University of Vermont

Public · Moderately Selective · VT

Photo: HeyTomek (CC0)

School data & stats

TypePublic

LocationVT · Northeast

SettingUrban

Undergrads11,743

Student:faculty17:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate69.9%

6-yr grad rate78.6%

Drop-out rate10.8%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$19k

Out-of-state tuition$46k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity17.2%

Gender diversity63.2%

International1.1%

Identity—

Overview

UVM is Vermont's public flagship, sized to feel more like a mid-sized university than a sprawling state system, while still carrying real research infrastructure through its medical school and graduate programs. Burlington's setting on Lake Champlain, with the Green Mountains behind it, isn't incidental scenery — it shapes the school's whole identity, drawing students who want a serious academic experience wrapped in an outdoors-oriented, environmentally engaged culture. UVM sits somewhere between a public research university and a small liberal-arts college in feel, and that hybrid character is central to why students choose it.

Academics

Environmental studies is the clearest signature, anchored by the Rubenstein School of Environment and Natural Resources and feeding into strong work in sustainable agriculture and food systems — an interdisciplinary strength the university has leaned into for years. The Larner College of Medicine gives UVM a genuine medical-school research base most schools its size lack, and the Grossman School of Business has grown into a solid, sustainability-inflected program in its own right. Class sizes trend smaller than at most public flagships, and undergraduates get earlier access to research and to faculty than they would at a larger state system.

Campus & student life

The compact campus sits above the lake with skiing, hiking, and cycling built into daily life rather than treated as a weekend extra — Vermont's mountains are close enough to matter. Burlington itself is a walkable, food- and coffee-forward small city with Church Street Marketplace as its social center, giving students an off-campus life without needing a car. Most athletics compete in the America East Conference, but hockey is the exception: it plays in Hockey East and draws a real following at Gutterson Fieldhouse, more central to campus spirit than the rest of the athletic program combined.

Getting in

UVM reviews holistically and pays real attention to fit with its outdoorsy, sustainability-minded culture — essays that show genuine engagement with environmental or community themes tend to land well. It draws a heavily out-of-state applicant pool specifically for that lifestyle and academic emphasis, which keeps the applicant pool self-selecting in a particular direction. It is not the most demanding needle to thread academically relative to other public flagships.

After graduation

Graduates in environmental fields, health professions, and business place well regionally and into New England's nonprofit, public-health, and sustainability sectors. The Larner College of Medicine feeds a meaningful number of students into medical careers directly. The alumni network is strongest in the Northeast and in environmentally focused industries nationally, less so in fields UVM doesn't emphasize academically.

Worth knowing

A meaningful share of students come from out of state, drawn specifically by the outdoor lifestyle, which gives the campus a different feel than a typical state flagship serving mostly in-state residents. Hockey culture is genuinely a bigger deal here than at most schools its size, and the sustainability ethos shows up practically everywhere, from dining to academics to campus operations.

uvm.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate65.3%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1290–1440 · ACT 30–32

Test policyoptional

Rec letters1

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Early actionNov 1

Early decisionNov 1

Regular decisionJan 15

Verified from the school’s admissions page ↗

Applying