MBA FAQ

Filing of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is the first step in applying for federal financial aid. The FAFSA may be completed as early as February. You will receive a Student Aid Report (SAR) for your verification. Financial aid awards will be determined based on the information supplied on the FAFSA. A financial aid package will be calculated including any Vanderbilt MBA scholarships, Federal Direct Stafford Loans and a Federal Direct Graduate Plus loan to meet the cost of education or academic budget for the year.

The loan application paperwork is usually available in the fall of the year prior to enrollment. Visit Vanderbilt University's financial aid website for details.

Most students find that life as a Vanderbilt MBA student is very demanding. Classes, group work, individual study, the career search, student organizations, guest speakers, recreation and social events are time-consuming activities, but they are an important part of the Vanderbilt MBA experience. As a result, most students do not work while classes are in session. Those who wish to work have several options to help fund their education and gain valuable experience. U.S. citizens, permanent residents and eligible non-citizens may apply for graduate assistant positions. Opportunities to work with professors and administrators are posted at the beginning of each academic year. Students may work up to 20 hours per week, but most jobs require only 10 to 15 hours and offer flexible schedules. International students may NOT work off campus during the first nine months of their program as governed by the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration. Thereafter, authorization to work off-campus is required for summer internships or during the academic year. There may be other opportunities for employment on campus and outside of the business school. For more information, you should contact Vanderbilt's Student Employment Office, which is part of the Office for Student Financial Aid. In the past, some Vanderbilt MBA students have lived on campus and worked part-time as advisors or supervisors in one of the residence halls or international houses. To learn more about this option, contact the Office of Housing & Residential Education.

Yes, all students are required to have a computer. Our IT department will assist you with installing the programs you will need.

In order to qualify for the Federal Direct Stafford Loan Program, you must complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. The Title IV code for Vanderbilt is 003535. Completing your federal income tax return first is recommended. Financial aid is always determined by the federal income tax information filed for the previous year.

Contact the Office of Student Financial Aid, Vanderbilt University, 2309 West End Avenue, Nashville, TN 37203-1725 or email the Office of Student Financial Aid; telephone 615.322.3591 or 800.288.0204; or fax 615.343.8512. General office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM CT. Melinda Nixon is the Owen Financial Aid Officer, and you may reach her by calling her office at 615.322.3591 or by emailing her directly.

Scholarships range from $5,000 per year to full tuition. They are renewed automatically for your second year as long as you maintain a 3.0 grade point average.

Vanderbilt requires that all students, spouses and dependents have health care coverage. The detailed costs, forms and form completion/submission deadlines are all available on the Vanderbilt Student Health Website.

Click here for the current estimated program cost of education for a single student during the nine-month academic year. For your second year of study, you should anticipate a four percent increase in tuition, fees and living expenses. The Vanderbilt Board of Trust approves the budget every July.

Federal Direct Unsubsidized Graduate Stafford Loans have a fixed interest rate of 6.8 percent and the Federal Direct Graduate PLUS loan has a fixed interest rate of 7.9 percent.

Students can purchase parking passes at the Office of Traffic and Parking in Wesley Place Garage, across the street from Owen on Scarritt Place. Click here for cost and other information about Traffic and Parking at Vanderbilt. Most Owen students choose to purchase a Zone 2 general permit, which allows them to park in any unreserved Zone 2 parking space. There are Zone 2 surface lots and two Zone 2 parking garages in the immediate area of the Owen building.

All scholarships are awarded during the application process to incoming students. While the school has given out small cash awards to certain outstanding first-year students in the past, you should not rely on future scholarships/awards for funding.

Subsidized Direct Federal Stafford Loans are limited to U.S. citizens and permanent residents only. Unsubsidized Federal Direct Stafford Loans and Federal Direct Graduate PLUS Loans are non-need-based loans for U.S. citizens and permanent residents only. The borrower is responsible for the interest on these loans as soon as the loan is disbursed. Private alternative loans are available for all students. A number of major lending organizations offer loan programs to qualified borrowers. A listing is available at the Office of Student Financial Aid. The student may borrow up to the cost of education minus any financial aid. International students can use this resource if a qualified U.S. citizen or permanent resident serves as a co-signer. International applicants may borrow from Prodigy Finance or MPower Financing, without a co-signer. The two may be compared by viewing Vanderbilt’s Office of Financial Aid’s private alternative loan options information and clicking on FASTChoice to filter. For more information, visit Prodigy's website and MPower Financing website.

International students may apply for a private alternative educational loan, with a U.S. citizen or permanent resident as a co-signer, for an amount up to the total cost of education. Please contact the Office of Student Financial Aid for additional information. Or you may apply directly to Prodigy Finance or MPower Financing which does not require a co-signer.  The two may be compared by viewing Vanderbilt’s Office of Financial Aid’s private alternative loan options information and clicking on FASTChoice to filter.

In order to qualify for federal financial aid, you must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident. Federal financial aid includes the Federal Stafford Loan Program. International students may apply for a private alternative educational loan, with a U.S. citizen or permanent resident as a co-signer, for an amount up to the total cost of education. Please contact the Office of Student Financial Aid for additional information. Or you may apply directly to Prodigy Finance or MPower Financing Loan, which does not require a co-signer.

All admitted applicants are automatically considered for scholarships awarded by Owen. A separate application is not required for scholarship consideration. Selection criteria are based on many of the same factors evaluated for an admissions decision: academic performance, GMAT scores, quality of work experience, leadership potential, and personal characteristics demonstrated through the essays, interviews, and recommendations. There are three diversity scholarships that require a supplemental essay. Scholarship decisions are communicated at the same time as the admissions decisions. More details are available here.

No. At the present time, there is no campus housing for graduate students. For more information, please visit Vanderbilt University's Housing Office. Students who live close to Vanderbilt generally walk or bike to campus. There are restaurants and shops in the West End and Hillsboro Village areas and also within walking distance of campus. If you choose to live farther from campus, having a car would be helpful, although many students rely upon taxis, Uber, or Lyft to get around. Most students have cars, but this is a personal decision. Find out more about Nashville's cost of living here.

No. Most top business schools do not accept transfer students or transfer credits. If we do admit an individual who is already enrolled in another full-time MBA program, we will not accept transfer credits. The student will be expected to complete all 62 credits required for the Vanderbilt MBA degree.

The Admissions Committee considers each candidate individually. Admission is always based on individual credentials.

We seek outstanding candidates regardless of the application round. However, space and scholarships are limited, so it is wise to apply as early as possible. Applying earlier means that you will receive an admissions decision earlier, leaving you more time to plan your transition to the Vanderbilt MBA program.

In exceptional situations beyond the candidate's control, the Admissions Committee may offer a deferral. For example, all deferral requests for U.S. military personnel will be approved. Otherwise, deferrals are on a case-by-case basis. If a deferral is refused, candidates must decline an offer of admission and reactivate the application for admission and financial aid consideration the following year.

We will only utilize the highest score when making an admissions decision.

All International applicants are required to submit a test of English language unless you qualify for a waiver. If you are requesting an English test waiver you must select your qualification on the application under the test score section of the international application. Below are the options you may choose when completing your application. If you qualify the item will be removed from your applicant status page requirements. The Admissions Committee has the option to request further information to review your application and waiver request. English Test Waiver: 1. I have earned an undergraduate degree in a country where the official language is English (not just an English-speaking institution or just a country where English is spoken.) 2. I have lived and worked, for the past two or more years, in a country where the official language is English (not just a country where English is spoken). 3. I have scored in the 90th percentile or higher on the verbal component of the GMAT or GRE.

We highly recommend a minimum of 100 on the iBT TOEFL and 7 overall with balanced section scores on the IELTS.

The DuoLingo English test does not replace the TOEFL or IELTS exam however you are welcome to submit DuoLingo results as a way to strengthen your application in addition to either the TOEFL or IELTS.

We recommend that you take the GMAT or GRE before submitting your application so that you are satisfied with your scores and can record your scores on your application. No admissions decision will be made until all components of the application have been submitted, including the official GMAT or GRE score. Applicants often retake the GMAT or GRE in an attempt to improve their score, and if you do this, you must email mbaappstatus@vanderbilt.edu to report your new intentions and test date. If you submit different test results, we will consider and report your best overall performance based on the total score. If your scores are below average, we strongly recommend that you retake the test, prior to submitting your application, to increase your chances of admission.

It is not recommended to submit more than two letters of reference, unless a third recommendation will shed light on another aspect of your profile.

It depends. The availability of hosts, suitability of classes, number of visitors and other demands on our resources often make it difficult to arrange for you to attend more than one class during your campus visit. Our graduate assistants will work with you to make sure you get the most out of your visit to Vanderbilt.

Click here for directions to Nashville and Vanderbilt. Click here for a campus map.

Our guests usually wear business professional attire when interviewing. Otherwise, most campus visitors wear business casual attire.

During a personalized campus visit, you will be introduced to a student host, who will take you to his or her class, introduce you to faculty and fellow students and accompany you to lunch. After lunch, you can participate in a small group discussion with a member of our Career Management Center. You can arrange an evaluative interview or information session with a member of the Admissions Committee as a part of your visit.

Many applicants consider it ideal to complete an admissions interview while visiting campus; however, it is not required. You may skip the evaluative interview during your visit, or you may replace it with an informational meeting with a member of the Admissions Committee. When limited interview slots are available, priority is given to the most competitive applicants.

The interview is an important component of the application and provides you an opportunity to share your story. Through the interview, we hope to hear more examples of the types of experiences you have had in both your personal and your professional life and to get a sense of your demonstrated record of achievement, your interpersonal and communication skills and your motivation for seeking an MBA degree.

Your application will be evaluated without the interview, and we will contact you by email with instructions for scheduling an interview if you are a competitive applicant. For candidates who have not completed an interview, we allow two weeks for processing and preliminary review after each deadline, then four weeks for those candidates to complete their visits and interviews and another two weeks for final decisions. You may hear sooner than the published notification deadline. After the fourth round of admissions, decisions are made on a rolling basis.

The application fee for the full-time MBA program is $200.

Applicants may be placed on the waiting list if the Admissions Committee wants to defer its final decision to a later date. If the Admissions Committee has specific concerns that may be addressed by providing additional information, a member of the admissions team will reach out to you in order to provide you with this feedback. In recent years, the Admissions Committee has admitted a number of candidates from the waiting list to help manage the size of the incoming class. We do not rank waiting list candidates nor can we predict the likelihood of admission. It may be a matter of weeks or months before a decision can be made. We will keep candidates on the waiting list as long as they remain interested and as long as there is still a reasonable chance of admission, right up until the start of Orientation if necessary.