Vanderbilt Essays 2025-2026

Vanderbilt University Supplemental Essay Prompts: 2025-2026

Vanderbilt University recently released its supplemental essay for the 2025-2026 admissions cycle. In this article, we will explain exactly what they are looking for in responses from applicants, so you can write an essay that will get you admitted there.

1. Vanderbilt University’s motto, Crescere aude, is Latin for “dare to grow.” In your response, reflect on how one or more aspects of your identity, culture, or background has played a role in your personal growth, and how it will contribute to our campus community as you dare to grow at Vanderbilt. (250 words)

This is an essay unique to Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt is asking you to write about an instance where you had to "dare" to grow. The key word is dare. When you dare to do something, there is always a consequence. Thus, you should write about an instance in which you had to leave your comfort zone and grow in a personal way, in which doing so meant you'd face some consequence. For example, if all of your friends were saying something insensitive, perhaps you grew by standing up to them and risking losing them in the process. Or you developed convictions that put you in conflict with someone close in your life, and you stuck by those convictions. In your response, make sure to emphasize the consequences you were bringing upon yourself by growing in this particular fashion.

Once you show the reader, vividly and in the first person, a way that you dared to grow, by demonstrating something that required legitimate courage and shows your ability to differentiate yourself from others, you should describe how this more developed sense of identity would enable you to contribute to student clubs or spaces on Vanderbilt's campus. Make sure to mention specific clubs and student spaces, and be very specific about how you would contribute to them. Conclude by describing passionately what it would mean for you personally to contribute to Vanderbilt's spaces in the way you've described, given how you dared to grow.

If you want your college admissions essays to be the decisive factor that gets you into your dream school, schedule a free consultation with an admissions expert today to have all of your questions answered.