The Waiting
My good friend Tom Petty said it best – the waiting is the hardest part. And all you seniors out there know exactly what I’m talking about.
All three of our application deadlines have officially past. You have written and rewritten your essay, lovingly harassed your teachers into mailing their recommendations, gathered your grades and test scores, and packed your extracurricular activities into a powerful punch of a resume. You have dotted your i’s, crossed your t’s, tilded your n’s, done whatever it is you do to Q’s to make them look like Q’s, and your application is complete.
So what now?
First, do everything you can to ensure that we do in fact have everything we need. Within a week or so of sending in your final documents, you should receive an email indicating that your application is complete. If you see this email, you are done! If you do not, or if you receive one stating that we are missing an item or two, either resend them as soon as possible or get in touch with your admissions counselor to straighten everything out.
Second, celebrate! Regardless of the decisions you receive over the next few months, take a moment to congratulate yourself on a job well done. Applying for college is no easy task, and I can honestly tell you from looking through a couple hundred of these files so far, each and every one of you has something – usually several somethings – to be incredibly proud of.
Third, apply for need-based financial aid. If you are a Regular Decision applicant, your CSS Profile and FAFSA are due on February 5. If you applied for Early Decision (or if you are an international applicant), your CSS Profile should have already been submitted, and your FAFSA is still due on the 5th. If you have questions about your financial aid application, please contact the Office of Student Financial Aid and Undergraduate Scholarships at 1-800-288-0204 or finaid@vanderbilt.edu. If you are unsure whether or not you might qualify for need-based aid, check out our handy net price calculator.
Fourth, buckle down. Just because you submitted your transcripts does not mean the grades and accomplishments of your final semester do not matter. For one thing, we may be following up with some of your guidance counselors to request midyear reports from those who did not send them or check up on your progress as the end of the year draws near. For another, we want you to be as academically prepared as possible for your college experience, no matter where you end up. Keep up the hard work we know you are capable of.
Fifth, continue to do your research. Once you receive your decision letter, whether it comes in mid-February or early April, you will have some very important decisions to make, and we want you to be as well-informed as possible. Read up on Music City and check out some of the awesome events happening in the Nashville community on a regular basis. Read the Inside ‘Dores blog or get in touch with one of our tour guides to get a student’s perspective on the Vanderbilt experience. If you have not visited campus, register for one of our daily information sessions or any other campus visit experience.
Most importantly, enjoy the rest of your senior year. While it might be difficult to believe it right now, around September of your freshman year you’re going to start missing your mother’s home cooking, your little brother’s company, your football and Scholar’s Bowl teammates, and that English teacher that always pushes you a little bit harder than the rest. Look forward to the next exciting and defining phase of your life, but never let that anticipation drown out the beauty of the phase you are in right now.
In the meantime, congratulations on completing your application, have a tremendous semester, and, as always, let us know if there is anything we can do to help.
January 25th, 2013
Isn’t the date for submitting the CSS for Early Decision II February 5th? That is what it says here: http://admissions.vanderbilt.edu when you hit the “dates and deadlines” tab. Hoping I haven’t missed the deadline!!!!!
January 25th, 2013
Hi Katie. The deadline for submitting the CSS Profile was January 5 – the deadline you’re referring to is for the FASFA. However we will still accept your CSS Profile if you send it ASAP.
January 25th, 2013
Okay, thank you so much for the reply, I will send it by tomorrow!
January 28th, 2013
Any idea on the total number of applicants yet? (Or even just indication of increase/decrease… quite interested)
January 29th, 2013
Thanks for your question, Adam. In keeping with precedent, we’ll most likely speak to this question around the time we release Early Decision II decisions.
January 30th, 2013
I was admitted at ED1 and received an email with the subject line “special welcome to Vanderbilt”. In the email it said that I should receive another email in January that would confirm that my matriculation deposit had been received and that would contain important information regarding my VUnetID and student account. I have not received this email yet and so I was just wondering if the admission office had sent the email out already and I missed it or if it has just not been sent yet.
Thanks,
Nick
January 30th, 2013
Hi Nick, we’re sorry for any confusion. You have nothing to be concerned about. You will receive a letter from the OUA confirming that we received your matriculation fee (and you would’ve definitely heard from us had we not received it). Our office does not manage the VUNetID process – you will receive an email from the Registrar’s office about all that. That notification will likely arrive later this Spring.
February 6th, 2013
Okay, thank you for all the help.
Nick
February 1st, 2013
Trying to patiently wait for news about when the ED II letters will be sent….. it isn’t an easy task! Checking the blog daily :)
February 1st, 2013
Thanks for your patience! EDII letters will be mailed by February 15.
February 28th, 2013
Do you have to submit both the FAFSA and the CSS?
February 28th, 2013
Yes, if you are applying for need-based financial aid, we will need you to fill out and submit both of these forms.
February 28th, 2013
Is it too late to complete the CSS for 2013-14?
February 28th, 2013
You can still submit the CSS Profile for this year. If you have questions about this form or the financial aid process, please contact our Office of Financial Aid at 615-322-3591 or via email at finaid@vanderbilt.edu.
March 2nd, 2013
Ugghh. Completed, reviewed, and submitted the CSS. Now I realized I didn’t include 2011 IRA deductions, pension payments, and contributions to Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs). Can I print out the PP-115A Woksheet and include those amounts and send it to Vandy with ouir W-2’s?
March 4th, 2013
Hi Mike. Please contact our financial aid office, as they will be better able to assist with questions of this specificity.
March 8th, 2013
I just realized that I haven’t sent my CSS profile here. I haven’t been accepted yet and I haven’t been denied either so should I still send it? Will they deny my CSS profile since it is late?
March 11th, 2013
Hi Kay,
The Office of Financial Aid will still accept CSS Profiles submitted after the February 5 priority deadline. If you would like to be considered for need-based financial aid, please submit this form as soon as possible.
February 5th, 2014
Just a small query, as I am an international student it took some time for me figuring out and filling the CSS, but I have sent on Jan31. So will I be considered under the priority deadline of Feb 5? Vanderbilt still shows CSS profile not received and I have contacted Sir John in this regard.
Thanks for clarifying guys.
February 6th, 2014
Hi Bala, I will check with our financial aid office to see if I can you an answer.
February 6th, 2014
Bala, please check your MyAppVU portal as the financial aid office continues to process PROFILES. If you do not see that yours has been received, please contact them directly at finaid@vanderbilt.edu, and they can look into it further.