Vanderbilt University

What the IPEDS & College Scorecard Data Shows for Vanderbilt University

Vanderbilt University operates as a private nonprofit institution located in Nashville, Tennessee (city: large), with a total reported enrollment of 7,208 students of which 7,285 are undergraduates. Institution-level records in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) classify each school by Carnegie category, ownership sector, and urban/rural locale, which is how this profile’s peer group and cost cohort are determined. Vanderbilt University is categorized as “15” under the Carnegie classification system, a meaningful signal when comparing like-to-like institutions.

Selectivity and financial signals give context to what applicants can expect. The reported admission rate is 5.9%, drawn from the most recent IPEDS Fall enrollment survey, with an average SAT of 1,549 and an ACT midpoint of 35. The average net price after grants and scholarships is $15,846, with published in-state tuition of $67,498 and a Pell grant recipient share of 20.2%. Median federal student debt at graduation is $14,000, drawn from the U.S. Treasury-matched College Scorecard file.

Outcomes reveal whether the investment pays back. The 4-year completion rate is 93.1%, and the first-year retention rate is 96.3%. Graduates earn a median of $91,565 ten years after enrolling, compared with $73,909 six years post-enrollment. Within three years of entering repayment, 84500.0% of borrowers are making progress on their federal loans, and 82.4% of graduates earn above the high-school threshold. Treating these numbers as a single snapshot alongside the cost cohort is the standard approach for evaluating ROI under the College Scorecard methodology.