Best Tennessee Colleges
Tennessee has 29 ranked four-year colleges, part of our national best colleges ranking. Rankings weigh admission scores, graduation rates, and selectivity using statistical data, not editorial picks.
Leading our 2027 rankings is Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, topping our list in Tennessee. The top rated public university is The University of Tennessee Knoxville. Also highly ranked: The University of the South, Rhodes College and Union University.
Compare tuition, acceptance rates, and enrollment across the colleges below. See how rankings are calculated on our methodology page. Sort by tuition, acceptance rate, or enrollment to find the school that fits you.
Vanderbilt University
- Private 4 Year
- Nashville, TN
-
5.0 | 5 reviews
- Jan 1 application deadline
Vanderbilt is a highly selective private university known for undergraduate education, music, and the sciences. The tree-lined urban campus is a designated arboretum in the heart of Nashville.
- SAT Range 1500-1570
- Avg GPA 3.89
- Acceptance Rate 6%
- Net Price $25,186
The University of the South
- Private 4 Year
- Sewanee, TN
-
4.5 | 2 reviews
- Feb 1 application deadline
Sewanee is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate English, creative writing, and environmental studies. The campus occupies a 13,000-acre domain on Tennessee's Cumberland Plateau.
- SAT Range 1260-1390
- Avg GPA NA
- Acceptance Rate 57%
- Net Price $34,815
Rhodes College
- Private 4 Year
- Memphis, TN
-
4.5 | 2 reviews
- Jan 15 application deadline
Rhodes is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate biology and international studies. The collegiate Gothic campus sits in a wooded residential section of Memphis.
- SAT Range 1300-1486
- Avg GPA 3.99
- Acceptance Rate 50%
- Net Price $31,037
Union University
- Private 4 Year
- Jackson, TN
-
| 0 reviews
Union is a private Christian university known for undergraduate nursing, education, and Christian studies. The residential campus sits in Jackson in West Tennessee.
- SAT Range 1160-1390
- Avg GPA 3.8
- Acceptance Rate 60%
- Net Price $28,452
The University of Tennessee Knoxville
- Public 4 Year
- Knoxville, TN
-
4.8 | 5 reviews
Tennessee is a large public university known for undergraduate supply chain management, business, and nuclear engineering. The campus borders the Tennessee River in Knoxville.
- SAT Range 1200-1370
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.66
- Acceptance Rate 42%
- Net Price $21,648
Lipscomb University
- Private 4 Year
- Nashville, TN
-
4.0 | 2 reviews
Lipscomb is a private Christian university known for undergraduate business, education, and nursing. The residential campus sits in Nashville's Green Hills neighborhood.
- SAT Range 1160-1380
- Avg GPA 3.73
- Acceptance Rate 68%
- Net Price $27,695
Belmont University
- Private 4 Year
- Nashville, TN
-
4.0 | 4 reviews
- Jul 1 application deadline
Belmont is a private university known for undergraduate music business, commercial music, and entertainment programs. The urban Nashville campus has long ties to the city's recording and music industry.
- SAT Range 1160-1350
- Avg GPA 3.83
- Acceptance Rate 95%
- Net Price $38,578
Lincoln Memorial University
- Private 4 Year
- Harrogate, TN
-
| 0 reviews
Lincoln Memorial is a private university known for undergraduate nursing, education, and pre-veterinary studies. The rural campus sits near Cumberland Gap in the Appalachian Mountains.
- SAT Range 1000-1210
- Avg GPA 3.29
- Acceptance Rate 63%
- Net Price $21,447
Tennessee Technological University
- Public 4 Year
- Cookeville, TN
-
| 0 reviews
- Aug 1 application deadline
Tennessee Tech is a public university known for undergraduate engineering and technology. The campus sits in the college town of Cookeville on the Cumberland Plateau.
- SAT Range 1048-1310
- Avg GPA 3.63
- Acceptance Rate 76%
- Net Price $15,336
Christian Brothers University
- Private 4 Year
- Memphis, TN
-
| 0 reviews
Christian Brothers is a private Catholic university known for undergraduate engineering and business. The urban campus sits in midtown Memphis.
- SAT Range 1020-1380
- Avg GPA 3.67
- Acceptance Rate 87%
- Net Price $16,754
Fisk University
- Private 4 Year
- Nashville, TN
-
| 0 reviews
- Aug 1 application deadline
Fisk is a private historically Black university known for undergraduate natural sciences and music. The historic urban campus sits in Nashville and is closely tied to the Fisk Jubilee Singers.
- SAT Range 1140-1510
- Avg GPA 3.1
- Acceptance Rate 37%
- Net Price $18,595
Trevecca Nazarene University
- Private 4 Year
- Nashville, TN
-
5.0 | 1 reviews
- Aug 1 application deadline
Trevecca is a private Nazarene university known for undergraduate education, business, and ministry programs. Most students live on the urban Nashville campus.
- SAT Range 980-1235
- Avg GPA 3.43
- Acceptance Rate 69%
- Net Price $18,035
Southern Adventist University
- Private 4 Year
- Collegedale, TN
-
| 0 reviews
Southern Adventist is a private Seventh-day Adventist university known for undergraduate nursing and theology. Most students live on the residential campus in Collegedale near Chattanooga.
- SAT Range 1020-1300
- Avg GPA 3.59
- Acceptance Rate 65%
- Net Price $25,753
Maryville College
- Private 4 Year
- Maryville, TN
-
| 0 reviews
Maryville is a private liberal arts college known for undergraduate environmental studies and outdoor programs. The residential campus sits near the Great Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee.
- SAT Range 1018-1188
- Avg GPA 3.61
- Acceptance Rate 61%
- Net Price $21,469
East Tennessee State University
- Public 4 Year
- Johnson City, TN
-
4.0 | 1 reviews
ETSU is a public university known for undergraduate nursing, health sciences, and bluegrass music. The campus sits in the Appalachian Highlands of northeastern Tennessee.
- SAT Range 980-1200
- Predicted Avg GPA 3.33
- Acceptance Rate 86%
- Net Price $16,286
Freed Hardeman University
- Private 4 Year
- Henderson, TN
-
| 0 reviews
Freed-Hardeman is a private Christian university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, known for undergraduate biblical studies, ministry, and education. The residential campus sits in the small town of Henderson in West Tennessee.
- SAT Range 952-1087
- Avg GPA 3.75
- Acceptance Rate 60%
- Net Price $20,178
Middle Tennessee State University
- Public 4 Year
- Murfreesboro, TN
-
4.5 | 2 reviews
- Aug 15 application deadline
MTSU is a large public university known for undergraduate recording industry, aerospace, and music business programs. The campus is in Murfreesboro, a growing city about a half hour southeast of Nashville.
- SAT Range 1010-1230
- Avg GPA 3.64
- Acceptance Rate 69%
- Net Price $13,859
Tennessee Wesleyan University
- Private 4 Year
- Athens, TN
-
| 0 reviews
Tennessee Wesleyan is a small private Methodist university known for undergraduate nursing, business, and education. The campus sits in the small town of Athens in East Tennessee.
- SAT Range 960-1100
- Avg GPA 3.5
- Acceptance Rate 69%
- Net Price $15,125