I applied early action to UTK, and as I look more into different schools, it seems as though UTK might be my number one. Coming from a very liberal city and as a multi-racial person, I was wondering how the political climate is, and would I have a hard time fitting in being asian?
You should have few problems or worries about fitting in on campus. If you have any concerns, however, I would take a visit to UTK; and call the Admissions Office and inquire whether there will be any admitted student days during the Spring Semester.
UTK is a very diverse campus. Many different races, backgrounds, and beliefs are represented.
hi, op. i live ~20 minutes in driving distance from UTK and have many, many friends who attend, and i have to say, i disagree with the previous two posts a bit. should you be worried about fitting in? this is hard to answer. many, if not most, people are afraid if they will fit in. most people do; however, the retention rate is 84/100, meaning 4/25 kids choose somewhere else to attend after their freshman year, whatever the circumstances may be.
will you have trouble finding other asian/multi-racial students in your incoming class? this is hard to answer as well. in this year’s incoming class, 203/4895 members of incoming freshmen were considered asian or pacific islander, and 180/4895 members were considered to be two or more races. UTK’s undergraduate population is ~22,000, and 79% of those ~22,000 come from tennessee, so take that into account as well.
if you’re coming from a very liberal city, you are going to be fairly shocked. knoxville is rather conservative, and UTK is probably 1/4 right of center. the social scene is V E R Y greek dominated, and alcohol is pretty prevalent, though i wouldn’t say very.
all of that being said, i know many, many people who love UTK and have had/did have great experiences. many of its engineering programs are top notch, and its supply chain management program is in the top three in the nation.
personally, as a white, liberal, and bisexual male who has grown up twenty minutes from campus, i tend to not recommend UTK to LGBT+ or liberal-leaning students, but it could be because i’m tired of the environment, i’m not sure. i believe you should do more research on the school to find out if UTK is a school in which you can see yourself enrolling.
if you’re able to look out of state, i recommend Indiana University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I’m applying to IU myself.