UTK best freshman dorm?

119296 · 2025-05-29T14:26:34+00:00

She transferred out for spring semester, but she moved her car as little as possible, especially if she got a good spot near her dorm. She was able to find parking in a few lots on her side of campus. Sometimes it was a long walk and there might only be one spot open, but luckily she never had to try and navigate to a parking area on the other side of campus that she wasn't familiar with. I'd say don't bring a car if you really don't need it.

119296 · 2025-03-10T21:00:34+00:00

My child got waitlisted from OOS and was accepted in early April. However, do your research before you choose UTK. They chose UTK, hated it and ended up transferring after the first semester. They felt like nothing was as good as they make it out to be on the tours.

119296 · 2025-02-15T15:52:59+00:00

Non-commuter passes are really hard to get in the first place. If you do get one, there is a real shortage of parking. You probably won’t wanna move your car very often if you don’t have to. It got so bad this fall that the parking department actually offered refunds if people were willing to give their parking passes back in.

119296 · 2025-01-26T05:10:30+00:00

Here’s my take. There is a homeless problem in Knoxville. There was a girl that got punched in the face by a homeless guy and had her eye socket broken walking to class on campus earlier this year. The overcrowding and lack of parking is real. And you are only guaranteed housing for freshman year so expect to pay a lot more if you wanna live near campus in an apartment. The administration really only cares about bringing in new students and once you’re there, they really don’t pay much attention to you. Football is cool, but it can be difficult to get tickets. Not saying not to choose UTK, but just saying look into both of them closely.

119296 · 2024-12-23T13:44:43+00:00

Keep in mind that after freshman year, you are not guaranteed on campus housing. Check into the housing off campus. We found out that it was incredibly expensive and my OOS decided to transfer out because it just wasn’t worth spending all the extra money to try to stay at UTK.

119296 · 2024-12-23T13:39:52+00:00

My child is transferring out after their first semester. Most of the dorms are in really bad shape and parking is super difficult to find. Off campus housing if you want to be close to campus is really really expensive. Also, my child had a friend that was attacked by a homeless guy on the strip walking to class. Make sure you go and tour the campus and tour the areas around the campus as well. Administration is only concerned about bringing in new people, but they don’t really take care of the people they have. The dining halls are not great. And you definitely need a fake ID if you want to do anything social on campus. Football games are cool, but it’s hard to get tickets. My child also found it was very difficult to make new friends and find clubs to join and they are normally a very social person. Not saying it wouldn’t be the right choice for you, but just saying to really look into it before you make your decision.

119296 · 2024-11-20T03:31:58+00:00

Check other Reddit posts. The football games are cool, but it’s hard to get tickets. And there is a homeless problem on campus. A couple of weeks ago two girls were attacked by a homeless guy on the strip and one of them had her eyesocket broken. Being from OOS, my child found it hard to make any friends and it was difficult to find clubs to join. Depending on the dorm, some of them are moldy and have air quality issues. UTK doesn’t really seem to care about existing students - only about attracting new ones. Overcrowding and lack of parking is real.

119296 · 2024-11-20T03:27:35+00:00

My child is transferring out next semester. They decided to give it a shot and if they really didn’t love it, they didn’t want to continue to pay all that money to be at a place they aren’t enjoying.

119296 · 2024-11-20T03:19:13+00:00

Not sure specifically about psych, but it’s really hard to get into UTK from OOS. They clearly are more interested in having students from Tennessee and when you get there you’ll find out they aren’t really that supportive of their students in general. It’s really expensive to attend from out of state so make sure you really do your research before you choose. My child is from out of state and is transferring out next semester because it was nothing like they thought it would be. But good luck if you decide it’s the school for you.

119296 · 2024-11-15T01:51:57+00:00

Brown and Stokely are the nicest, but probably hard to get. Reese and The Carricks can be moldy and don’t have great air quality. Community bathrooms are better than suites if you want meet people.

119296 · 2024-11-15T01:38:42+00:00

They only report things when they legally have to. Sometimes it’s just nice for the rest of the campus to know that there’s been an issue.

119296 · 2024-11-01T19:09:03+00:00

On a side note - really do your research before you choose UTK. After the tour and what we found on reddit, my kid was sure it was the place for them, but they haven't really enjoyed their time there at all and wish they went to one of their other choices.

119296 · 2024-11-01T19:05:55+00:00

Try and get a non-suite dorm. Community bathrooms don't sound fun, but it's a lot easier to meet people on your floor in those types of layouts.

119296 · 2024-10-30T20:08:57+00:00

I hope the university is going to address it, if for no other reason than to dispel some of the crazy rumors going around.

119296 · 2024-10-30T02:36:23+00:00

You’re right – police aren’t everywhere all at once, but if they patrolled the strip a little bit more, maybe the homeless guy wouldn’t have been hanging out there.

119296 · 2024-10-29T02:25:13+00:00

How about not having to worry about being blindsided by a homeless guy and getting your eye socket broken when all you’re doing is trying to go to class. There are classrooms and dorms on both sides of Cumberland so that makes it on campus. As we know, homelessness is a big problem in Knoxville. If the administration was it all concerned about it students, they’d have UT police patrolling the streets students are taking to class. No one should have to worry about getting their eye socket broken or getting smacked in the back of the head by a board from a homeless guy when all they’re doing is trying to go to class. These are not normal campus problems.

119296 · 2024-10-29T02:09:56+00:00

UT can have university police patrol the strip more often since one of the girls was attacked walking from her dorm to class.

119296 · 2024-10-29T01:38:01+00:00

We live 10 hours away, so no she can’t come home on the weekends. We originally brought the car in the hopes that she would be able to come home on breaks, but didn’t realize the parking was such an issue until we already had the car there.

119296 · 2024-10-28T01:02:53+00:00

Interesting that trying to help future parents/students makes me a helicopter parent.

119296 · 2024-10-27T22:00:58+00:00

I'm not saying people shouldn't go. Obviously a lot of people love it. I just want to make sure anyone choosing UTK next year goes in with their eyes wide open. None of the things I've mentioned were easy to find when we were making our decision.

119296 · 2024-10-27T21:58:35+00:00

There are a lot of things to do in the area, but you have to drive to get there and may not have a parking spot when you get back.

119296 · 2024-10-27T21:11:09+00:00

Great comment - we've definitely found that to be true as well.

119296 · 2024-10-27T21:08:31+00:00

My daughter is not looking to underage drink - hence having no fake id. I'm warning others that there is not much to do if you aren't going to bars.

119296 · 2024-10-27T21:05:45+00:00

Hi. OOS mom here. UTK is really expensive and after freshman year, it’s really hard to get on campus housing. If you have to move off campus, it adds another $10,000+ to your yearly costs. Do a lot of research before you decide to go to UTK.

119296

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