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Private Tennessee universities dominate Wallethub 'Best of' list for 2018

wallethub.com

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (OSBORNE)  --  WMOT reporting partner Wallethub.com is out with their 2018 ranking of the nation’s best universities. The personal finance website scored more than thousand schools nationwide and only one Tennessee University made the top 20.

Wallethub analysts looked at criteria in 26 categories, including student selectivity, cost and financing, faculty to student ratios, graduation rates, and career outcomes.

Analyst Jill Gonzalez says Vanderbilt University was the highest ranking Tennessee school, placing 16th overall and 3rd among colleges in the south.

“It needs a little bit more work when it comes to its student-faculty ratio, obviously a much bigger school, but we’re still seeing that with the return on investment is there and that people ten years out are actually making pretty good salaries, upwards of $60,000 per year.”

While much has been written about college debt in recent years. Gonzalez says a four-year degree is still a good value.

“Is it worth the payout for these four-year, sometimes private institutions? A lot of the times it certainly is. We’re still seeing that people are making far more than say an Associate’s Degree or a High School Degree holder.”

Gonzalez says a Vandy grad can expect to be making $125,000 a year ten years after graduation; six times what a high school degree will get you over the same period.  The report indicates a UT Knoxville alum can expect to make three times the salary of a high school grad at the ten year mark.

Use this link to learn how the rest of Tennessee's institutions of higher learning scored on the Wallethub 2018 Best Universities list.