Vanderbilt University
Nashville, Tennessee
- Private nonprofit
- City
- 7,208 undergrads
- Admit rate
- 6%Source: College Scorecard
- Average net price
- $15,497per year, after grantsSource: College Scorecard
- Graduation rate
- 93%within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $99,08010 years after startingSource: College Scorecard
What's special
Opportunity Vanderbilt gives a full-tuition scholarship to every household earning $200,000 or less with typical assets, and those awards usually go beyond tuition to help with housing and food.
Getting in
- Admit rate
- 6%About 1 in 17 applicants get in.Source: College Scorecard
- Test policy
- Test-optionalScores are considered if you send them, but not required.Source: College Scorecard
- SAT (middle 50%)
- 1500–1570Reading + math, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
- ACT (middle 50%)
- 34–35Composite, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
From Vanderbilt University's own report
These numbers come from the school's Common Data Set for 2025–26, a standard report colleges publish about their applicants and first-year students. Open the report.
88% had a 3.75 or higher. The average was 3.90. Schools count GPA differently (weighted or not), so compare ranges loosely.
- Admit rate in this report
- 5%2,593 admitted of 48,196 first-year applicants
- Early decision admit rate
- 14%874 admitted of 6,202. Early decision is binding: you commit to attend if admitted.
- SAT, middle 50%
- 1510–1560First-years who sent scores
- ACT, middle 50%
- 34–35First-years who sent scores
- Top 10% of their class
- 91%95% were in the top quarter. Based on the 20% whose school ranks.
Early applicants often include recruited athletes and students who knew this was their first choice, so a higher early rate doesn't mean applying early raises any one student's odds by that much.
What the admissions office says it weighs
Very important
- How challenging your classes were
- GPA
- Class rank
- Essay
- Activities
- Character and personal qualities
Important
- Test scores
- Recommendations
- A talent or ability
Considered
- Interview
- Being first in your family to go to college
- Family who went there (legacy)
- Where you live
- Living in the state
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
Not considered
- Religious affiliation
- Showing interest in the school
Where you'd stand
Enter your numbers to see where they'd fall among Vanderbilt University's first-year students. This isn't a prediction: it shows how you compare with students who enrolled, using the sources linked below.
Leave out anything you don't have. Your numbers stay in this browser and fill in on other school pages. See my list
Sources: Vanderbilt University Common Data Set 2025–26. Test ranges describe enrolled students who sent scores.
What it really costs
Most families pay less than the sticker price. Net price is what's left after grants and scholarships.
- Average net price
- $15,497full-time first-years who got grant aidSource: College Scorecard
- Total cost of attendance
- $94,142sticker price incl. housing, per yearSource: College Scorecard
- Tuition
- $71,226Source: College Scorecard
After you enroll
- Graduation rate
- 93%first-time, full-time students finishing within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Came back for year two
- 96%full-time first-year studentsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $99,08010 years after starting, for students who got federal aidSource: College Scorecard
- Median debt at graduation
- $15,000federal loans, students who finishedSource: College Scorecard
Students
- Undergraduates
- 7,208Source: College Scorecard
- Receive Pell grants
- 25%a sign of economic diversitySource: College Scorecard
- First-generation students
- 12%parents didn't go beyond high schoolSource: College Scorecard
Similar schools
Similar, and easier to get into
- Belmont University Nashville, TN — admits 95%
- Villanova University Villanova, PA — admits 27%
- Santa Clara University Santa Clara, CA — admits 48%
- Case Western Reserve University Cleveland, OH — admits 37%
Also worth a look
- University of Chicago Chicago, IL — admits 4%
- Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY — admits 4%
- Emory University Atlanta, GA — admits 11%
- Stanford University Stanford, CA — admits 4%
- Washington University in St Louis St. Louis, MO — admits 12%
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA — admits 5%
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard page for Vanderbilt University, which draws on what the school reports to the federal government and on federal student aid and tax records. We last pulled the data on November 4, 2026. Different measures cover different years; here's how each one works.
Spot something wrong? Report a data error.