A private R1 research university in Nashville, TN, admitting 5.86% of applicants with an average net price of $15,846.
Nashville, Tennessee
Vanderbilt University is a private R1 research university in Nashville, Tennessee, founded in 1873. It enrolls 7,208 undergraduates and 6,354 graduate students across four undergraduate schools: the College of Arts and Science, the School of Engineering, the Peabody College of Education and Human Development, and the Blair School of Music.
Social sciences, engineering, biology, and education account for the largest shares of bachelor's degrees. Vanderbilt holds a Doctoral University: Very High Research Activity (R1) Carnegie classification and is accredited through the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC). Vanderbilt is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required.
Official website: vanderbilt.edu
UCD scores every college on four pillars: Outcomes, Value, Affordability, and Selectivity. Within peer group A (four-year selective institutions), Vanderbilt scores 90.15 overall, rated Excellent. Selectivity scores 99.17, reflecting a 5.86% admit rate that places Vanderbilt among the most selective universities in the country. Value scores 93.92, driven by an average net price of $15,846 that is exceptionally low for an institution this selective. Affordability scores 44.43. All scores use verified federal data only.
Vanderbilt is among the most selective universities in the country, admitting 5.86% of applicants, a rate comparable to or lower than several Ivy League institutions. Vanderbilt is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Students who submit scores typically average 1,549 on the SAT, with the middle 50% ACT range between 34 and 35.
Vanderbilt uses the Common App with required supplemental essays; applicants choose the school they are applying to (College of Arts and Science, Engineering, Peabody, or Blair). The Early Decision deadline is November 1 (binding); the Regular Decision deadline is January 1. Blair School of Music requires an audition in addition to the standard application.
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether Vanderbilt University is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Vanderbilt charges $67,498 in tuition plus $22,054 in room and board, bringing the estimated total cost of attendance to approximately $92,000 before aid. Vanderbilt meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for admitted domestic students, with no loans in aid packages. The average net price after all grants and scholarships is $15,846, among the lowest at any university with an admit rate below 6%. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $3,414. For families earning between $30,001 and $48,000, the net price averages $1,876. For families earning between $75,001 and $110,000, the net price averages $12,153. For families earning above $110,000, it averages $45,145.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Application fee: $50 (one-time, due at submission)
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
Vanderbilt completes the large majority of the students it enrolls. The six-year graduation rate is 93.54% for full-time, first-time bachelor's-seeking students. The four-year rate is 88.31%, and first-year retention stands at 96.38%. Vanderbilt's federal loan rate of 9.56% is among the lowest of any selective private university, comparable to Brown and Princeton, and reflects the no-loan aid policy reaching a meaningful share of enrolled students.
Vanderbilt graduates earn above the national median for private research universities. Median earnings are $73,909 six years after first enrolling and $91,565 at ten years. At the ten-year mark, 91.27% of former students earn more than a typical high school graduate. The ten-year earnings figure is lower than at peer institutions like Penn ($111,371) or MIT ($143,372), partly reflecting Vanderbilt's higher concentration of graduates in education (Peabody), healthcare, and non-profit sectors. The 9.56% federal loan rate and median debt of $14,000 are strong indicators that the no-loan aid policy is broadly effective.
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Vanderbilt enrolls 7,208 undergraduates on its campus in Nashville, Tennessee. White students account for 39.05% of undergraduates; Asian 18.58%, Hispanic 11.36%, and Black 9.23%. Twenty percent of undergraduates receive Pell grants, and 12.23% are first-generation college students. Nashville is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States, with a booming healthcare, music, technology, and financial services sector. Vanderbilt Medical Center is one of the leading academic health systems in the South and provides substantial clinical and research opportunities for health sciences students.
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at Vanderbilt University. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
Vanderbilt University offers an extensive catalog of programs: 170 distinct programs across 24 majors. Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings. Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
Vanderbilt operates at a 7:1 student-to-faculty ratio, comparable to most Ivy League institutions. 84.73% of instruction is delivered by full-time faculty. Instructional spending per full-time equivalent student is $34,184 per year. The endowment stands at $10.25 billion, substantial for a university outside the Ivy League, and funds the no-loan financial aid policy alongside research and facilities. Vanderbilt Medical Center, Owen Graduate School of Management, and Vanderbilt Law School are graduate programs that contribute to the university's research and alumni network strength.
1,302 instructional faculty across 6 ranks. The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
| Rank | Faculty Count | Share | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Professors | 484 | 37% | $212,287 |
| Associate Professors | 261 | 20% | $126,068 |
| Assistant Professors | 310 | 24% | $109,301 |
| Instructors | 37 | 3% | $67,164 |
| Lecturers | 191 | 15% | $73,563 |
| No Rank | 19 | 1% | $74,369 |
Vanderbilt's defining strengths are its selectivity (5.86% admit rate, Selectivity score 99.17), an average net price of $15,846 that is exceptional for a university this competitive, and a no-loan financial aid policy with a 9.56% federal loan rate to prove it. The Nashville location is a genuine career advantage in a booming city with major healthcare, music, technology, and finance industries. UCD 90.15 Excellent is among the highest in this peer group.
The trade-offs are relatively modest: ten-year earnings ($91,565) are lower than at Penn or MIT, reflecting Vanderbilt's higher share of education and health sector graduates; Affordability (44.43) could be better given the endowment size; and South is culturally distinct from Northeast and West Coast campuses, which matters to some students. Best fit for students who want Ivy-tier selectivity and prestige with a Southern city location, strong financial aid, and access to healthcare and education-focused professional programs.
The questions below address what students and families most commonly search about Vanderbilt: how selective admissions are, how financial aid compares to peer Ivy-level schools, what makes Nashville a distinctive location, and what graduates earn.
One federal dataset, 3,839 colleges. The median school costs $16,371 a year, admits 78% of applicants, and enrolls 1,259 students. The shape of US higher ed.
Across 1,645 four-year colleges, graduation rates climb steadily with selectivity, from 54% at open-admission schools to 93% at the most exclusive. The gap is real.
For-profit colleges post the highest median net price of any sector and the lowest graduate earnings. They cost more than private nonprofits and pay less than publics.
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