Fisk University Admission
Fisk University Undergraduate Program
Fisk University Application

The Facts

Fisk University is located in the heart of country music, Nashville, Tennessee, and is a very small privately funded university founded by and for the African American community. Some of its distinguished alumni include W.E.B. DuBois, several founders of the NAACP and many nationally top-ranked physicians. The school is quite small, and houses only 821 undergraduates and a miniscule 23 graduate students.

There is a student to faculty ratio of 13:1, making for an intimate and intense academic experience. The school offers majors for every interest area, and some of the most popular with students include majors in psychology, biology, business, political science, and dramatic and speech. A unique fact of the university is rather than being split into separate colleges, it instead offers over 25 smaller academic “programs” in everything from mathematics to music.

Admission to the school is not as competitive as other private universities, but it is tough nonetheless as the administration takes many qualities and characteristics of the applicants into their decisions. Last year, approximately 1,122 students applied and 743 were admitted. Eventually only 231 of those admitted actually enrolled at Fisk. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 800 all the way up to 1030, and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 16 to 21. About 44% of the students were ranked in the top 25% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of about 2.99.

Students laud the low student to faculty ratio saying that the teachers are extremely aware of each student’s progress, and will immediately speak with them is they feel something is slipping. However, when things are going well, professors are equally as inclined to reward students for a job well done.

The Social Scene

Fisk University has a beautiful old campus that is actually in the National Register of Historic Places. The campus is quite small and filled with lots of natural beauty, mostly large, old trees. The surrounding neighborhoods aren’t terribly safe, so most students opt to live on campus in one of the strictly single-sex dorms. (official quiet hours are even enforced from 8 pm to 8 am, but oddly, most students don’t complain) Students do live off campus, but many more are actually commuters from surrounding areas.

The school is definitely not a place to come if you are big into partying. The students here are serious when it comes to their learning, and usually sidestep parties and socializing for studying. However, when they do let themselves away from the books, the city of Nashville has plenty to offer in the way of clubs, bars and other venues, especially ones that have to do with country music.

Fraternities and sororities are a big part of campus life, but not really on the social scene. They are a way for students to come together to help out the community and to increase their bonds by having a sense of pride for the African American community as a whole.

The dating scene is pretty good, if you can manage to lure your date away from their studies for a brief excursion to a cafe. But we hear the pickings are quite good and quite attractive...

What's Good

“The school is tiny and it allows you to have a strong sense of pride in your community.”

“The teachers are extremely accessible and you end up developing bonds that last even once you graduate.”

“Nashville is a great town and there is never a lack of things to do on the weekends, if you have time, that is.”

What's Bad

“People here seem really hesitant to have any fun. They are so concerned about being stellar students that they rarely let themselves have fun.”

“The campus is a bit too small. It seems like everyone knows everyone else’s business, which can get really invasive and smothering.”

“The dorm rules are ridiculous. They treat you like a juvenile delinquent or something. It certainly begins to feel like a prison.”

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