Requirements

Required Credentials

For all applicants:

  • Part 1: The Vanderbilt Application Supplement
  • Application fee ($50, or fee waiver for qualifying students)
  • The Common Application:
    • Student portion: student information, extracurricular activities, personal essay
    • School portion: official secondary school transcript, counselor letter of recommendation, and two academic teacher recommendations
  • SAT or ACT (to be sent directly from the testing agency)
  • For Early Decision applicants:

  • Early Decision signature page (available at the Common Application website)
  • For Applicants to the Blair School of Music:

    For International Applicants:

  • TOEFL examination (to be sent directly from the testing agency)
  • International financial aid application (if applying for financial aid)
  • For Home-Schooled students:

    Allowed, but not required:

  • Alumni Interview (information to be sent via email once application is received)
  • Extra letters of recommendation
  • SAT Subject Tests
  • Resume
  • Sample of art, writing, or other activities
  • Any additional information relevant to a students application
  • Procedures to Apply

  • Vanderbilt accepts the Common Application exclusively for freshman and transfer admission. In addition, applicants must submit Part 1: The Vanderbilt Common Application Supplement and a $50 application fee. Part 1 and the application fee may be submitted before or with the Common Application itself. The Common Application is available from www.commonapp.org All parts of the application should be postmarked or submitted electronically by the appropriate deadline.
  • Secondary School Preparation

    Along with evidence of intellectual ability and promise, the Admissions Committee considers other factors that influence performance:

  • Strength of coursework
  • Extracurricular activities
  • Teacher recommendations
  • Personal statement
  • Vanderbilt does not have a minimum test score or GPA requirement in order to apply for admission. Applications are evaluated in their entirety, taking each of the above factors into consideration.

    Standardized Testing

  • All freshman applicants are required to submit a standardized exam with the writing component (either the SAT Reasoning Test, or ACT) as a part of their application.
  • The old SAT II Writing Test may not be submitted in lieu of the new writing component.
  • If a student takes the SAT more than once, we will mix and match the highest Critical Reading, Writing, and Mathematics section scores.
  • For the ACT, we will consider the highest composite score.
  • The middle 50% of accepted students score between 1340 and 1510 on the SAT, and between 30 and 33 on the ACT. Vanderbilt does not have a preference for either the SAT or ACT.

    Vanderbilt does not require students to submit scores from the SAT Subject Tests. If included with the application, these scores will be considered during the application process. For students who enroll at Vanderbilt, SAT Subject Tests are used for placement in first year courses. SAT Subject Tests are strongly recommended for home schooled applicants. Applicants to the School of Engineering who choose to take Subject Tests should strongly consider taking either of the two mathematics exams (Level 1 or Level 2).

    View more information on standardized tests is available here.

    High School Coursework Recommendations

    Because our admissions process is holistic in nature, we do not publish minimum course requirements. However, prospective students should be aware that the Admissions Committee at Vanderbilt strongly considers the applicant’s academic preparedness, including type of courses taken, level of those courses, and academic performance throughout high school. Overall strength of curriculum is considered within the context of the applicant’s particular high school offerings. Most students admitted to Vanderbilt have engaged in a highly rigorous curriculum throughout high school, including five academic classes every year. As a minimum, most students admitted have completed the following courses:

    • English—4 years
    • Math—4 years
    • Science—4 years
    • Social Science/Humanities—3 years
    • Foreign Language—2 years

    View the Vanderbilt Profile of our enrolled students.

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    admissions@vanderbilt.edu