Middle Tennessee State University
Murfreesboro, Tennessee · Public · 16,301 undergraduates · mtsu.edu
Test policy (fall 2027)
Test required
Send an SAT or ACT score
Admit rate
64%
of 17,724 applicants
SAT (middle 50%)
1020 to 1220
of enrolled freshmen
Annual cost (2027-28)
$32,550Est.Estimate
$56,860 out of state
Your chances and merit aid at Middle Tennessee State University
See where you stand for admission, how much merit aid you could get, and what you'd pay after it.
We started you at a typical enrolled freshman here. Move the sliders to match you.
Your admission chances
64% of applicants admitted
Target
Your SAT is inside the range where the middle half of enrolled freshmen scored, and your GPA is in the middle half of freshmen's.
Estimated merit aid
a year
Your cost after merit aid
$53,360
a year in 2027-28, from a $56,860 sticker price (out of state)
What to do with your 1120
Send your score
This college requires an SAT or ACT score.
Reach, target and likely are a rough guide from your test score and how selective the college is. Admissions also weigh your courses, grades, essays and activities. Merit aid figures are estimates, before any need-based aid.
Admissions
Test policy for fall 2027
Test required
You must send an SAT or ACT score.
- Applicants 21 or older may undergo placement assessment instead of providing ACT/SAT; HiSET/GED may substitute for a diploma (not for test scores).
Source: Undergraduate Admissions - How to Apply | MTSU · Checked October 17, 2026
Application deadlines
- Dec1Priority deadline · December 1, 2026Apply by this date for the best chance at admission and scholarships.
- Jul1Priority deadline · July 1, 2027Apply by this date for the best chance at admission and scholarships.
Who gets in
64%
of applicants were admitted: 11,277 of 17,724 for fall 2025.
Test scores of enrolled freshmen (fall 2025)
The shaded part shows the middle half of enrolled freshmen who sent scores: a quarter scored below it and a quarter above. 6.6% of them sent SAT scores and 92% sent ACT scores.
SAT total 1020 to 1220
Reading and Writing 515 to 630
Math 495 to 610
ACT composite 19 to 25
How enrolled freshmen scored on the SAT
- 1400 to 16001.4%
- 1200 to 139932%
- 1000 to 119947%
- 800 to 99919%
- 600 to 7991.4%
- 400 to 5990%
Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026
High school GPA of enrolled freshmen
Average GPA: 3.62
- 4.024%
- 3.75 to 3.9925%
- 3.50 to 3.7420%
- 3.25 to 3.4914%
- 3.00 to 3.2411%
- 2.50 to 2.996%
- Below 2.501%
Cost and financial aid
The sticker price is what a year costs before any aid. Most students pay less after grants and scholarships.
Sticker price for 2027-28Estimate
$32,550
a year, in state
$56,860
a year, out of state (tuition $36,070)
- Tuition (in state)$11,760
What families actually pay
What a year cost on average after grants and scholarships, for freshmen who got federal aid in 2023-24 (in-state students), by family income.
- $0 to $30,000$8,914
- $30,001 to $48,000$9,294
- $48,001 to $75,000$11,139
- $75,001 to $110,000$15,385
- Over $110,000$18,856
Financial aid
62%
of a student's financial need is covered, on average
$8,221
average need-based grant to freshmen, money you don't repay
25%
of freshmen got merit aid without financial need, $9,799 on average
- FAFSA
- Required for need-based aid. It's the free federal aid form.
- CSS Profile
- Not required. Only the FAFSA is needed.
Source: Common Data Set 2025-2026
Merit scholarships
Awards for grades and scores, on top of need-based aid. You don't repay them.
Centennial Scholarship
$8,000 a year
Automatic · No separate application
- 3.50+ GPA, 1490+ SAT or 34+ ACT
Deadline: December 1, 2026 (all materials on file). To keep it: a 3.0 college GPA, checked each semester, and stay a full-time student every fall and spring semester.
DetailsTrustee Scholarship
$5,000 a year
Automatic · No separate application
- 3.50+ GPA, 1360 to 1480 SAT or 30 to 33 ACT
Deadline: December 1, 2026 (all materials on file). To keep it: a 3.0 college GPA, checked each semester, and stay a full-time student every fall and spring semester.
DetailsPresidential Scholarship
$4,500 a year
Automatic · No separate application
- 3.50+ GPA, 1200 to 1350 SAT or 25 to 29 ACT
Deadline: December 1, 2026 (all materials on file). To keep it: a 3.0 college GPA, checked each semester, and stay a full-time student every fall and spring semester.
DetailsTrue Blue Scholarship
$3,500 a year
Automatic · No separate application
- 3.50+ GPA, 1100 to 1190 SAT or 22 to 24 ACT
Deadline: December 1, 2026 (all materials on file). To keep it: a 3.0 college GPA, checked each semester, and stay a full-time student every fall and spring semester.
Details
Show 2 more scholarships
Regional Scholars Program
reduced tuition of approximately 48% off the standard out-of-state rate; graduates of high schools within ~250 miles or in the eight bordering states
Automatic · Out-of-state students · No separate application
- 1200+ SAT or 25+ ACT, high school within ~250 miles of MTSU or in AL, AR, GA, KY, MS, MO, NC or VA, from Alabama or Arkansas or Georgia or Kentucky or Missouri or Mississippi or North Carolina or Virginia
Deadline: December 1 (to also be guaranteed an academic scholarship). To keep it: stay a full-time student (at least 12 credit hours a semester).
DetailsBuchanan Fellowship
Full tuition
Competitive · Application required
- 3.50+ GPA, 1360+ SAT or 30+ ACT
Deadline: December 1 of the year prior to fall enrollment. To keep it: keep meeting the program's requirements.
Details
Tennessee programs for residents
Ned McWherter Scholars Program
$6,000 a year
State program · In-state students
- 3.75+ GPA, 1430+ SAT or 32+ ACT, Competitive merit award; application with transcript through first semester of senior year and official ACT/SAT; competitive, limited funding
Aspire Award
State program · In-state students
Up to $750/semester (4-year) or up to $250/semester (2-year) in addition to HOPE
- 3.00+ GPA, 1060+ SAT or 21+ ACT, Need-based HOPE supplement; meet HOPE requirements and parents' (or independent student's and spouse's) AGI of $36,000 or less
General Assembly Merit Scholarship (GAMS)
State program · In-state students
Up to $500/semester in addition to HOPE (including summer)
- 3.75+ GPA, 1330+ SAT or 29+ ACT, HOPE supplement (TN public or category 1-3 private HS graduates); must meet HOPE Scholarship requirements; FAFSA, from Tennessee
Tennessee HOPE Scholarship
State program · In-state students
4-year (and 2-year with housing): up to $2,250/semester freshman & sophomore, up to $2,850/semester junior & senior; 2-year: up to $1,600/semester
- 3.00+ GPA, 1060+ SAT or 21+ ACT, HOPE Scholarship (entering freshmen); enroll within 16 months of HS graduation; FAFSA
Compare awards across colleges with the merit aid calculator.
AP credit
AP exams that earn credit can replace college courses, so you pay for fewer of them and may graduate sooner.
AP exams that earn credit
34 of 34
Earn credit with a score of 3
30 exams
A 3-credit course is worth
about $1,180Est.Estimate
at 2027-28 tuition for in-state students
Credit for each AP exam
| Exam | Score needed | Credits | Counts as |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-D Art and Design | 3 | 3 | ART 1610 |
| 3-D Art and Design | 3 | 3 | ART 1630 |
| Art History | 3 | 3 | ART 1030 |
| Biology | 3 | 4 | BIOL1030/ BIOL 1031 (Science major may receive credit for BIOL 1110/BIOL 1111, BIOL 1120/BIOL 1121 upon recommendation of chair, Department of Biology.) |
| Calculus AB | 3 | 4 | MATH 1910 |
| Calculus BC | 3 | 4 | MATH 1920 |
| Chemistry | 3 | 4 | CHEM 1110/ CHEM 1111 OR CHEM 1010/ CHEM 1011 |
| Chemistry | 5 | 8 | CHEM 1110/ CHEM 1111, CHEM 1120/ CHEM 1121 |
| Chinese Language and Culture | 3 | 9 | CHIN 1010 and 1020 and 2020 |
| Chinese Language and Culture | 4 | 12 | CHIN 1010 and 1020 and 2010 and 2020 |
| Comparative Government and Politics | 3 | 3 | PS 1010 |
| Computer Science A | 3 | 4 | CSCI 1170 |
| Drawing | 3 | 3 | ART 1620 |
| English Language and Composition | 3 | 3 | ENGL 1010 |
| English Literature and Composition | 3 | 3 | ENGL 1010 |
| Environmental Science | 3 | 3 | ENVS 2810 |
| European History | 3 | 3 | HIST 1020 |
| French Language and Culture | 3 | 6 | FREN 1010 & 1020 |
| German Language and Culture | 3 | 6 | GERM 1010 & 1020 |
| Human Geography | 3 | 3 | GS 2010 |
| Italian Language and Culture | 3 | 9 | ITAL 1010 and 1020 and 2010 |
| Italian Language and Culture | 4 | 12 | ITAL 1010 and 1020 and 2010 and 2020 |
| Japanese Language and Culture | 3 | 9 | JAPN 1010 and 1020 and 2010 |
| Japanese Language and Culture | 4 | 12 | JAPN 1010 and 1020 and 2010 and 2020 |
| Latin | 3 | 6 | LATN 1010 & 1020 |
| Macroeconomics | 3 | 3 | ECON 2410 |
| Microeconomics | 3 | 3 | ECON 2420 |
| Music Theory | 3 | 3 | MUTH 1000 |
| Physics 1 | 4 | 4 | PHYS 2010/2011* |
| Physics 2 | 4 | 4 | PHYS 2020/2021* |
| Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism | 4 | 4 | PHYS 2110/2111 |
| Physics C: Mechanics | 4 | 4 | PHYS 2110/2111* |
| Psychology | 3 | 3 | PSY 1410 |
| Spanish Language and Culture | 3 | 6 | SPAN 1010 & 1020 |
| Statistics | 3 | 3 | MATH 1530 |
| United States Government and Politics | 3 | 3 | PS 1005 |
| United States History | 3 | 6 | HIST 2010 & 2020 |
| World History: Modern | 3 | 6 | HIST 110, HIST 1120 |
Source: AP credit policy
After college
Graduate within 6 years
54%
Come back for a second year
80%
Typical earnings
$52,702
a year, 10 years after starting here
- Middle Tennessee State University$57,253
- All colleges$55,386
Median yearly earnings of graduates five years after finishing a bachelor's in this major. 52 majors here have earnings data.
Keep exploring
Figures marked Estimate are our estimates, not numbers the college published. Check each college's own site before you apply. SAT is a trademark of College Board, and ACT is a trademark of ACT, Inc. Sharp is not affiliated with either, or with Middle Tennessee State University. The Middle Tennessee State University logo is a trademark of the college.