-34
- 92% of all admitted students were in the top ten percent of their high school’s graduating class
After countless hours spent reading your applications and discussing (sometimes heatedly) the merits of a student, we take a very brief moment to celebrate. The admissions staff is humbled by the quality of our applicants, and wish to congratulate the admitted class of 2012.
The Decision Bush. Like clockwork it blooms the week we mail.
March 28th, 2008
Thank you so much for the posts you have made over the past few months. Although based on the very impressive numbers for this year’s applicant group, it could go either way for our child (we’re keeping our fingers crossed for a thumbs up), we still appreciate how you’ve kept everyone up to date, opening up that which at many schools is a very cold, secretive process.
March 28th, 2008
This is a double-edged sword… I’m exited about getting my decision, but with less than a 23% admit rate for RD I am starting to doubt my chances :(…
March 28th, 2008
Team Vandy:
I can’t agree more with the comment from anonymous above. You have provided great insight into the admissions process, and done so without coming off as pretentious. I can’t imagine the pressure for the Admissions Team – but knowing that our daughter had an advocate fighting for her tooth and nail (hopefully heatedly if needed!)to join the Vanderbilt community says volumes about Vanderbilt! Thanks so very much for being there with parents as we have worked with our children to assist them in choosing schools to apply to. Your immediate work is done now – shoe is on the other foot…as a very proud Dad, I am hoping I come home on Monday (from another college campus visit!) and find a HUGE envelope for my daughter, postmark Nashville TN!
March 28th, 2008
I’m so nervous! I guess what is meant to be will be. I was feeling pretty confident, but with such a low percentage accepted I’m really starting to doubt myself. Good luck to all!
March 29th, 2008
I wonder when the transfer application process will start. Is it going to start very soon or has it been started?
March 29th, 2008
Hey Brad,
Do you have the breakdown for each school? I remember you released them for EDI. Thanks for your help!
March 29th, 2008
Someone told me that in the FAQ’s of the need-based guide it said that all merit-based awards had been awarded. Does that mean that all merit-based award winners have been notified already or will some of the winners be notified when they receive their “Admit Packages?”
March 29th, 2008
When on Monday are you planning to send out the emails to the international applicants?
Thanks in advance.
March 31st, 2008
Thanks to the admissions staff for all the information made available to us. Unfortunately, my daughter just received her letter telling her she is wait-listed. . . and she is devastated. As parents, we are also deeply disappointed. While we fully understand the quality of the applicants this year had a big impact, we can’t help wonder how she could have done better than top 5% of her class, mid-range of the standardized test results of those accepted, class president, varsity letter winner and team co-captain. . . Probably the most difficult part was that her teachers said she would have no trouble being accepted at Vanderbilt. What a tough day for our family!
We wish the best to all who were accepted, and to those who did not, we understand and very much feel your pain.
March 31st, 2008
We too are wondering who was accepted. Our daughter did not even get wait listed, she was denied. She had a 1570 (out of 1600 – 2290 overall) on the SAT, 11 varsity letters (every season since 9th grade), Team captain, created and President of the Native American Student Union, in National Honor Society, National Spanish Honor Society, National Latin Honor Society and VP of the Art National Honor Society, grades were stellar and took every AP class offered (and did well). The incoming freshman class of 2008 must be amazing. Good Luck to all.
March 31st, 2008
As a waitlisted student, I hope you will continue to update periodically on the next step for admissions. I couldn’t ask for a better admissions experience (maybe an acceptance would be more pleasant!), and Vandy has left a positive impression with me and my family, even though I’ll be metaphorically fighting tooth and nail for my admission into the class of 2012.
March 31st, 2008
Hey all,
A couple notes:
1) If you applied for financial aid, you should have received a summary of your package in your admit packets. If you applied for financial aid, and didn’t receive the summary, contact the Office of Student Financial Aid (800-288-0204) to double check. Also, nearly all merit awards have been awarded.
2) To all of the admitted students and families, congratulations! To “waitlisted” and all others who received the letters they were hoping not to receive today: we promise to be here to provide whatever info we can. Turning away an applicant is personally draining (as I’ve written about before during ED1, “Wave on Wave, http://vandyadmissions.blogspot.com/2007/12/wave-on-wave.htm). Nearly 95% of this year’s applicants presented academically viable applications, meaning that they would be very likely to have been successful as a student at Vanderbilt. That is what makes our review process so hard.
We will certainly try and keep everyone updated here on the blog on the waitlist, on the Commons, about any upcoming deadlines. As always, we try to be a source of answers, so let us know what questions you might have.
March 31st, 2008
how many applicants did you take from the 2007 waitlist?
April 1st, 2008
Thank you for all the inforamtionand hard work. What a cheerful crowd. I love the picture of decision blooms. I just found priority package in mail and called my son.Is that congratulations sign is meant for parents who can’t open the package yet.
April 1st, 2008
What are the breakdowns/stats for each undergraduate school?
April 1st, 2008
What if a student didn’t complete the CSS profile by the priority deadline but did complete the FAFSA?
April 1st, 2008
If you get a waitlist, is it reasonable to take that as meaning that we were qualified, but there weren’t enough spots open, or is that giving ourselves too big of a pat on the back?
April 2nd, 2008
^ That’s a really thoughtful question. I think it is a fair inference that many of the people who were offered slots on our waitlist were very qualified, but due to space could not be admitted. We don’t waitlist everybody and we try and make sure that anyone we place on the waitlist has a chance of coming off of it. So it’s fine to give yourself that pat on the back. :)
April 6th, 2008
can u PLEASE post the RD admit rate…i’m guessing if the overall admit rate is 23%..then the RD admit rate must be less than that based on the ED admit rate
April 7th, 2008
I guess my question regarding the breakdown for each school was skipped?