Vanderbilt University

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story.

The lessons we take from obstacles we encounter can be fundamental to later success. Recount a time when you faced a challenge, setback, or failure. How did it affect you, and what did you learn from the experience?

Reflect on a time when you questioned or challenged a belief or idea important to you or others. What prompted your thinking? What was the outcome?

Reflect on something that someone has done for you that has made you happy or thankful in a surprising way. How has this gratitude affected or motivated you?

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.

Describe a topic, idea, or concept you find so engaging that it makes you lose all track of time. Why does it captivate you? What or who do you turn to when you want to learn more?

Share an essay on any topic of your choice. It can be one you've already written, one that responds to a different prompt, or one of your own design.

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 have played a role in your personal growth, and how they will contribute to our campus community as you dare to grow at Vanderbilt.

Vanderbilt University's Peabody College of Education and Human Development has a rich tradition of excellence in teacher education, preparing students to pursue a research-grounded, practice-intensive program leading to licensure. Students pursuing careers in education spend as much time in the classrooms and hallways of Nashville's public schools as they do in seminar rooms on campus, observing and working in a variety of community and educational settings. What prior experience with and enthusiasm for the field of education will you bring to Vanderbilt? In your response, reflect on why you want to be an educator.