Students study in the basement of the Mayborn Building, as captured on Jan. 26, 2023. (Hustler Multimedia/Laura Vaughan)
First years were asked about their high school experience in terms of academics and extracurriculars. 68% of students attended a public secondary school, 28% attended private secondary school, and the remaining students attended other types of secondary schools, including charter schools and homeschools.
Students accepted to Vanderbilt had been enrolled in a variety of advanced classes in high school, including AP, IP, Honors and Dual Enrollment Classes. 88% of students’ schools offered AP classes, 15% of schools offered IB classes, 86% of schools offered Honors classes and 70% of schools offered Dual Enrollment classes. The largest proportion of AP students and Honors students took 10+ classes.
TYPE OF HIGH SCHOOL/HOUSEHOLD INCOME
ADVANCED CLASSES
Respondents participated in a variety of extracurricular activities, varying both in number and type between each student. The most popular extracurricular activities included community service (79%), academic clubs and competitions (65%) and athletics (63%). The number of extracurricular activities participated in did not vary substantially across household incomes.
“I was a member of my varsity high school dance team, a competition dance team, and I also taught dance classes,” first-year Emma Boualaphanh said. “Dance taught me a lot about time management skills and how to prioritize different events. Balancing being a full-time student and dancer prepared me for dancing in college while dealing with a college workload.”
EXTRACURRICULARS
EXTRACURRICULARS/HOUSEHOLD INCOME
Almost a third (29%) of first years reported having used artificial intelligence on an academic assignment. First-year Alex Sheldon described AI as an “extremely useful tool” in a classroom setting.
“My data science professor constantly reminded us throughout the semester that using tools like ChatGPT was allowed and even encouraged because it enabled us to learn course material with the assistance of real-world tools that we will have even greater access to in the next few years as it develops,” Sheldon said. “In my experience this semester, AI has not hindered my ability to think creatively or do work on my own but has simply acted as another search engine or tool in my learning.”
AI USE
Only 2% of students reported taking a gap year between high school and college, while the remaining 98% went straight to college.