By Elizabeth LaScala, PhD
Admissions to many flagship state universities used to be taken for granted, but this is not true for the University of Tennessee-Knoxville (UTK). The university reported a record-low acceptance rate of just over 33% for the incoming Class of 2028. While nearly 65% of in-state applicants got in, only 25% of non-residents were equally fortunate.
With nearly 29,000 undergrads, UTK is a fast-growing school. Freshman classes have grown nearly 50% since 2014. UTK became test-mandatory during this past cycle, so good scores are crucial in admissions. For the Class of 2028, the average SAT score was 1270, up from 1160 ten years before, and the average ACT Composite was 28.
UTK offers a lot of special academic opportunities.
The Haslam School of Business, serving 30 percent of undergrads, has three first-year programs: Venture LLC, a living-learning community with a focus on service; First-Year Experience with study abroad opportunities; and TakeOff, a first-gen peer advising program. The business school has three honors programs including the Greg & Lisa Smith Global Leadership Scholars, the Heath Integrated Business & Engineering Program, and the Business Fellows program for high achievers.
UTK’s Tickle College of Engineering provides its own honors programs and Engage, a mandatory first-year engineering course for team-based problem-solving. Unique engineering majors include Biosystems, Data Science, and Nuclear Engineering.
UTK’s location makes it a great community for livability, spirit, and sports. Knoxville is the fourth-most populous city in the Southeastern Conference. Downtown Knoxville is very student friendly with free mass transit around town and accessibility to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Additionally, the university is constructing three new residence halls, one opening in 2025 and the others in 2026. There are 47 fraternities and sororities that attract about 20% of the men and just over 33% of the women and offer abundant housing options.
Spirit and sports start with football. Neyland Stadium is the sixth largest stadium in NCAA D-1 college football, seating over 100,000 people. Student admission to all other sports events is free, a huge bargain to witness the athletic successes of the Volunteers. Few flagships combine learning with school spirit and pride better than the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Make the trek to this school and you will never forget the words to Rocky Top, the fight song, for the rest of your life.
In addition to granting the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN), UTK’s College of Nursing offers the BSN Scholars Program, a partnership with the University of Tennessee Medical Center. Students accepted will complete their classes and clinical rotations at the medical center while receiving scholarship tuition with a three-year work commitment post-graduation.
UTK’s College of Architecture and Design offers a five-year undergraduate program in Architecture (BArch) culminating in licensure and Bachelor’s Degrees in Graphic Design, Landscape Architecture, or Interior Architecture. The Bachelor’s can be combined in a 4+2 program with the Master of Architecture or Landscape Architecture.
Public: 28,883 undergraduates, 7,421 graduate students
34% acceptance rate;
mid-SAT: RW 600-670, M 590-670; mid-ACT: 25-31;
1% International, 21% Diversity, 34% Out of State Student-Faculty: 18 to 1
Image Credit
Title: Ayres Hall at UT Knoxville
Author: Bubbahotepblues
License: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ayres_Hall_at_UT_Knoxville.jpg