First-Year Families
Welcome to the Vanderbilt community!
Your student is about to embark on an incredible journey full of personal growth and self-discovery, as they work toward earning a degree.
This isn’t just a big change for your student — it’s also a major transition for your family. Vanderbilt Parents & Family Programs is here to offer support, guidance, and resources every step of the way. Reach out to us anytime: parents@vanderbilt.edu.
What communications you can expect to receive from Vanderbilt
In the coming months, you and your student will receive communications from several Vanderbilt offices. Please note that any email communication listed below will be sent to your student’s Vanderbilt email account, including bills.
Admitted Student Programs
Admissions offers several programs exclusively for admitted students including Anchor Day, webinars, and Vanderbilt & You events.
The Road to Vanderbilt
The Road to Vanderbilt is a comprehensive source of information specifically curated for first-year students and their families. It outlines the requirements you must complete prior to your arrival on campus, important guidance about your transition into the university, and the many opportunities and resources Vanderbilt has to offer. The Road to Vanderbilt 2023 edition will be coming soon!
Becoming a ‘Dore
Becoming a ‘Dore offers a wealth of information about living in The Commons, resources that Vanderbilt provides, and advice on how your student can succeed in college. Becoming a ‘Dore 2023 edition will be coming soon!
First-Year: Adjust to College
- Meet the Career Center coaches during walk-in hours at The Ingram Commons to learn more about their services
- Create a resume and have a coach review it
- Academics and Course Selection: Focus on exploring interests, values, and skills and completing AXEL (general education) requirements
- Take a seminar course to start thinking about your Immersion Vanderbilt project
- Explore co-curricular opportunities and get involved in organizations and clubs
- Create a profile on AnchorLink to learn more about the various groups on campus
- Visit the Global Education Office and plan for the best time to study abroad
- Make use of the great academic enhancement services on campus (tutoring, writing studio, study skills)
- Practice time management! The flexible schedule of college life can be hard to adapt to!
More to explore
Parents & Family Orientation
Orientation offers activities and programs for first-year students to introduce them to the living-learning communities of their houses and The Ingram Commons, the faculties and academic classes of their schools, the norms and values of the Vanderbilt community, upper-division students and their organizations, and Nashville. Additionally, there will be Parent and Family Orientation sessions for parents to learn about the intricacies of Vanderbilt University.
Checklist – What to Do and When to Do It
We realize there are a lot of things to check off your list when sending your student to college. Here is a comprehensive list of everything you and your student needs to do to set them up for success. The class of 2027 checklist will be coming soon!
Webinars
Dean Gresalfi of The Ingram Commons hosted two webinars to inform the Class of 2026 of important information for Move-In.
Watch a recording of the webinars below:
First-Year Housing FAQs
Connect on Social Media
Vanderbilt Parents & Families Group (Official)
Vanderbilt Parents & Family Association
Residential Colleges on Instagram
The Ingram Commons on Facebook
Room Measurements
Room sizes, dimensions, and shapes vary within buildings and among buildings. The measurements provided represent the range of room sizes on The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons. We recommend that students wait until after move-in to purchase items where exact room dimensions are required. We cannot honor requests to measure specific rooms.
Campus contacts
| The Ingram Commons
615-322-4948 |
Office of Student Accounts
615-322-6693 |
Office of Student Financial Aid and Scholarships
(615) 322-3591 or (800) 288-0204 |
Still need help finding what you’re looking for? We’ll be happy to point you in the right direction! Feel free to send us an email at parents@vanderbilt.edu.