Vanderbilt Applications Now Available
Prospective Commodores, it’s time to take the first step in making your college dream a reality: applications are now available through the Common Application and the Universal College Application. Our advice? Start your application early and visit the Application QuickGuide to learn more about the Vanderbilt admissions process.
You may use either the Common Application or the Universal College Application, but do not submit both. Choose one application, and submit all required materials through that method. Here’s a rundown of what’s required:
- All materials from either application
- Official high school transcript
- Counselor letter of recommendation
- Two academic teacher letters of recommendation
- Official SAT or ACT scores (and TOEFL, IELTS, or PTE Academic testing when required for international students – learn more on our page for international applicants.)
Also, note the application deadlines for each of our decision plans:
Early Decision I – apply by November 1, 2014, get your decision by December 15, 2014.
Early Decision II – apply by January 1, 2015, get your decision by February 15, 2015.
Regular Decision – apply by January 1, 2015, get your decision by April 1, 2015.
Feel free to ask us questions here at the blog or via email at admissions@vanderbilt.edu. Or connect with us on social media at Facebook, Instagram, or Tumblr. We look forward to working with you throughout the application process.
August 14th, 2014
For the question on the Common App that asks us to elaborate on an extracurricular activity, are you looking for a short answer or a short essay? Is there a word limit?
August 14th, 2014
Thanks for the question, Andrew. We aren’t really concerned with the word count — we’re looking for a brief answer to get some extra insight into your participation in an extracurricular activity.
September 2nd, 2014
Do you have any information on the college essay? How many are there, and if possible what is the topic?
September 4th, 2014
Hi Nameera, I can certainly point you to some good resources about the personal essay. You can see detailed info on the Common Application essay prompts at https://appsupport.commonapp.org/link/portal/33011/33013/Article/1694/2014-15-Common-Application-Essay-Prompts, and for the Universal College Application at https://www.universalcollegeapp.com/essay. You might also want to check out this post from last year with advice about how to approach the essay http://admissions.vanderbilt.edu/vandybloggers/2013/09/how-to-write-your-personal-essay/.
September 4th, 2014
Thank you very much. Thank was very helpful.
October 20th, 2014
how much sat score count for the admission… for instance, i am a student with excellent GPA but not so good SAT score.
October 24th, 2014
Thanks for the question. We evaluate all the elements of your application as a whole, so we don’t have a specific weighting that we give to test scores or GPS. Admission is competitive, though, and successful applicants usually have strong test scores and GPA. For our current first-year class, the average of the middle 50% was 710-780 on the SAT critical reading and 720-800 on the SAT math. That should give you an idea of competitive scores.
October 29th, 2014
Is there a time limit on supplemental materials being sent in addition to the application? Does a CD/DVD need to be under a certain amount of time?
October 30th, 2014
Hi Tammy, thanks for your question and your interest in Vanderbilt. Students occasionally ask us whether it would help them stand out in the process if they sent us a CD, DVD, or portfolio highlighting some special talent (visual art, dramatic performance, cheerleading, etc.). With the notable exception of the video pre-screening audition required of applicants to the Blair School of Music (http://blair.vanderbilt.edu/admissions/apply.php), these kinds of supplemental materials will not be considered in our evaluation of your application. Instead, we hope you will use the chart and short-answer question on your application to tell us about the activities and involvements that have meant the most to you, including the time commitment and any special responsibilities each has required of you. Thanks again for your question, and please let me know if you have any others.