The University of Tennessee at Knoxville is one of the most growing colleges in America. For the past couple of years, the admissions have grown tremendously from the previous year. After the early action acceptance letters came out, many were confused about why they got deferred. UTK released an article saying that they had received nearly 40,000 applications for just the early admissions. Also, only 25 percent of those students were from the state of Tennessee. The university said they were going to enroll a smaller freshman class and look to further the campus.

     Chancellor Donde Plowman stated in a recent news article that they had over 48,000 freshman applications for this incoming year. This is tremendously more than what they have ever experienced. She also stated that they are going to enroll a smaller number of freshmen for this upcoming school year. The 2022 class had 6,846 first-year students. Enrolling less than 7,000 students from a 48,000 pool is a very small number. Out-of-state students are becoming more popular than in-state students. UTK has expressed that they are aiming to expand their campus and hopefully build more resident halls as that is a big issue. 

     As Knoxville prepares for their upcoming school year, so am I. I am going to attend the University of Tennessee this fall. As it will be a little scary being so far away from home, my heart is set on going here. It really feels like home to me. I am excited to meet new people and connect with other Vols. As Knoxville grows, I hope to grow as a person here too. I am excited to see what the future will hold for me here. Go Vols!