Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Nicholas Zeppos breaks down the university
As the estimated cost of a Vanderbilt student’s yearly education hovers around $47,302, it is a well-known fact that the college experience comes with a hefty price tag. However, while students pay this amount year after year, many do not know how exactly their tuition is allocated.
While tuition is undoubtedly high, it pays only 50-60 percent of the cost of educating a student at Vanderbilt, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Nicholas Zeppos said.
The difference is covered through grants, gifts to the university and Vanderbilt’s endowment. In this year alone, Vanderbilt has invested around $511 million in its students—57 percent coming from tuition.
“Small classes and a low student to faculty ratio are only a few examples of an expensive investment that makes Vanderbilt so great,” Zeppos said.
Of the $47,302 cost estimate, $32,620 is set aside for tuition, $7,100 for housing, $3,790 for meals, $1,104 for books, $820 to pay the student activities fee and $1,868 for personal expenses.
Given the expense, Zeppos emphasized the importance of providing financial support for students.
“Almost 60 percent of Vanderbilt undergraduates are on some kind of scholarship received from the university,” he said.
“Vanderbilt is one of a few schools that accepts students on a ‘need blind basis,’” he said.
“That means we admit you to Vanderbilt based purely on your academic record, activities and your ability to be a great student at Vanderbilt. We then commit to providing funds to meet the needs of those who cannot afford to attend without the award of a scholarship.”
Students’ tuition, along with grants and gifts, predominantly helps support faculty, student scholarships, care, maintenance and construction of academic buildings, utilities and administrative costs.
When setting the tuition rate for the academic year, many factors are considered.
“The most important factor is providing the best education and experience for our students,” Zeppos said. “This includes the best faculty, facilities and scholarships.”
Another major focus of the process is “affordability and access, which looks to whether we are enrolling the best students regardless of socioeconomic background.”
While the tuition of Vanderbilt’s peers plays some role in setting the rate of tuition, it is not the ultimate decision maker.
“Your college years are the best years of your life,” Zeppos said. “Education is so important that the more people Vanderbilt provides for, the better the Vanderbilt community and society as a whole will be.”
Last year, Vanderbilt’s tuition and fees rose at a 5.5 percent increase. In comparison to other private research institutions in the American Association of Universities, Vanderbilt had the 14th highest tuition increase.
According to documents supplied by Zeppos, schools like Rice University and the California Institute of Technology had tuition increases of 13.6 percent and 15 percent, respectively.
Other private AAU institutions with higher increases than Vanderbilt also have endowments that exceed Vanderbilt’s $3 billion—universities such as University of Pennsylvania with an endowment of $4 billion and a 5.5 percent increase.
