Lee University

Overview

Rankings

• #4 Best Education Colleges in Tennessee
• #6 Best Communications Colleges in Tennessee
• #16 Best Online Colleges in Tennessee
• #17 Best Bachelor's Programs in Tennessee
• #17 Best Master's Programs in Tennessee
• #17 Best Psychology Colleges in Tennessee
• #19 Best Colleges in Tennessee
• #22 Best Business Colleges in Tennessee

Academics & Admissions

Is It Hard to Get Into Lee University? Acceptance Rate & Requirements

As a private institution in Cleveland, Tennessee, Lee University admits most of the students who apply; the acceptance rate is roughly 71%. Admitted students typically arrive with an average SAT score near 1,145. The graduation rate is roughly 62%.

Acceptance Rate

71%

Retention Rate

82%

SAT Average

1145

ACT Midpoint

24

SAT Range

1040–1230

ACT Range

20–27

Full-Time Faculty

84%

Faculty Salary (mo)

$7,655

Student–Faculty Ratio

12:1

Diversity Index

0.36

First-Gen Students

31%

Applicants

2,014

Admitted

1,462

Inside the Admissions Office

School-reported Common Data Set · 2025-26

The acceptance rate tells you how hard Lee University is to get into. Its Common Data Set tells you what happens once you are admitted: how many students say yes, how many arrived without test scores, and whether applying early tilts the odds. 4% of admitted students go on to enroll here, making it a school most admitted students ultimately pass on.

Yield Rate

4%

of admits enroll

Submitted SAT

22%

of enrolled freshmen

Submitted ACT

64%

of enrolled freshmen

Cost & Financial Aid

How Much Does It Cost to Attend Lee University? Tuition, Net Price & Aid

Published tuition at Lee University is $23,790, but few families pay that. The number to watch is net price, what students actually pay each year after federal grants and institutional scholarships. Here it averages about $18,878. Students from families earning under $30,000 typically pay closer to $12,834 after need-based grants. The median graduate leaves with about $25,750 in federal student loans.

In-State Tuition

$23,790

Out-of-State

$23,790

Avg Net Price

$18,878

Median Debt

$25,750

Pell Grant Rate

29%

Federal Loan Rate

42%

Students Like You

Tell us a little about yourself to see what students like you have typically experienced at Lee University — the net price for your income, your admission odds, and the outcomes that follow. These are patterns from federal data, not predictions.

Graduate Outcomes

Is Lee University Worth It? Graduate Earnings & ROI

Ten years out, alumni of Lee University report median earnings of $43,222, a figure worth comparing against the cost of attendance before enrolling.

6 Years After Entry

$38,082

8 Years

$41,919

10 Years

$43,222

Debt-to-Earnings

0.6x

Earning > $25K

54%

Social Mobility

Data: Raj Chetty's Mobility Report Card · 30M+ anonymized tax records

Does Lee University Drive Upward Mobility? Economic Mobility & Low-Income Outcomes

Lee University is a genuine engine of upward mobility. Its mobility rate, the share of students who start in the bottom income quintile and climb to the top, is 1.38%, well above the typical college. About 8.7% of students come from families in the bottom income quintile. Among bottom-quintile students who attend, roughly 15.8% go on to reach the top of the income ladder. The median family income of students sits near $78,600, a snapshot of the campus's socioeconomic mix.

Mobility Rate

1.38%

Bottom 20% → Top 20%

Success Rate

15.8%

If bottom 20% get in

From Bottom 20%

8.7%

Share of students

Parent Median Income

$106,790

today's $ (2015 cohort data)

Social Capital

Data: Opportunity Insights Social Capital Atlas

How Connected Is Lee University? Social Capital & Cross-Class Networks

Social capital, the web of cross-class friendships that researchers link to long-run upward mobility, runs high at Lee University. Its economic connectedness score is 1.65, where about 1.0 is the national norm. Its friending bias is low (-0.03), a sign that students from different economic backgrounds actually mix rather than self-segregate. Around 6% of students take part in civic and volunteering activity.

Economic Connectedness

1.65

Cross-class friendships

Friending Bias

-0.03

Lower = more inclusive

Volunteering Rate

5.9%

Support Ratio

1.00

Community support

Institutional Finances

Data: NCES IPEDS

Investment Income

$-4,038,778

Top Programs

The fields Lee University awards the most degrees in, by share of completions. Where federal field-of-study data exists, we show what graduates in that major earned early in their careers. Each links to its degree guide — or see what someone with your income, scores, and major would pay and earn here in the Students Like You simulator.

• Business & Marketing 13% $66,093 early-career
• Health Professions 12% $63,075 early-career
• Education 10% $46,457 early-career
• Psychology 10% $31,903 early-career
• Humanities 8% $46,350 early-career
• Visual & Performing Arts 7% $29,935 early-career
• Communications 6% $34,902 early-career
• English & Literature 3% $46,350 early-career

Early-career median earnings by major (typically 1–2 years after completion, bachelor's level where available), in today's dollars (CPI-adjusted). Source: U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard field of study. Distinct from the school-wide 10-year median; suppressed for small programs.