There are 5 ABA-accredited law schools in Tennessee, and 3 schools were ranked in top 100 U.S. law school ranking with academic excellence.
1 state accredited law schools (non-ABA) are excluded from the best law school selection. You can compare all law schools including state accredited law schools at Tennessee law school comparison page.
The below list compares important statistics between the 3 best law schools and all law schools in Tennessee.
- The average LSAT Score of the best law schools is 165.0, which is 4.4 points higher than average score of all Tennessee law schools.
- The average GPA of the best law schools is 3.88, which is 0.16 points higher than average GPA of all Tennessee law schools.
- The average acceptance rate is 25.22%, which is 8.56% lower than average rate of all Tennessee law schools.
- The average yield is 24.59%, while all Tennessee law schools's yield is 30.29%
- In average, 513 students enrolled in ech best law school, which is larger than Tennessee' average (441).
- The students to faculty ratio of the best law schools is 5.3 to 1, which means that a faculty need to teach and care larger number of students than other Tennessee law schools (5.2 to 1).
- The average bar exam pass rate of the best law schools is 93.82%, which is higher than Tennessee' average (83.72%).
Tennessee Best Law Schools Comparison
The following table compares the 3 best Tennessee law schools with important statistics.
| School | U.S. Law School Ranking | Founded | Tuition & Fees | LSAT | GPA | Population | Students to Faculty |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt University Law SchoolPrivateNashville, TN | 22 | 1874 | $81,492 | 170 | 3.91 | 656 | 4 to 1 |
| University of Tennessee College of LawPublicKnoxville, TN | 44 | 1890 | $39,496 | 164 | 3.89 | 510 | 5 to 1 |
| Belmont University College of LawPrivateNashville, TN | 57 | 2011 | $59,155 | 161 | 3.84 | 372 | 7 to 1 |
Tennessee Best Law Schools Statistics over the Past 5 Years
The tables below compare tuition, admission statistics, bar exam pass over the past 5 years. The data used is from 2022 to 2026, except bar exam pass rate from 2021 to 2025.
| School | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt University Law School | $66,342 | $68,816 ▲3.60% | $72,184 ▲4.67% | $75,440 ▲4.32% | $78,799 ▲4.26% |
| University of Tennessee College of Law | $38,842 | $38,842 | $39,152 ▲0.79% | $39,252 ▲0.25% | $39,322 ▲0.18% |
| Belmont University College of Law | $50,540 | $52,440 ▲3.62% | $54,380 ▲3.57% | $56,360 ▲3.51% | $57,705 ▲2.33% |
| School | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt University Law School | 169 | 170 ▲1 | 170 | 169 ▼-1 | 170 ▲1 |
| University of Tennessee College of Law | 160 | 160 | 162 ▲2 | 163 ▲1 | 164 ▲1 |
| Belmont University College of Law | 158 | 160 ▲2 | 160 | 160 | 161 ▲1 |
| School | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt University Law School | 3.89 | 3.9 ▲0.01 | 3.89 ▼-0.01 | 3.89 | 3.91 ▲0.02 |
| University of Tennessee College of Law | 3.67 | 3.76 ▲0.09 | 3.78 ▲0.02 | 3.82 ▲0.04 | 3.89 ▲0.07 |
| Belmont University College of Law | 3.71 | 3.7 ▼-0.01 | 3.77 ▲0.07 | 3.79 ▲0.02 | 3.84 ▲0.05 |
| School | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanderbilt University Law School | 92.55% | 95.15% ▲2.60% | 92.05% ▼-3.10% | 96.97% ▲4.92% | 96.97% |
| University of Tennessee College of Law | 90.39% | 88.5% ▼-1.89% | 88.39% ▼-0.11% | 83.65% ▼-4.74% | 83.65% |
| Belmont University College of Law | 82.48% | 88.54% ▲6.06% | 87.07% ▼-1.47% | 93.58% ▲6.51% | 93.58% |