2026 Best Private Colleges in Tennessee

Name: 2026 Best Private Colleges in Tennessee (Kollegio college rankings)
Creator: Kollegio
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

26 Tennessee schools ranked in Kollegio's 2026 Best Private Colleges ranking, based on U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard data.

Showing 1–25 of 26 colleges · How we rank colleges

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Cost of attendance after aid

ⓘ

$77,180

Institution type

2 Year4 Year5 Year

Field of study

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Campus Detail

Institution setting

AllCitySuburbanRural

Undergraduate enrollment

ⓘ

268763

Financial

Alumni starting salary

Tuition cost

ⓘ

$67,000

In-state tuition

ⓘ

Proportion of need based aid received

ⓘ

100%Clear Filter

International students received aid

ⓘ

100%

Average aid package

ⓘ

$82,308

Application fee

ⓘ

$150

Academics

Mean GPA

ⓘ

Mean SAT

ⓘ

1200

Mean ACT

ⓘ

#1 Best Private Colleges

Vanderbilt University

Nashville

Acceptance rate

6.3%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$54,840

Avg. Cost after Aid

$28,000

#2 Best Private Colleges

Rhodes College

Memphis

Acceptance rate

49.7%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$50,600

Avg. Cost after Aid

$8,851

#3 Best Private Colleges

The University of the South

Sewanee

Acceptance rate

56.9%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$49,146

Avg. Cost after Aid

$30,000

#4 Best Private Colleges

Union University

Jackson

Acceptance rate

47.2%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$31,040

Avg. Cost after Aid

$28,000

#5 Best Private Colleges

Lipscomb University

Nashville

Acceptance rate

66.6%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$33,012

Avg. Cost after Aid

$27,000

#6 Best Private Colleges

Belmont University

Nashville

Acceptance rate

96.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$36,650

Avg. Cost after Aid

$35,000

#7 Best Private Colleges

Southern Adventist University

Collegedale

Acceptance rate

66.6%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$22,320

Avg. Cost after Aid

$24,000

#8 Best Private Colleges

Baptist Health Sciences University

Memphis

Acceptance rate

67.8%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$13,890

Avg. Cost after Aid

$6,000

#9 Best Private Colleges

Milligan University

Milligan

Acceptance rate

70.3%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$34,690

Avg. Cost after Aid

$20,000

#10 Best Private Colleges

Lee University

Cleveland

Acceptance rate

72.2%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$19,800

Avg. Cost after Aid

$19,000

#11 Best Private Colleges

Freed-Hardeman University

Henderson

Acceptance rate

90.6%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$23,300

Avg. Cost after Aid

$17,000

#12 Best Private Colleges

King University

Bristol

Acceptance rate

54.4%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$31,050

Avg. Cost after Aid

$22,000

#13 Best Private Colleges

Johnson University (TN)

Knoxville

Acceptance rate

53.8%

Institution type

UPWG

Total Tuition Cost

$17,384

Avg. Cost after Aid

$20,000

#14 Best Private Colleges

Trevecca Nazarene University

Nashville

Acceptance rate

70.0%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$25,998

Avg. Cost after Aid

$16,000

#15 Best Private Colleges

Christian Brothers University

Memphis

Acceptance rate

88.4%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$34,820

Avg. Cost after Aid

$19,000

#16 Best Private Colleges

Lincoln Memorial University

Harrogate

Acceptance rate

59.3%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$23,760

Avg. Cost after Aid

$23,000

#17 Best Private Colleges

Cumberland University

Lebanon

Acceptance rate

67.0%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$24,336

Avg. Cost after Aid

$28,000

#18 Best Private Colleges

Carson-Newman University

Jefferson City

Acceptance rate

68.3%

Institution type

UNIV

Total Tuition Cost

$29,920

Avg. Cost after Aid

$18,000

#19 Best Private Colleges

Bryan College

Dayton

Acceptance rate

97.2%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$16,900

Avg. Cost after Aid

$16,000

#20 Best Private Colleges

Maryville College

Maryville

Acceptance rate

65.7%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$36,156

Avg. Cost after Aid

$22,000

#21 Best Private Colleges

Fisk University

Nashville

Acceptance rate

57.9%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$20,928

Avg. Cost after Aid

$26,000

#22 Best Private Colleges

Tennessee Wesleyan University

Athens

Acceptance rate

59.4%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$25,340

Avg. Cost after Aid

$15,000

#23 Best Private Colleges

Tusculum University

Greeneville

Acceptance rate

60.4%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$25,860

Avg. Cost after Aid

$13,000

#24 Best Private Colleges

Bethel University, Tennessee

McKenzie

Acceptance rate

97.2%

Institution type

COMP

Total Tuition Cost

$16,222

Avg. Cost after Aid

$20,606

#25 Best Private Colleges

LeMoyne-Owen College

Memphis

Acceptance rate

97.2%

Institution type

4YEAR

Total Tuition Cost

$10,776

Avg. Cost after Aid

$6,000

2026 Best Private Colleges in Tennessee

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