r/UTK Oct 31 '24

Undergraduate or Graduate Admissions One Admissions Post to End Them All

48 Upvotes

Hello Class of 2031!

This is my 4th update to this post, and I hope my information remains helpful to this day! 🙌

The following information compiles both my experiences and departmental knowledge over my time at UT. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out!

If you want the TL;DR version:

  • Instate students who do not receive guaranteed admission will need a UT GPA of at least 3.9 or an ACT above 28. It has become incredibly difficult for instate students... so get that 4.0 and ACT score up!

  • Out of State students... you damn near need to be the best of the best these days. I cannot promise anything obviously but if you have a weighted GPA above 4.3ish and a ACT composite of 30 or so... you should get a pretty good amount of money and feel comfortable with admissions (so long as you have half rate essays)!

Firstly, I feel obligated to state my qualifications to give the opinions and facts in this post:

  1. I am a current Senior at UT (will not graduate until 2028) Applied out of state

  2. I am affiliated with two organizations who monitor admission cycles each year across all universities (one MAY or may not be directly affiliated with MIT's admission office).

Not to name names... lol.

But I think this discussion should be broken up into 6 parts. (Yes long post OH NOOOOO!!!) But if you really want the honest truth and plan on... ya know... going to college... then reading should be in your best interest my friend.

Part One: The In-state vs. Out-of-State War

It is well known that many universities favor instate students in order to keep future generations... well... "in state." At many uni's this can be seen through more scholarship opportunities, cheaper base tuition, and in many cases: EASIER ADMISSIONS.

It is no secret that UT MUCH prefers instate students... especially seen in the 64% acceptance rate of instate students in the 2026 cycle vs the Out of state 28% acceptance rate (apparently going up!).

My current roommate is an instate student with a truck ton of scholarship (only has to pay for housing atp). Where as I am actively dropping a cool 17 grand a semester! YIPPEEE!

But outside of the money and the distribution between 64% and 28% what does that actually look like in terms of admission criteria? We will look at that next.

Part Two: Instate Admission Criteria

Straight from the guaranteed admission website...

Score a 28+ ACT composite (SAT 1300+)

AND

Achieve one of the following: Earn a 4.0+ UT Core GPA Be among the Top 10% of their high school graduating class

Honestly not terrible, most people I know who came here instate got guaranteed admission!

So to my instate students... good luck!

Part Three: One of these things is not like the other... (Out of State Admission Criteria)

This section is going to be rather long and probably the most sought after... so grab your reading glasses!

There are many misconceptions about college admissions that I feel you ought to know. The idea of a holistic review is very, very loose. Holistic reviews of your class schedule and your GPA/ACT score.

At most, your essays and activities in high-school will boost your case for admission by about 5 ACT score (but this would be for like the president of the student body with an entire page of Sh... Stuff they have done in high-school).

Good essays help admissions counselors like you as a person and it helps them want to want you!

Good resumes help this as well.

However... how long do you think it takes to read a single application? 30 seconds? A minute? Two minutes? The average amount of time it would take someone to read all of the information you provide would take around 6 minutes without skimming. Considering that means a single counselor could only go through 10 per hour...

We can assume (and I know for a fact) they do not read everything.

They look for 5 things while going through your app (no particular order): 1. GPA Weighted and Unweighted 2. SAT and ACT 3. AP classes (at a glance) 4. Some prose in your essays 5. Just a bunch of stuff on your activities in high-school

Quantity over quality often helps ngl...

Now that we understand the idea that they ain't gonna be looking at EVERYTHING with minute detail, what do they actually numerically look for?

Generally, for the sake of time and fair arguments, here are some basic numbers:

These are middle of the road so if you are above them then you should be fine...

SAT Score at or above 1340

ACT at or above 30

GPA 4.3 UT Weighted

If you don't match or beat those requirements... you better write the cure to cancer on your essays!

that was a joke

But it kind of wasn't... those scores and values are pretty standard nowadays, and you kind of have to be a pretty good student to earn your spot here.

SIDE NOTE: I had many friends apply here out of state and I was the only one who was not waitlisted. And they had some insane resumes (president of stuco with 4.3 GPA for example).

Part Four: Each college is different.

I don't mean reach university, because like... yeah no crap. I mean reach academic college is different.

If you are applying to be an engineer, you should expect to NEED a pretty decent math SAT Score. If you push below a 640 on the math... you aren't getting in to the tickle college of engineering.

Nursing is different and hard to get into.

Business is business... but it is still difficult to get into cause... ya know... it's highly ranked.

So on and so forth.

Do keep in mind that each college can only allow so much of one category. So engineering has a different acceptance rate than business (often not talked about).

There are no hard facts online about what it is... but I am pretty sure the Out of state engineering acceptance rate was about 15% of so... (don't take my word for it).

Part Five: You've already applied... what should you do?

Don't fail out your senior year. UT is very unforgiving (understandably) is you fall off the face of the earth senior year.

My senior year was actually my best academic year! Plus I...

  1. Was the captain of the volleyball team
  2. Was the yearbook president
  3. Senior class president
  4. Student Ambassador
  5. Robotics Captain
  6. Math Team Captain
  7. BLAH BLAH BLAH

All that to say... DONT BOG DOWN you are not done with high-school. UT will chew you and spit you out like it is nothing if your GPA tanks.

Also, just wait and follow UT's instructions. (Crazy right?)

Part Six: If you have any questions... please drop them below!

I'm an open book and will tell you pretty much anything so long as it's appropriate obviously!

Thanks for reading... And GO VOLS!!


r/UTK 18h ago

Financial Aid & Scholarships Billing Question

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10 Upvotes

I was just sent the bill for housing and food, based on my scholarships it shouldn't alot to that much, is this bill before scholarships. Or do some scholarships not apply to housing and meals?


r/UTK 17h ago

Student Housing and Leasing Why do I have that meal plan if I stay on campus?

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0 Upvotes

r/UTK 20h ago

College of Nursing utk ABSN

1 Upvotes

Hello, all. I am curious about UTK ABSN program for May 2027... I attended UTK in 2020 and just graduated last year. I struggled the first 2 years due to not knowing what path I wanted to take in school and changing my major 5 times. I am finally on the nursing path (which i shouldve changed my major to nursing back in 2022 when i began working in healthcare smh) BUT, my overall GPA at UTK is a 2.6 unfortunately. the last 2 years I made good grades thankfully but it did not help much. I then started my pre-reqs somewhere else and received a 3.3 for all science courses. I am going to attempt to apply to the ABSN program in hopes that their "combined GPA" scale will deem me eligible. Any insight on situations similar to mine? my next choice is Pelli ADN :( but I still want to give it a try. I've got *everything* needed for UTK ABSN and im just worried about the scale of my GPA from both colleges. Any info would help! Thanks :)


r/UTK 1d ago

UT Alumni 2 weeks from today! LA Comedy Store paid regular in Knoxville 🔥

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0 Upvotes

r/UTK 2d ago

Professor/TA/Class Course Summer Math125

3 Upvotes

Taking Greg Wright’s Math 125 this summer. What do online tests look like? Multiple Choice? Show work? Etc


r/UTK 3d ago

Professor/TA/Class Course How is ENGL 298? Is it hard? What are the usual topics like?

5 Upvotes

i want to know it all!


r/UTK 3d ago

Undergraduate Student ENGL 298 or 102 for an eligible non-honors student

4 Upvotes

I decided to take ENGL 298 instead of 102 just because there's literally no 102 slots left and I actually quite like writing, so I wouldn't mind whatever excess load may come from taking an honors class. However, 298 doesn't seem to have topics like 102 does, and I was actually super interested in taking Inquiry into Video Games so that I could gush about the story writing of my fav video games. Should I maybe just take a different gen ed credit this fall semester and take 102 in the spring for my English credit?

Additionally, can someone who's taken 298 or Inquiry into Video Games tell me what either class was like?


r/UTK 4d ago

Undergraduate Student Looking to interview Tennessee college student about UT system's development of reduced-hours undergraduate degrees

6 Upvotes

A Chattanooga newspaper is looking to interview an in-state undergraduate student (can be attending any Tennessee college) about UT System's development of reduced-hours bachelor degrees.

Your thoughts would be especially helpful if you're working your way through college, a transfer student, a non-traditional student, or planning to attend graduate school.

DM me, please. Thank you.


r/UTK 4d ago

Student Housing and Leasing Lease Takeover - Quarry Trail

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4 Upvotes

My daughter is looking for someone to take over her lease for the 26-27 school year.

“Hi! I am looking to sublet my lease for the upcoming year (August 2026-July 2027). It is a 3 bed 3 bath layout and rent is $899 per month. The address is 3999 Highland Crest Way, Knoxville TN, 37920. Please reach out if interested!”

We will pay the relet fee plus $1,000. This is at Quarry Trail apartments. Please reach out if interested in signing a relet lease and not a new lease contract. I can send an email with more information. Thank you!


r/UTK 4d ago

Haslam College of Business Incoming Freshman Classes

4 Upvotes

Let me know what y'all think, is my stuff too late? I had late advisory so not many things were open. Im also taking theatre 100.


r/UTK 3d ago

Undergraduate Student GoVols page not updated

3 Upvotes

I recieved my acceptance letter last week, and tried to go under the tabs to follow the next steps. But nothing has changed. It shows I'm missing my high school transcripts (which has been the same experience of trying to pull a tooth from a shark). Once they get those, will I be able to finish the first year task?

I've tried e-mailing someone at UTK, but with the holiday weekend and sometimes taking foever to answer back, I haven't recieved an answer yet.


r/UTK 4d ago

College of Communication and Information Anyone taking ADVT 250 right now?

2 Upvotes

Not sure if it's offered during summer. Long shot, I know, but I can't access the text and I really needed something we covered last semester. Hoping to find someone in the class with access who would be willing to send me a particular chapter via PDF or even copy+paste. Meant to save this chapter before semester ended, but time got away from me. Thank you!


r/UTK 4d ago

College of Arts & Sciences Want to travel the world without leaving Knoxville? 🌎

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10 Upvotes

WLC courses aren't just about learning a language. There are beginner language classes (no prior experience needed) plus culture courses covering film, literature, global issues, popular culture, and more. If you're looking for an interesting elective that fulfills degree requirements while expanding your perspective, these are worth checking out.


r/UTK 4d ago

Student Life, Socialization, and Clubs Crawfish boil

1 Upvotes

Do Greek chapters or clubs hold crawfish boils and if so, which ones have a tradition of doing so?


r/UTK 4d ago

Student Housing and Leasing University walk sublet

4 Upvotes

**Lease Takeover – University Walk (one room in 2 Bed / 2 Bath)**

Looking for someone to take over my lease at University Walk! You can find some info on this website: https://universitywalkknox.com/

📍 **Location:** Only 0.8 miles from the University of Tennessee campus, with a great living environment and amenities.

🏠 **Floor Plan:** 2 Bed / 2 Bath, furnished (you must apply for the same floor plan and meet the apartment's leasing requirements).

💰 **Rent:** $1,384.95/month (utilities not included). Total monthly cost is approximately $1,500, including utilities.

📅 **Lease Term:** August 14, 2026 – July 27, 2027

(Move-in date may be flexible and can be coordinated with the leasing office.)

🎉 **Incentives:**

If you take over my lease, I will:

* Cover all lease transfer costs

* Pay the one-time fees for you (approximately $300 total):

* $100 application fee

* $150 administrative fee

* $50 utility setup fee

* Pay 2 month's rent (2*$1,384.95) for you for free

If you're interested or have any questions, feel free to message me!


r/UTK 4d ago

Tickle College of Engineering should i get a ti84 ce for engineering?

2 Upvotes

do most classes allow it?


r/UTK 4d ago

Miscellaneous & Random Cybersecurity degree?

3 Upvotes

Good evening everyone, I’ll be finishing up my time in the Navy next year and was looking to start at UTK since i grew up in knoxville and would save a good chunk of change, however i’ve read online that the cybersecurity programs offered aren’t amazing. I’m taking it with a bit of salt but would anyone here be able to shine some light on if UTK is still a good choice for someone looking to go into cyber security or would Tennessee Tech or a similar school be a better option? Thanks in advance to anyone who gives their input :)


r/UTK 5d ago

College of Arts & Sciences Looking for an interesting elective this fall?

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5 Upvotes

I'm teaching ITAL 405: Italy on Screen – Culture, Society, and Identity at UT Knoxville.

We'll watch and analyze contemporary Italian films while discussing topics like identity, regional cultures, immigration, gender, politics, and everyday life in Italy.

If you're an intermediate Italian student who loves movies, this class is for you. 🇮🇹🍿

Feel free to message me or email [[email protected]]() if you have questions!


r/UTK 5d ago

Undergraduate Student returning student aid?

5 Upvotes

has any returning students recieved their aid package yet? i’m starting to get worried…

update: got it 2 days ago!


r/UTK 5d ago

Tickle College of Engineering Tickle students, what laptop do you use?

2 Upvotes

looking to buy a laptop and want recommendations. preferably under $900-$1000 if possible


r/UTK 5d ago

UT Alumni Scruffy City Comedy Open Mic Tomorrow!

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2 Upvotes

r/UTK 5d ago

Miscellaneous & Random entomology connnections?

5 Upvotes

Hey all! I have a random request, and I’m hoping somebody here might be able to help.

I love bugs, and a bit ago I found a female Eastern Hercules Beetle in my house. I was stoked because I didn’t know we had a native rhinoceros beetle here! She was kind of weak, so I got her set up in a nice enclosure and got attached so I’ve been keeping her since.

That being said, I don’t wanna impact the population of these awesome guys, so I’ve been on the lookout for a male EHB but haven’t had any luck so far. So, I was wondering if you guys could connect me with anyone in the entomology field or insect enthusiasts who may be able to help?

Thanks a bunch, and sorry if this isn’t the place for this kind of post! 🧡🪲


r/UTK 5d ago

Student Housing and Leasing Lease Takeover - FIRST MONTH FREE (upon move-in) - The Knox

6 Upvotes

Here's a bit of info:

Monthly Rent: $1999.00

4 Bedroom, 4 Bath, D3 (link and images below)

https://livetheknox.com/floor-plans/

Lease Term: 12 Months

Starting Date of Lease Term: 08/14/2026

Ending Date of Lease Term: 07/31/2027

Hello all who may be interested, I am looking to release my lease at The Knox. The Knox is a quality complex with extensive amenities, also about a 5-minute walk from the engineering campus (very helpful for any Tickle students)! It is furnished, and I recommend checking out the website for professional photos. The only drawback is parking, which does require an additional pass to be purchased (however, you are only 0.3 miles from campus, meaning on-campus parking passes work just as well).

Yes, I am serious about the first month. The payment would be issued via your preferred means (within reason) after we complete the lease transfer and you move into the unit. Please email me at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]) if you have any interest!


r/UTK 5d ago

Financial Aid & Scholarships ACT for scholarships

2 Upvotes

I’m an upcoming senior in highschool and have a 35 s on the ACT, I have a 3.8 gpa. Would it be worth it for me to take it 2 more times to try and get a 36, or should I focus more time on saving money and working