Your Admissions Counselor

At Vanderbilt, we believe in the importance of providing personal attention to each individual within the context of a high volume, highly selective admissions process. Our admissions counselors are available throughout the college search and application process.

Vanderbilt Office of Undergraduate Admissions Leadership

• Douglas Christiansen, Vice Provost for University Enrollment Affairs, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid
• John Gaines, Director of Undergraduate Admissions
• Amy Smith, Senior Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions
• Tricia Blumenthal, Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions
• Jason McGrath, Associate Director of Undergraduate Admissions

Note:  Your counselor is based on the location of the high school you attend at the time of your graduation. If you attend a boarding school, select the location of that boarding school, not the location of your permanent residence. If you are a transfer applicant, your counselor is based on the location of the high school from which you graduated. 

For information on admission to Vanderbilt's graduate schools and programs, visit the university's academics page.

If you do not see your area listed, please use visit our contact page to contact our office. 

GO TO: International | Home School

United States

Location	Counselor
Alabama	Kaila Brown
Alaska	Your Counselor To Be Announced
Arizona	Julianna Staples
Arkansas	Your Counselor To Be Announced
California — San Diego Area and Southern Orange County	Sam Joustra
California — Bay Area (Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo counties)	John Nesbitt
California — Los Angeles Area and Northern Orange County	Allison Key
California — Northern California (other than Marin, San Francisco, & San Mateo Counties)	Your Counselor To Be Announced
Colorado	Sam Joustra
Connecticut	Melina Prentakis
Delaware	Your Counselor To Be Announced
District of Columbia	Your Counselor To Be Announced
Florida — Broward, Martin, and Palm Beach Counties	Leslie Sanderfur
Florida — Jacksonville and Panhandle	Your Counselor To Be Announced
Florida — Miami and Southern Florida (other than Broward, Martin, and Palm Beach Counties)	Arianna Yarritu
Georgia — Fulton County	Leslie Sanderfur
Georgia — Northeast and Northwest Georgia	Kaila Brown
Georgia — Atlanta Suburbs	Kaila Brown
Georgia — Southern Geogria	Your Counselor To Be Announced
Hawaii	Julianna Staples
Idaho	Your Counselor To Be Announced
Illinois — Southern Chicago Suburbs, Rockford, Central, and Southern Illinois	Keldrick Stephens
Illinois — City of Chicago	Ricky Thrash
Illinois — Western and Northern Chicago Suburbs	Kim Struglinski
Indiana — Northern and Southern Indiana	Janessa Dunn
Indiana — Indianapolis and Central Indiana	Julianna Staples
Iowa	Garth Parke
Kansas	Keldrick Stephens
Kentucky	Janessa Dunn
Louisiana	Your Counselor To Be Announced
Maine	Melina Prentakis
Maryland	Your Counselor To Be Announced
Massachusetts — Greater Boston (including Cambridge, Lowell, Concord, Wellesley, Milton, Lexington, & Waltham)	Shane McGuire
Massachusetts — Other than Greater Boston	Melina Prentakis
Michigan	Garth Parke
Minnesota	Garth Parke
Mississippi	Sam Joustra
Missouri	Keldrick Stephens
Montana	Melina Prentakis
Nebraska	Garth Parke
Nevada	Your Counselor To Be Announced
New Hampshire	Melina Prentakis
New Jersey	Scotty Kominkiewicz
New Mexico	Julianna Staples
New York — Upstate & Long Island	Your Counselor To Be Announced
New York — New York City	Jan Deike
New York — Westchester County	Melina Prentakis
North Carolina	Your Counselor To Be Announced
North Dakota	Melina Prentakis
Ohio — Northern Ohio	Your Counselor To Be Announced
Ohio — Central and Southern Ohio	Janessa Dunn
Oklahoma	Your Counselor To Be Announced
Oregon	Your Counselor To Be Announced
Pennsylvania — City of Philadelphia and Montgomery County	Julie Chapman
Pennsylvania — Pittsburgh and Remaining Pennsylvania	Your Counselor To Be Announced
Rhode Island	Melina Prentakis
South Carolina	Harper Haynes
South Dakota	Melina Prentakis
Tennessee — Chattanooga Area and Upper Cumberland	Mary Beth Tift
Tennessee — Knoxville Area and East Tennessee	Kim Struglinski
Tennessee — Memphis Area and West Tennessee	Ricky Thrash
Tennessee — Middle Tennessee (other than Davidson County)	Mary Beth Tift
Tennessee — Davidson County	Mary Comfort Stevens
Territory — Puerto Rico	Harper Haynes
Territory — U.S. Virgin Islands	Harper Haynes
Territory — Guam	Harper Haynes
Texas — Austin, Dallas, Ft. Worth & San Antonio Areas	Your Counselor To Be Announced
Texas — Remaining Texas	Your Counselor To Be Announced
Texas — Greater Houston	Maria Ornelas
Utah	Your Counselor To Be Announced
Vermont	Melina Prentakis
Virginia — Richmond and Remaining Virginia	Your Counselor To Be Announced
Virginia — Northern Virginia	Your Counselor To Be Announced
Washington	Your Counselor To Be Announced
West Virginia	Janessa Dunn
Wisconsin	Garth Parke
Wyoming	Melina Prentakis

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International

Location	Counselor
Africa — Sub-Saharan Africa	Allison Key
Africa — North Africa	Shane McGuire
Australia & New Zealand	Mary Comfort Stevens
Canada	Harper Haynes
Caribbean	Harper Haynes
Central America	Harper Haynes
Central Asia & the Caucasus	Mary Comfort Stevens
China	China Team
East Asia — Hong Kong, Korea, Japan, and Taiwan	John Nesbitt
Europe — Other than The United Kingdom and Finland	John Nesbitt
Europe — The United Kingdom and Finland	Julie Chapman
India and South Asia	Shane McGuire
Mexico	Harper Haynes
Middle East	Shane McGuire
South America	John Nesbitt
Southeast Asia — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam	Julie Chapman

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Home School

Home School Students

Mary Comfort Stevens