A graduating student shakes Chancellor Diermeier's hand, as photographed on May 10, 2024. (Photo courtesy of Vanderbilt University)
The majority of the Class of 2024, 59%, applied to the College of Arts and Sciences, but only 50% graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences. The other 9% transferred into other schools. Peabody College of Education and Human Development had the most transfers into their school.
COLLEGE SWITCH
Over 25% of the Class of 2024 were on a pre-professional track, with 22% of them being pre-law or pre-med. Half the Class of 2024 graduated with two majors, and 46% the Class of 2024 graduated with one minor. Almost 40% of the Class of 2024 dropped a major or minor at least once, with 9% dropping a major or minor four or more times. Angela Yan (‘24) majored in Asian American Studies and Public Policy and developed a passion for advocacy within AANHPI communities.
“The AAPI organizing I did and formally learning about AAPI issues as part of the program were definitely the most formative parts of my Vandy experience because it helped me realize that I want to make a career out of advocating for AANHPI communities, specifically in terms of health equity,” Yan said. “I also gained so much from the mentorship of the Asian American Studies faculty like Dr. Shaw, Dr. Sanchez and Prof He, and they not only helped me delve deeper into my academic interest in Asian American Studies but figure out how I could apply it to direct policymaking.”
MAJORS/MINORS
PRE-PROFESSIONAL
The majority of the Class of 2024 did not participate in Greek life, but 98% of the class participated in at least one extracurricular activity. Only 3% of the class participated in 10 or more extracurricular activities.
GREEK LIFE
EXTRACURRICULARS
JOBS/INTERNSHIPS
Over half the Class of 2024 had two or three jobs/internships during their time at Vanderbilt. Sasha Karamyshev (‘24) worked three jobs during her senior year. She served as a Library Student Assistant in the Resource Sharing Services department at Central Library, a teaching assistant for the Women and the Law sociology course and a research assistant for Dr. Holly McCammon, the chair of the Sociology Department.
“Processing interlibrary loan requests taught me about the lending and borrowing agreements we have with other universities and public libraries. This made finding niche or difficult-to-access materials for my own undergraduate research easier because I knew how to find, request and work with different types of primary and secondary source resources,” Karamyshev said. “Being a research assistant strengthened my database research skills by looking for primary source documents from early federal sexual harassment court cases. I built a really great relationship with the professor I worked with and have been able to continue working with her post-grad.”
Joanna Zheng (‘24) worked as an undergraduate research assistant for the Social Cognition Lab. In addition, she tutored local Nashville elementary students through Tutor Nashville and Brightpath Tutors.
“Being a research assistant served as a significant gateway to understanding the importance of social science research in context of developing novel approaches to human development. I also was able to familiarize myself with research protocols, IRB procedures and ethics, and that really helped me realize my passion for the field of child development,” Zheng said. “Tutoring cemented my desire to work with children in the future as well as supporting children — one of the most vulnerable populations — that come from marginalized backgrounds.”
The Class of 2024 experienced the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, including Zoom class and mask mandates. Zoom classes were mandated at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and then available optionally until March 2022. Only 3% of the class preferred Zoom classes, and over 58% preferred entirely in-person classes. About 60% of students supported mask mandates when they were required by the university, but no longer thought they were necessary. 13% of the class did not support mask mandates at any point during the pandemic.
ONLINE CLASSES
MASKING
Almost 70% of the Class of 2024 believed that Vanderbilt administration is not very responsive, and 46% of the Class of 2024 believed that VSG is not very responsive. About 30% of the class was satisfied with student counseling resources, and 42% was satisfied with the housing process.