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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Brad February 24th, 2009

Nashville has plenty of culinary choices. But there is one type of food which is distinctive to Music City: Hot Chicken.

Hot Chicken is southern-style pan-fried chicken cooked in a cast-iron skillet. There is, however, one twist. The chicken is breaded in a super-secret blend of spices which give the chicken its…hot. And trust me, it is spicy. Dangerous even.

The main purveyor of this delight is called Prince’s Hot Chicken Shack. Former Mayor Bill Purcell declared it his favorite restaurant and legend has it that one could garner political favor by stepping up from the milder varieties. The truth is, that I frequently crave Prince’s. Eating it on Tuesday can guarantee that you’ll want it on Wednesday. Fortunately for me, I am eating Prince’s tomorrow. After all it’s a Data Day tradition.

So what are data days? Well, you’re about to find out. Because as much as I’d like to use this blog to promote Hot Chicken, it’s really not the point.

Data Days are the days where we evaluate the overall depth, quality and diversity of our applicant pool just before starting admissions committee.  There are three per year, one for each of the Early Decision rounds, and one for Regular Decision. Thom alluded earlier to the admission officer deadline by which all applications must be first and second read. That date was last Wednesday. Since then, our support staff have been frantically entering decisions (admit, deny, waitlist, or committee)  into our database so we can have a complete look at the pool by Data Day.

Then, using some fancy schmancy reporting tools (we actually use Business Objects, a French data solutions package) the admissions committee will answer some critical questions:

How many students should be admitted?

This number is calculated by taking the number of spots in the first year class and subtracting the total number already admitted during Early Decision. Then, using a yield projection for Regular Decision we multiply to account for students who are admitted but will not choose to attend. From this number we subtract the regular decision students who have already been admitted or will be shortly. The only students in this group are MOSAIC invitees, Scholarship Finalists (Ingram, Cornelius Vanderbilt and Chancellor’s) and recruited athletes.

The final number will be the total number of admissions letters that leave our office on mailing day. You can try to guess the number, but we do not release it publicly. Remember that we keep it intentionally low  to prevent over enrollment. Then we admit from the waiting list to ensure the porridge is just right.

2. How many students can be heard at committee?

An easy calculation. We average about 10 application discussions in a committee hour. With three committees running 6-8 hours every day, five or six days each week  for the next month. According to Amy, our committee guru, we have 330 hours scheduled but may need more or less depending on the answer to the next question.

3. What is the threshold by which any student should gain admission?

Ideally any application that reaches committee will include a compelling discussion and the full spectrum of decision options. Although we love hearing about the incredible, bizarre, hilarious and remarkable things that prospective Vanderbilt students accomplish, it is not useful to spend more time on students who are clearly admissible.

On Data Days we take a statistical snapshot (compiled from the espresso-fueled months of reading) and assume that we can admit most qualified applicants in the highest end of our pool. This process is known in our office as “Commando.”  The origins of the term are hazy, but if I had my guess it dates back to 1645 when Alan Commando, the former Dean of Oxford decided to admit everyone at once. A carnival was subsequently thrown in his honor.

At the conclusion of Data Days, the entire staff receives an email with “Commando Guidelines.” Any applicant who meets the guidelines is gathered, re-read and barring any concerns, summarily admitted. Remember that every last application has been reviewed in full (twice in fact), received hand-written comments, and a decision recommendation. 

The remaining applications are slated for committee review where we will spend the coming weeks discussing everything from extra curricular involvement to grades to curriculum to that essay describing that time you fell offstage at your piano recital.

To a geek like me, Data Days are like Magic Eye posters. For months I’ve closely examined the applicants from Maryland (except Montgomery and Prince George’s counties), Minnesota, Wisconsin, Idaho, Washington, Oregon and Alaska. Now I am able to inch backward and see how those students fit into the larger group considered for Fall 2009.  Now it’s time for some Hot Chicken.

Mmm...Hot Chicken

• Admissions Committee , Application Process , File Reading Explained , Uncategorized
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Thom January 20th, 2009

Here’s some calendar items that are going on behind the scenes in our office and at VU:

• Today several of us will meet to discuss the upcoming Early Decision II committee, and get an early aggregate look at the pool.  Based on this we will set our committee schedule (how often we will meet and when . . . it’s really not that exciting). 
• Also today, The Commons Center and the Bishop Joseph Johnson Black Cultural Center will be having public viewings and discussions of Barack Obama’s historic inauguration.
• This weekend is the first of several Blair School of Music audition weekends - good luck to all who are participating.
• Early Decision II committees start a week from this Thursday and will run through that following weekend.

The essential cool things you need to know about the famed music scene in Nashville:

• You can keep up with the newest artists from Nashville and around the U.S. through  The Nashville Scene’s Digital Jukebox. 
• You can literally hear great live music every night in Nashville, and for pretty cheap when you do.
• The Anne Potter Wilson Music Library, in addition to possessing a staggering classical composer and symphonic collection also maintains a large rock, blues, and pop music collection.  From the Beatles, to Radiohead, Chuck Berry to The Shins, it’s all yours for checking out free if you’re a Vandy student, faculty member, alum, or VU staff member (score).

• Admissions Committee , Application Process , Balance , Blair School of Music , Commons , Early Decision , Freshman Commons , Music , Nashville
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Thom August 27th, 2008

Question: What are you left with after 12 hours of driving across the Greater Midwest with OUAer Brad Weiner?

The Midwest Road Show last week was a blast, if nothing else because of the wonderful new friends we made in the cities we visited.  The programs we attended were full of bright & interested students and families and it was a great start to the fall travel season.

If you know Brad or me very well, you know that we love a good conversation/debate.  It’s kind of our thing.  So what better way to pass time in the car as the corn fields fly by than to discuss the following actual topics of discussion (listed in no particular order):

• Most influential rock album of all time (Brad says Dark Side of the Moon, I say Pet Sounds)
• Spirituality and the existence of God
• Whether Brad should attend his 10-year high school reunion
• Whether Michael Phelps is part fish (8 gold medals, seriously?)
• work/life balance
• Blackberry: modern efficiency or just digital handcuffs?
• The exact nature of existance and truth: “If I punch you in the face, can you prove to me that I just punched you in the face?”
• The place of religion in politics
• Debated merits of the US highway system while noshing Italian beef and Polish sausage sandwiches over I-94
• Kids and family and how they forever change you
• The purpose of higher ed in American culture
• Jalapeno poppers: better with cheddar cheese or that strange white cheese?
• Nashville: how many musician/baristas are just too many?
• Is it Indi-ucky, or Kentuckiana?
• Jack Kerouac’s best book not being On the Road
• Jimmy Buffett, musical phony or simplistic songwriting genius
• Ernest Hemigway’s tell like it is writing style
• Whether to eat at yet another suburban ”O’Ruby Fri-bees”

Gearing up for Reading Season

While applications are coming in slowly, we actually do not start to read the complete files for another month or so.  We get through the Fall travel season and will begin reading those files in October after we’ve had a chance to gather our staff for a training session to make sure we’re all reading files the exact same way.

Stat of the Day:  2% The average weekly internet traffic our Vanderbilt admissions page receives from people looking for “Vanderbuilt University” in a keyword search.

• Application Process , College Fairs and VU Visiting Your High School , Nashville , Road Shows , Vanderbilt Blogs
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Brad June 9th, 2008

Random Stranger on Airplane: So, where are you from?
Brad: Nashville.
Random Stranger on Airplane: Do you like Country music?
Brad: Not really.

If I had a dollar for every time I’ve engaged in this conversation, I could buy every record I’ve ever wanted to own from the record store. If only I could pay for the gas to get there.

No question about it: Nashville does have plenty of Country music. Living here gives frequent exposure to the record industry, songwriters, studio musicians, t-shirt companies, hipster restaurants, live music venues, boot outlets, sequin factories, and happenstance encounters with celebrities at the grocery store.

But there is so much more to listen to. For example, take a look at the Next Big Nashville Festival–a five day, multi-venue festival in Nashville showcasing local rock, pop, and indie bands. Vanderbilt itself is a large purveyor of musical opportunities. During the school year there are at least three large concerts including the multi-day, end of the year blowout called Rites of Spring.

It is no coincidence that this blog appears during the second weekend in June on the eve of the largest single-site music festival in North America. It’s called Bonnaroo. I know that some of you are familiar because each year during our online prospective student chats, there is a small but mighty group of students who plan their campus visits around the festival.

If you’re not familiar, it is an annaul event hosted in Manchester, Tennessee, about an hour southeast of Nashville. This year, there are nine seperate stages running almost continually with some of the best touring bands in the world–very few which play anything even close to Country. Add to that venues for comedy, music, art, and karaoke and you have an almost inevitable scheduling nightmare.

Here is what my Friday looks like:

1. Wake up.
2. Eat breakfast.
3. See the following bands: Jose Gonzalez, The Fiery Furnaces, Tegan and Sara, Minus the Bear, The Bluesgrass Allstars (featuring Nashville-based Banjo virtuoso Bela Fleck), The Swell Season (the group from the film “Once”), The Raconteurs (featuring Nashvillian and White Stripes member, Jack White), State Radio, Anders Osborne, Willie Nelson, Chris Rock (I know he’s not a band), and Metallica.
4. Eat dinner.
5. See the following bands: My Morning Jacket (a personal favorite), New Orleans Superjam.
6. If awake, go see a very, very early morning showing of “Sunset Boulevard”. The 1950 Noir classic.
7. Sleep. Maybe.

So why, might you ask, is the Vanderbilt Admissions Blog discussing Bonnaroo? It’s a good question and I’ll have a hard time making a giant music festival germane to the educational values of our institution. But, we want to reiterate that summers are for relaxing, reflecting and enjoying some time off. All of you should enjoy the sunshine and take a rest before the next academic year.

Paint a picture. Climb a tree. Read a non-requried book. See a concert. Try being bored. It’s more fun that it sounds.

As always, we love hearing your comments. Music fans post your favorite bands below. I’d love to know what you’re listening to.

• Balance , Music , Nashville , Rites of Spring , Summer
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