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Why You Should Care About Robert Kennedy
May. 29, 2008—For as much bluster that the French get in our current political sphere (Freedom Fries . . . really?) the center of Washington, D.C. with its sweeping boulevards, towering columns and monuments, perpendicular vistas, and multitude of parks and park benches is as French as any American city gets. Makes sense, in that it was...
First-Year Philosophy (Things You Should Know Now, so You Don't Feel Goofy Later)
May. 27, 2008—Like Carl Jung, you could hear your inner self telling you – almost imploring you to listen…just this once. Of course, as usual – you went against the wishes of your subconscious and you brought with you – on move-in day – in your first year of college that outdated shirt that flung you in...
Fried Oreos, Going Potluck and the VU Waitlist
May. 26, 2008—Happy Memorial Day from IndianapolisYesterday I attended my 8th Indianapolis 500 Mile Race. It’s not that I’m a big race guy sitting in the stands with a stop watch charting lap splits or anything. I go because it’s a sporting and cultural phenomenon, both on the track and off. Here’s a sport where even the...
Waitlist Calling + Stevie Wonder = Good Day
May. 8, 2008—Quick note today to let you in on a rare day in our office. As I mentioned yesterday, we’ve been calling students who are being admitted from the waitlist. That means that we as admissions officers get to hear the reaction we rarely ever are privy to when students open their admit letter. We’d have...
Post May 1 Waitlist Update
May. 7, 2008—As we anticipated and had planned, starting today and progressing throughout early summer, we will begin calling students on our waitlist to offer them admission to Vanderbilt University. I wanted to touch base with everyone to provide a little insight into how we will be making the decisions as to who will be admitted as...
Decision Week Update
Apr. 28, 2008—A couple quick updates on our waitlist for everyone. We’ve been getting a good number of phone calls and emails asking whether we’ll be going to the waitlist, and while admitted students have a few more days to make their decisions known (reply cards should be postmarked by May 1) it does look like we...
Rites of Spring in Full Bloom
Apr. 18, 2008—At some point today I became a member of the media. I don’t feel different, but I am now a part of the press. We hosted a camera crew on campus today to shoot footage for an admissions video and since Rites of Spring (http://www.vanderbilt.edu/ros) starts today, we all got press passes to film inside...
On the Road Again
Apr. 10, 2008—Newman’s character from Seinfeld famously quipped, “The mail never stops Jerry.” And so goes admissions work. Less than two weeks have passed since our decision letters have left the office and we’re all out on the road simultaneously talking to admitted students and families, and introducing ourselves to interested students for the incoming class of...
Your Questions Answered, Part 1
Apr. 7, 2008—We’ve seen some questions several times in the comments, and so a couple of us are going to take a crack at answering the more popular questions over the next few days. For my part, I’ve got two:1)What is the desired entering class size for the class of 2012?We’d like it to be 1550 kids....
Apply Now to be A Vandy Blogger…
Apr. 4, 2008—Hello Current and Future Commodores, Over the past year, we’ve had the best time reading student and staff blogs from across campus and the globe. And we’re not the only ones. Students, parents, college counselors, alumni, and friends from 44 countries on six continents have checked in to see what’s happening at Vanderbilt and learned...
The Vandy Waitlist Explained
Apr. 2, 2008—We’ve received a number of inquiries to unpack the waitlist process and I’ll attempt to start that conversation here. Let’s start with the basics (to which you’ll likely say, “Duh,” but I’d like it to be said, so humor me). Students on our waiting list are those to whom we will offer admission if space...
Letters Are Out…
Mar. 28, 2008—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,...