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Office of Financial Aid

Office of Financial Aid

 

  2. Expanded Aid Program

Expanded Aid Program

Need-based financial aid packages for all undergraduate students no longer include need-based loans. This initiative, begun in 2009, does not involve the use of income bands or "cut-offs" to pre-determine levels of eligibility and applies to all undergraduate students with demonstrated financial need who are U.S. citizens or eligible non-citizens. The end result is that, in addition to a realistic academic year earnings expectation, all need-based aid packages now include scholarship and/or grant (gift) assistance in place of need-based loans.

Vanderbilt is Affordable

Vanderbilt is committed to fostering an unparalleled educational experience that includes a community of talented and academically qualified individuals from all backgrounds. As a result, we do three very important things to make it possible for U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens from many different economic circumstances to enroll at Vanderbilt:

  1. We are need-blind in the admissions process. This means that a family's ability to pay for a Vanderbilt education is not a factor in our admissions process. Our goal is to admit students who will be academically successful and contribute to our community.
  2. We meet 100% of demonstrated financial need. With the additional investment that we make, many students often pay no more to attend Vanderbilt than they would pay to attend a college with a lower total cost.
  3. As stated above, financial aid packages for undergraduate students now include no need-based loans.

These three commitments place Vanderbilt among a small number of U.S. universities to adopt these philosophies and allocate the resources necessary to make a Vanderbilt education a reality for students and their families.