Vanderbilt University’s MOSAIC Weekend Looks to Lock Up Accepted Black Students’ Commitment to Enroll Before Peer Institutions Get a Chance to Act

Each April many high-ranking colleges and universities encourage campus visits by black students who have been admitted but have not decided where they will enroll. But Vanderbilt has a unique program that may give it a leg up in beating its peer institutions in attracting the brightest young black students.

Each February, Vanderbilt sends out packets to 200 minority students who have applied during the regular admissions cycle. These 200 students are informed that they will be accepted into the university when official notices go out around April 1. But the students are invited to attend MOSAIC Weekend at Vanderbilt in March, weeks before they hear if they have been accepted at the other colleges and universities to which they applied.

In notifying these students early that they will be accepted and bringing them to campus, Vanderbilt seeks to persuade minority students to enroll at Vanderbilt before they even hear whether they have been accepted for admission at other institutions.

Students invited to the four-day program get to stay with current students in their dormitories, attend classes, and participate in cultural, social, and athletic events.

The MOSAIC Weekend appears to be a very successful event. Black enrollments to Vanderbilt have increased dramatically in recent years.

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