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Most Selective Universities in Tennessee

Rankings based on government-verified data for qualifying institutions in Tennessee.

36 results
# Institution Tuition Avg Earnings Grad Rate Acceptance Rate
1 Vanderbilt University
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$63,946 $73,909 93% 6%
2 Nossi College of Art and Design
Private For-Profit TN ROI
$20,350 $28,099 49% 43%
3 The University of Tennessee-Knoxville
Public TN ROI
$13,484 $47,782 73% 46%
4 Union University
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$38,450 $45,505 69% 47%
5 Rhodes College
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$54,892 $48,898 83% 50%
6 The University of the South
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$53,698 $53,456 82% 51%
7 Johnson University
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$20,318 $35,649 64% 54%
8 King University
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$34,800 $52,248 46% 54%
9 Fisk University
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$24,298 $33,604 49% 58%
10 Lincoln Memorial University
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$26,150 $45,242 52% 59%
11 Tennessee Wesleyan University
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$29,264 $45,987 47% 59%
12 Tusculum University
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$28,500 $39,925 32% 60%
13 Maryville College
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$38,514 $39,305 50% 66%
14 Lipscomb University
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$38,824 $50,454 69% 67%
15 Southern Adventist University
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$25,590 $44,818 52% 67%
16 Cumberland University
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$27,840 $52,246 48% 67%
17 Baptist Health Sciences University
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$13,846 $59,224 56% 68%
18 Middle Tennessee State University
Public TN ROI
$9,506 $39,941 54% 68%
19 Carson-Newman University
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$34,700 $39,324 52% 68%
20 Trevecca Nazarene University
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$29,790 $46,065 58% 70%
21 Milligan University
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$39,350 $43,168 62% 70%
22 Lee University
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$22,690 $38,082 62% 72%
23 The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga
Public TN ROI
$10,144 $42,209 53% 77%
24 The University of Tennessee Southern
Public TN ROI
$10,506 $36,151 33% 83%
25 Tennessee Technological University
Public TN ROI
$10,084 $43,759 57% 83%
26 East Tennessee State University
Public TN ROI
$9,950 $38,704 52% 87%
27 The University of Tennessee-Martin
Public TN ROI
$10,208 $38,863 54% 87%
28 Christian Brothers University
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$37,300 $48,592 58% 88%
29 Freed-Hardeman University
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$25,000 $40,086 69% 91%
30 Tennessee State University
Public TN ROI
$8,568 $34,160 33% 93%
31 University of Memphis
Public TN ROI
$10,344 $40,921 49% 93%
32 Austin Peay State University
Public TN ROI
$8,675 $38,779 44% 96%
33 Belmont University
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$41,320 $42,770 72% 96%
34 Bethel University
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$18,168 $38,990 39% 97%
35 Le Moyne-Owen College
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$12,076 $25,992 21% 97%
36 Mid-South Christian College
Private Non-Profit TN ROI
$11,905 $0 N/A 100%

About This Ranking

This ranking is based on data from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard, which provides comprehensive information about colleges and universities across the country.

Institutions are ranked by most selective metrics using the most recently available data. Only institutions with complete data for the ranking criteria are included.

Frequently Asked Questions

The top Most Selective university in Tennessee is Vanderbilt University, followed by Nossi College of Art and Design. Rankings are based on U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data.

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