Photo: Alexis Sprague · CC BY-SA 3.0Southern Adventist University is 1.7 miles from Ooltewah
No college sits inside Ooltewah’s boundary, but Southern Adventist University’s campus in Collegedale, with 2,956 students on campus, is 1.7 miles from the center of town, and Chattanooga State Community College is 10.5 miles away in Chattanooga. About 8% of Ooltewah’s residents are enrolled in college, about the same as Tennessee (5%).
From the U.S. Department of Education (College Scorecard, June 2026; IPEDS fall 2023 enrollment) and the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey, 2020–24. Straight-line distances from the center of Ooltewah. Colleges are described, not graded.
What stands out about college from Ooltewah
Facts about the town and its distance to campus; each college’s own figures follow.
Colleges within 15 miles of Ooltewah
Five private colleges within 12.7 miles, one public college within 14 miles, and two community colleges.
Degree-granting colleges with 100 or more students on campus (fall 2023 enrollment, minus students who study only online). Admitted: share of applicants offered a place. Net price: the average a year after grants, for students on federal aid. Graduate: within 6 years (4-year colleges) or 3 (2-year). Earnings: median, 10 years after starting.
What would your family pay?
The average a year after grants, for families on federal aid, at the colleges within 15 miles. Pick your family’s income.
Starts at $48–75k, where Ooltewah’s median household income ($62,292) falls.
The average a year after grants and scholarships, for first-time, full-time students on federal aid, from the College Scorecard. Your own price depends on your aid package; every college has a net price calculator. For community colleges the net price counts housing and food at full cost, so tuition is shown beside it. “—”: not reported for that income.
Do students finish, and does it pay?
Each dot is a college within 15 miles of Ooltewah: across is the share who graduate, up is what they earn ten years after starting.
Graduation: first-time, full-time students within 6 years (4-year colleges) or 3 years (2-year). Earnings: median, 10 years after starting, for students who got federal aid. *Reported for all the campuses that file together: Miller-Motte College-Chattanooga (22).
Questions about college near Ooltewah
Is Ooltewah a college town?
No. About 8 of every 100 Ooltewah residents are enrolled in college (Census, 2020–24), about the same as Tennessee (5). The nearest campus, Southern Adventist University, is 1.7 miles away in Collegedale.
What colleges are near Ooltewah?
8 colleges are within 15 miles. The largest: The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga (14 miles, 10,079 students on campus), Chattanooga State Community College (10.5 miles, 4,824) and Lee University (12.2 miles, 3,258).
What is the closest community college to Ooltewah, and what does it cost?
Chattanooga State Community College in Chattanooga, 10.5 miles away. Tuition and fees are $4,772 a year for Tennessee residents; the federal net price, $5,283, counts housing and food at full cost.
How much does The University of Tennessee-Chattanooga cost if we live in Tennessee?
Tuition and fees are $10,448 a year in-state and $18,512 from out of state. After grants, families on federal aid paid an average of $9,876 (under $30,000 income) to $19,137 (over $110,000), housing and food included.
Neighbors talk college
Students, parents, alumni and the neighbors next door.
Colleges: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS (Scorecard 06/10/2026 · IPEDS 2024 · fall 2023 enrollment). “On campus” is fall enrollment minus students who study only online. Distances are straight-line from the center of Ooltewah. Residents in college, age, rent and poverty (including poverty without college students, table B14006): U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020–24. Colleges are described, not graded; the College town label marks towns where 15% or more of residents are enrolled. How TownRatings describes colleges →