Public · University
The University of Tennessee Southern
Pulaski, Tennessee · Distant town
- 86.7%
- Admit rate
- $12,798
- Avg net price
- 37%
- Graduation rate
- $38,924
- Median earnings
The University of Tennessee Southern is a public bachelor's-granting institution in Pulaski, Tennessee (distant town setting), enrolling 864 undergraduates.
Will you get in?
See where your numbers land against The University of Tennessee Southern's admitted students.
- Admit rate
- 86.7%
- SAT (mid 50%)
- 905–1110
- Avg GPA (est.)
- 3.11
Enter a test score to see where you land against The University of Tennessee Southern's admitted students.
A guide, not a prediction. It compares your numbers with the middle 50% of admitted students and The University of Tennessee Southern's overall admit rate — it can't see essays, recommendations, activities, or your intended major, which all move real decisions.
About Pulaski, Tennessee
Pulaski is a city in Giles County and the county seat of Giles County, which is located on the central-southern border of Tennessee, United States. Pulaski was founded in 1809. During the Civil War, after the Union took control of Tennessee in 1862, thousands of African Americans left plantations and farms to join their lines for refuge. (Wikipedia)
- Setting
- Distant town
- Highest degree offered
- Graduate
- Nearest big city
- 41 miles to Huntsville, AL
- To the ocean
- 314 miles
- Nearest airport
- 42 miles to Huntsville (HSV)
How The University of Tennessee Southern compares
More selective than 31% · #30 most selective of 37 in Tennessee
Higher than 23%
Higher than 19% · #35 of 43 in Tennessee
Higher than 53%
Higher than 12% · #38 of 43 in Tennessee
Cheaper than 81% · #12 cheapest of 42 in Tennessee
Lower than 63%
Lower than 42%
Larger than 33%
Percentiles compare The University of Tennessee Southern with the nation's 2,196 four-year colleges, among schools reporting each statistic. State ranks count four-year colleges in Tennessee.
Student body
Undergraduate vs. graduate
- Undergraduate86496%
- Graduate344%
Undergraduates by gender
- Women54663%
- Men31837%
Undergraduates by race / ethnicity
- White75%
- Black5.3%
- Hispanic5.9%
- Asian0.7%
- Other or multiracial13%
Graduate gender splits aren't published in this data, so the gender chart covers undergraduates only.
By the numbers
- Undergraduate enrollment
- 864
- Graduate enrollment
- 34
- Student–faculty ratio
- 14 : 1
- Pell Grant recipients
- 36%
- First-generation students
- 41%
- Students over 25
- 9%
- Median family income
- $29,930
- Avg faculty salary (academic year)
- $60,255
- Endowment
- $1,048,784
Colleges don't publish true class-size data; student–faculty ratio (IPEDS) is the closest public measure of it.
Where students come from
Home state of the 185 first-year students who entered in fall 2023.
- From Tennessee87%
- Other U.S. states13%
Most first-years stay in state — The University of Tennessee Southern draws overwhelmingly from Tennessee.
Out-of-state students usually pay a higher tuition rate at public schools — check the cost card above for your bracket. Source: IPEDS residence & migration, fall 2023 entering class.
Admissions
- Admission rate
- 86.7%
- Test scores
- Required
- SAT range (25th–75th %)
- 905–1110
- SAT average
- 1083
- SAT reading
- 435–555
- SAT math
- 470–555
- ACT composite
- 18–24
- Average GPA (estimated)
- 3.11
Cost
- In-state tuition
- $10,924
- Room & board
- $8,300
- Books & supplies
- $1,500
- Total cost of attendance
- $24,750
- Average net price
- $12,798
Net price is the total cost minus grants and scholarships — what students actually pay. It varies sharply by family income; see the breakdown below.
Outcomes
- Graduated (within 6 years)
- 37%
- Graduated on time (4 years)
- 26%
- First-year retention
- 77%
- Transferred to another college
- 31%
- Median earnings, 6 years after entry
- $36,151
- Median earnings, 10 years after entry
- $38,924
- Median debt at graduation
- $21,500
- Students with federal loans
- 27%
- Paying down their loans (1 year in)
- 37%
About 11% of students who finish here need more than four years — each extra year adds roughly another year of tuition and living costs.
Graduating on time
By student background (4 years)
When these bars run close together, students from every background tend to finish at similar rates — a sign the school supports the ~30% who are first-gen or low-income.
Campus life & athletics
- On-campus housing
- Yes
- Dorm capacity
- 390
- Dorm capacity vs undergrads
- 45%
- Application fee
- Free
- Athletics
- NAIA Division I
- Varsity athletes
- 333 (174 men · 159 women)
Housing and fees: IPEDS 2023–24. Athletics rosters: Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25. Dorm capacity can include graduate and family housing, so the share of undergrads can top 100%.
Varsity sports (11)
Athlete counts per sport, Equity in Athletics data, 2024–25.
Campus safety
- Safety grade
- B
- Reported offenses per 1,000 students
- 1.3 / year
- Violent offenses (2022–2024)
- 1
- Property offenses (2022–2024)
- 3
On-campus criminal offenses reported under the Clery Act, 2022–2024, across 1 campus (1,046 students). Counts reflect reports, not convictions — schools with strong reporting cultures often show more, so a higher count doesn't simply mean a more dangerous campus.
Reported offenses in an average year
The same 2022–2024 Clery Act reports, divided down to one year.
By offense type, per year
Averages, not a forecast — a single year can run well above or below this. Bars are scaled against this campus's most-reported offense, so they compare types here rather than against other schools.
What you'll actually pay, by family income
Average net price (total cost minus grants and scholarships) paid by aided students in each family-income band.
College Scorecard / IPEDS, most recent year. Family income is total household income; net price covers tuition, fees, room, board and supplies after grant aid, for students receiving federal aid.
Four-year (or more) true cost
Net price for your family's income, projected across the time it actually takes students here to graduate.
$15,343/year × about 4.4 years — most students here don't finish in exactly four, and each extra term adds cost. A planning estimate from net-price and graduation-timing data, not a bill.
Does the school pay you to attend?
Grant aid from the school's own funds — the discount off sticker, on top of any federal or state help.
Modest institutional aid: 89% of freshmen get a grant from the school, averaging $3,717. Most of what lowers the price here is federal or state money, not the school's own funds.
Blends need-based and merit aid — IPEDS doesn't split the two, so a high number can mean generous merit scholarships, deep need-based aid, or both. Figures cover 207 full-time first-year undergraduates, 2022–23. Source: IPEDS Student Financial Aid.
Is it worth it?
A rough return-on-investment read from what graduates earn versus what they borrow.
- Median earnings (10 years)
- $38,924
- Typical debt at graduation
- $21,500
- Debt vs. one year's pay
- 55%
- Out-earn a HS grad
- 49%
Typical debt would take roughly 5.5 years to repay at about a tenth of median earnings.
A reasonable return: earnings comfortably clear the debt over a few years for most students who finish.
Earnings are the College Scorecard median for former students (working, not enrolled) 10 years after entry — not a guarantee, and they vary a lot by major. Debt is the median federal loan balance at graduation.
The pay gap here
Median earnings 10 years after entry, split by gender.
Men out-earn women by $8,528 (24%) a decade out.
Federal figures for former students working and not enrolled, 10 years after they first entered. A gap this wide usually reflects which majors men and women here tend to choose — not different pay for the same job.
Campus climate
- Summer high
- 88°F
- Winter low
- 25°F
- Annual rain
- 58.6″
- Annual snow
- 1.9″
Average temperature
HighLowAverage precipitation (inches)
NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Pulaski Wwtp, TN US station (1.2 mi from campus).
What The University of Tennessee Southern graduates study — and earn
Median earnings of this school's own graduates 1 and 5 years after finishing each program, and median federal-loan debt at completion (College Scorecard). Small programs are privacy-suppressed (—). Click a major to compare colleges nationally.
Colleges similar to The University of Tennessee Southern
Schools with a comparable profile — size, selectivity, cost, and graduate outcomes. Compare The University of Tennessee Southern side by side →
Mississippi University for Women
Columbus, Mississippi · Remote town · 93 mi to Birmingham
- Students
- 1,605
- Admission
- 90%
- Net price
- $12k
- SAT
- 1090
- GPA
- 3.1
- Earnings
- $46k
West Liberty University
West Liberty, West Virginia · Fringe rural · 37 mi to Pittsburgh
- Students
- 1,511
- Admission
- 97%
- Net price
- $15k
- SAT
- 1045
- GPA
- 3.0
- Earnings
- $43k
Delta State University
Cleveland, Mississippi · Remote town · 105 mi to Memphis
- Students
- 1,620
- Admission
- 100%
- Net price
- $14k
- SAT
- 1050
- GPA
- 3.0
- Earnings
- $42k
Sul Ross State University
Alpine, Texas · Remote town · 146 mi to Midland
- Students
- 1,396
- Admission
- 99%
- Net price
- $13k
- SAT
- 1024
- GPA
- 2.9
- Earnings
- $42k
Auburn University at Montgomery
Montgomery, Alabama · Midsize city · 7 mi to Montgomery
- Students
- 2,542
- Admission
- 92%
- Net price
- $13k
- SAT
- 1093
- GPA
- 3.1
- Earnings
- $44k
Northern State University
Aberdeen, South Dakota · Remote town · 128 mi to Fargo
- Students
- 1,273
- Admission
- 93%
- Net price
- $16k
- SAT
- 1089
- GPA
- 3.1
- Earnings
- $48k
Colleges near The University of Tennessee Southern
Tennessee College of Applied Technology-Pulaski
Pulaski, TN · Public · Certificate · 246 students
Lawrenceburg Technical College
Lawrenceburg, TN · Private for-profit · Certificate · 128 students
The Hair Academy LLC
Fayetteville, TN · Private for-profit · Certificate · 82 students
Athens State University
Athens, AL · Public · Bachelor's · 2,446 students
Columbia State Community College
Columbia, TN · Public · Associate · 3,897 students
Oakwood University
Huntsville, AL · Private nonprofit · Bachelor's · 1,153 students
Ross Medical Education Center-Huntsville
Huntsville, AL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 132 students
The Salon Professional Academy-Huntsville
Huntsville, AL · Private for-profit · Certificate · 53 students
Source: US Department of Education College Scorecard (most recent cohorts), IPEDS institutional characteristics, Equity in Athletics (EADA) data, Clery Act Campus Safety and Security data, and NOAA US Climate Normals. Distances are straight-line from campus coordinates. Percentiles compare schools of the same level (four-year vs. two-year) that report each statistic.














