Tusculum University
Private College in Greeneville, TN. Six-year graduation rate 25%. Median 10-year earnings $44,367.
The median ten-year earnings figure of $44,367 sits near the national middle rather than at either extreme. The six-year graduation rate is 26% — low enough that finishing cannot be treated as the default outcome. Graduates carry a median of $23,250 in debt — in line with the national norm.
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
- ! Mobility score 0.7 — limited economic uplift documented
- ! Graduation rate 25% — below national average
Admissions
An acceptance rate of 72% puts Tusculum University on the accessible end — a realistic target for a broad range of applicants. The applicant pool runs to 1,660, typical for a school of this reach. A 16% yield rate is low: the admitted pool is much larger than the entering class.
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 | — | — |
| SAT Math | — | |
| ACT Composite | — | — |
IPEDS Admissions · 2024
Apply at Tusculum University →Academics
A six-year graduation rate of 26% means finishing is closer to the exception than the rule. Retention of 63% means a meaningful slice of each entering class does not return. The distance between those two figures is the part worth noticing — students return for a second year at a much higher rate than they graduate, so attrition here is spread across the middle years rather than concentrated in the first. A 13% transfer-out rate accounts for part of that gap: those students left for another institution rather than dropping out, and the graduation rate above counts them as non-completers here.
Financial Aid
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 919 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
Net price lands at $20,355 a year on average, neither cheap nor punishing. The gap between the $0–30k and $110k+ bands is narrow ($20,766 versus $25,563), meaning aid is not strongly need-weighted. Grant aid is widespread — 94% of students receive it, averaging $20,467. Most students borrow — 59% take federal loans to cover the gap.
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 · 219 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 | $20,766 |
| $30–48k | $15,124 |
| $48–75k | $17,519 |
| $75–110k | $22,981 |
| $110k+ | $25,563 |
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Federal student loans went to 542 of these 919 students, totalling $3,647,698 — an average of $6,730 each.
IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24
Local housing costs
Typical rents near campus (Greene 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)