Vanderbilt University is a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. It has always been a top school, but over the last few years, it has exploded in popularity, which makes sense. From great academics to a very lively campus in the heart of Nashville to elite athletics, there is a lot to love about Vanderbilt.
Vandy is a very competitive school to get into. Last year, their acceptance rate was just 5.6%! The lowest acceptance rate in the history of the university! So, if you are considering applying to Vanderbilt, being a top candidate has never been more important. But how can you ensure that? We’re so glad you asked. Let's break down what it takes to be a top Vanderbilt applicant.
What does Vanderbilt look for?
Vanderbilt uses a holistic admissions process. This means they are looking at multiple factors when assessing your application. With a 5% acceptance rate, the short answer is you want everything to be as perfect as possible, but some factors count more than others. They break this down as part of a yearly document called the Common Data Set.
Pay close attention to the activities marked "very important" and "important." You want to make sure you absolutely eat in these categories.
Rigor, Class Rank, and GPA
The first thing Vanderbilt looks at is your academic transcript, and they assess it in a couple of ways. First, they see if you have the required units to apply. They have 18 required units and 21 recommended. Honestly, we really recommend doing all 21. Technically, you only need to do the 18, but come on... if you want to be a competitive applicant, you don't want to skimp on academics.
But just taking the classes isn't enough. You want to take as many classes as possible at a high level. This could mean AP, IB, honors, dual enrollment, etc. Taking higher-level courses speaks to academic rigor. You want to have a rigorous transcript to show that you are a student who pushes themselves academically while still maintaining a high GPA.
Which brings us to GPA. You want an excellent GPA. Over 40% of students had a 4.0 unweighted, and the average applicant GPA was 3.91% unweighted.
This means many applicants had over a 4.0 weighted. But the tl;dr for you, yes YOU, is that YOU want to have a super high weighted or high unweighted GPA.
And finally, Vanderbilt looks at class rank. If your school doesn't do class rank, don't worry about it. Only about 30% of applicants came from schools that did. However, if yours does, you want to be in the top tenth of your graduating class.
Even if your school doesn't rank, this can be helpful data. Think about your transcript. Is it serving "top of the class" realness? If it's not, what can you add so that it might? You want to look like someone who might be in the top tenth, even unofficially.
Test Scores
Vanderbilt is currently test-optional. However, if you do submit scores, they are considered "important." So should you? Short answer: yes. Long answer: yes, but with data. Around 61% of matriculated students submitted scores (this is actually lower than at a lot of other top schools… but it is still the majority of students). However, if you do submit scores, they should be above the 50th percentile.
This means better than the average applicant, and for Vanderbilt, the 50th percentile is very high. You might notice that some of the scores in the 75th percentile are perfect scores. This means over 25% of students submitted perfect scores in those categories. It's a lot to ask, but that is the level that Vandy is looking for.
Extracurriculars
Extracurriculars are doubly important because not only are they listed as "very important," but they are also an opportunity to show off your "talent/ability." Last year, 100% of admitted students "received one or more significant honors or held major leadership positions." This is because Vanderbilt is looking for extracurricular resumes that show leadership, talent, and commitment.
Whatever your interests are, you should pursue them with these ideals in mind. You want to take on leadership roles and commit to what matters most to you. On top of that, you want one of your interests to be academic and directly relate to what you want to major in at Vanderbilt.
For example, if you are hoping to study biology, your resume should have things like a biology summer program, an internship at a science foundation, and/or working with a professor in a local laboratory. You want to show that you are pursuing your academic interests outside of the classroom.
Essays
Essays (and recommendations) show off your personal qualities and characteristics and can really bring your application to life. You need to write a great Common App Essay. We have a ton of blogs on how to write a stellar Common App Essay and we think this one is especially helpful. But if it's all a little TLDR. Great Common App Essays do three things.
They tell a good story.
They showcase a couple of good personal qualities or characteristics.
They do the above in creative and well-written ways.
It might seem easy, but it’s harder than you think in just 650 words. If you are struggling, reach out, we would be happy to help.
Vanderbilt also has a supplement. It is pretty short, but that doesn’t mean that you don’t want to try your best to turn in a well-written and thought-out essay for it.
Think about applying ED
If Vandy is your top choice, it’s a good idea to apply early. Vandy offers two Early Decision options: ED 1 and ED 2. You still have to be a great candidate, but ED 1 is likely your best chance to get in.
We said that Vanderbilt has around a 4.6% acceptance rate but that wasn’t the whole story. During the ED their acceptance rate is more like 17.6% and during Regular decision their rate was more like 4.2%.
It’s hard to get into Vandy, but there are steps you can take to maximize your chances. You need to have great grades, scores, and more to get into Vanderbilt. If this all feels like too much we can help.
Want an expert on your side? Reach out here.