undergradly.
Private College

Union University

Private College in Jackson, TN. Six-year graduation rate 66%. Median 10-year earnings $53,990.

Verdict Mixed outcomes
Union University · Campus
Median earnings · 10 yr
$53,990
Median debt at grad
$20,714
Mobility score
2.0
% bottom→top quintile
Graduation rate
66%
Federal loan default
0%

Students who entered Union University land at a median of $53,990 a decade later, close to what most four-year schools deliver. Completion is a strength: 66% of students finish within six years. Median debt at graduation is $20,714, 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.

Green Flags
  • 3-year loan default 0.0% — below national benchmark
Red Flags

Admissions

Acceptance rate
60%
Applicants
1,970
Yield rate
30.1%

Union University accepts 60% of applicants, which makes it accessible to most students who meet the baseline requirements. 1,970 students applied in the most recent cycle — a mid-sized pool drawn mostly from the surrounding region. Yield sits at 30% — the remainder of admitted students enroll elsewhere or not at all. 15% of enrolled first-years submitted an SAT score. The bands below describe the middle half of that group, not of the 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 600–710 52 (15%)
SAT Math 560–680
ACT Composite 22–30 280 (78%)

IPEDS Admissions · 2024

Apply at Union University →

Academics

Full-time retention
89%
Transfer-out rate
23%
Student:faculty
9:1

66% of students finish within six years, putting completion well above the national norm. First-year retention of 89% shows the cohort holds together through the hardest year. Retention and graduation track closely, so most of the attrition shows up in the first year rather than after it. 23% transfer out. IPEDS does not follow them, so whether they finished elsewhere is not recorded either way. Part-time students fare worse, returning at 53% — relevant if you plan to work while enrolled.

Financial Aid

Average net price
$28,452
Full-time, first-time undergraduates paying the in-state rate who were awarded grant or scholarship aid
% receiving grants
87%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates
% receiving federal loans
49%
degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · grant and loan rates against 1,637 degree- or certificate-seeking undergraduates

Net price averages $28,452 annually, so cost is the first thing to weigh here. Income makes less difference than usual: $25,839 at $0–30k, $30,373 at $110k+. Most students get help: 87% receive grants worth $27,838 on average. Federal borrowing reaches 49% 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.

% receiving grants
100%
Average grant
$30,120

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24 · 309 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 $25,839
$30–48k $26,181
$48–75k $23,891
$75–110k $27,841
$110k+ $30,373

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Federal student loans went to 801 of these 1,637 students, totalling $5,580,567 — an average of $6,967 each.

IPEDS Student Financial Aid · 2023-24

Local housing costs

Typical rents near campus (Madison County) — budget these against any cost-of-attendance housing estimate.

Studio
$869/mo
1 bedroom
$960/mo
2 bedroom (whole unit)
$1,260/mo

HUD Fair Market Rents (40th-percentile gross rent incl. utilities) · FY2026

Veterans & GI Bill

GI Bill students
80
Yellow Ribbon
Yes
Principles of Excellence
Yes

VA GI Bill Comparison Tool (Veterans Affairs GIDS)

Compare Union University with peer institutions

How we evaluate Union University

IPEDS
US Department of Education
College Scorecard
Post-grad earnings
Census PSEO
Earnings by major
Opportunity Insights
Mobility by institution
Read our full methodology →