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Admitted to UT Knoxville? What to See First

University of Tennessee

Admitted to UT Knoxville? Watch for the spring 2027 event dates, confirm by May 1 with a $250 deposit, and see the Strip and Greek row as well as central campus before you commit.

UT Knoxville held its admitted students day, New Vol Admit Day, on a Saturday in late March from 2023 to 2025, and no spring 2027 date was posted as of October 29, 2026. Before you confirm by May 1, see the town as well as campus. Grant Thornham, a UT junior and our Campus Lead for private, student-led Knoxville tours, gave the student view below in October 2026.

When is admitted students day at UT Knoxville?

Admitted students day at UT Knoxville, New Vol Admit Day, fell on three late-March Saturdays: March 25, 2023, March 23, 2024 and March 29, 2025, per UT's events calendar. UT had not posted a spring 2027 date as of October 29, 2026. We found no 2026 edition.

The 2023 day was "a special event just for admitted students and their families," with campus and housing tours from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For spring 2027, UT's tours and events page said on October 29, 2026: "Spring event information will be released soon." Watch your email.

Other ways to visit as an admitted student:

  • Admitted Student Tours, booked through the Go Vols portal from the same page, as of October 2026.
  • The Big Orange Preview, UT's spring open house. On Saturday, April 25, 2026 it welcomed "recently admitted" students, with "guided campus and housing tours" and a welcome session in Neyland Stadium. No 2027 date was posted as of October 2026.
  • Residence hall tours, small-group walks run by University Housing, as of October 2026.

Plan the trip before May 1, the confirmation deadline, so the visit can still shape the decision.

What should admitted students see at UT Knoxville before committing?

Admitted students should see four places at UT Knoxville before committing: the Strip, the houses behind it, Fraternity Park and a first-year hall. Grant, our Campus Lead, describes the first three for visiting families:

  • The Strip. The apartments on Cumberland Avenue are "right on like our main street, which is borderline campus." Grant lives on the Strip, as of October 2026.
  • The houses behind it. Juniors and seniors move into "a bigger house situation," in houses "tucked behind the apartments."
  • Fraternity Park. Grant calls it fraternity row. It sits behind the rec center by the river, "probably a 10-minute walk" from the Student Union, and Sorority Village is "a walk and a half." Most of UT's chapter houses sit on university property, per Sorority & Fraternity Life.
  • A first-year hall. Beacon and Torchbearer house first-year students only, per University Housing, which runs residence hall tours.

Save downtown for dinner. Market Square is "at least a mile walk" from the Union, Grant says, and "you really do get a feel for Knoxville" there. Drive or ride.

Where UT students rent after freshman year is in our guide to UT Knoxville off-campus housing.

What do you do after you're admitted to UT Knoxville?

After you're admitted to UT Knoxville, you do five things: confirm enrollment with a $250 deposit by May 1, apply for housing, register for orientation, send immunization records, and send official test scores by May 15 and a final transcript by July 1. The steps are from UT's next steps for freshmen, as of October 2026:

  1. Confirm enrollment by May 1, 11:59 p.m. Eastern, the deadline for U.S. students, in the Go Vols portal. The deposit is nonrefundable and goes toward first-semester costs.
  2. Apply for housing. University Housing emails the application after you confirm. Room selection start times are assigned at random, so confirming early buys no better room. Our guide to UT Knoxville dorms for freshmen has the halls and 2026-27 rates.
  3. Register for orientation. The New Vol Experience costs $400, and the fee can be deferred to the first semester bill. Vol 101, an online program, is required and opens in early June. Vol 103, a one-day campus program in June, is optional and allows up to two guests.
  4. Send immunization records to the Student Health Center. Students living on campus can't move in until they are submitted.
  5. Send official test scores by May 15 and a final high school transcript by July 1.

What should we ask a current UT student before committing?

Ask a current UT student four things before committing: when they signed their sophomore lease, whether they rushed and what it cost, what a home football weekend is like, and whether they would pick a suite or a community bathroom again.

  • When did you sign your sophomore lease? In September 2023 The Daily Beacon reported that some complexes close a pricing tier once a set number of people sign in it, and that the year before, students camped overnight outside apartment complexes.
  • Did you rush, and what did it cost? Sorority & Fraternity Life put the average first-semester cost at $1,265 for Interfraternity Council fraternities and $1,302 for Panhellenic sororities, from chapters' own figures, updated summer 2025.
  • What is a home football weekend like? Hotels on UT's Welcome to Knoxville page black out UT rates on "all home Tennessee football weekends," as of October 2026.
  • Would you pick a suite or a community bathroom again? A community bathroom at UT serves 12 to 45 residents, and a suite bathroom two to four, per University Housing.

A private tour with a current UT student is $150 for your family, 60 to 90 minutes. TourCollegeTowns is independent and not affiliated with the University of Tennessee.

Frequently asked questions

How many UT Knoxville freshmen return for sophomore year?

About 92% of UT Knoxville freshmen return for sophomore year. UT's 2025-26 Common Data Set reports 92.4% retention for the first-year class that entered in fall 2024. For scale, UT enrolled 7,143 first-time first-year students in fall 2025, out of 23,464 admitted from 53,841 applicants.

How many UT Knoxville freshmen come from out of state?

About two in five UT Knoxville freshmen come from out of state. In fall 2025, 39% of first-time first-year students were from outside Tennessee, international students excluded, per UT's 2025-26 Common Data Set: 2,764 out-of-state students against 4,326 from Tennessee.

Can parents come to UT's admitted students day?

Yes, parents could come to UT's admitted students day in 2023, the last year UT's calendar published a full schedule for it. That page called New Vol Admit Day "a special event just for admitted students and their families." Vol 103, the optional on-campus orientation day in June, also allows each student up to two guests. Check the spring 2027 invitation for the current rules.

Sources

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