Mailing Address: 2201 West End Ave., Nashville, TN 37240
2008 Rank:38
2006 Rank: Not on List
Average High School GPA: N/A
Total Enrollment: 6,532
African American Enrollment: 531
Number of Applications: 12,911
Acceptance Rate: 33%
*Average SAT Score: Reading: 640-740; Math 660-740; Writing 640-730
Black Student Group(s): Black Student Alliance
Summer Program(s): Vanderbilt Summer Academy, Pre-College PAVE
Application Deadline(s): Regular Decision: Jan. 3; Early Decision: Nov. 1
Acceptance Letters Sent Out: Early Decision: Dec. 15; Regular Decision: April 1
Financial Aid/Deadlines: Jan. 3
Costs Tuition: $36,100; Housing $7,828; Dining $4,200; Books and Supplies $1,208; Student Activities & Recreation Fees $905; Personal Expenses $2,062
Greek Organizations: Alpha Phi Alpha, Kappa Alpha Psi, Omega Psi Phi, Phi Beta Sigma, Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Phi Beta Sorority
*25th Percentile-75th Percentile
ADMISSIONS Q&A
Doug Christiansen, Vanderbilt University, Dean of Admissions
What do you believe is the best preparation for a high school student to attend your institution?
First of all, we have the holistic admissions process where there’s not one variable that gets a student admitted or denied it’s really the whole package. But, if we were to rank all of those, one of the most important things a student can do is a strong high school experience. Right in tandem with that is the extracurricular, how they’ve helped their high school or a broader region in reaching out and really transforming groups while they were in high school. Academics are a critical piece and the strongest academic preparation is the rigor of the courses they take and how well they do.
What kinds of activities stand out on students’ applications?
I think for us an example would be a lot of times you’ll see a student that’s participated in 15 different activities but all at a minimal rate. We would much prefer to see a student participate in fewer activities and participate in them for a longer period of time and really make a difference in them. Be really involved in community service, really involved in student government; we’re looking for on campus people who can come here and help make a difference and move Vanderbilt and their educational experience along.
What are the other most important things on a students’ application?
I’ve already mentioned their academics. Letters of recommendation are critical; we require that two of them come from their teachers and one from their guidance counselor. They can have additional but those are required. Talk about their growth and development, how they contributed to the class. The student needs to make sure they develop those relationships with teachers. All of it is critical when you look at that holistic application. There’s not one that’s more important than the other
class=”MsoNormal”>What do you think of recent decisions by Smith & Wake Forest to eliminate the SAT and how likely is that at your institution?
Right now our position is that we will continue with our SAT score requirement because the way we use it, it is one of many variables and it’s a factor that helps us in normalization from area to area where grades and GPA are more specific to that high school.
How does your institution attract minority students? What is it doing to improve diversity efforts?
There is a whole host of things that we have. For all students we’re one of the handful of the schools in the country that are 100% need blind and meet all need.
We have a whole host of outreach programs, publications, events and seminars, things on campus that bring the students all the way through campus. Twenty-five percent of our undergraduate population is students of color and African American and Hispanic have been the fastest growing of that population
Once students are enrolled, what benefits will they receive by being at your school and not its competitors?
Some of the biggest benefits are the focus they will receive being at one of the top institutions in the United States, one of the top research institutions, but having such a strong undergraduate program. We bring in over 400 million dollars in our research enterprise and that amount of research is sometimes at the cost of undergraduate but that here is first and foremost. We have a new commitment to the freshmen commons of $150 million and it’s just for entering
freshmen. Approximately 1,550 that will live there with faculty members and their families, it’s a whole 24/7 learning experience. The entire class is in a new complex of 10 houses. There’s a new dean of the commons, he lives right there and each of the halls have faculty their families in addition to RAs. Really trying to make our educational experience not [just] inside of the classroom but a full experience.
What are parents and students overlooking when they prepare and apply for college?
At times they get caught up in the prestige or ranking of an institution instead of the best fit. Where are they going to be most successful? A lot of times parents and students get caught up in things that maybe there’s not one right institution there are so many good colleges in the United States. They spend more time figuring out how to get in than really understanding if that’s where they want to go.