<p>The</a> Vanderbilt Profile | Undergraduate Admissions | Vanderbilt University</p>
<p>This one that they put on Facebook says average ACT was 32-35. <a href=“http://news.vanderbilt.edu/files/Infographic_first_year_2013.jpg[/url]”>http://news.vanderbilt.edu/files/Infographic_first_year_2013.jpg</a></p>
![http://news.vanderbilt.edu/files/Infographic_first_year_2013.jpg[/url]](http://news.vanderbilt.edu/files/Infographic_first_year_2013.jpg%5B/url%5D){kind=link}
<p>There was a comment on facebook that I could relate to:</p>
<p>Of all the numbers…only 1 matters. Congrats parents!</p>
<p>I continue to be impressed with Vanderbilt. And halfway through the first semester, my son could not imagine being anywhere else.</p>
<p>[The</a> New Gold Standard: Class of 2017 most competitive in school history - InsideVandy: Administration](<a href=“Inside Vandy: Vanderbilt University's student news source”>Inside Vandy: Vanderbilt University's student news source)
The New Gold Standard: Class of 2017 most competitive in school history
Posted: Wednesday, October 16, 2013 10:30 am | Updated: 10:37 am, Wed Oct 16, 2013.
Lucy Stone, news reporter | 0 comments
Only 12.7 percent of the 31,099 students who applied for a place in Vanderbilt’s Class of 2017 were offered admission, the lowest admittance rate in the school’s history. The number represents a 2-percent decrease from the previous year’s rate and makes Vanderbilt the ninth most selective school in the nation.
The yield rate, the number of admitted applicants who choose to enroll, also rose by about 1 percent, from 39.9 percent for the Class of 2016 to 40.7 percent for this year’s freshmen class, according to the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. In total, 1,613 students are in the Class of 2017.
Additionally, Vanderbilt’s overlap in terms of admissions with competitor schools has intensified in recent years. Duke University is still the No. 1 school Vanderbilt competes with to attract freshmen, but Yale has risen from being the No. 21 competitor to the No. 2 competitor, meaning admitted freshmen must increasingly choose between Yale and Vanderbilt. Harvard has risen from No. 10 to No. 3 in terms of overlap.
This year’s freshmen class is also record-breaking for its diversity. Minorities make up 33.5 percent of the class, up from 29.7 percent the previous year and representing an all-time high for the university. This number excludes international students, many of whom are recruited through Vanderbilt’s partnership with Education USA, a U.S. Department of State-supported network that advises students from other countries on applying to U.S. colleges and universities.
Scholastically, the Class of 2017 is diverse and distinguished. The 1,613 freshmen represent 1,073 different high schools. Sixty-four percent of the class attended a public high school, while 36 percent attended a private school. The class contains 261 National Merit Scholars, 25 National Achievement Scholars and 145 valedictorians or salutatorians. Among freshmen, 88.3 percent graduated in the top 10 percent of their high school classes.
The middle 50 percent of Class of 2017 scored between 1410 and a 1570 on the critical reading and math sections of the SAT. Standardized test scores have improved so dramatically that the range has shifted up by 100 points in the last 10 years: The Class of 2007’s middle 50 percent scored between 1250 and 1430.
Perhaps most impressive, however, is the level of student involvement outside of the classroom from this class. Eighty-seven percent were service leaders, 82 percent were academic leaders, 52 percent were athletic leaders or champions, 31 percent were fine arts leaders and 30 percent were student government leaders holding offices such as student body president or senior class president.
Statistics suggest that students who matriculate at Vanderbilt are happy with their choice. The university boasts one of the highest retention rates in the country, with a 97.2 percent first-to-second year retention rate. The university’s six-year graduation rate is 92.5 percent, also among the top in the country.
“The new six-year graduation rate is the highest in Vanderbilt’s history,” said Douglas Christiansen, vice provost for enrollment and dean of admissions. “This is critically important, as the six-year graduation rate is one of the major measures reported publically relative to national data benchmarks.</p>
<p>Wow, everyone wants to go to Vanderbilt now!</p>