International Student Admission
Requirements for International Applicants
The Office of Undergraduate Admissions requires international first-year applicants to submit the following to be considered for admission. When applying, please adhere to the deadlines listed below these requirements.
You may apply using either the Coalition Application, the Common Application, or the Universal College Application. Select one application method and submit all materials through that method; do not submit both. All parts of the application should be submitted by the published deadlines.
- All required parts of either the Coalition Application, Common Application, or Universal College Application.
- $50 nonrefundable application fee, or fee waiver for qualified students
- Official high school transcript
- Counselor letter of recommendation
- Two academic teacher recommendations
- Standardized Test Results: SAT or ACT (SAT code: 1871 / ACT code: 4036)
- Official results of the TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE Academic if applicable*
- A completed College Scholarship Service (CSS) Profile, if applicable**
*Applicants whose first language or language of instruction is not English are required to take one of the following English language proficiency examinations:
| Minimum recommended score | |
| Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) – Internet-based | 100 |
| Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) – computer-based | 230 |
| International English Language Testing System (IELTS) | 7.0 |
| Pearson Test of English Academic (PTE Academic) | 70 |
This requirement will be waived if a student has scored above a 33 on the SAT Reading Test (administered March 2016 and later), or above a 26 on the ACT English section.
**Applicants requesting consideration for need-based financial aid are required to submit the CSS Profile showing their sources of financial support. Applicants should contact their admissions counselor for more information.
Please provide all documents in English.
Application Deadlines
Learn more about application dates and deadlines.
Testing Requirements
SAT or ACT — The SAT Reasoning Test or the ACT is required of all undergraduate applicants. These standardized university entrance examinations measure verbal and mathematic skills. Please visit either www.sat.org or www.act.org to register for these examinations. You can also contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or EducationUSA office for a list of testing centers, their locations, and exam schedule. SAT Subject Tests are optional. If official scores are sent to Vanderbilt, they may be considered during the application review process.
TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE Academic — The results of standardized English language proficiency examinations are used by the Admission Committee to better understand a student's English language ability, especially for non-native speakers. Because the SAT and ACT are written for U.S. domestic students, we understand that many international applicants do not score as well on the SAT Critical Reading test and a TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE Academic score will enhance the strength of a student's application.
The English language proficiency examination requirement will be waived if a student has scored 33 or above on the SAT Reading Test (administered March 2016 and later), or above a 26 on the ACT English section.
| Learn more: | TOEFL - toefl.org | IELTS - ielts.org | PTE Academic - pearsonpte.com |
Please contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or EducationUSA office for a listing of testing centers, their locations, and exam schedule.
