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The Vanderbilt Difference

Although there are many, including ranking 51st in the Times of London’s ranking of the world’s best universities, here are five ways Vanderbilt University distinguishes itself from all other universities:

Affordability

We are surprisingly affordable. Not only were we ranked the 15th Best Value by U.S. News & World Report, we are one of only thirty colleges and universities that consider applications on a need–blind basis and meet full demonstrated need.   

Balance

The concept of “balance” permeates the undergraduate experience at Vanderbilt. Students pursue a variety of academics and activities along with a diverse student body. Our students come from all 50 states, more than 50 countries, and represent all races, religions, and a host of academic interests, athletic ability, viewpoints, and life experiences. At Vanderbilt, students will find similar peers but also those who challenge their perceptions and ideas.

Impact

Culturally and academically, Vanderbilt students, alumni, faculty, and staff are a remarkable community whose efforts reach far beyond our campus borders. Alternative Spring Break was founded at Vanderbilt. The 2006 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to alumnus Muhammad Yunus for promoting economic and social development in rural South Asia through small loans to entrepreneurs.

The Ingram Scholarship Program provides tuition and summer stipends to students who demonstrate a willingness to combine a business or professional career with a lifelong commitment to solving society’s problems. Our Mayfield Living/Learning Lodges enable groups of ten undergraduates to live together while engaged in a service project.

Nashville

We love our hometown of Music City, and evidently, others do as well. Nashville is consistently ranked among the country’s most livable cities. Only minutes from downtown, the Vanderbilt campus is a 330–acre oasis that has been designated a national arboretum. For more than a century, students have discovered that Nashville is a great home for four years and beyond.

Discovery

Vanderbilt’s ever increasing interdisciplinary approach means that learning here is not limited by traditional department distinctions. By removing those boundaries, we encourage the development of a community of scholars, even going as far as encouraging students to design individualized majors and engage in innovative and forward–looking centers such as the Curb Center for Arts, Enterprise, and Public Policy; Center for the Study of Religion and Culture; and Center for Medicine, Health and Society.