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The fall 2016 freshman class is the biggest in more than 30 years. Peyton Gupton • The Daily Beacon
Class of 2020: Largest, smartest in 30 years Kaylie Hofer
Contributor The Class of 2020 is setting records at the University of Tennessee in both size and incoming academic excellence. 4,825 incoming freshmen are calling UT their home for the next four years. This is the largest freshmen class the university has seen in 30 years and marks the sixth year of freshman growth. The Office of Undergraduate Admissions had over 17,500 applications pass over their desks for this school year. “One of the big challenges every year for every university in the country is to increase the number of applications,” Director of Undergraduate Academic Advancement Thomas Broadhead said. “And to do that we have to increase our ability to share great news
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about UT’s academic programs, new facilities on campus, just kind of the culture of the university with more and more people.” UT administration credits the higher numbers to more recruitment efforts, including introductory and follow-up emails, as well as speaking with potential students in-person. “Last year, we really increased our e-mail, not only initial but follow-up, communication with students, some of whom may have never heard of UT before.” Broadhead said. “The percent of those who reply may be small but every response counts.” About 18 percent of the 2020 class is made up of students coming from 41 states and 11 countries. The other 83 percent are from Tennessee. “In-state applications were not too much different from the previous year. Out of state applications were way up,” Broadhead said. “That can be attributed to our recruiters,
emails are nice, sending brochures are nice, but when you actually get to sit with somebody face to face who can talk to you, and answer your questions; that is where it really matters.” Coming to a new campus can be daunting for incoming students, so Broadhead offered some advice for the freshman. “Really get to meet your professors,” he said. “Professors all have office hours but sometimes they sit there and wait for students to show up. UT faculty are very responsive to you going up after class and saying can I meet with you about a question or to talk about an interesting topic. “That is one thing I would really love to see every student step out and make those connections.” Nearly half of the new class, 49 percent, have high school GPAs of 4.0 or higher. The class average on the ACT is 27, and ten percent of the students are enrolled in honors.
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“I’m from Louisiana majoring in aerospace engineering which isn’t offered at any of the colleges there. I wanted something close and still southern, but not too close. My grandparents live in Tennessee, and suggested looking at the University of Tennessee,” freshman in aerospace engineering Arianna Worthy said. “So I looked at the campus and the engineering program, and liked what I saw. I applied and got in.” College admissions applications and acceptances are growing nationally. Many colleges, such as University of Texas at Austin with an incoming freshmen class of more than 8,500 and Cornell University with 6,277, are also seeing their largest freshmen classes this year. “I’m excited about my engineering classes, and I was a very busy person in high school, so I’m wanting to find my passion here and hoping to join two or three different organizations,” Worthy said.
Tuesday, August 23, 2016