By Sue Luse

Location/Overview

UT campus

Located in an urban setting in Knoxville with abundant lakes and rivers and only 40 minutes from the Smoky Mountains. Great college town. Founded in 1794 and became a land-grant university in 1869.  The campus is 580 acres – very walkable. A new Student Union is opening in 2016. They have their own police force and a blue light system.

Student Life

Undergraduate enrollment is approximately 22,000 with about 12% from out-of-state.  All freshman live on campus. Although there is Greek housing available, the University of Tennessee is not a typical SEC (Southeastern Conference) college because they have a smaller Greek system. They get transfer students from Ole Miss and Alabama who didn’t get into a frat or sorority and feel left out of the social scene.  There are lots of rural students. Not considered a “suitcase college”.

School spirit is huge – they sell out over 100,000 seats at football games. Tailgating is very popular – everyone does it. Excellent marching band!

Admissions/Financial Aid

Haslam Music

• Average GPA 3.8 weighted
• Average ACT 27
• Acceptance rate 67.3%
• Freshman retention rate 85%
• Approx. $35,000-$40,000 per year for everything
• A new institutional scholarship model is being implemented starting Fall of 2015. These increased awards will be based on GPA and test score and do not require an essay:
  • Minimum 3.8 weighted UT core GPA and Score Range Out-of-State
    • 34-36 / 1490-1600 $18,000
    • 30-33 / 1330-1480 $15,000
    • 28-29 / 1250-1320 $10,000

Academics

Ayres

• The College of Engineering is great (the creator of the Garmin went to UT)
• Have a high tech business building and their College of Business holds high rankings: http://bus.utk.edu/RankingsNew.asp
• Communications and Advertising are strong majors
• They have a 5-year Education Program which includes a Masters
• Good Vet Program
• There is a new Music Building – an audition process is required for music majors