by our College Data Analytics TeamVanderbilt University is a private not-for-profit institution in Nashville, Tennessee enrolling 7,208 undergraduates. It accepts 6% of applicants and has an on-time graduation rate of 94%, above the national average of 33%. College Factual ranks it #15 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in its 2027 Best Colleges ranking (top 1%), and its Value for Your Money analysis rates it a Fair Price.
Source: IPEDS 2025; College Scorecard July 2026; College Factual rankings 2027. Data as of: July 2026.
Vanderbilt University ranks #15 of 5,159 colleges nationwide in College Factual’s 2027 Best Colleges ranking, placing it in the top 1%.
In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.
Vanderbilt University was awarded 1299 badges in the 2027 rankings.
According to College Factual’s 2027 analysis, Vanderbilt is ranked #15 out of 5,159 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 1% of all schools in the nation!
Within the state, Vanderbilt holds the #1 spot on the Best Colleges in Tennessee ranking.
See all of the rankings for Vanderbilt University.
Vanderbilt University has a very low acceptance rate of 6%, making it one of the most selective out of all the colleges and universities in the nation. It’s probably a good idea to apply to other schools in addition to Vanderbilt just in case you don’t make the cut.
About 27% of students accepted to Vanderbilt submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 730 and 770. Math scores were between 770 and 800.
Vanderbilt received ACT scores from 25% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 34 and 35.
Learn more about Vanderbilt University admissions.
At Vanderbilt, the student to faculty ratio is an excellent 8 to 1. That’s much better than the national average of 15 to 1. This indicates that many classes will probably be small, and students will have ample opportunities to work closely with their professors and classmates.
Another measure that is often used to estimate how much access students will have to their professors is how many faculty members are full-time. The idea here is that part-time faculty tend to spend less time on campus, so they may not be as available to students as full-timers.
The full-time faculty percentage at Vanderbilt University is 85%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.
The freshmen retention rate of 96% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Vanderbilt University enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.
The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Vanderbilt for first-time, full-time students is 94%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.
Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Vanderbilt University.
In the current academic year, there are 7,208 undergraduates at Vanderbilt.
Get more detailed information on the diversity at Vanderbilt University.
The average net price of Vanderbilt is $17,140. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.
| $0-30 K | $30K-48K | $48-75 | $75-110K | $110K + |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $3,414 | $1,876 | $4,498 | $12,153 | $45,145 |
The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Vanderbilt, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.
Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At Vanderbilt, approximately 10% of students took out student loans averaging $6,117 a year. That adds up to $24,468 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 1.3%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Vanderbilt University.
Yearly salaries vary depending on what you major in, but on average, bachelor’s degree recipients from Vanderbilt University make around $91,565 per year during the early years of their employment. That’s great news for Vanderbilt University students since it is 86% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.
See which majors at Vanderbilt University make the most money.
Vanderbilt University is an private not-for-profit institution found in Nashville, Tennessee. The location of the school is great for students who enjoy the amenities of city life. Get more details about the location of Vanderbilt University.
Get in touch with Vanderbilt University can be found below.
| Contact Details | |
|---|---|
| Address: | 2101 West End Avenue, Nashville, TN 37240 |
| Phone: | 6153227311 |
| Website: | www.vanderbilt.edu |
| Wikipedia: | en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vanderbilt_University |
| Facebook: | www.facebook.com/vanderbilt |
| Twitter: | twitter.com/vanderbiltu |
In the latest year of available data, students from 25 majors graduated from Vanderbilt University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.
| Most Popular Majors | Completions | Average Salary of Graduates |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-Disciplinary Studies | 5,193 | NA |
| Nursing | 463 | $103,887 |
| Management Sciences & Methods | 398 | NA |
| Computer Science | 355 | $101,714 |
| General Social Sciences | 307 | $56,276 |
| Other Interdisciplinary Studies | 295 | $27,160 |
| Economics | 270 | $72,741 |
| Mathematics | 196 | $76,609 |
| Law | 168 | $132,293 |
| Business Administration & Management | 139 | $128,494 |
158 students took at least one online class at Vanderbilt University.
Online courses are a great option for busy, working students as well as for those who have scheduling conflicts and want to study on their own time. As time goes by, expect to see more and more online learning options become available.
Learn more about online learning at Vanderbilt University.
Interested in comparing Vanderbilt? Match them up using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.
Footnotes
*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.
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