Vanderbilt University is a prestigious institution with an acceptance rate of only 7%. With a highly competitive admissions process, applicants must meet certain academic criteria to be considered for acceptance.

Admissions officials at Vanderbilt University place a strong emphasis on GPA, high school class rank, and letters of recommendation. While there are no specific GPA requirements, the average GPA for admitted students is around 3.83. Additionally, about 83% of admitted students have a GPA of 3.75 or higher. For test scores, half of admitted students fall within the range of 1490-1570 on the SAT or 34-35 on the ACT.

To apply to Vanderbilt University, students must submit their application by the January 1st deadline. The admission process is highly competitive, with only a small percentage of applicants being accepted. It is important for prospective students to focus on achieving strong academic performance, obtaining strong letters of recommendation, and scoring well on standardized tests in order to have a competitive application.

Admission Statistics at Vanderbilt University
Acceptance Rate	7%
Test Scores	Half of admitted applicants have SAT scores between 1490-1570 or ACT scores of 34-35
Application Deadline	January 1
Key Academic Factors	GPA, high school class rank, letters of recommendation
Average GPA	Around 3.83, 83% of admitted students have 3.75+ GPA
Average SAT Scores	1470-1570

Vanderbilt Admission Requirements

Acceptance Rate

ACCEPTANCE RATE

9.6%

Admission Standards		Elite
Applicant Competition		Extreme

How hard is it to get into Vanderbilt and can I get accepted? The school has a 10% acceptance rate ranking it #1 in Tennessee for lowest rate of acceptance. Last year, 3,298 out of 34,313 applicants were admitted making Vanderbilt an extremely competitive school to get into with a very low chance of acceptance – even for applicants with the highest scores and grades.  Academically, it has exceptionally high requirements for admission test scores, generally admitting students who score in the top 2 percent. Vanderbilt University typically accepts and attracts “A-” average high school students. Only 49% of those admitted chose to enroll in the school. Most incoming freshmen graduated in the top ten percent of their high school class.

vanderbilt sAT requirements 2022

Vanderbilt SAT Scores

SAT Requirements & Average SAT Score

SAT RANGE

1450-1560

APPLICANTS SUBMITTING SAT

To help all the aspirants with their financial planning before enrolling at the university, an estimated budget for international students looking to study in the US has been tabulated below.

Type of Fee	Undergraduate (In USD)	Graduate (In USD)
Tuition and fees	52,070	49,124
Books and supplies	1,294	1,294
Living costs	19,784	19,784
Meals	5,866	5,866
Personal expenses	2,874	2,874
Residence hall	11,044	11,044

43%

SAT Reading 25th	700
SAT Math 25th	750
SAT Composite 25th	1450

SAT Reading 75th	760
SAT Math 75th	800
SAT Composite 75th	1560
Average SAT Score	1510

SAT Scores you need to get in

What are the SAT requirements for students to be admitted to Vanderbilt University?

Vanderbilt University typically requires applicants to be in the top 2 percent of SAT test takers. The school consistently takes SAT composite scores down to 1450 on a 1600 scale, below which admission should be considered a reach. We estimate some students could be accepted with SAT’s as low as 1390. The estimated average SAT composite for admitted freshman is 1510 out of 1600. The school ranks #1 in Tennessee for highest average SAT composite score. 43 percent of applicants submit SAT scores to the school. Note: SAT scores presented on this page have been adjusted upwards per the College Board’s concordance tables for test takers after March 2016.Data Sources, IPEDS for Fall 2018 starting class

Estimated Chance of Acceptance by SAT Score

SAT SCORE (1600 SCALE)	COMPETITIVENESS	ADMISSION CHANCES
1560 and Above	Good	>16%
1505 to 1560	Avg +	10%-16%
1450 to 1505	Avg –	6%-10%
1395 to 1450	Reach	4%-6%
Less than 1395	Low	<4%

Vanderbilt Out of State Tuition

Vanderbilt ACT Scores

ACT Requirements & Average ACT Score

ACT RANGE

33-35 

APPLICANTS SUBMITTING ACT

64%

ACT Reading 25th	34
ACT Math 25th	30
ACT Composite 25th	33

ACT Reading 75th	35
ACT Math 75th	35
ACT Composite 75th	35
Average ACT Score	34

ACT Scores needed to get accepted

What are the ACT requirements for prospective students to get into Vanderbilt?

Admission data indicates that Vanderbilt regularly accepts students with ACT’s of 33 and above. Successful applicants typically send ACT scores in the top 2 percent nationally. We estimate the school accepting minimum ACT composite scores around 32 in some instances. Prospective students submitting an ACT composite of 34 or higher should be in the upper half of applicants – and students with a 35 and above have very competitive chances. The school ranks #1 in Tennessee for highest average ACT composite score. Scoring well on the ACT is very important as 64 percent of applicants submit ACT scores to Vanderbilt University.Data Sources, IPEDS for Fall 2018 starting class

Vanderbilt University Program

Estimated Chance of Acceptance by ACT Score

ACT SCORE	COMPETITIVENESS	ADMISSION CHANCES
35 and Above	Good	>16%
34 to 35	Avg +	10%-16%
33 to 34	Avg –	6%-10%
32 to 33	Reach	4%-6%
Less than 32	Low	<4%

what gPA does vanderbilt require

Estimated GPA Requirements & Average GPA

AVG. HIGH SCHOOL GPA

3.76

TYPICAL HIGH SCHOOL GRADES

A-

You will need exceptionally good grades to get into Vanderbilt University. The average high school GPA of the admitted freshman class at Vanderbilt University was 3.76 on the 4.0 scale indicating that primarily A- students are accepted and ultimately attend. The school ranks #3 in Tennessee for highest average GPA. Given the school’s very highly selective admissions, acceptance at Vanderbilt extremely difficult and unlikely even with a 3.76 GPA. The school should be considered a reach even if you have a 3.76 GPA.

What do these ratings mean?

HIGH SCHOOL GPA	FRESHMEN WITHIN RANGE	COMPETITIVENESS
3.75+	63%	Good
3.50 to 3.75	21%	Avg –
3.25 to 3.50	10%	Reach
3.00 to 3.25	3%	Reach
2.75 to 3.00	2%	Reach
2.50 to 2.75	1%	Reach
2.25 to 2.50	N/A%	Low
2.00 to 2.25	N/A%	Low

GPA Data Source, Wintergreen Orchard House

High School Class Rank

88% of Vanderbilt University freshman were in the top ten percent of their high school graduating class.

HIGH SCHOOL CLASS RANK	FRESHMEN WITHIN RANGE
Top 10% of class	88%
Top 25% of class	95%
Top 50% of class	98%
Bottom 50% of class	2%
Bottom 25% of class	0%

Data Sources, Wintergreen Orchard House

Admission Statistics

	WOMEN	MEN	TOTAL
Applied	19,014	15,299	34,313
Accepted	1,655	1,643	3,298
Acceptance Rate	9%	11%	10%
Enrolled	819	783	1,602
Percent of Admitted Who Enrolled (Admission Yield)	49%	48%	49%

Fall 2020 Application Deadline

APPLICATIONS WERE DUE

Jan 1, 2020

DAYS LEFT TO APPLY

None

The application deadline for Fall 2020 has passed. Applications were due on Jan 1, 2020.

Admission Requirements

What are the requirements for admission to Vanderbilt University and what considerations affect admission decisions?

Test Scores	Required
High School GPA	Required
High School Class Rank	Recommended
Completion of College Preparatory Program	Recommended
Recommendations	Required
Demonstration of Competencies	Required

Credits Accepted

AP Credit	Yes
Dual Credit	Yes
Credit for Life Experiences	No

vanderbilt university ranking world

The latest rankings of Vanderbilt University are given below:

As per U.S. News and World Report 2021

• #14 in National Universities
• #9 in Best Value Schools
• #12 in Learning Communities
• #12 in Service Learning

187th in the world by QS World University Rankings 2021

#111 in the World University Ranking 2021 by Times Higher Education rankings 2021

Vanderbilt University Courses

• Vanderbilt University offers various bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees and some postgraduate certificate programs.
• Programs offered by the Vanderbilt University are organized into 10 schools and colleges namely:
  • School of Medicine
  • Medical Center
  • College of Arts and Science
  • School of Engineering
  • Peabody College
  • School of Nursing
  • Blair School of Music
  • Law School
  • Owen Graduate School of Management
  • Divinity School
• Some of the most popular undergraduate majors include Social Studies, Engineering, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, etc.
• The popular graduate programs include Special Education, Educational Administration and Supervision, Audiology, Speech-Language Pathology, Nurse Practitioner, Nursing Informatics, Educational Psychology, Criminal Law, etc.
• The School of Engineering offers one of the top 40 undergraduate programs in the U.S.
• The Peabody College is one of the only 3 undergraduate schools of education and human development to be a part of the top 25 universities in the U.S. News.
• The Owen School is one of the top business schools in the U.S. accredited by Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB).
• The College of Arts and Sciences is the largest division of the university and provides 60 majors and minors and 29 master’s and Phd programs.
• The School of Music is also home to an exclusive undergraduate program in a U.S. News top 20 universities.
• The Peabody College, School of Engineering and School of Nursing offers online degrees.

is it hard to get into vanderbilt as a transfer

Vanderbilt Out of State Acceptance Rate

What are Vanderbilt’s admission requirements? While there are a lot of pieces that go into a college application, you should focus on only a few critical things:

• GPA requirements
• Testing requirements, including SAT and ACT requirements
• Application requirements

In this guide we’ll cover what you need to get into Vanderbilt and build a strong application.

School location: Nashville, TN

This school is also known as: Vanderbilt University, Vandy

Admissions Rate: 9.6%

If you want to get in, the first thing to look at is the acceptance rate. This tells you how competitive the school is and how serious their requirements are.

The acceptance rate at Vanderbilt is 9.6%. For every 100 applicants, only 10 are admitted.

This means the school is extremely selective. Meeting their GPA requirements and SAT/ACT requirements is very important to getting past their first round of filters and proving your academic preparation. If you don’t meet their expectations, your chance of getting in is nearly zero.

Vanderbilt GPA Requirements

Many schools specify a minimum GPA requirement, but this is often just the bare minimum to submit an application without immediately getting rejected.

The GPA requirement that really matters is the GPA you need for a real chance of getting in. For this, we look at the school’s average GPA for its current students.

Average GPA: 3.83

The average GPA at Vanderbilt is 3.83.

(Most schools use a weighted GPA out of 4.0, though some report an unweighted GPA.

With a GPA of 3.83, Vanderbilt requires you to be near the top of your class, and well above average. Your transcript should show mostly A’s. Ideally, you will also have taken several AP or IB classes to show that you can handle academics at a college level.

If you’re currently a junior or senior, your GPA is hard to change in time for college applications. If your GPA is at or below the school average of 3.83, you’ll need a higher SAT or ACT score to compensate. This will help you compete effectively against other applicants who have higher GPAs than you.

SAT and ACT Requirements

Each school has different requirements for standardized testing. Most schools require the SAT or ACT, and many also require SAT subject tests.

Vanderbilt SAT Requirements

Many schools say they have no SAT score cutoff, but the truth is that there is a hidden SAT requirement. This is based on the school’s average score.

Average SAT: 1505

• The average SAT score composite at Vanderbilt is a 1505 on the 1600 SAT scale.
• This score makes Vanderbilt Extremely Competitive for SAT test scores.

Vanderbilt SAT Score Analysis (New 1600 SAT)

The 25th percentile New SAT score is 1450, and the 75th percentile New SAT score is 1560. In other words, a 1450 on the New SAT places you below average, while a 1560 will move you up to above average.

Here’s the breakdown of new SAT scores by section:

Section	Average	25th Percentile	75th Percentile
Math	775	750	800
Reading + Writing	730	700	760
Composite	1505	1450	1560

SAT Score Choice Policy

The Score Choice policy at your school is an important part of your testing strategy.

Vanderbilt has the Score Choice policy of “Highest Section.”

This is also known as “superscoring.” This means that you can choose which SAT tests you want to send to the school. Of all the scores they receive, your application readers will consider your highest section scores across all SAT test dates you submit.

For example, say you submit the following 3 test scores:

Section	R+W	Math	Composite
Test 1	700	300	1000
Test 2	300	700	1000
Test 3	300	300	600
Superscore	700	700	1400

Even though the highest total you scored on any one test date was 1000, Vanderbilt will take your highest section score from all your test dates, then combine them to form your Superscore. You can raise your composite score from 1000 to 1400 in this example.

This is important for your testing strategy. Because you can choose which tests to send in, and Vanderbilt forms your Superscore, you can take the SAT as many times as you want, then submit only the tests that give you the highest Superscore. Your application readers will only see that one score.

Therefore, if your SAT superscore is currently below a 1560, we strongly recommend that you consider prepping for the SAT and retaking it. You have a very good chance of raising your score, which will significantly boost your chances of getting in.

Vanderbilt ACT Requirements

Just like for the SAT, Vanderbilt likely doesn’t have a hard ACT cutoff, but if you score too low, your application will get tossed in the trash.

Average ACT: 34

The average ACT score at Vanderbilt is 34. This score makes Vanderbilt Extremely Competitive for ACT scores.

The 25th percentile ACT score is 33, and the 75th percentile ACT score is 35.

Even though Vanderbilt likely says they have no minimum ACT requirement, if you apply with a 33 or below, you’ll have a very hard time getting in, unless you have something else very impressive in your application. There are so many applicants scoring 34 and above that a 33 will look academically weak.

ACT Score Sending Policy

If you’re taking the ACT as opposed to the SAT, you have a huge advantage in how you send scores, and this dramatically affects your testing strategy.

Here it is: when you send ACT scores to colleges, you have absolute control over which tests you send. You could take 10 tests, and only send your highest one. This is unlike the SAT, where many schools require you to send all your tests ever taken.

This means that you have more chances than you think to improve your ACT score. To try to aim for the school’s ACT requirement of 35 and above, you should try to take the ACT as many times as you can. When you have the final score that you’re happy with, you can then send only that score to all your schools.

ACT Superscore Policy

By and large, most colleges do not superscore the ACT. (Superscore means that the school takes your best section scores from all the test dates you submit, and then combines them into the best possible composite score). Thus, most schools will just take your highest ACT score from a single sitting.

We weren’t able to find the school’s exact ACT policy, which most likely means that it does not Superscore. Regardless, you can choose your single best ACT score to send in to Vanderbilt, so you should prep until you reach our recommended target ACT score of 35.

SAT/ACT Writing Section Requirements

Both the SAT and ACT have an optional essay section.

Vanderbilt requires you to take the SAT Essay/ACT Writing section. They’ll use this as another factor in their admissions consideration.

SAT Subject Test Requirements

Schools vary in their SAT subject test requirements. Typically, selective schools tend to require them, while most schools in the country do not.

We did not find information that Vanderbilt requires SAT subject tests, and so most likely it does not. At least 6 months before applying, you should still doublecheck just to make sure, so you have enough time to take the test.

Admissions Calculator

What are your chances of admission at Vanderbilt University?Chances of admission with these scores:10.67%

Here’s our custom admissions calculator. Plug in your numbers to see what your chances of getting in are.

Pick your test: New SAT ACTSAT ScoreYour GPA

Note: Your admission decision relies not only on your GPA and SAT/ACT scores, but also on your coursework difficulty, extracurriculars, letters of recommendation, and personal statements. This tool provides only a simplistic estimate of your chances of admission. Instead of treating this tool as a crystal ball, we recommend you consider the big picture of what your chance means:

• 80-100%: Safety school: Strong chance of getting in
• 50-80%: More likely than not getting in
• 20-50%: Lower but still good chance of getting in
• 5-20%: Reach school: Unlikely to get in, but still have a shot
• 0-5%: Hard reach school: Very difficult to get in

We recommend you apply to schools across a range of chances. Applying to some safety schools will guarantee you have a college to go to, while applying to some reach schools will give you a shot at getting into the school at the top of your range.

Application Requirements

Every school requires an application with the bare essentials – high school transcript and GPA, application form, and other core information. Many schools, as explained above, also require SAT and ACT scores, as well as letters of recommendation, application essays, and interviews. We’ll cover the exact requirements of Vanderbilt here.

Application Requirements Overview

• Common ApplicationAccepted
• Universal ApplicationAccepted, supplemental forms required
• Electronic ApplicationAvailable
• Essay or Personal StatementRequired for all freshmen
• Letters of Recommendation3
• InterviewNot required
• Application Fee$50
• Fee Waiver Available?Available
• Other Notes3

Testing Requirements

• SAT or ACTRequired
• SAT Essay or ACT WritingRequired
• SAT Subject Tests
• Scores Due in OfficeJanuary 1

Coursework Requirements

• SubjectRequired Years
• English4
• Math3
• Science3
• Foreign Language2
• Social Studies2
• History1
• Electives3

Deadlines and Early Admissions

•  
  • Offered?DeadlineNotification
• Regular Admission
  • YesJanuary 1April 1
• Early Action
  • No
• Early Decision
  • YesNovember 1, January 1December 15, February 15

vanderbilt university application deadline

Jan. 1

The application deadline is Jan.1 and the application fee at Vanderbilt University is $50. Admissions officials at Vanderbilt University consider a student’s GPA a very important academic factor.

vanderbilt university international students financial aid and tuition

To help all the aspirants with their financial planning before enrolling at the university, an estimated budget for international students looking to study in the US has been tabulated below.

Type of Fee	Undergraduate (In USD)	Graduate (In USD)
Tuition and fees	52,070	49,124
Books and supplies	1,294	1,294
Living costs	19,784	19,784
Meals	5,866	5,866
Personal expenses	2,874	2,874
Residence hall	11,044	11,044

vanderbilt university scholarships for international students

• Vanderbilt University offers limited need-based financial aid to international undergraduate students.
• International students who wish to be considered for need-based financial aid must submit the CSS profile.
• The university offered an average aid of 17,347 USD – 83,320 USD per year to international students admitted in fall 2020.
• Need-based scholarships available to international students include Hilppa A. K. Roby Scholarship, Irene and Thomas Harrington International Scholarship and Early-White International Scholarship.

The university awards merit based scholarships to study in US including three signature scholarships:

Name of Scholarship	Eligibility Criteria	Value
Ingram Scholars	Awarded to students who demonstrate commitment to innovation, leadership and entrepreneurial spirit.	Full-tuition support
Cornelius Vanderbilt Scholars	Awarded to students who demonstrate academic excellence.	Full tuition + one-time summer stipend
Chancellor’s Scholars	Awarded to students who have outstanding high school records and contribute in community building.	Full tuition + one-time summer stipend

• Additional merit scholarships include:
  • The Carell Family Scholarship – Full tuition and fees
  • The Clark Scholars Program – 15,000 USD
  • The Curb Leadership Scholarship – 8,000 USD
  • The Fred Russell-Grantland Rice Scholarship – 25,000 USD