Do you currently feel isolated or stuck in a tiny, rural college town? Maybe you’re out in California or the Northeast, but you feel the South calling to you like a distant banjo on the wind. If you want to be in a bigger city (the Music City, as some say) and want a prestigious mid-sized school, then Vanderbilt might be the option for you.
Vanderbilt University, named for railroad tycoon Cornelius Vanderbilt (aka, the great-great-great grandfather of Anderson Cooper), is a private research university in Nashville, TN. We will be affectionately calling them Vandy in this post, because it is very cutesy, very demure. Vandy is a mid-sized school (about 7k undergrads and 7k grad students) known for strong liberal arts majors and their education school, but they also have great engineering programs as well. Vandy is popular with students interested in business, healthcare, and nuclear energy!! Hello, Oak Ridge!
Vanderbilt is also a fairly transfer-friendly school, more so than their peer institutions. They have a overall, first-year acceptance rate of 6%, but a transfer acceptance rate of 19%. Now, to put that in perspective, that’s about 550 accepted students – not a ton! Even though that’s about 1/3rd their incoming class size, Vanderbilt still has a retention rate of 96%, which leads us to believe that they hold space for transfer applicants in addition to filling the gaps left by students who leave. Admission as a transfer is still very competitive at Vandy, so let’s get into what you need to do to be a competitive applicant.
Requirements
Here’s what makes you eligible for a transfer app to Vandy:
“Students from accredited institutions are welcome to apply for transfer admission. Vanderbilt considers you a transfer student if you have completed the equivalent of at least 12 semester hours of credit after completing high school (high school degree or GED). Courses taken as dual-enrollment do not count towards these hours if those credits are being used to graduate from your high school program. Admitted transfer students are required to be enrolled for at least four semesters (60 credit hours) to earn a degree from Vanderbilt University.”
In addition to these requirements, you need:
The Common App (or Coalition App)
Two essays
College transcript
High School transcript
Transfer College Report
Two academic letters of rec (Vandy says “we strongly prefer that at least one letter is from a college professor/instructor”)
Application fee ($50)
Other things you might need:
Standardized test scores (optional but encouraged by us)
Program-specific requirements, mostly for the Blair School of Music
In addition to these requirements, Vanderbilt lays out what it would like to see from you:
“Admission to Vanderbilt as a transfer student is highly competitive and based on a number of factors, but it all begins with your academic performance. Typically, admitted transfer students have a GPA of a B+/A- or higher, competitive test scores (if submitted), involvement in their current college community, and a compelling reason why Vanderbilt is the right place for them to complete their undergraduate degree.”
“Since we are a residential campus community, our admission process gives preference to students who have been able to show full-time engagement and full-time enrollment in a similar campus community at their current institution. All parts of the application (academics, test scores if submitted, extracurricular involvement, essay, recommendation letters etc.) will be considered as we make our decisions. Because you apply to a specific school at Vanderbilt, fit for and available space within a particular school or academic program will also be considered.”
We bolded the important parts for you. They want to see what we always tell transfer applicants, at all schools, to prioritize. Good grades are key. While a B+ GPA may be a 3.3/3.4, you will be most competitive with the most perfect grades possible. If you are transferring from a less competitive, less prestigious school, scraping by with the minimum is not going to look great.
You also want to (and we know, you don’t love your current school or else you wouldn’t be doing this whole process) make sure you’re actively engaging in the community at your current school. This has the dual bonus of making sure you have a good community within your current environment in case your transfer bids don’t work out.
Writing
Vanderbilt has two questions, one of which is the community essay they ask of all first year students, the other is the standard transfer essay. Let’s get into it.
Vanderbilt University’s motto, Crescere aude, is Latin for “dare to grow.” In your response, reflect on how one or more aspects of your identity, culture, or background has played a role in your personal growth, and how it will contribute to our campus community as you dare to grow at Vanderbilt. Please provide your response in approximately 250 words.*
This is the same essay Vanderbilt asks first year students, and we have a very detailed guide on how to write it here. But let’s briefly go over how to answer this one.
You want to start by identifying a community you are a part of, and it could be one that reflects your “identity, culture, or background,” but it doesn’t have to be. Some students think they absolutely must talk about a marginalized identity in these kinds of essays, but if that’s not what you want to write about, you aren’t required to do so. You can get into college without it, especially if you don’t feel a super strong tie to that part of yourself. Also, community can be almost anything. It can be an organized group, a book club, your knitting group, your family, your friends, etc. Anything where you’re working and living with others.
You want to tell a story about your community. We know that sounds vague, but this prompt is like crazy broad. It might be a story of a time you helped solve a problem within your community, or an experience that taught you something about yourself. Once you tell your story, you want to connect it to something at Vanderbilt. If you talked about community service, find an org doing something similar. If you talked about your ethnic background, there might be a club or organization for other students with the same background.
Please provide a personal essay that addresses your reasons for transferring and the objectives you hope to achieve (Minimum word count 250 words, Maximum word count 650 words). You can upload your essay document in the Common App Personal Essay upload slot below.
This is the most standard transfer essay, and one you’ll see a lot of during your applications.
Start by identifying a defining moment (your origin story, if you will) that sparked your desire to pursue the major you want to study. Maybe it’s the time you discovered a passion for environmental science during a community project, or a course or mentor inspired you to dig deeper into your field of interest. From there, you’ll plainly declare your major, and say that you want to pursue it at Vanderbilt.
You also want to explain why your current school isn’t the right fit, but tread carefully—this isn’t the place to bash your school. Instead, frame it in terms of what you’re looking for and how your target school can provide it. For example, if you’re applying to Vanderbilt, focus on specific aspects like its unique programs, collaborative culture, or proximity to opportunities in a city like Nashville. Talk about how, maybe, your current school lacks the specialized resources or academic environment you need to thrive, and Vanderbilt offers exactly what you’re seeking to grow. Maybe you’re currently at a school that doesn’t offer the kind of cutting-edge research opportunities or specialized courses you’re looking for as a biology major. Talk about how staying at a smaller school with limited lab resources isn’t going to help you accomplish your goals, and how you’re drawn to Vanderbilt’s resources and opportunities for undergrad research.
Now, show Vanderbilt you’ve done your research by highlighting specific aspects of their program that align with your goals. Focus on upper-level courses that explore the things you’re interested in. To keep with the bio example, explain how these opportunities would help you build the skills and knowledge needed for your aspirations, whether that’s in medical research, biotechnology, or another specialized field.
After classes, you’ll want to write about a professor or two whose research aligns with your interests. Look for faculty members working in the areas you mentioned above. Mention how their research could enhance your learning experience—perhaps you’re inspired by their studies in genetic therapies or ecological systems, and you’re eager to contribute to their lab. Make sure to explain the “why,” not just say they seem cool. Of course, it seems cool, that’s why you’re writing about them!
Next, focus on extracurriculars by finding a few clubs or student groups you’d like to join. Make sure these align with what you’ve done before – it won’t make sense to join an org you have absolutely no experience with. You want to make sure to mention something academic (like a biology honors society or pre-nursing group), but feel free to throw something fun in the mix, too (i.e. you want to keep working at the school radio station or play intramural basketball).
Once you’ve laid out all your reasons and supporting details, wrap it up with a strong closing statement about how Vandy is the perfect fit for your academic and personal goals. Something to appeal to the base!
Now… wait
The Vanderbilt priority transfer deadline is March 15th, but they do accept applications through May (sometimes). Once you’ve submitted your application to Vanderbilt, double-check that all the other pieces are in place, and then... wait. Booooo, we know. But you’ve got this!
Best of luck!
If you need help with your transfer applications, reach out to us today.