Union University

Gaining admission to Union University is moderately selective, though its national standing has experienced a gradual decline over the past decade. In the U.S. News rankings, the institution stood at 169 in 2017 before slipping to 242 in 2026. For applicants, securing an offer of admission remains achievable for most qualified students. In 2025, the university posted an acceptance rate of 60.4%, which is higher than 31% of peer institutions in the all private comprehensive universities comparison group. Despite recent ranking declines, the institution shows a relatively steady ability to attract admitted applicants to enroll. In 2025, its yield rate reached 30.1%, higher than 78% of peer schools. This indicates that while the school is somewhat more selective than the typical private university in its peer group, those who receive offers matriculate at an above-average rate, making it a firm option for students seeking its specific collegiate environment.

Prospective applicants to Union University face standardized testing expectations that position the school in line with private peers. For the entering class of 2025, the university reported a median SAT score of 1290, which is higher than 52% of institutions in the all private comprehensive universities comparison group. On the ACT, the middle fifty percent of enrolled students achieved composite scores ranging between 22 and 30. Standardized testing represents a familiar component of the profile here, with a substantial majority of students opting to submit ACT results over the SAT. Candidates targeting admission should focus on achieving standardized test marks within or above these mid-range scores alongside steady secondary school grades. Meeting these testing levels provides applicants with a solid foundation when seeking admission to the university's degree programs.

Union University concentrates much of its academic activity in healthcare, professional leadership, and social services rather than spreading degrees evenly across disciplines. In 2025, the university conferred 426 bachelor's degrees, with the top three majors accounting for 33.3% of all undergraduate completions. Its largest undergraduate program is Registered Nursing, which graduated 90 students that year. The university's prominent academic standing lies at the advanced level, where U.S. News ranked its graduate Pharmacy program at 92 in 2026. The institution's largest undergraduate programs do not hold comparable national ranks, but they demonstrate solid workforce returns. According to 2023 earnings data, graduates in Registered Nursing earned a median salary of $76,559 one year after completion. Throughout the entire graduating class of 2025, international students did not account for any degree recipients across all degree levels. For prospective students, these outcomes highlight an institution whose clearest academic focus and post-graduate financial return remain anchored in nursing.

Union University enrolled a total of 2,713 students in 2025, maintaining a student body centered largely around domestic undergraduates. Asian and international students comprise very small shares of each academic cohort. Among first-time freshmen, Asian students numbered 10, representing 2.8% of the entering class, while international students numbered 3. Continuing undergraduates exhibit similar proportions, with each group accounting for less than two percent of enrollment. In the graduate division, Asian students totaled 14 and international students totaled 6, each group again remaining below two percent. White students form the clear majority across undergraduate programs, whereas Black students represent more than a third of all graduate students. The transfer cohort also mirrors this pattern of low representation. These figures indicate that prospective students will find a campus environment where both international scholars and Asian students are limited in number.

The age distribution at Union University reflects a clear distinction between traditional undergraduates and adult graduate learners. In 2025, undergraduates were heavily concentrated in the typical college age brackets: students aged 18 to 19 made up 35.6% of the undergraduate body, while those aged 20 to 21 accounted for 28.5%. Combined with students under 18, over three-quarters of undergraduates are of traditional college age or younger. In contrast, the graduate division serves working-age adults. The largest graduate group was aged 25 to 29 at 21.8%, followed by students aged 40 to 49 at 18.7%. This distribution shows that undergraduate life revolves around young full-time students, whereas graduate studies accommodate older professionals.

The international student population at Union University remains very small, with overseas enrollment representing a minor fraction of the student community. In 2025, international students accounted for 1.6% of the undergraduate body, a proportion that is higher than 19% of peer institutions in the all private comprehensive universities comparison group. At the graduate level, international enrollment has trended downward over time, declining to 6 students in 2025, which corresponds to 0.8% of all graduate students. This limited presence is equally reflected at graduation. In 2025, international students did not account for any degrees awarded at the bachelor's, master's, or doctoral levels. The university's leading programs, including Registered Nursing, Social Work, and Business Administration, graduated entirely domestic cohorts. For prospective international students, these figures show an academic environment where domestic students make up almost the entire student body across both undergraduate and graduate divisions.

Families considering Union University can evaluate several other institutions within the surrounding region. Located 73.3 kilometers away in Memphis, Rhodes College is ranked 49th among national liberal arts colleges in the 2027 rankings, offering an undergraduate-focused setting. In the same metropolitan area, 72 kilometers from campus, sits the University of Memphis, a large public national university ranked 288th. Across the state line in Oxford, 98.4 kilometers away, the University of Mississippi provides a major public research institution ranked 179th among national universities. To the east in Nashville, roughly 119.5 kilometers from Union, Vanderbilt University ranks 16th among national universities as a highly selective private research institution. These neighboring alternatives offer applicants choices ranging from liberal arts colleges to major research universities.

Campus safety records at Union University show that the overall incident volume is moderate, with disciplinary actions and property crimes constituting the primary reports. The crime rate per 1,000 students was 3.7 in 2025. Across the three-year period from 2023 to 2025, policy violations formed the largest single category, led by 54 disciplinary referrals for alcohol. Property and interpersonal offenses accounted for most remaining reports over those same years, including 21 incidents of theft and 16 reports of stalking. Violent incidents such as assault and rape were infrequent during this timeframe, as were residence hall fires. Families and prospective applicants evaluating campus life can see that severe safety threats remain uncommon, while minor infractions and property custody represent the main areas where students need to exercise general caution.