First-year students move into Stambaugh House, one of 10 residence halls on The Martha Rivers Ingram Commons, in August. The 1,604 students making up the Class of 2023—chosen from a record 37,310 Vanderbilt applications—are among the most talented and diverse in the university’s history. They include 231 National Merit Scholars and 92 valedictorians or salutatorians, and represent the highest average SAT and ACT scores on record. More than 42 percent identify as students of color, and 17 percent are recipients of Pell grants. All held the highest level of leadership or scholarship in their high schools, or were engaged in national-level honor societies. Photo by Joe Howell.