Vanderbilt University sits in the heart of Nashville, Tennessee on a lush campus known for its beauty and architectural variety. The private research university consistently ranks at the top of lists for student quality of life and happiness, administrative efficiency, and academics. Its student body of 7,200 undergraduates and 6,700 postgraduates is composed of some of the strongest students in the nation, while alumni include former Vice President Al Gore, U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Penn Warren, and the “Father of Modern Anesthesia,” James Tayloe Gwathmey. Faculty at Vanderbilt have included pioneers of modern medicine, noted contributors to the development of American arts and letters, and several Nobel Prize Laureates.

Vanderbilt undergraduates choose between 71 majors across four schools and colleges: the College of Arts and Science, the School of Engineering, Peabody College of Education and Human Development, and Blair School of Music. The university receives over $1 billion in annual research and development funding split between the undergraduate schools and six graduate programs, all of which have international renown as hubs of innovation and intellectual discovery. The core curriculum for undergraduates consists of 13 courses distributed between six categories: Humanities and the Creative Arts, International Cultures, US: History and Culture of the United States, Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Perspectives. Within this curriculum, interdisciplinary study is encouraged, and students can even create their own major.

The residential college system is a cornerstone of student life at Vanderbilt, fostering a sense of community and camaraderie. While most students take part in this system, Greek Life is very popular on campus, drawing the participation of roughly one in four students. In 2020, an “Abolish Greek Life” movement swept through the elite college sphere following the activism of students at Vanderbilt in the wake of allegations of student misconduct. This represents the most recent episode in a history of student activism on campus that extends back into the Civil Rights movement, when campus integration was met with backlash and gradual progress. Perhaps one of the most notable steps in this progression was the establishment of a speakers series in 1964 that has hosted civil rights icons such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Stokely Carmichael.

Vanderbilt was established in 1873 by prominent Methodists in Nashville who accepted a donation from New York industrialist Cornelius Vanderbilt with the goal of healing sectarian divisions in the wake of the Civil War. The initial campus was built on a 75-acre tract, and over the years, it has expanded to its current 330-acre campus. In 1914, the Methodist Epispocal Church, South, which had maintained governing power over the university, cut its ties to Vanderbilt. The mid-twentieth century saw a flourishing of Vanderbilt’s humanities scene, specifically with the presence of the Fugitives and the Agrarians on campus, two sets of overlapping poets and scholars who ushered in a renaissance of Southern literature. In 1962, the Board of Trustees voted to desegregate, and Vanderbilt admitted its first African American undergraduates in the fall of 1964.

In the twenty-first century, the R1 research university has garnered a legacy of academic rigor and achievement for its medical, education, and creative writing programs, for its research into radiation via the Institute for Space and Defense Electronics, and for its forefront place within the national conversation on the importance of diversity and inclusion on college campuses. For admission to the Class of 2029, Vanderbilt accepted 2,302 out of 55,443 applicants, for a record-low acceptance rate of 4.7%, comparable to other elite and Ivy League institutions. The Office of Admissions outlines a “depth over breadth” approach when evaluating applications that sounds like it has taken a page out of the New Ivies book: “We’d much rather see a genuine commitment to one or a few activities than superficial participation that doesn’t offer a significant contribution.” We would agree! The strongest applicants have a demonstrable interest in a few niche topics which they have given their all to. If that sounds like you, Vanderbilt is worth checking out!

What are Vanderbilt University looking for?

Rather we look for students who have demonstrated strong academic skills and intellectual curiosity, and who have engaged in activities outside the classroom that have nurtured their growth as leaders. Most successful applicants have taken a very rigorous course load and have challenged themselves at the highest levels of the available curriculum.

Below you will find an outline of the five major components that each of our admissions counselors looks for and values in a Vanderbilt application.

Academic achievement: As we employ our holistic application review process, our first priority is to ensure that students are academically prepared to succeed at a rigorous institution like Vanderbilt. The official high school transcript and Common Application School Report are the primary tools we use to gauge academic achievement. We are looking for students who have challenged themselves with a rigorous curriculum and performed well in those classes. As always, context is king, and our assessment of your curriculum, grades, GPA, and class rank, will all be done with the understanding of what is offered and permitted at your particular high school.

Standardized test scores: While your transcript gives us some insight into how well you have performed in comparison to your closest peers (the other students at your high school), your performance on standardized tests will tell us how well you have performed in the greater context of all high school students across the globe. The Vanderbilt student body is incredibly geographically diverse, with current undergraduate students from 49 US states and over 50 countries, and your SAT and/or ACT scores help give us an idea of the academic force you might exhibit when you are all in a classroom together.

Extracurricular involvement: Of course Vanderbilt is not just a collection of classrooms thrown together on a campus, but a vibrant community of service, athletics, performing arts, culture, religion, music… and the list goes on and on. Once we have ensured that you will be academically competitive in our process, we look to see what else you have been doing throughout your high school years. We do not value any one particular type of involvement over another – we want to build a community of students with many diverse interests – but we are looking in every case for both commitment of time and effort, and strong leadership skills.

Personal essay: At this point we know what kind of student you are, how good of a test taker you are, and what types of things you have been involved in on your campus and in your community… so what else do you think we should know about you? The personal essay is your chance to answer that question. Regardless of which prompt you select, we are looking at this portion of your application to learn more about what skills, character traits, points of view, or life experiences you would bring to the Commodore community.

Recommendation letters: The final element required of all Vanderbilt applicants is a set of three recommendation letters – one from your guidance counselor, and two from core subject area teachers, typically from your junior or senior year. In most cases, these letters serve to support all of the other pieces of your application and reaffirm what we’ve seen in your transcript, test scores, extracurricular activities, and personal essay. It is certainly one thing to hear how you describe yourself as a student, person, and community member, but we also want to hear from your academic and personal mentors to learn their perspective on your achievements.

And that, my friends, is what we are looking for as we dig around in your Vanderbilt application. If you read Jay’s post on positive advocacy, you know that our role from here on out is to be your personal cheerleaders, finding and highlighting those unique elements of your file that will demonstrate what you would contribute to our community as a Vanderbilt Commodore.

Admissions Statistics

ADMISSION INFORMATION

APPLICATION DATES & DEADLINES

Additional essay questions of the application.

Short Answer Question

For both first-year and transfer applicants, we ask you to complete a short answer essay (approximately 250 words) based on the following prompt:

Vanderbilt University’s motto, Crescere aude, is Latin for “dare to grow.” In your response, reflect on how one or more aspects of your identity, culture, or background has played a role in your personal growth, and how it will contribute to our campus community as you dare to grow at Vanderbilt.