Vanderbilt University has released all of its admissions notifications for the Class of 2023. The school received 32,967 Regular Decision applications — a figure that does not include Early Decision I and Early Decision II applications. Of these RD applicants, 2,088 earned admission. This marked a RD admit rate of 6.3%. As our regular readers may remember, 30,146 students applied RD to Vanderbilt’s Class of 2022 so the number certainly jumped this year. 2,199 RD applicants to Vandy’s Class of 2022 earned admission. So the admit rate sure did drop during this most recent RD cycle!

Vanderbilt Lamely Describes Class of 2023 Admits Just as the School Described Class of 2022 Admits

But we find descriptions of the group of admitted students to be a whole lot more interesting than statistics. Last year, for the Class of 2022, Vandy admissions officer Jay Watson described the group of admits this way: “This year’s admitted students were selected from an exceptionally talented applicant pool, the largest and most qualified in our history, as you can see from the statistical summary of our Regular Decision admissions plan below. We are thrilled with the stellar applications we have received — the academic achievements, community involvement, and diversity of backgrounds and experiences among our applicants make our work as an admissions staff both rewarding and challenging. It is an honor to see such talented students seeking Vanderbilt as a destination for college. At the same time, such a strong pool of applicants means our process must be highly selective. Because we must limit our first-year class to just 1,600 students, there are many talented applicants we are not able to admit. It is precisely because these decisions are so difficult to render that we put such careful consideration into our process.”

And how did Watson describe the group of admits to its Class of 2023?: “Admitted students were selected from an exceptionally talented applicant pool, the largest and most qualified in our history. Below, we provide a brief statistical summary of our Regular Decision admissions plan. The immense qualifications of these applicants make our work as an admissions staff both rewarding and challenging. We are honored to receive applications from such remarkable students. At the same time, such a strong pool of applicants means our process must be highly selective. Because we must limit our first-year class to just 1,600 students, there are many talented applicants we are not able to admit. It is precisely because these decisions are so difficult to render that we put such careful consideration into our process.”

Do our readers notice any similarities? Come on, Mr. Watson. It’s so lazy to essentially cut and paste the description of the Class of 2023 admits from the description of the Class of 2022 admits. Can’t you be a little more insightful? Just as you presumably don’t want applicants cutting and pasting college admissions essays from one institution for other institutions, dare to show some creativity in your press releases about Vandy’s admits. Include figures on the percentage of students who are underrepresented minorities. Include figures on the number of first generation college students. Write about the kinds of activities Vanderbilt admits are passionate. Tell us where they come from and what makes them tick. Aim higher!