Torchbearer: Spring 1997

Running Up The Score

The average ACT score of first-time UTK freshmen was 23.9 last fall, up from 23.6 the year before.

"A three-tenths increase in one year is very substantial," says academic vice chancellor John Peters. "From 1988 to 1993 there was virtually no change in the average, which stayed around 23.5."

One-third of the freshmen scored between 26 and 36 (36 is the highest possible score). The average high school grade-point average for last year's freshmen was 3.2.

Nearly $6 million in scholarships was awarded last fall, compared with $4.5 million in the fall of 1992. The scholarships included 124 of the new Bicentennial awards, offered to Tennessee high school seniors with 3.75 grade-point averages and 31 ACTs; 44 African-American Achiever scholarships; and 37 new National Merit scholarships.