Admissions Factors
What Vanderbilt Looks For
Vanderbilt rates 6 factors as very important: rigor of high school courses, academic GPA, class rank, application essay, extracurricular activities and character and personal qualities.
How Vanderbilt rates each factor
Each college sorts 18 factors into four levels on its Common Data Set.
Very important
Considered
Not considered
The numbers behind the class
Overall admit rate
5.4%
2,593 of 48,196 applicants
Early decision admit rate
14.1%
Early decision admits equal 53% of the class
Admitted from the waitlist
Not reported
Enrolled first-years had an average high school GPA of 3.90. 91.4% of those who reported a class rank were in the top tenth of their class.
Frequently asked questions
What does Vanderbilt look for in applicants?
Vanderbilt rates 6 factors as very important: rigor of high school courses, academic GPA, class rank, application essay, extracurricular activities and character and personal qualities.
Does Vanderbilt consider legacy status?
Vanderbilt rates alumni relation as "considered" in its 2025-26 Common Data Set.
Does Vanderbilt track demonstrated interest?
Vanderbilt rates the level of an applicant's interest as "not considered".
What is Vanderbilt's early decision acceptance rate?
Early decision: 874 of 6,202 applicants were admitted (14.1%), against 5.4% overall. Early pools include recruited athletes and other students with a strong tie to the college, so the gap overstates the boost for an ordinary applicant.
Source: Vanderbilt’s own Common Data Set 2025-26, Section C. Last checked 2026-10-08. The ratings are the college’s own description of its process. Counts are for one entering class.
