Inside Cohen Hall, as photographed on Sept. 13, 2025. (Hustler Multimedia/George Albu)
COLLEGE-LEVEL CLASSWORK
A large majority of respondents reported taking advanced coursework during high school. Approximately 78% of students said they took at least one honors course. Advanced Placement courses were even more common among respondents, with about 85% reporting that they took at least one AP course in high school. In contrast, International Baccalaureate coursework was less common, with only around 12% of respondents reporting that they took at least one IB course. Dual enrollment courses were also common among respondents, with 40% of respondents having taken one in high school.
EXTRACURRICULARS
Students were also asked about the extracurricular activities they participated in during high school. Community service was the most reported activity, followed by academic clubs or athletics. Other common activities included paid work, student government, career-oriented internships or research opportunities and cultural or identity-based organizations, speech and debate, visual arts, journalism, theater, dance or religious groups.
Across most intended career tracks, pre-professional and career-oriented activities accounted for the largest share of high school involvement. Students interested in fields such as engineering, health, finance, law and business were especially likely to report participating in these activities prior to college. Civic engagement and service-oriented work remained consistent across career interests, while creative, media and athletic activities represented smaller shares of reported involvement.
For many students, these interests carried over into their first year at Vanderbilt, though often in adapted forms.
“I still volunteer, just in different ways — before I tutored. Now I volunteer at a hospital,” Shepp said.
Other students emphasized continuity, particularly academically aligned activities.
“I was involved in research in high school and I’ve continued that here,” Wang said.
CAREER INTEREST
HIGH SCHOOL TYPE BY CAREER
CAREER SECTOR INTEREST
The survey data also suggests that a student’s high school environment is correlated with their intended career path. Parochial school students were notably more prevalent in health fields, while private school students leaned toward finance and business. Public school students were the most evenly distributed across sectors.