Vanderbilt University

Address

Office of Enrollment Services / ATTN: Admissions / Light Hall 303 / Vanderbilt University School of Medicine / Nashville, Tennessee USA 37232-0685

Overview

Savvy Rank
The Savvy Rank is a combination of admissions selectivity (MCAT, GPA, acceptance rate), research ranking, and primary care ranking.
17
School Type
Whether the school confers an MD or DO degree, is an international (Intl) school for Americans or is a Canadian (CA) school
MD
Public/Private
Private
Year Founded
1873
US News Rank - Research
18
US News Rank - Primary Care
31
Cost
Out-of-state tuition, from cheap ($) to obscenely expensive ($$$$$)
$$$
Weather Rating
How nice is the weather, from crappy () to excellent ()

City Size
< 4M

Getting In

Median GPA
3.92
Median MCAT
521
Research Rating
A combination of factors to show the school's research ranking and research opportunities, from very little research () to lots ()

Out-of-State Rating
Whether the school is very out-of-state friendly (), somewhat friendly (), not friendly (), or in-state only ()

International Friendly
How friendly the school is toward international applicants
Yes
Med School Class Size
Class sizes range from 40 students to 400




Application
AMCAS
Letters of Rec Required
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Secondary Essays

Secondary Essay Difficulty
How many essays, how long, and how unusual the prompts, from easy () to brutal ()

Screen Before Secondaries
Does the school read your primary before sending a secondary?
Yes
Typical Secondary Release Date
When does a school usually release its secondary relative to other med schools (though it may vary from year to year)?
Medium
Secondary Fee
$85
Other Tests

Interviews

Interview Type
Interview Invites Begin
Interview Format
MMI - Multiple Mini Interview; Traditional - two-way conversation
Traditional
Accepts Updates?
Does the school accept update letters?
Yes

Secondary Essay Prompts

Essay Topics ('23 – '24)

1. Please reflect on the upbringing, background, and experiences in your life that have shaped who you are as a person and will help define the person you want to be in the future. In other words, what makes you who you are? (800 words)

2. Tell us about a time when you interacted with someone who is different than you. What did you learn? What would you do differently? (600 words)

3. Everyone needs help at various times in their lives. Describe a time you asked for help and what you gained from that experience that has influenced your approach to asking for help. (600 words)

4. (Optional) : If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (200 words)

5. (Optional): If applicable, please describe how the COVID-19 outbreak affected your pathway to medical school. You may discuss any academic, personal, financial, or professional alterations to your plans. NOTE: Disclosing certain hardships or obstacles that have been faced during this time will not negatively affect an application. (200 words)

6. (Optional): How did you first become interested in Vanderbilt University School of Medicine? (200 words)"

Essay Topics ('22 - '23)

1. If applicable, please describe how the COVID-19 pandemic affected your pathway to medical school. You may discuss any academic, personal, financial, or professional alterations to your plans. NOTE: Disclosing certain hardships or obstacles that have been faced during this time will not negatively affect an application. (500 words)

2. If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (200 words)

3. Please reflect on the upbringing, background, and experiences in your life that have shaped who you are as a person and will help define the person you want to be in the future. In other words, what makes you who you are? (800 words)

4. Tell us about a time when you interacted with someone who is different than you. What did you learn? What would you do differently? (600 words)

5. Everyone needs help at various times in their lives. Describe a time you asked for help and what you gained from that experience that has influenced your approach to asking for help. (600 words)

Essay Topics ('21 – '22)

1. Please reflect on the upbringing, background, and experiences in your life that have shaped who you are as a person and will help define the person you want to be in the future. In other words, what makes you who you are? (800 words)

2. Tell us about a time when you interacted with someone who is different than you. What did you learn? What would you do differently? (600 words)

3. Everyone needs help at various times in their lives. Describe a time you asked for help and what you gained from that experience that has influenced your approach to asking for help. (600 words)

OPTIONAL QUESTIONS:

1. If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (200 words)

2. If applicable, please describe how the COVID-19 outbreak affected your pathway to medical school. You may discuss any academic, personal, financial, or professional alterations to your plans. NOTE: Disclosing certain hardships or obstacles that have been faced during this time will not negatively affect an application. (200 words)

Essay Topics ('20 – '21)

1. Autobiography: Write a brief autobiography. As completely and precisely as possible, give a picture of yourself, your family, and events you consider important to you. In doing so, identify the values that are of greatest importance to you. If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (1200 words)

2. Challenge: Please discuss a challenging situation or obstacle you have faced in the past. Why was it challenging? How did you handle it? Knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently? What did you learn? (500 words)

Essay Topics ('19 – '20)

1. Autobiography: Write a brief autobiography. As completely and precisely as possible, give a picture of yourself, your family, and events you consider important to you. In doing so, identify the values that are of greatest importance to you. If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (1200 words)

2. Challenge: Please discuss a challenging situation or obstacle you have faced in the past. Why was it challenging? How did you handle it? Knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently? What did you learn? (500 words)

Essay Topics ('18 – '19)

1. Autobiography: Write a brief autobiography. As completely and precisely as possible, give a picture of yourself, your family, and events you consider important to you. In doing so, identify the values that are of greatest importance to you. If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (1200 words)

2. Challenge: Please discuss a challenging situation or obstacle you have faced in the past. Why was it challenging? How did you handle it? Knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently? What did you learn? (500 words)

Essay Topics ('17 – '18)

1. Write a brief autobiography. As completely and precisely as possible, give a picture of yourself, your family, and events you consider important to you. In doing so, identify the values that are of greatest importance to you. If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (1200 words)

2. Please discuss a challenging situation or obstacle you have faced in the past. Why was it challenging? How did you handle it? Knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently? What did you learn? (500 words)

Essay Topics ('16 – '17)

1. Autobiography: Write a brief autobiography. As completely and precisely as possible, give a picture of yourself, your family, and events you consider important to you. In doing so, identify the values that are of greatest importance to you. If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (1200 words max)

2. Challenge: Please discuss a challenging situation or obstacle you have faced in the past. Why was it challenging? How did you handle it? Knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently? What did you learn? (500 words max)

Essay Topics ('15 – '16)

1. Autobiography: Write a brief autobiography. As completely and precisely as possible, give a picture of yourself, your family, and events you consider important to you. In doing so, identify the values that are of greatest importance to you. If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (1200 words)

2. Challenge: Please discuss a challenging situation or obstacle you have faced in the past. Why was it challenging? How did you handle it? Knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently? What did you learn? (500 words)

Essay Topics ('14 – '15)

1. Autobiography: Write a brief autobiography. As completely and precisely as possible, give a picture of yourself, your family, and events you consider important to you. In doing so, identify the values that are of greatest importance to you. If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation.

2. Challenge: Please discuss a challenging situation or obstacle you have faced in the past. Why was it challenging? How did you handle it? Knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently? What did you learn?

Essay Topics ('13 – '14)

1. Write a brief autobiography. As completely and precisely as possible, give a picture of yourself, your family, and events you consider important to you. In doing so, identify the values that are of greatest importance to you. If you have completed your undergraduate education, please comment on what you have done or have been doing since graduation. (500 word limit)

2. Please discuss a challenging situation or obstacle you have faced in the past. Why was it challenging? How did you handle it? Knowing what you know now, would you do anything differently? What did you learn? (500 word limit)

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