The Vandy Admissions Blog

frankwcislo November 21st, 2009

It’s a quiet Friday morning on The Commons. The campus is pausing for a week-long Thanksgiving Break that begins tomorrow. Many people are headed home. Others, especially students who live abroad, will stay here or travel elsewhere in the United States. Hard to believe that it’s “only” been twelve weeks since the semester began in late August. So much has changed since then—-new friends, new classes, new experiences, new discoveries.

A group of students was in the house the other night (I can’t take myself so seriously as to call it the Dean’s Residence, but please do understand that my family and I literally live in the center of The Commons). They were my Visions group (shout out to Group 80!). Every first year student belongs to a Visions group that meets weekly with a student and faculty “VUceptor” to discuss the transition everybody is experiencing as they move from high school to college. It’s a steep learning curve. For our group, that translated into talking for an hour a week about where we were at in the semester—sometimes structured discussion but more often than not general chat. We’d always start by going around the circle and playing “highs and lows” of the week. “My high of the week was seeing my girlfriend from home and my low of the week was the calculus exam.” You get the idea.

Since this was the last official session of the semester (we decided to have one more after the Break to spend our group activity fee on dinner at the world-famous Loveless Café!), we played “highs and lows” of the semester. There were lows. “The Swine”—H1N1—has been an issue here this semester, so sickness was one constant,, as was lack of sleep, as was the discovery that, in fact, not everybody possibly can get A’s. I remembered that my high of the semester was Lindsay’s low; she was crushed that the Phillies lost the World Series and hated the fact I was a Yankees fan! The group started pausing, though, when it tried to remember the “high” of the semester, and fairly soon the consensus started to emerge that there were “highs, ” but these just reduced to a common denominator. They simply liked it at Vanderbilt, they felt at home, were having a good time of it, and felt a growing self-confidence. “Yeah, I’ve talked with some of my friends from high school, and they’re just not as happy as I am.” “That’s true for me, too. I just like it here.”

Of course, for me, as a professor, to be surrounded by young people in both my classrooms and my neighborhood who are comfortable enough to be themselves means that they are tapping into their capacity for personal and intellectual growth—the chief reason we brought them to Vanderbilt in the first place. As they grow and explore, my life becomes richer. That makes me—and my colleagues—happy as well. As does having a Thanksgiving Break.

• Balance , Commons , Freshman Commons , Housing , Living on Campus , Nashville , Uncategorized
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Thom May 27th, 2009

Incoming Class of 2013

Your housing application is due this coming Monday June 1st.  This deadline applies to any new incoming student (transfer included).  Jason Jakubowski from University Housing posted a letter on Commonplace that explains how to apply.

June 1st also marks the first of several important deadlines for the incoming class.

After housing, the next BIG thing is course registration.  Many of the VU schools have just recently sent out registration information (don’t worry, those of you who were recently admitted from the waitlist, you won’t miss anything - it will get sent to you too).  Registration at Vanderbilt progresses in distinct phases that may take some time to get used to.  The Office of the Registrar has a nice description, as well as other essential information for undergrads on the course registration process.   The Dean of Students also has some good info available.

Here’s something to get you pumped up for move-in day, but moms be warned, there’s some Kleenex moments . . .

Potential Incoming Class of 2014

For those of you who are rising seniors and are looking to apply to the Vanderbilt class of 2014, the Common App and Vandy Supplement goes live on July 1, a little over a month from now.  Yeah . . . I know, I’m sorry.

Incoming transfer students

The registration process operates through your college/school and the request period is June 8-26, just like first-years.  Make sure to submit a final copy of your current college transcript (the one you’re leaving) as soon as possible so Vanderbilt can assess your course credit and add it to your official record.  For transfer student FAQ’s visit the Dean of Students’ Transfer info page.

Incoming International Students

Hopefully by now you have been in touch with our ISSS Office about your travel arrangements and visa.  If not, contact Vanderbilt ISSS soon.  You can also start to get to know our community by geting in touch with current Vanderbilt international students through our new Global Ambassadors network.

• Academic Life , Commons , Freshman Commons , Housing , I've been admitted - now what? , Information for Incoming Students , Living on Campus , Registering for Classes , Transfer Students , Video
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Thom May 22nd, 2009

A few quick hitting updates before the long weekend:

Waitlist Calls Still Being Made

We continue to reach out to students just recently admitted to Vanderbilt in our second wave of calling.  We’ll see what the response looks like and determine sometime next week if additional waves will need to occur.  Later today, we will be emailing out to anyone admitted in wave 1 from whom we have not heard back.  Since the response deadline provided in the admission letter has now come and gone, the email will inform you that we will be closing your file with us.  This is only going out to students admitted in wave 1, who have now missed the reply deadline.

Incoming class of 2013

The Road to Vanderbilt brochure has gone out, and should be consulted to get a ton of great info.  You can also go to Common Place, which is an info sharing, internal social network site just for the incoming class.  Lastly, if you recently took AP or IB Tests, make sure to send in your results so Vanderbilt can credit your record with any classes you may have received credit for based on your AP/IB scores.

Have a great holiday weekend!

• AP or IB Scores , Commons , I've been admitted - now what? , Standardized Testing , Waitlist
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Thom April 24th, 2009

PreVU Coming Up for Rising Seniors

PreVU, our signature summer & fall program for rising seniors is now up and running for registration. It’s a 3/4 day program meant to build on our Black and Gold Days experience by providing much more depth into the Vanderbilt academic experience.  You will hear from academic deans, get a insider’s view into the admissions process, and have lunch on us at the Commons Dining Hall (wood fired pizzas, believe it).  This program routinely gets high ratings by visitors on College Confidential and was given an “A” grade as one of the top college visit programs in the country by Smart Money Magazine.

Waitlist Update

We are watching the deposits and declines come in daily and meetings are on-going to determine the status of our class.  At this point I don’t think I’ll have much of an update for you until much closer to May 1.  If we’ll be making offers from the waitlist, we will likely begin doing so in early May.  Remember, while we model our class in order to make offers from the waitlist, our ability to do so is always based on conditions at the time.  I’ll be posting updates when I know more.  For now, go double check the Waitlist Confirmation Emails Going Out post to make sure you are officially on our waitlist.  Remember that you can get quick answers for your questions at waitlist@vanderbilt.edu.

Admitted Students

Remember that you have until May 1 (postmarked) to respond to our offer of admission.  If you have questions about your financial aid package, call the Office of Student Financial Aid and Undergraduate Scholarships (800-288-0204) or email them at finaid@vanderbilt.edu.  Let our office know if we can be of any assistance (800-288-0432).  Good luck with your decision.

Enrolling Students

If you have already sent in your deposit (either for ED or just recently for RD) congrats and welcome!  The next thing to look for is the “Road to Vanderbilt” brochure which will drop the middle of May.  I saw a copy of it just the other day and it has a TON of great information in it about housing, class registration, CommonVU, move in and all things Commons.

Good luck to all current Vandy students running in the Country Music City Marathon this weekend.  As an avid non-runner, I am in awe of you.  Run fast.

• Commons , Freshman Commons , I've been admitted - now what? , Living on Campus , commonvu
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Thom April 16th, 2009

A quick check-in post for the waitlist folks.   Starting last Friday, we started sending out waitlist confirmation emails.  They will go out regularly over then next several weeks as we receive waitlist reply cards.  PLEASE REMEMBER: The email will be sent to the address you provide on the reply card.  If you mailed your card, and it has been enough time for the postal service to get it to us, and you have not received the email, do some troubleshooting before emailing us.  Namely:

• Double check that you inbox isn’t full and is bouncing emails away.
• Check your spam filter.  Vanderbilt University as an email domain sends out so much email, that we sometimes get on spam lists with various ISP’s.
• Make sure your email isn’t being forwarded to someplace else. 
• If all else fails, turn your computer off, count to five, and then turn it back on.  This likely won’t fix anything, but it’s always what our IT people tell me to do.

To make sure everyone is on the same page, I’ve included the text of the confirmation email below.  You will see that we have established a waitlist help desk email address to assist you.  You can email it, or your admissions counselor if you have already been communicating with him/her, if you should have any questions.

Thank you for submitting your Wait List Reply form–we are glad that you remain interested in attending Vanderbilt next fall. Over the coming weeks, we will communicate with you periodically via email regarding the status of our waiting list. We are aware that this can be a difficult process for students, and we hope our updates will make the process as easy as possible for you.

 Throughout the spring, our email updates will ask if you would like to remain on our waiting list. Please be sure to respond to these emails so that we are aware of your continuing interest in Vanderbilt. Your demonstrated interest may be an important factor as we make offers of admission from the waiting list. While you remain active on our waiting list, be sure to update us about any additional honors, achievements, or activities you have earned since submitting your application for admission. At any time, if you have decided to attend another college or university, please let us know. You may call our office at 615.322.2561 or email us at waitlist@vanderbilt.edu to report additional information, to ask any questions, or to be removed from the waiting list.

 Finally, remember that if you are offered a place in the Class of 2013, you will be a full member of the class, from living at The Commons, to registering for courses, to participating in CommonVU, our orientation which occurs just before classes begin.

 Again, thank you for your continuing interest in Vanderbilt.

• Application Process , Commons , Freshman Commons , Waitlist
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