Tennessee State University
Public Research University in Nashville, TN. Six-year graduation rate 35%. Median 10-year earnings $42,730.
Students who entered Tennessee State University land at a median of $42,730 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. Completion is the weak point: 35% graduate within six years. Graduates leave owing a median of $27,000 — a substantial load to service on these earnings. It also moves people — 2.9% of students climb from the bottom fifth of the income distribution to the top.
Earnings: College Scorecard, median ten years after entry across students who received federal aid — completers and non-completers alike.
- ✓ 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
- ! Debt-to-income ratio 0.63 — elevated (above 0.60)
- ! Graduation rate 35% — below national average
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 70% puts Tennessee State University on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. 9,660 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. Only 13% of admitted students enroll — the great majority of admits go elsewhere or nowhere. The score bands below rest on the 33% of enrolled first-years who submitted an SAT score — a self-selected group, and not a cutoff.
Test score bands (middle 50% of submitters)
These bands describe the enrolled first-years who submitted a score, not the entering class. Where most students apply test-optional the submitters are a self-selected, higher-scoring group.
| Test | 25th–75th percentile | Submitted |
|---|---|---|
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading | 460–540 | 291 (33%) |
| SAT Math | 420–510 | |
| ACT Composite | 16–21 | 576 (65%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Tennessee State University →Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 35% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. 33% first-year retention is low enough to be the defining risk of enrolling here. The 30% transfer-out rate is high enough that a large share of this school's students are really passing through. A 13:1 ratio points to small classes and accessible faculty. This is a public four-year university, so read every rate on this page against that peer group specifically.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 6,498 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Students pay an average of $14,586 annually, well below typical undergraduate net price. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($15,005 versus $20,099), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. 74% of students receive grant aid, averaging $13,991 — common but not automatic. Federal borrowing reaches 48% of students.
Entering first-year students
A different, smaller group than the rates above: full-time students in their first year of college anywhere. The grant series here also excludes the "other sources" counted in the all-undergraduate figure, so the two are not comparable.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 1,734 students
Net price by family income
The same students as the headline above, limited to those who received Title IV federal aid — a narrower group, with a lower overall average. IPEDS publishes no combined figure across these bands, so they should not be averaged into one.
| Family income band | Average net price |
|---|---|
| $0–30k | $15,005 |
| $30–48k | $15,840 |
| $48–75k | $15,579 |
| $75–110k | $20,624 |
| $110k+ | $20,099 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 3,133 of these 6,498 students, totalling $18,746,371 — an average of $5,984 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Davidson County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.
HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026
Veterans & GI Bill
VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)