Frequently Asked Questions

Applicants may send additional materials, and if they are of a size/format to fit neatly into a file folder, those materials will be included in the file. Materials such as DVDs and CDs will be stored nearby and a note attached to the file.

No such materials, including portfolios, will be returned to the applicant, so it is crucial that students not send valuable original material. Please know, too, that such additional materials will most likely only be seen by admissions officers and not by the persons who might be best able to evaluate them. For instance, Blair faculty will not review music tapes submitted by students who are not auditioning for Blair.

As far as additional recommendations are concerned, we would advise applicants to be judicious about soliciting them. Such letters have value if they clearly add to our understanding of how the applicant would contribute to, and benefit from, the Vanderbilt community. So a recommendation from a drama teacher or adviser is more likely to bear weight than a letter from a senator, for instance.

Vanderbilt requires all students to submit an official score report from either the SAT Reasoning Test or the ACT directly from the appropriate testing agency. At least one of these scores must include a writing section subscore. There is absolutely no preference between the two exams, though students taking the ACT only must remember to sit for the optional writing section during at least one administration.

It is no secret that standardized test results play an important role in selective college admissions. While test results are one key way in which applicants compete for the limited number of seats in Vanderbilt‘s entering class, it is important to remember that it is impossible to predict admissions outcomes on the basis of test scores alone. In our holistic review process, far greater weight is given to a student‘s academic achievement in high school, while other factors such as extracurricular involvement, recommendations, and the personal essays are considered heavily as well. Test scores are important, but they are not used exclusively to either eliminate or admit candidates.

A 8:1 student-to-faculty ratio places each and every Vanderbilt student in close contact with faculty of prominence in every area of academic study. This diverse, talented group of full-time professors is united by one goal: to provide our undergraduates with a challenging, comprehensive education that teaches them to think critically and broadly.

For a complete list of admissions officers with the geographic territories we serve, click here.

Feel free to call the office at (800) 288-0432 or e-mail us at admissions@vanderbilt.edu

Please view the Selection Process page of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions Web site for more information.

All Early Decision I letters will be mailed on or before December 15; Early Decision II letters will be mailed on or before February 15; Regular Decision letters will be mailed on or before April 1.

Applicants who have not received a letter by seven business days after the mail date listed above may call or e-mail the Office of Undergraduate Admissions (615-322-2561 or admissions@vanderbilt.edu). The decision can only be released to the applicant, his or her parent, or the school counselor.

Special note only for those students living or attending school overseas: Because the mail can be so slow and uncertain, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions will send an e-mail copy of the decision letter within three days of the mail date.

Students should apply to Vanderbilt with confidence that we will work with them to make it affordable for them to attend if admitted. We are proud and excited to report that Vanderbilt is one of a very small number of colleges that are need-blind for all U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens: a student‘s ability to pay will not affect his or her chances of admission. In addition, the university is committed to meeting the full demonstrated need of every admitted student. Finally, with the introduction of Vanderbilt‘s Expanded Aid Program, financial aid packages no longer include need-based loans. Instead, our financial aid awards include grant monies and a reasonable work expectation. View more details about our excellent financial aid policies, or visit the Office of Student Financial Aid and Undergraduate Scholarships.

Students should apply to Vanderbilt with confidence that we will work with them to make it affordable for them to attend if admitted. We are proud and excited to report that Vanderbilt is one of a very small number of colleges that are need-blind for all U.S. citizens, which is to say that a student‘s ability to pay will not affect his or her chances of admission. In addition, the university is committed to meeting the full demonstrated need of every admitted student.

Class rank can be an illuminating measure of an applicant‘s academic performance relative to his/her peers and is considered thoughtfully in conjunction with other data the admissions office gathers about the level of competition for grades in a given high school. Keep in mind that the most promising candidates for admission to Vanderbilt have earned grades in a very high range when compared to their classmates, and class rank often confirms what we can otherwise surmise about a student‘s performance.

When evaluating a student attending a school that does not rank its students, the admissions office relies on data provided by the school to gain some sense of the student‘s performance relative to their peers. Such information is always used responsibly and without intent to disadvantage any applicant in the admissions process. It is generally true that students for whom some measure of relative performance can be determined fare better in the admissions process than those students for whom no contextual information is provided.

The subject tests (also known as SAT II) and Advanced Placement tests are not required for admission, but they will be taken into consideration if submitted. Students who enroll at Vanderbilt are advised to take a math and a foreign language subject test. These will be used for placement purposes.

A Vanderbilt education leads to a degree with distinction. Most recently, 36% of our graduating seniors entered graduate or professional school and 47% went directly into the workforce. Another 17% volunteered, entered the military, or had other plans.