Undergraduate Admissions
2305 West End Avenue
Nashville, TN 37203-1727
615-322-2561 | 800-288-0432
admissions@vanderbilt.edu

VU HOME | HOME | APPLYING | THE SELECTION PROCESS

Every year Vanderbilt receives more than 12,000 applications for one of 1,600 seats in the new freshman class.

Between November and April, Admissions Counselors spend countless hours reading those applications so we can assemble a talented, intelligent, diverse community of scholars and leaders.

• It is no fun for us to deny students. The close–knit Vanderbilt community is only possible by limiting the number of students on campus. Since more students want to join the community than we have room for, the selection process is necessary.
• We are always looking for a reason to admit you. We do not dissect or “nit–pick” applications negatively. In fact, the opposite is true.
• Admissions decisions are not a judgment of your worth. Most of our applicants would do extremely well in our community. Unfortunately, we have to make difficult decisions. That doesn't mean that many other schools wouldn't be ecstatic to have you on campus.
• We know that applicants are real humans who cannot fully describe their lives in an admissions application. We do our best to personalize the process and never treat you like a number.
• Admissions Counselors are real humans who care about you and your education. We work incredibly hard to make the process fair, consistent, and transparent so that our decisions make sense to you.
• Vanderbilt is proud to read our applications blind to financial need. Your ability to pay is never factored into domestic student decisions.
• All information about applications is confidential. We are happy to explain the overall process, but are unable to comment on specific applications.

• When you submit an application to Vanderbilt, it is first opened, processed and entered into a database. Each part of the application is tracked using barcode technology before it is added to your personal admissions application file.
• Those files, when complete (check our FAQ section for the full list of ingredients), are distributed to the appropriate Admissions Counselor for what we call a “First Read.”
• At Vanderbilt we read our applications holistically, meaning our Admissions Counselors are trained to review each part of an application in order to make an overall recommendation. This process balances academic achievement, extracurricular involvement, leadership, community service, diversity, etc. to learn as much about you as we possibly can.
• Depending on their level of reading experience, Counselors typically spend between 20 to 30 minutes reading each application.
• After the first read, applications are then submitted to a Second Reader who goes through the same holistic review. We do this to double-check the first read, and to broaden our perspective on the overall application pool.
• About a third of applications are given final decisions for Admit, Deny or Wait-list after the second read. The other two–thirds are shelved for Admissions Committee review.
• Committee meetings are small gatherings, usually with an Admissions Counselor presenting and several senior staff members asking brief questions. During these meetings, the role of the Admissions Counselor is to positively advocate for the applicants. The Committee ensures that the correct number of students are enrolled in each program, and that our new class reflects the relative talents of our applicant pool from violinists to defensive tackles.
• During Admissions Committee meetings, final decisions are made for applications. Those decisions are then entered into the computer which generates the letters that land in your mailbox in December (Early Decision I), February (Early Decision II), or April (Regular Decision).
• Admitted Regular Decision applicants have until May 1 to notify Vanderbilt of their intention to enroll. After nearly six months, our team of 25–30 staff have narrowed our class to the 1,600 new Commodores who will move their lives to Nashville the following August.