For those mainly concerned with finances (which is a valid concern, and thank you for all of the advice), I should mention that as a Tennessee resident I qualify for the Tennessee Promise, meaning that I could receive my first two years of schooling free at a community college and then transfer. I understand this is not most people’s ideal, but it is my back-up plan if financing does not come through. I do plan on applying to some universities that are less selective and more generous with scholarships (potentially including UTK), but chose to leave them off this thread as I’m not 100% sure and don’t necessarily need to know what my chances are of getting in there! But thank you for the advice and I will look at application deadlines more to try to secure those larger scholarships earlier.