Vanderbilt University
Private Research University in Nashville, TN. Six-year graduation rate 94%. Median 10-year earnings $91,565.
Ten-year median earnings of $91,565 are the headline number here, and they are strong ones. 94% graduate within six years, so most students who start here finish here. Graduates leave owing a median of $14,000 — modest by four-year standards.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ Debt-to-income ratio 0.15 — healthy (below the 0.40 threshold)
- ✓ Graduation rate 94% — well above the national average
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Admit rate 6% — heavily selective, limited transfer slots
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 6% means admission is the exception — plan accordingly. 45,409 students applied, a pool deep enough to make the acceptance rate meaningful. 61% of admitted students actually enroll, which is a high yield by national standards. 27% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the class.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 730–770 | 447 (27%) |
| SAT Math | 770–800 | |
| ACT Composite | 34–35 | 401 (25%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Vanderbilt University →Academics
A 94% six-year graduation rate is the strongest academic signal on this page. 96% of full-time first-years return for a second year — a healthy figure. At 8:1, students get materially more instructor contact than at a typical public university. As a private nonprofit four-year college, the relevant comparison is other four-year schools rather than the national average across all institutions. The undergraduate population is 7,152 — big enough for a real range of programs, small enough to navigate.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 7,143 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $25,186 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. The income table below is the number that matters — $3,414 at $0–30k versus $45,145 at $110k+. Grant aid reaches 68% of students at an average of $58,699. Federal borrowing is uncommon here at 10% of students.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 1,619 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $3,414 |
| $30–48k | $1,876 |
| $48–75k | $4,498 |
| $75–110k | $12,153 |
| $110k+ | $45,145 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 684 of these 7,143 students, totalling $4,183,995 — an average of $6,117 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Davidson County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)