New Vanderbilt scholarship gives Metro Nashville students a full-ride to college

Peyton Kennedy
·1 min read

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — A landmark program is helping pave a path for select Metro Nashville Public School (MNPS) students to attend Vanderbilt University, free of charge.

“If a student is qualified to attend Vanderbilt, we want them at Vanderbilt, and that is especially true of high-achieving students in our hometown of Nashville,” Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said in a statement.

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The program will launch for first-year students apply to enter Vanderbilt in fall 2025.

The scholarship will:

  • Cover the direct costs at Vanderbilt, including tuition, fees, housing and meals, for any MNPS students who are admitted to Vanderbilt through Early Decision I or II and who qualify for a Federal Pell Grant or whose parent income is $100,000 or less.

  • Provide a one-time summer stipend of $6,000 after the second or third year at Vanderbilt to offset costs associated with summer internships.

  • Increase the number of MNPS graduates in Nashville who are admitted to and enroll at Vanderbilt.

  • Collaborate with MNPS college counselors, teachers and administrators to prepare more MNPS graduates to be successful in the admissions process at selective colleges and universities.

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“We’ve changed our publications, our website, everything trying to help students understand that it you can come to Vanderbilt and get a world class education, and we have the funds here to support you in that,” said Douglas Christiansen, vice provost for university enrollment affairs and dean of admissions and financial aid at Vanderbilt University, in a statement. “[We] hope it connects to robust talent in Nashville high schools that would enrich our community at Vanderbilt,” said Christiansen.

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