The 10 Cheapest Colleges in Tennessee
What’s Covered:
- The 10 Cheapest Colleges in Tennessee
- Tips for Saving Money on College
- How Much Will You Pay for College?
Tennessee is home to some of the country’s most unique and vibrant cities, such as Memphis, Nashville, and Chattanooga. Helping fuel these cities’ growth and maintain their character are college graduates coming from well-known Volunteer State schools like Vanderbilt and Sewanee: The University of the South.
Helping to ensure everyone in the state has an opportunity for higher education—by keeping costs down—are the ten cheapest colleges in Tennessee.
The 10 Cheapest Colleges in Tennessee
1. Tennessee State University | TSU
Tuition In-state/Out-of-state: $8,616/$22,416
Location: Nashville, TN
Acceptance Rate: 93%
Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,765
Tennessee State University (TSU) is one of seven historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the state. TSU has a rich Olympic history: its former track coach, Ed Temple, was the head coach of two Olympic Teams and was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame, while Olympic champion sprinter and athletic icon, Wilma Rudolph, is a TSU graduate.
TSU offers 77 majors across a wide range of fields—including agriculture, business, engineering, liberal arts, and life and physical sciences—and is a Carnegie-designated R2 university, indicating “high research activity.”
Learn more about Tennessee State University and what it takes to get accepted.
2. Austin Peay State University
Tuition In-state/Out-of-state: $9,006/$14,766
Location: Clarksville, TN
Acceptance Rate: 96%
Undergraduate Enrollment: 8,587
Austin Peay State University (APSU) takes its name from the former governor of Tennessee, Austin Peay, a Clarksville native—the school’s nickname is “the Governors.” APSU is the state’s largest provider of higher education to military-affiliated students—they represent 32% of the student body.
ASPU is known for its top-ranked ROTC program, which has earned the General Douglas MacArthur Award (awarded by the U.S. Army to the top eight ROTC programs in the country) eight times.
Learn more about Austin Peay State University and what it takes to get accepted.
3. Middle Tennessee State University | MTSU
Tuition In-state/Out-of-state: $10,266/$31,574
Location: Murfreesboro, TN
Acceptance Rate: 68%
Undergraduate Enrollment: 17,668
Middle Tennessee State University lives up to its name—it’s located in Murfreesboro, the geographic center of the state. MTSU offers more than 300 undergraduate and graduate programs in fields ranging from accounting to video and film production.
The university is proud to offer one of the lowest tuitions in Tennessee; however, it also recognizes that cost is only part of the equation when calculating a school’s return on investment. Consequently, MTSU touts its work-ready graduates—one in five college graduates in greater Nashville holds a degree from MTSU.
Learn more about Middle Tennessee State University and what it takes to get accepted.
4. The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga
Tuition In-state/Out-of-state: $10,448/$18,512
Location: Chattanooga, TN
Acceptance Rate: 77%
Undergraduate Enrollment: 9,982
There’s a lot to like about the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga. The school offers over 70 undergraduateuate degree programs through its five colleges:
- College of Arts and Sciences
- College of Engineering and Computer Science
- College of Health, Education, and Professional Studies
- Gary W. Rollins College of Business
- Honors College
Graduates will find a multitude of professional opportunities around the university, with major brands such as Moon Pie, Little Debbie, Amazon, Coca-Cola, and Volkswagen calling Chattanooga home. There are also plentiful recreational activities available to students, as Chattanooga is a hub for tourism—the city offers numerous opportunities to camp, hike, paddle, and climb.
Learn more about the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga and what it takes to get accepted.
5. East Tennessee State University | ETSU
Tuition In-state/Out-of-state: $10,472/$14,522
Location: Johnson City, TN
Acceptance Rate: 87%
Undergraduate Enrollment: 10,633
One of the characteristics that makes East Tennessee State University stand out from other institutions is its unique course offerings. For example, the university offers a minor in Appalachian Studies, which examines the region’s culture, environment, economy, energy, politics, and health and wellness, as well as other historic and current issues. ETSU is also the first school in the nation to offer a major in Bluegrass, Old-Time, and Roots Music.
ETSU has worked hard to earn its place among the cheapest colleges in Tennessee; it prioritizes the use of open and affordable course materials, laptops and hotspots are available on loan from the library, and nearly half of its graduates leave college debt-free.
Learn more about East Tennessee State University and what it takes to get accepted.
6. The University of Tennessee-Martin
Tuition In-state/Out-of-state: $10,560/$16,000
Location: Martin, TN
Acceptance Rate: 87%
Undergraduate Enrollment: 6,234
The University of Tennessee at Martin (UTM) exemplifies a true state university—89% of its students are Tennessee residents, and its alumni can be found in all 95 counties across the state.
UTM is known for its award-winning radio station, WUTM 90.3 FM “The Hawk.” The university is one of approximately 200 schools worldwide to earn an All-Steinway designation, demonstrating its commitment to music students and faculty members by providing them with the best possible equipment.
Learn more about the University of Tennessee-Martin and what it takes to get accepted.
7. University of Memphis
Tuition In-state/Out-of-state: $10,725/$15,384
Location: Memphis, TN
Acceptance Rate: 93%
Undergraduate Enrollment: 16,771
The University of Memphis (UofM) is committed to providing an affordable education—more than 50% of full-time freshmen are Pell Grant eligible and more than 90% of full-time freshmen receive financial aid. The university awards hundreds of scholarships each year, including the Memphis Promise—a last-dollar scholarship for Tennessee residents that covers the gap between a student’s financial aid and the full cost of tuition.
UofM is notable for its excellent athletics program—some of its well-known alumni include:
- Issac Bruce (NFL Hall of Famer)
- Derrick Rose (NBA MVP)
- Penny Hardaway (former NBA All-Star)
Learn more about the University of Memphis and what it takes to get accepted.
8. Tennessee Technological University | Tennessee Tech
Tuition In-state/Out-of-state: $11,376/$15,576
Location: Cookeville, TN
Acceptance Rate: 83%
Undergraduate Enrollment: 8,838
Tennessee Tech has a reputation for graduating students prepared to succeed in a technology-driven world. The university offers over 200 programs of study. Popular majors include:
- Mechanical engineering
- Computer science
- Nursing
- Biology
- Exercise science
Tennessee Tech’s mascot, Awesome Eagle, is a two-time consecutive winner of the Universal Cheerleaders Association Mascot National Championship. The university shows its love for Awesome Eagle by celebrating the bird’s birthday every year on February 14 with music, giveaways, cupcakes, and lots of fun.
Learn more about Tennessee Tech and what it takes to get accepted.
9. Lane College
Tuition In-state/Out-of-state: $11,790/$11,790
Location: Jackson, TN
Acceptance Rate: 100%
Undergraduate Enrollment: 822
Lane College is another of the Volunteer State’s seven HBCUs—it was founded in 1882 by one of the nation’s early Black church denominations. Today, the school remains committed to its religious heritage. Lane College believes that spiritual growth plays a valuable role in the development of the individual and is affiliated with the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. Students are required to attend at least ten College Assembly/Chapel services per semester.
Learn more about Lane College and what it takes to get accepted.
10. Le Moyne-Owen College
Tuition In-state/Out-of-state: $12,076/$12,076
Location: Memphis, TN
Acceptance Rate: 97%
Undergraduate Enrollment: 646
Le Moyne-Owen College is another of the seven HBCUs that call Tennessee home and the fifth-oldest HBCU in the country—it was founded in 1862. The college rightly boasts of its survival through numerous turbulent periods of American history, including race riots, yellow fever epidemics, Jim Crow laws, and segregation.
Today, the college is proud to call itself a “home away from home” for its students, thanks to its small student body, involved staff, and tight-knit campus.
Learn more about Le Moyne-Owen College and what it takes to get accepted.
Tips for Saving Money on College
Graduate on Time
The more time you spend at college, the greater the cost. While most people think of college as a four-year experience, the fact is that most students will not graduate in four years. In 2021, NBC reported that just 45% of college students graduate in four years and fewer than two-thirds graduate in six years—the numbers are even worse for certain groups of students, like those who are Black and Hispanic.
Choosing a major on time and only taking classes that contribute to your degree are great ways to ensure you finish school on time.
Get a Headstart on Your Degree
There’s no need to wait until you’re on campus to start working toward your degree. AP classes are a proven strategy for students to start earning college credit before they’ve even graduated high school, with many colleges awarding credit to students who earn an AP exam score of 3 or higher.
Dual enrollment is another tried-and-true approach for getting a headstart on college coursework. Dual enrollment allows students to take college-level work and earn college credit while in high school.
Understand the Real Cost of College
The sticker price of a school only hints at its actual cost. Net price—the cost of attendance minus grants, scholarships, tuition waivers, and other gift aid—is a better indicator of what you’ll actually pay for college.
It’s common that, after merit aid, an expensive private school will cost less than a public school with a reputation for affordability. Private schools are typically more generous in awarding aid than their public counterparts, which ultimately can make them less expensive. For example, all 50 schools on our list of the colleges that give out the most merit aid are private.
How Much Will You Pay for College?
Net price, a calculation that considers factors like financial aid and scholarships in addition to the sticker price, is the best metric for gauging what college will actually cost. While the overwhelming majority of colleges have their own net price calculator, our free Financial Aid Calculator lets you estimate the cost of college in Tennessee, along with hundreds of other schools across the country, in one place and in just minutes.
