The University
of Tennessee-Chattanooga
Public College in Chattanooga, TN. Six-year graduation rate 50%. Median 10-year earnings $51,151.
Ten years after entry, the median The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga student earns $51,151 — a solidly middle-of-the-pack result for an undergraduate institution. The six-year graduation rate is 50%, meaning about one in two students who start do not finish. Median debt at graduation is $19,500, roughly typical for an undergraduate degree.
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
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 81% puts The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. The applicant pool is large — 10,494 in the most recent cycle — so the published rate reflects genuine competition rather than a small-sample quirk. Yield sits at 29% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. Read the score bands below narrowly: only 7% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score, and test-optional applicants are not represented in them.
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 | 513–620 | 163 (7%) |
| SAT Math | 500–590 | |
| ACT Composite | 20–26 | 2,328 (94%) |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga →Academics
Six-year completion sits at 50%, meaning about one in two students who enroll leave without finishing. First-year retention is 73% — the single largest point of attrition on this campus. The two rates sit near each other: few students who return for a second year are missing from the six-year completion figure. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 41% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled. The student-faculty ratio is 18:1 — typical, which in practice means large lectures early and smaller classes in the major.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 9,878 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Average net price after grant aid is $15,347 a year — mid-range for a four-year institution. Net price swings hard on family income here, from $9,876 at the $0–30k band to $19,137 at $110k+. 82% of students receive grant aid, averaging $10,063 — common but not automatic. 38% of students take federal loans, a middling borrowing rate.
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 · 2,359 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 | $9,876 |
| $30–48k | $10,919 |
| $48–75k | $13,594 |
| $75–110k | $17,374 |
| $110k+ | $19,137 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 3,706 of these 9,878 students, totalling $22,933,738 — an average of $6,188 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Hamilton 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)