KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The University of Tennessee announced Friday that its retention rate has risen for the third consecutive year, with more than 92.4% of first-year students from last year returning for their sophomore year.
The university also said it broke an institutional record this year, with 40,421 total students enrolled this fall semester. More than 7,100 of those students are first-years, and 60% of these new freshmen come from in-state — making the Class of 2029 the largest in UT history.
This past year, UT received nearly 63,000 first-year applications for the 2025-26 school year — a 5.1% increase from last year…