An Admissions Case Study: Vanderbilt University’s Mind-boggling Class of 2017
As a company, we hold the belief that empirical, quantitative data should be the main, if not only, source of data utilized to gauge a student’s admissions chances and whether a student’s college list (when taken as a whole) is overly aggressive, not aggressive enough, or “just right.”
How to find out what your chances might be at a given University based on GPA and SAT/ACT scores:
1. If you go to a private school or certain public schools in Atlanta, Naviance software is available that shows you how past students have fared.
2. If your school does not have Naviance, you can use proxies such as Cappex.com instead that do roughly the same thing (although not localized to students from your high school). See a sample graph of what these Naviance and Cappex graphs look like here.
While grades and SAT/ACT aren’t the only two variables considered for admission, they constitute the majority of the equation for most schools and give you a solid starting point for where you currently stand at a given school.
Vanderbilt Case Study:
Vanderbilt’s Class of 2017 Admissions Statistics were released on their blog this morning and make for an excellent case study.
Edison Prep has long told its clients that Vanderbilt University, far and away, gets the least respect of any University in the country when it comes to the sheer difficulty of getting in. As one of the few elite universities that isn’t in a frigid area of the country, every year, Vandy gets more and more qualified applicants who on a quantitative basis (class rank and SAT/ACT scores) far surpass the academic statistics of several Ivy League schools and almost every other school in the US News Rankings.
Here’s the profile of Vanderbilt’s Admitted Students in 2017 – Regular Decision:
Admitted: 3,018 (10.8%)
Average Class Rank: Top 3.39%
Top 10% Class Rank: 95%+ of students were in the top 10% of their graduating class
Middle 50% SAT (Reading): 740 – 800 (out of 800)
Middle 50% SAT (Math): 750 – 800 (out of 800)
Middle 50% ACT: 33 – 35 (out of 36)What does this mean, in English?
- At least 25% of admitted students had a perfect score in SAT Critical Reading.
- At least 25% of admitted students had a perfect score in SAT Math.
- At least 25% of admitted students had a 35 or 36 on the ACT in a single day (no ACT “superscoring” allowed), something only 126 students in all of Georgia did last year.
- Vandy’s Middle 50% SAT and ACT ranges are higher than Harvard’s (Harvard: 700-800 Reading, 690-790 Math, and 32-35 ACT).
- Given that all colleges schools must field a football team, Senators’ kids can and will apply, and all the other set-asides that exist, much of that 5% who were not in the top 10% of their class is already spoken for before the admissions game even begins. Class rank is paramount.
What does this mean? Should I give up?
No. This does not mean that people should give up. Remember, 75% of those admitted did not have 800s on SAT Reading or SAT Math.
Here are the takeaways:
- Students should begin researching their potential college lists early and build a comprehensive college list that includes Safeties, Targets, and Reaches. Unless your name is Sasha or Malia, virtually nobody can consider a school like Vanderbilt in any category other than “Reach.”
- In our experience, far more of our students get denied because of poor GPA, class rank and rigor of curriculum than SAT/ACT scores. In almost all cases, your student shouldn’t be touching the SAT/ACT until sophomore year is over. For students wanting to apply to top 50 schools, freshman and sophomore years should be about one thing: getting great grades in rigorous core courses (e.g. Honors/AP if available).
- That said, waiting until late in junior year to take the SAT/ACT “cold” is a very, very risky idea. Taking a diagnostic mock SAT and/or ACT the summer before junior year and making a battle plan accordingly is always the wisest option.
Questions? Give us a call at 404-333-8573 or email edison@edisonprep.com!
Source for the above info: Vandy Admissions Blog
P.S. Hat tip to Michael for the link!
