Tennessee Colleges (Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga: dorms, construction, law school)

[moosekevin]

We are considering a move to TN and we have two children in grade school. We have read great things about schools in the Brentwood area, but one on my concerns is opportunities within the state for colleges. I know Vanderbilt is a great school, but very selective and probably cost prohibitive. I know Tennessee is a respected school. What other universities in TN are good for physical therapy and or dentistry/orthodontic studies?

Thanks,
Moose

[vivelafrance]

Originally Posted by moosekevin

We are considering a move to TN and we have two children in grade school. We have read great things about schools in the Brentwood area, but one on my concerns is opportunities within the state for colleges. I know Vanderbilt is a great school, but very selective and probably cost prohibitive. I know Tennessee is a respected school. What other universities in TN are good for physical therapy and or dentistry/orthodontic studies?

Thanks,
Moose

Although there are some great universities within TN, why would they be limited to just TN schools?

[nashvols]

Just for clarification, are you looking for colleges/universities for you, or for your children?

[septimus]

Rhodes and Sewanee are both nationally ranked liberal arts colleges. Belmont has a growing reputation.

Also Univ. of Memphis (state school), UT-Martin, UT-Chat and Tennessee Tech all have good reputations and strong programs in certain majors.

[moosekevin]

I am looking for my children and I ask specifically about in-state schools because of in-state tuition rates.

Thanks for all of your responses.

Moose

[septimus]

FWIW TN has HOPE scholarships for students who maintain certain GPAs/ACT scores. The standards aren't particularly difficult to obtain if you kid is truly college bound material.

Lipscomb which is a private school has a good health sciences program too (my babysitter is a nursing student there).

As for dental that is a graduate level program and there is one at Meharry in Nashville and one at UT in Memphis

[Coney]

You might want to keep your eye on Belmont. They are trying hard to expand and improve their reputation. One of the presidential debates was held there in 2008. It's a private school, but sometimes the cost of a private school can be lower than a state school with financial aid and scholarship money. Since your children are only in grade school, many things can change by the time they are ready. Both P/T and dentistry would be on the graduate/professional school level. Your children don't have to major in a science field to be admitted to a graduate program, but they would need all the prequisite undergraduate science and math classes. I would wait and see how they handle high school science and math before they focus on becoming a P/T or dentist. P/T is now a doctoral program. Both are going to take many years of school/internship/residency.

[wawa1992]

Tennessee Tech is the best. Small town, so no inner city danger to worry about. (I've hitchhiked here and feel safe, but then again I am 20 years old and a guy). Lots to do here, really nice people. Good professors. The newer dorms are very nice, and there is plenty of housing near campus as well. Traffic is not bad.

[MTFan]

Middle Tennessee State University in Murfreesboro (30 minutes south of Nashville) is a very good university.

[dafunk10]

the Nashville area has some great colleges.....I did my undergrad at MTSU and am currently in grad school at Belmont, and both are expanding both in size and reputation....lots of construction on both campuses have made them great places to be a student

MTSU in particular is barely recognizable today from what it was when I was last a student about 4 years ago.....it look awesome.....and Belmont has expanded it's programs and now offers a Healthcare MBA along with relatively new pharmacy and law schools....it is also a reputable school for Music study and a very nice campus near downtown.....both schools have excellent athletics programs as well

beyond those 2, there are many smaller colleges in Nashville (I believe 6-7 [?] within city limits), so plenty to choose from


if you're looking for PT and dentistry in particular, UT-Chattanooga has a good PT program, and I believe the UT-Knoxville satelite campus in Memphis has a reputable dentistry program, but I'm not sure about the Nashville-area universities with those programs