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

10 Ranked Colleges
631 Degrees Awarded
$13,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k

Students have lots of options to chooose from today when trying to decide which college to attend. 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 in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking is one tool we have developed to help in this regard.

In 2019-2020, 29,936 people earned their degree in general education, making the major the 35th most popular in the United States. 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.

For this year’s “Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k” ranking, we looked at 10 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. See our ranking methodology to learn more.

More Ways to Rank General Education Schools

When choosing the right school for you, it’s important to arm yourself with all the facts you can. To that end, we’ve created a number of major-specific rankings, including this “Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k” list to help you make the college decision.

In addition to our rankings, you can take two colleges and compare them based on the criteria that matters most to you in our unique tool, College Combat. Test it out when you get a chance! You may also want to bookmark the link and share it with others who are trying to make the college decision.

Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k

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

Top 10 Best Value Colleges for General Education (Income $0-$30k) in Tennessee

#1

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, Tennessee

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Education Schools 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 University is a fairly large school located in Nashville, Tennessee that handed out 9 ’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Vanderbilt, the school also landed the #1 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Vanderbilt University is $3,156 for tennessee education students whose families make $0-$30k.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 8 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 96%. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 1.0%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full Vanderbilt University General Education Report

#2

Christian Brothers University

Memphis, Tennessee

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Christian Brothers University. It ranked #2 on our 2022 Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. Christian Brothers is located in Memphis, Tennessee and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 22 ’s education degrees to qualified students.

Christian Brothers not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #5 on our “Best General Education Schools in Tennessee” list. The estimated yearly cost for Christian Brothers is $9,496 for tennessee education students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read full report on General Education at Christian Brothers

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville landed the #3 spot on the list. UT Knoxville is a large school located in Knoxville, Tennessee that handed out 57 ’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

UT Knoxville not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #2 on our “Best General Education Schools in Tennessee” list. The yearly cost to attend UT Knoxville is $10,224 for tennessee education students whose families make $0-$30k.

With a freshman retention rate of 89%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. The low student loan default rate of 4.3% 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%.

Read more about General Education at UT Knoxville

#4

Maryville College

Maryville, Tennessee
#3 in overall quality

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k that were part of this year’s ranking, Maryville College landed the #4 spot on the list. Maryville College is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Maryville, Tennessee. It awarded 7 ’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

Maryville College also made our “Best General Education Schools in Tennessee” list, coming in at #3. The estimated yearly cost for Maryville College is $14,150 for tennessee education students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about General Education at Maryville College

#5

Austin Peay State University

Clarksville, Tennessee

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Austin Peay State University. It ranked #5 on our 2022 Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. Austin Peay State University is a public institution located in Clarksville, Tennessee. The school has a fairly large population, and it awarded 46 ’s degrees in 2019-2020.

Austin Peay State University also took the #9 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Austin Peay State University is $10,909 for Tennessee Education students whose families make $0-$30k.

Read more about General Education at Austin Peay State University

#6

Tusculum University

Greeneville, Tennessee

With a ranking of #6, Tusculum University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. This small school is located in Greeneville, Tennessee, and it awarded 95 ’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

Tusculum not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #8 on our “Best General Education Schools in Tennessee” list. The estimated yearly cost for Tusculum University is $13,752 for Tennessee Education students whose families make $0-$30k.

Full Tusculum General Education Report

#7

Milligan University

Milligan College, Tennessee

Milligan University ranked #7 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. Milligan College, Tennessee is the setting for this small institution of higher learning. The private not-for-profit school handed out ’s education degrees to 22 students in 2019-2020.

Milligan also took the #7 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Milligan University is $14,089 for Tennessee Education students whose families make $0-$30k.

Since the school has a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, those pursuing a degree will have more opportunities to interact with their professors. The low student loan default rate of 3.6% 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%.

Read more about General Education at Milligan University

#8

Bethel University

McKenzie, Tennessee

With a ranking of #8, Bethel University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. Located in McKenzie, Tennessee, this small private not-for-profit school awarded 26 diplomas to qualified ’s education students in 2019-2020.

Bethel also made our “Best General Education Schools in Tennessee” list, coming in at #10. It costs about $14,339 for Tennessee Education students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Bethel.

Full Bethel University General Education Report

#9

Cumberland University

Lebanon, Tennessee

Cumberland University landed the #9 spot on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k ranking. Cumberland University is located in Lebanon, Tennessee and, has a small student population. In 2019-2020, this school awarded 22 ’s education degrees to qualified students.

CU did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #6 on our “Best General Education Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $21,979 for Tennessee Education students whose families make $0-$30k per year to attend Cumberland University.

Read more about General Education at Cumberland University

#10

Union University

Jackson, Tennessee

Union University ranked #10 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $0-$30k list. Union is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Jackson, Tennessee. It awarded 26 ’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our tennessee education students whose families make $0-$30k list, Union has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best General Education Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Union is $26,079 for Tennessee Education students whose families make $0-$30k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.1%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a freshman retention rate of 87%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Full Union General Education Report

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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