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International Student Admission

Required Credentials

Please note that the application deadline is 3 January 2009. The Office of Undergraduate Admission requires international first-year applicants to submit the following to be considered for admission:

1. A completed Common Application
2. A completed Part 1: The Vanderbilt Common Application Supplement
3. An official transcript or record of academic achievement in secondary school and/or nationally sponsored or administered examinations
4. Official results of the SAT or ACT
5. Official results of the TOEFL or IELTS, if applicable*
6. A counselor or administrator letter of recommendation and two academic teacher letters of recommendation
7. A completed International Student Financial Aid Application, if applicable**
8. A $50 USD non-refundable application fee

Please provide all documents in English

* Applicants whose first language and language of instruction is not English are required to take the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing Service(IELTS). A minimum score of 95 on the internet-based test, 230 on the computer-based test, and 6.5 on the IELTS are recommended. Institutional TOEFL examinations are not acceptable; the examinations must be taken at an official TOEFL testing center. The Vanderbilt University TOEFL testing code is 1871.

** Candidates who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents and are requesting consideration for need-based financial aid are required to submit the financial aid application showing their sources of financial support. Based upon a review of academic qualities, financial need, and availability of resources, a student may be considered for financial assistance, but need-based aid is offered to a limited number of international undergraduate applicants. Visit the Common Application website for more information on Costs & Finances for U.S. citizens abroad, U.S. permanent residents, and International citizens.

Testing Requirements

1. SAT or ACT – The SAT Reasoning Test or the ACT with Writing is required of all undergraduate applicants. These standardized university entrance examinations measure verbal and mathematic skills. Please visit either www.sat.org or www.act.org to register for these examinations. You can also contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or EducationUSA office for a list of testing centers, their locations, and exam schedule. We advise students to take the SAT or ACT exam at least twice and submit all scores. If you take the same test more than once, we will focus our evaluation of test scores on the highest scores available (from either test).

   SAT Subject Tests are not required for admission, but if you have taken SAT Subject Tests we recommend you submit those scores for consideration. Applicants who choose not to submit SAT Subject Tests will not be at a disadvantage in the admission process.

2. TOEFL or IELTS – The results of such standardized English language proficiency examinations are used by the Admission Committee to better understand a student's English language ability, especially for non-native speakers. Because the SAT and ACT are written for U.S. domestic students, we understand that many international applicants do not score as well on the SAT Critical Reading test and a TOEFL or IELTS score will enhance the strength of a student's application. This requirement will only be waived if the language of instruction has been English or if a student has scored above 600 on the SAT Critical Reading.

   Students may learn more about TOEFL at www.toefl.org and IELTS at www.ielts.org. Please contact the nearest U.S. Embassy or EducationUSA office for a listing of testing centers, their locations, and exam schedule.

Non-U.S. Educational School Systems

If you attend an overseas secondary school that uses a non-U.S. educational system please download, from the Common Application website, the International Supplement to the Secondary School Report form and give it to your college counselor or school administrator to complete and submit with the Secondary School Report form.