Tennessee State University

Nashville, TN · Public

Website Admissions

At a glance

70.1%

Acceptance rate

1,017

SAT Average

$10,026

Avg net price

6,498

Enrollment

Academic profile

SAT Average1,017

SAT Reading/Writing460–540

SAT Math420–510

ACT Composite16–21

Degrees awarded

2024-25

	Associate’s	Bachelor’s	Master’s	Doctoral
All fields, 2024-25Associate’s 22Bachelor’s 776Master’s 292Doctoral 64	22	776	292	64
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s 139Master’s 59Doctoral None reported	None reported	139	59	None reported
Associate’s 22Bachelor’s 115Master’s 60Doctoral 31	22	115	60	31
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s 61Master’s 11Doctoral 8	None reported	61	11	8
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s 58Master’s 3Doctoral 4	None reported	58	3	4
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s 50Master’s 19Doctoral 2	None reported	50	19	2
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s 49Master’s 2Doctoral None reported	None reported	49	2	None reported
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s 44Master’s None reportedDoctoral None reported	None reported	44	None reported	None reported
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s 38Master’s None reportedDoctoral None reported	None reported	38	None reported	None reported
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s 37Master’s 17Doctoral 3	None reported	37	17	3
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s 35Master’s 41Doctoral 16	None reported	35	41	16
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s 35Master’s 4Doctoral None reported	None reported	35	4	None reported
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s 25Master’s None reportedDoctoral None reported	None reported	25	None reported	None reported
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s 23Master’s 10Doctoral None reported	None reported	23	10	None reported
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s 14Master’s 44Doctoral 0	None reported	14	44	0
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s 14Master’s None reportedDoctoral None reported	None reported	14	None reported	None reported
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s 12Master’s 12Doctoral None reported	None reported	12	12	None reported
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s 10Master’s None reportedDoctoral None reported	None reported	10	None reported	None reported
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s 8Master’s None reportedDoctoral None reported	None reported	8	None reported	None reported
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s 6Master’s 1Doctoral None reported	None reported	6	1	None reported
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s 3Master’s None reportedDoctoral None reported	None reported	3	None reported	None reported
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s None reportedMaster’s 8Doctoral None reported	None reported	None reported	8	None reported
Associate’s None reportedBachelor’s None reportedMaster’s 1Doctoral None reported	None reported	None reported	1	None reported

College athletics

NCAA program details

Primary division: Division I
Primary conference: Ohio Valley Conference

Projected sponsored sports15

Football — Championship SubdivisionMen's BasketballMen's Cross CountryMen's GolfMen's TennisMen's Track, IndoorMen's Track, OutdoorSoftball

Athletic participation

258 unique student-athletes · 11 varsity teams

Application deadlines

For fall 2027 entry

Rolling admission

Financial Aid Priority Deadline due Jul 15

No deadline

· Apply with the college's application or Common Black College Application

Cost

Published on-campus price, 2024–25

Tuition: $7,368
Required fees: $1,248
Food and housing: $11,150
Books and supplies: $1,600
Other expenses: $5,811
Total: $27,177

Total by year

$23,4242019–2019–20
$23,4242020–2120–21
$23,8322021–2221–22
$23,8922022–2322–23
$25,8682023–2423–24
$27,1772024–2524–25

Net price by family income, 2022–23

Students of all incomes paid $10,026 on average. Grants and scholarships covered the rest of the cost.

Net price covers first-time, full-time students who received federal aid and paid in-state tuition.

Need-based aid, 2025–26

First-years with need-based aid: 87%
Average share of need met: 70%
Average need-based grant: $7,922
Required forms: FAFSA

Graduation and Retention

4-year graduation21%

6-year graduation33%

Retention rate60%

Earnings and Debt

Median earnings (10yr)$42,730

Median debt$27,000

Campus

Enrollment6,498

Student-faculty ratio13:1

SettingCity

HBCU

Sources

IPEDS Institutional Characteristics · National Center for Education Statistics · 2025–26
IPEDS Admissions · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024–25
College Scorecard · U.S. Department of Education · 2025-10-03
Application process · College websites · 2026–27
NCAA Projected Sports Sponsorship by School · National Collegiate Athletic Association · 2025–26
Equity in Athletics Disclosure Act · U.S. Department of Education · 2024–25
Common Data Set · Reporting institutions · 2023–24, 2024–25, 2025–26
IPEDS Completions · National Center for Education Statistics · 2024–25
IPEDS Student Charges · National Center for Education Statistics · 2019–20, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24, 2024–25

Every figure below is read directly from Tennessee State University’s own reported data, with no scores, ratings, or estimates added. Derived from 3 Common Data Set filings (2023–24 to 2025–26).

Tennessee State University admitted of applicants, a admit rate. Of those, enrolled, a yield, across 3 years of Common Data Set filings.

Applicant funnel and admit rateHover or arrow-key a year for exact values

Students and applicationsAdmit rate

ApplicationsAdmittedEnrolledAdmit rate

No early admission plans appear in Tennessee State University's Common Data Set filing.

Regular Decision nonbindingApply by Aug 1 · priority date Jul 1

The enrolled class is roughly international, and about of its domestic students come from out of state. Tennessee State University admits in-state applicants at 81.4%, out-of-state applicants at 85.3%, and international applicants at 96.4%.

Enrolled first-years by geography

457 first-years

Out-of-state (domestic)≈208In-state (domestic)≈244International≈5

Admit odds by pool

Test scores are required. SAT or ACT scores must arrive by Aug 1. Of enrolled first-years, submitted an SAT, up from 3% in 2023–24, and an ACT, up from 32%.

Some students submit both an SAT and an ACT, so the two shares overlap. They don’t add up to a single “submitted a test” rate.

SAT composite

30% of the class submitted an SAT

Middle 50%

Shape smoothed from reported percentiles and score bands

ACT composite

67% of the class submitted an ACT

Middle 50%

Shape smoothed from reported percentiles and score bands

Tennessee State University’s enrolled first-years averaged a high-school GPA, among the 97.2% who submitted one.

High-school GPA

shares of all enrolled first-years

Average 3.35

Tennessee State University rates 2 factors "very important." Each column reads strongest first.

Academic

Academic GPA: Very important
Standardized test scores: Very important
Rigor of secondary school record: Considered
Class rank: Considered
Application essay: Not considered
Recommendation(s): Not considered

Nonacademic

Interview: Not considered
Extracurricular activities: Not considered
Talent / ability: Not considered
Character / personal qualities: Not considered
First generation: Not considered
Alumni/ae relation: Not considered
Geographical residence: Not considered
State residency: Not considered
Religious affiliation/commitment: Not considered
Volunteer work: Not considered
Work experience: Not considered
Level of applicant's interest: Not considered

Tennessee State University leaves 3 Common Data Set answers blank — each one hidden below with what it would tell you.

Class-rank distributionCDS C10Not disclosed

Without the rank spread of enrolled students, there’s no top-of-class signal to place a transcript against.

GPA distributionCDS C11Not disclosed

Without the GPA spread, a family can’t see where their transcript lands within the class.

Waitlist offers & acceptancesCDS C2Not disclosed

With the pool size hidden, a student’s odds of clearing the waitlist can’t be computed.

Does disclose: SAT / ACT score bands (C9) · Admissions factor grid (C7)

Tennessee State University's net price after grant aid, by family income. of first-years received need-based aid. The school meets of demonstrated need, split into .

What aid recipients pay, by income

net price

Each figure averages only families who received federal aid in that income band (College Scorecard); $10,026 across all aid recipients. Aid share: 396 of 453 first-years in the 2025–26 Common Data Set.

How need-based aid is determined

Cost of attendance − expected family contribution = demonstrated need

Forms a family files to be considered

FAFSA

Merit aid reached of the class, or of enrolled first-years. For international applicants, Tennessee State University offers need-based aid only (no merit for nonresidents): nonresidents received aid, averaging .

Waitlist activity, as reported to the Common Data Set.

Offered a place

Not disclosed

Accepted a place

Not disclosed

Admitted off waitlist

Not disclosed

Waitlist ranked

Not disclosed

60.2% of Tennessee State University’s first-years return for a second year and 33% graduate within six. Median earnings ten years out are against of median federal debt, roughly a earnings-to-debt ratio.

Sources

Common Data Set · Reporting institutions · 2023–24, 2024–25, 2025–26
College Scorecard · U.S. Department of Education · 2025-10-03