Built by MIT Lincoln Laboratory engineers, Berkeley, University of California admissions officers, and Ivy League counselors. Proud partner of The Haq Foundation.
AdmissionsOS

Best Colleges in Tennessee

The strongest colleges and universities in Tennessee, ranked by graduation rate and selectivity, with verified acceptance rates, net price, and test scores for this admissions cycle.

How this list is ranked

The strongest colleges and universities in Tennessee, ranked by graduation rate and selectivity, with verified acceptance rates, net price, and test scores for this admissions cycle.

Schools on this list 40
Source Federal data, same records as every school page

Admit rate, net price, and SAT in the table are for context. Rank order follows the method above, not those columns.

Rank School Admit Net price SAT
1 Vanderbilt University Nashville, TN 5.9% $15,846 1500-1570 See record
2 Rhodes College Memphis, TN 50% $28,585 1300-1486 See record
3 The University of the South Sewanee, TN 57% $27,872 1260-1390 See record
4 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville, TN 42% $18,976 1200-1370 See record
5 Lipscomb University Nashville, TN 68% $24,739 1160-1380 See record
6 Freed-Hardeman University Henderson, TN 60% $21,574 952-1087 See record
7 Belmont University Nashville, TN 95% $33,147 1160-1350 See record
8 Williamson Christian College Franklin, TN - - - See record
9 Union University Jackson, TN 60% $27,171 1160-1390 See record
10 Milligan University Milligan, TN 72% $21,365 1133-1268 See record
11 Lee University Cleveland, TN 71% $18,878 1040-1230 See record
12 Miller-Motte College-Chattanooga Chattanooga, TN - $23,958 - See record
13 Mid-South Christian College Memphis, TN 100% $10,172 - See record
14 Tennessee Technological University Cookeville, TN 76% $14,246 1048-1310 See record
15 Johnson University Knoxville, TN 65% $22,063 960-1110 See record
16 Christian Brothers University Memphis, TN 87% $9,854 1020-1380 See record
17 Middle Tennessee State University Murfreesboro, TN 69% $13,359 1010-1230 See record
18 Welch College Gallatin, TN - $25,263 - See record
19 Carson-Newman University Jefferson City, TN 90% $20,251 955-1215 See record
20 East Tennessee State University Johnson City, TN 86% $15,983 980-1200 See record
21 Trevecca Nazarene University Nashville, TN 69% $16,813 980-1235 See record
22 The University of Tennessee-Martin Martin, TN 88% $10,701 970-1210 See record
23 University of Memphis Memphis, TN 72% $12,397 915-1180 See record
24 The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Chattanooga, TN 81% $14,265 1013-1210 See record
25 Maryville College Maryville, TN 61% $19,360 - See record
26 Lincoln Memorial University Harrogate, TN 63% $20,406 1000-1210 See record
27 Bryan College-Dayton Dayton, TN - $20,614 - See record
28 Southern Adventist University Collegedale, TN 66% $24,345 1020-1300 See record
29 King University Bristol, TN 100% $22,347 - See record
30 Tennessee Wesleyan University Athens, TN 69% $14,836 1090 See record
31 Cumberland University Lebanon, TN 67% $18,759 - See record
32 South College Knoxville, TN - $17,858 - See record
33 Nossi College of Art and Design Nashville, TN 46% $24,044 - See record
34 SAE Institute of Technology-Nashville Nashville, TN - $24,700 - See record
35 Austin Peay State University Clarksville, TN 96% $9,735 843-1126 See record
36 Baptist Health Sciences University Memphis, TN 82% $11,212 1050 See record
37 American Baptist College Nashville, TN - $9,216 - See record
38 The University of Tennessee Southern Pulaski, TN 87% $12,798 905-1110 See record
39 Bethel University McKenzie, TN 60% $12,595 830-1120 See record
40 Tennessee State University Nashville, TN 70% $15,796 880-1050 See record