Vanderbilt Will Give Qualifying Nashville Public School Students Free Education

• The Nashville Vanderbilt Scholars program covers direct costs of attendance like tuition, fees, housing, and meals.
• Vanderbilt will also give scholars a $6,000 stipend for either their second- or third-year summer to compensate for internship costs.
• Vanderbilt is lending expertise to counselors, teachers, and administrators to help students prepare for college.
• Vanderbilt expanded its no-loan Opportunity Vanderbilt program in February to offer free tuition to all students from families making $150,000 or less.

Vanderbilt University wants more students from Nashville to attend, so it's giving scholarships to students from Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) for 2025.

The private university in Nashville announced a partnership with MNPS on May 1. It will cover all direct costs — including housing and meals — for students eligible for the Pell Grant or students from families making $100,000 or less.

All qualifying students must decide to enroll in the university through Early Decision I or II, a binding acceptance to the university.

The Nashville Vanderbilt Scholars program will also give qualifying students a $6,000 stipend for either their second- or third-year summer to compensate students' summer internship costs.

"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 press release.

"Nashville Vanderbilt Scholars makes Vanderbilt more accessible to qualified local students, and this partnership with MNPS will also help more students in general get critical mentoring and information so that they can successfully apply to a college that is right for them."

Vanderbilt is also helping MNPS students navigate college prep and admissions for any college by collaborating with counselors, teachers, and administrators.

This is the second time this year Vanderbilt has increased accessibility for students based on their family's income. In February, the university expanded its no-loan Opportunity Vanderbilt program to award full-tuition scholarships to all students from families making $150,000 or less.

Private universities such as Duke University and Princeton University, and many public colleges nationwide are removing financial barriers for qualifying students.

In the Ivy League, Princeton, Harvard University, and Yale University offer free education for students from families making at most $100,000.

Duke offers free tuition to qualifying students from the Carolinas, while others offer free tuition to all financially qualifying students.

Some schools also offer free tuition to undocumented and Native American students.