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2022 Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k

10 Ranked Colleges
631 Degrees Awarded
$15,800 Avg Net Price*
Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k

When it comes to choosing a college, students have a lot of options - but not all of them are good. 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 $30-$48k” 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.

For this year’s “Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, we looked at 10 colleges that offer a degree in general education. Not only do the schools that top this list have excellent general education programs, but they also cost less that schools of similar quality.

To come up with these rankings, we looked at factors such as the cost to attend the school after aid is awarded and overall quality of the general education program at the school. For more information, check out our ranking methodology.

More Ways to Rank General Education Schools

Since picking the right college can be one of the most important decisions of your life, we’ve developed the “Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k” ranking, along with many other major-related rankings, to help you make that 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 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 in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k

The following schools top our list of the Best Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k.

Top 10 Best Value Colleges for General Education (Income $30-$48k) in Tennessee

#1

Vanderbilt University

Nashville, Tennessee

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Vanderbilt University. It ranked #1 on our 2022 Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k list. Vanderbilt is a fairly large private not-for-profit school situated in Nashville, Tennessee. It awarded 9 ’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

Vanderbilt also made our “Best General Education Schools in Tennessee” list, coming in at #1. The yearly cost to attend Vanderbilt University is $6,017 for Tennessee Education students whose families make $30-$48k.

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%. 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. With a freshman retention rate of 96%, the school does an excellent job of retaining its students.

Full Vanderbilt General Education Report

#2

Christian Brothers University

Memphis, Tennessee

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, Christian Brothers University landed the #2 spot on the list. Memphis, 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.

Christian Brothers also took the #5 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The estimated yearly cost for Christian Brothers University is $12,165 for tennessee education students whose families make $30-$48k.

Read more about General Education at Christian Brothers University

Out of the 10 schools in the Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k that were part of this year’s ranking, The University of Tennessee - Knoxville landed the #3 spot on the list. Located in Knoxville, Tennessee, this large public school handed out 57 degrees to qualified ’s education students in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at UT Knoxville, the school also landed the #2 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Tennessee” ranking. It costs about $13,745 for tennessee education students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend The University of Tennessee - Knoxville.

The school has an excellent freshman retention rate of 89%, which means students like the school well enough to return for a second year. The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 4.3%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%.

Full The University of Tennessee - Knoxville General Education Report

#4

Maryville College

Maryville, Tennessee
#3 in overall quality

You’ll be in good company if you decide to attend Maryville College. It ranked #4 on our 2022 Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k list. This small school is located in Maryville, Tennessee, and it awarded 7 ’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

As a testament to the quality of education offered at Maryville College, the school also landed the #3 spot in our “Best General Education Schools in Tennessee” ranking. The yearly cost to attend Maryville College is $16,041 for Tennessee Education students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full Maryville College General Education Report

#5

Austin Peay State University

Clarksville, Tennessee

You’ll join some of the best and brightest minds around if you attend Austin Peay State University. The school came in at #5 for the Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k. Austin Peay State University is a fairly large school located in Clarksville, Tennessee that handed out 46 ’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

Austin Peay State University did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #9 on our “Best General Education Schools in Tennessee” list. The estimated yearly cost for Austin Peay State University is $12,298 for tennessee education students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full Austin Peay State University General Education Report

#6

Bethel University

McKenzie, Tennessee

With a ranking of #6, Bethel University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k list. This small school is located in McKenzie, Tennessee, and it awarded 26 ’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

Bethel did well in our major quality rankings, too. It placed #10 on our “Best General Education Schools in Tennessee” list. The estimated yearly cost for Bethel University is $13,225 for Tennessee Education students whose families make $30-$48k.

Full Bethel 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 $30-$48k list. Milligan is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Milligan College, Tennessee. It awarded 22 ’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

Milligan not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #7 on our “Best General Education Schools in Tennessee” list. The estimated yearly cost for Milligan University is $15,411 for tennessee education students whose families make $30-$48k.

The school has an impressive student loan default rate. It’s only 3.6%, which is much lower than the national rate of 10.1%. With a student-to-faculty ratio of 9 to 1, it’s easy to see that the school is committed to helping their undergraduates succeed.

Read full report on General Education at Milligan

#8

Tusculum University

Greeneville, Tennessee

Tusculum University ranked #8 on this year’s Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k list. Tusculum University is a small private not-for-profit school situated in Greeneville, Tennessee. It awarded 95 ’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our tennessee education students whose families make $30-$48k list, Tusculum has also earned the #8 rank in our “Best General Education Schools in Tennessee” ranking. It costs about $18,111 for Tennessee Education students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Tusculum University.

Read more about General Education at Tusculum University

#9

Cumberland University

Lebanon, Tennessee

With a ranking of #9, Cumberland University did quite well on the 2022 Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k list. This small school is located in Lebanon, Tennessee, and it awarded 22 ’s education degrees in 2019-2020.

CU not only placed well in this ranking. It is also #6 on our “Best General Education Schools in Tennessee” list. It costs about $23,701 for tennessee education students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend CU.

Full Cumberland University General Education Report

#10

Union University

Jackson, Tennessee

Union University came in at #10 in this year’s edition of the Best Value Education Schools in Tennessee For Those Making $30-$48k ranking. Located in Jackson, Tennessee, this small private not-for-profit school handed out 26 degrees to qualified ’s education students in 2019-2020.

In addition to being on our tennessee education students whose families make $30-$48k list, Union has also earned the #4 rank in our “Best General Education Schools in Tennessee” ranking. It costs about $27,004 for tennessee education students whose families make $30-$48k per year to attend Union University.

The student-to-faculty ratio of 10 to 1 is a sign that students will have more opportunities to engage with their professors one-on-one. Students who start out at the school are likely to stick around. The freshman retention rate is 87%. 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%.

Read full report on General Education at Union

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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