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August 14th, 2014
For the question on the Common App that asks us to elaborate on an extracurricular activity, are you looking for a short answer or a short essay? Is there a word limit?
August 14th, 2014
Thanks for the question, Andrew. We aren’t really concerned with the word count — we’re looking for a brief answer to get some extra insight into your participation in an extracurricular activity.
September 2nd, 2014
Do you have any information on the college essay? How many are there, and if possible what is the topic?
September 4th, 2014
Hi Nameera, I can certainly point you to some good resources about the personal essay. You can see detailed info on the Common Application essay prompts at https://appsupport.commonapp.org/link/portal/33011/33013/Article/1694/2014-15-Common-Application-Essay-Prompts, and for the Universal College Application at https://www.universalcollegeapp.com/essay. You might also want to check out this post from last year with advice about how to approach the essay https://admissions2025.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2013/09/how-to-write-your-personal-essay/.
September 4th, 2014
Thank you very much. Thank was very helpful.
October 20th, 2014
how much sat score count for the admission… for instance, i am a student with excellent GPA but not so good SAT score.
October 24th, 2014
Thanks for the question. We evaluate all the elements of your application as a whole, so we don’t have a specific weighting that we give to test scores or GPS. Admission is competitive, though, and successful applicants usually have strong test scores and GPA. For our current first-year class, the average of the middle 50% was 710-780 on the SAT critical reading and 720-800 on the SAT math. That should give you an idea of competitive scores.
October 29th, 2014
Is there a time limit on supplemental materials being sent in addition to the application? Does a CD/DVD need to be under a certain amount of time?
October 30th, 2014
Hi Tammy, thanks for your question and your interest in Vanderbilt. Students occasionally ask us whether it would help them stand out in the process if they sent us a CD, DVD, or portfolio highlighting some special talent (visual art, dramatic performance, cheerleading, etc.). With the notable exception of the video pre-screening audition required of applicants to the Blair School of Music (https://blair.vanderbilt.edu/admissions/apply.php), these kinds of supplemental materials will not be considered in our evaluation of your application. Instead, we hope you will use the chart and short-answer question on your application to tell us about the activities and involvements that have meant the most to you, including the time commitment and any special responsibilities each has required of you. Thanks again for your question, and please let me know if you have any others.