September 8, 2026

Tell Your Story: Inside Admissions at Vanderbilt with Mike Drish

What does holistic admissions really mean at a school like Vanderbilt? How does context shape the way admissions readers evaluate your application? And what are highly selective schools actually looking for in a personal essay? Learn the answers to these questions and much more in this episode!

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About the episode

n this episode, Mike Drish, Executive Director of Admissions at Vanderbilt University, draws on a career spanning public universities, private institutions, and everything in between to break down what holistic admissions really means in practice. Mike explains how context shapes every admissions decision, including how Vanderbilt’s participation in the Common App Student Context Pilot helped the team better understand the full picture of who applicants are, from family responsibilities and part-time work to translating documents and caring for siblings. He also addresses Vanderbilt’s decision to reinstate standardized testing requirements for fall 2029 applicants, sharing what the test optional era taught the team and why the change is being announced early so students and families have time to prepare.

Mike then tackles some of the most anxiety-inducing parts of the process head on. He explains why a perfect GPA and test scores are not enough at a highly selective school, how to write a “why us” essay that actually reflects a specific institution’s values rather than recycled answers, and what the team is really looking for in a personal essay: not polished prose, but genuine insight and personal storytelling that no AI or outside editor can easily replicate. He closes with a message that applies to every student approaching senior year: stop trying to fit a mold, be true to who you are, and remember that a denial from one school is rarely a judgment of your potential. The right fit is out there, and the process works best when students let themselves show up as individuals.

Mentioned in this episode

Vanderbilt University

Host

Will Geiger

Will Geiger is the co-founder of Scholarships360 and has a decade of experience in college admissions and financial aid. He is a former Senior Assistant Director of Admissions at Kenyon College where he personally reviewed 10,000 admissions applications and essays. Will also managed the Kenyon College merit scholarship program and served on the financial aid appeals committee. He has also worked as an Associate Director of College Counseling at a high school in New Haven, Connecticut.Will earned his master’s in education from the University of Pennsylvania and received his undergraduate degree in history from Wake Forest University.

Guest

Mike Drish

Mike Drish is the Executive Director of Undergraduate Admissions at Vanderbilt University. He has over 20 years of experience in university admissions at top American private and public universities. Mike is committed to attracting and retaining a student body of all backgrounds and experiences. He holds a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Vanderbilt’s Peabody College and a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.