Located in Nashville, Vanderbilt University is a private research university that has produced numerous proud alumni, including Stanley Cohen, Al Gore Jr., and Muhammad Yunus. Ranked 15th (by U.S. News and World Report) among National Universities and 8th for Best Undergraduate Teaching, Vanderbilt is a formidable school and has an acceptance rate of just 11.7%. Interested in applying? Read on!
Want to learn what Vanderbilt University will actually cost you based on your income? And how long your application to the school should take?Here’s what every student considering Vanderbilt University needs to know.
Introducing Vanderbilt University
Founded in 1873, Vanderbilt University today is composed of about 6,500 undergraduates and 5,300 graduate and professional students. Within the university, there are ten schools (four undergraduate, the largest being the College of Arts and Science, and six graduate and professional), an art and public policy center, and the Freedom Forum First Amendment Center.
Vanderbilt is located in Tennessee, a mile and a half southwest of downtown Nashville. It’s easy to get into the city, but there’s a lot to do on campus, too! Campus is composed of 330 acres and has 392 buildings. Also, the Peabodysection of campus has been a registered National Historic Landmark since 1966.
Moreover, Vanderbilt is home to the Jean and Alexander Heard Library system, containing more than 8 million items for students’ use. The library system is comprised of eight individual librariesand Special Collections. Included in the Special Collections, is the Vanderbilt Television News Archive, also known as “the world’s most extensive and complete television news archive.”
At Vanderbilt, 92% of students live on campus. There are 31 residence halls and apartments, and ten are exclusively first-year housing. All first years live in one of these ten first-year residence halls located on the Martha Rivers Ingram Commons. After your first year at Vanderbilt, housing options are more varied and, starting your sophom*ore year, you can apply to any of the residential facilities, regardless of your campus affiliation, undergraduate school, or academic major.
There are over 500 student clubs and organizations at Vanderbilt. Additionally, there are a total of 24 Greek life chapters—15 sororities and 19 fraternities. You can read up on student life in the Vanderbilt Hustler, Vanderbilt’s student newspaper that has been around since 1888.
Sports are a big part of Vanderbilt student culture as well. There are ten women’s and six men’s varsity sports teams. Plus, they have great stadiums to watch and play sports in:Vanderbilt Stadium (for football, seats 40,350 spectators), Memorial Gymnasium (for basketball, seats 14,326), and Charles Hawkins Field (for baseball, seats 3,700). And, if you’re not interested in watching but want to play, there are 32 club sports and over 40 intramural sports available for all students. Remember to wear black and gold and celebrate your mascot:the Commodore!
Statistics
The student-to-faculty ratio at Vanderbilt is 8:1, and 91% of classes have fewer than 50 students. Also, 80% of classes have fewer than 30 students. 50% of students conduct undergraduate research (see more on undergraduate research at Vanderbilt below), and 1 in 2 students conducts research independently. And, in addition to small classes and ample undergraduate research opportunities, the Princeton Review rated it the second school with the happiest students.
Though it was originally foundedas a school for men, there were never any rules against women’s attendance at Vanderbilt, and at least one woman has been in every class since 1875. Undergraduates in 2015 were made up of 50% women and 50% men.
In regards to admissions, Vanderbilt University’s acceptance rate for the class of 2015 was 11.7%. The SAT Critical Reading Middle 50% was a score of 710–790, the SAT Math Middle 50% was 720–800, and the SAT Writing Middle 50% was 690–770. The ACT Middle 50% was 32–35.
Undergraduate Research
At Vanderbilt University, undergraduates have ample opportunity to conduct research. In fact, 50% of studentsconduct research during their four years and 15% do so over the summer (and nearly half have internships). 1 in 2 students conducts research independently, and 1 in 3 students conducts research with a professor.
Because research is so integral to the institution, most research opportunities are paid for by professors’ research funds and are of no cost (and sometimes even offer stipends) to students. Any undergraduate may conduct research, and students are encouraged to do so outside of their chosen major or school. You can even conduct your undergraduate research at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Tuition
Undergraduate tuition at Vanderbilt University is $44,496 for the 2016–17 academic year. Housing is $9,772 and meals are $5,190. There is also a $1,114 activities and recreation centers fee. With books and supplies and personal expenses (but not including travel expenses or health insurance, which is required for each student) the overall costfor the 2016–17 year as a Vanderbilt undergraduate is $64,654.
Also, as a first year, you will have to pay extra fees: $732 for the first-year experience fee and $30 for the new student transcript fee. Additionally, if you are majoring in engineering, you will have to pay a $650 engineering lab fee, and you will be expected to buy a laptop from Vanderbilt ($1,500) or provide your own that meets the requirements.
Financial Aid
94.5% of Vanderbilt first years receive Vanderbilt grant assistance. Vanderbilt conducts need-blind admissionsfor all U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens. Vanderbilt will meet 100% of demonstrated need. Demonstrated need is the difference between cost of attending and your family’s expected contribution, which is determined using the documents you submit (like the FAFSA).
So, aside from what the financial aid office determines your family can pay, Vanderbilt will work with you and your family to make sure your education is paid for. Furthermore, Vanderbilt does not administer loans—only grants, which do not need to be paid back.
There is no income limit to qualify for financial aid because other factors are taken into consideration, including family size, assets, etc. For this reason, you need to submit all of your documents on time—financial aid award decisions are determined on a case-by-case basis, so you must submit everything on time if you want to receive your financial aid decision before the date to commit to Vanderbilt (May 1). You can use Vanderbilt University’s Net Price Calculatorto get an idea of what studying at Vanderbilt may cost you.
Note that if you apply Early Decision, your ED agreement is binding regardless of your financial aid award. You will receive a tentative financial aid award notification, but final official financial aid awards are not mailed to admitted students until on or around April 1. If you want to compare your financial aid package to those from other schools before committing, you are advised to apply Regular Decision.
To apply for financial aid at Vanderbilt, you must submit the following documents:
- The College Scholarship Service Financial Aid Profile (CSS Profile): This allows you to be considered for Vanderbilt need-based grant assistance. (While you may elect to not fill it out, that will render you ineligible for most of the types of financial aid Vanderbilt offers.) The Vanderbilt University school code is 1871.
- The 2016–17 Free Application for Student Aid (FAFSA): This is used in considering you for federal, state, and institutional financial aid programs. The Vanderbilt University school code for the FAFSA is 003535.
- Signed copies of your and your parent or parents’ 2015 Federal Income Tax Returns, schedules, W-2 forms, and any corporate and partnership returns that were submitted to the IRS. If you are accepted for admission, you must upload these documents to IDOC (the CollegeBoard Institutional Documentation Service). If you and/or your parents are not required to file a Federal Income Tax return, you must fill out the appropriate Non-Filer form, which can be found on the IDOC website. Be sure that you submit all of these documents (tax returns, schedules, W-2 forms, etc.) to IDOC, not the Vanderbilt Financial Aid office.
Financial Aid Deadlines and Notification Dates
Note that the financial aid application deadlinesfor Vanderbilt are a little earlier than many of other schools. As explained above, you will not receive your official financial aid award decision until or around April 1, 2017, but below you can find dates for the preliminary notices.
- If you are applying Early Decision I… you must submit both the FAFSA and the CSS Profile by November 8, 2016. Tentative financial aid decisions will be mailed by December 15, 2016.
- If you are applying Early Decision II… you must submit both the FAFSA and the CSS Profile by January 2, 2017. Tentative financial aid decisions will be mailed by February 15, 2017.
- If you are applying Regular Decision… the priority deadline for both the FAFSA and the CSS Profile is February 1, 2017. Financial aid awards will then be mailed by April 1, 2017. “Priority deadline” means that you need to submit your financial aid application by the specified date if you want “priority” to receive your aid decision around April 1 (and before May 1). While you can still submit a financial aid application after the above dates, you are not guaranteed an answer by the time you may need it.
It is critical that you submit the documents on time (and remember the earlier deadline!) because the financial aid office reviews each application case-by-case, so it can take a while to receive your aid decision.
Note: Vanderbilt also has merit-based scholarshipsto whichall students can apply. For more information on scholarships, check out this CollegeVine guide.
