Vanderbilt University

Private · Elite · TN

Photo: Stablenode (CC BY-SA 4.0)

School data & stats

TypePrivate

LocationTN · South

SettingUrban

Undergrads7,208

Student:faculty8:1

Outcomes

4-yr grad rate87.2%

6-yr grad rate93.5%

Drop-out rate3.7%

Study abroad—

Cost

In-state tuition$67k

Out-of-state tuition$67k

Application fee—

Community

Racial diversity60.9%

Gender diversity52.5%

International11.2%

Identity—

Overview

Vanderbilt is a private research university in Nashville that pairs serious academics with an unusually social, collegiate atmosphere. Its wooded campus, a registered arboretum, sits a short walk from Nashville's Music Row and downtown, and the university has built a reputation as a destination for students who want research-university resources and faculty without giving up a warm, spirited undergraduate culture. The campus is compact enough that most students walk everywhere, which reinforces a strong sense of shared identity across its undergraduate schools.

Academics

Strengths span economics and finance, engineering, pre-med, and education and human development through Peabody College, one of the country's most established schools in that field. Vanderbilt undergraduates apply to one of four schools — Arts and Science, Engineering, Peabody, or the Blair School of Music — each with its own advising and requirements, though cross-registration across them is common. Class sizes stay manageable for a research university of its size, and undergraduates have real access to faculty research across the sciences and social sciences.

Campus & student life

Every first-year lives together on The Commons, a residential-college model meant to build community from day one before students move to upperclass housing. Greek life and SEC athletics both play a large role in campus social life, and football and basketball Saturdays draw genuine campus-wide participation. The arboretum campus, with its labeled trees and green quads, and Nashville's music, food, and internship scene give students both a self-contained campus and an active city right outside the gates.

Getting in

Vanderbilt's process is holistic, weighing essays, recommendations, and fit alongside academics, and it draws a highly self-selecting applicant pool given its reputation and its early decision options, which account for a substantial share of admitted students. The school emphasizes finding students who will engage broadly across campus life, not just excel narrowly in the classroom, and its supplement essays ask applicants to speak concretely about specific interests.

After graduation

Graduates place strongly into finance, consulting, law, medicine, and education fields, with Peabody in particular feeding graduates into education, human-development, and public-policy careers. The alumni network is especially strong in the South and in Nashville's own fast-growing corporate and healthcare sectors.

Worth knowing

Vanderbilt is need-blind and meets full demonstrated need for domestic students without loans, a genuine commitment rather than a marketing line. Its Nashville location gives students access to internships in the music industry, healthcare administration, and a fast-growing corporate scene well beyond what a college town of similar size could offer.

vanderbilt.edu ↗

Admissions

Acceptance rate5.9%

Enrolled mid-50%SAT 1500–1570 · ACT 34–35

Test policyoptional

Rec letters3

Deadlines (2026–27 cycle)

Early decisionNov 1

Regular decisionJan 1

Verified from the school’s admissions page ↗

Applying (2026-27 cycle)

Apply through Common App, Coalition (Scoir), or QuestBridge.

Early decision IIJan 1

Financial aid formsFeb 1

Vanderbilt offers two binding Early Decision rounds (ED I and ED II) in addition to Regular Decision; admitted ED applicants commit to enrolling.

Supplemental essays (1)

Crescere aude
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.
250 words · Required · Vanderbilt's page says 'approximately 250 words'; the Common App portal itself sets a 200-400 word range

Verified from the school’s admissions pages ↗