2022 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Education (Income $0-$30k) in Tennessee

With all of the options students have for higher education today, it can be tough to choose which direction to take. Our mission at College Factual is to arm you with as much information as we can to help you make that decision. Our “Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

General Education is the 35th most popular major in the country with 29,936 degrees awarded in 2019-2020. In 2017-2018, general education graduates who were awarded their degree in 2015-2017, earned an average of $47,138 and had an average of $29,674 in loans still to pay off.

Across Tennessee, there were 631 general education graduates with average earnings and debt of $42,940 and $25,412 respectively. At the bachelor’s degree level specifically, there were 55 general education graduates with average earnings and debt of $0 and $0 respectively.

For this year’s “Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 3 colleges that offer a degree in general education. This ranking identifies schools with high-quality general education programs that also have a lower cost than schools of similar quality.

When determining these rankings, we looked at things such as overall quality of the general education program at the school and the cost to attend the school once aid has been awarded. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that decision.

One of our other unique offerings is College Combat. This tool lets you build your own customized comparisons utilizing the factors that are most important to you. Test it out by comparing your favorite schools against others you are considering, or bookmark the tool so you can experiment with it later.

Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k.

Top 3 Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Education (Income $0-$30k) in Tennessee

#1

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, Tennessee

#1 in overall quality

$3,156 Average Net Price

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Vanderbilt University landed the #1 spot on the list. Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Nashville, Tennessee. It awarded 9 bachelors’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our tennessee bachelor’s degree education students whose families make $0-$30k list, Vanderbilt has also earned the #1 rank in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. It costs about $3,156 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Education students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Vanderbilt University.

The impressive student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1 means that students may have more opportunities to work more closely with their professors than they would at other schools. The low student loan default rate of 1.0% is a good sign that students have an easier time paying off their loans than they might at other schools. For comparison, the national default rate is 10.1%. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%.

Read more about General Education at Vanderbilt University

#2

Maryville College

Maryville, Tennessee

#2 in overall quality

$14,150 Average Net Price

$34,704 Average Early-Career Earnings

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Maryville College. The school came in at #2 for the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k. Maryville College is a private not-for-profit institution located in Maryville, Tennessee. The school has a small population, and it awarded 7 bachelors’s degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Maryville College, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” ranking. It costs about $14,150 for Tennessee Bachelor’s Degree Education students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Maryville College.

Read more about General Education at Maryville College

#3

Tusculum University

Greeneville, Tennessee

#3 in overall quality

$13,752 Average Net Price

$29,413 Average Early-Career Earnings

Out of the 3 schools in the Best Value Education Schools for a Bachelor’s in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Tusculum University landed the #3 spot on the list. Tusculum University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Greeneville, Tennessee. It awarded 22 bachelors’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

Tusculum also made our “Best General Education Bachelor’s Degree Schools in Tennessee” list, coming in at #3. It costs about $13,752 for tennessee bachelor’s degree education students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Tusculum.

Read full report on General Education at Tusculum University

• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Education (Income $0-$30k) in the Southeast Region
• Best Value Bachelor’s Degree Colleges for General Education (Income $0-$30k)

Notes and References

References

• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a branch of the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) serves as the core of our data about colleges.
• Some other college data, including much of the graduate earnings data, comes from the U.S. Department of Education’s (College Scorecard).
• Information about the national average student loan default rate is from the U.S. Department of Education and refers to data about the 2016 borrower cohort tracking period for which the cohort default rate (CDR) was 10.1%.

Read more about our data sources and methodologies

Footnotes

• *Average salary, average net price, and average tuition and fees are for the top schools only.
• Some schools otherwise deserving of recognition may have been removed from this ranking in the event that new data identified post-publication warranted it, or at the request of the school.

Credits

• Credit for the banner image above goes to KOKUYO.

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