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Sept. 8, 2025

The most recent class of new Scots is up 5% over the start of the 2024-25 academic year, but the enrollment counselors in Maryville College’s Office of Admissions are already focused on recruiting for the fall of 2026.

It’s a cyclical process that ensures MC continues to grow a healthy student population, and those who want to explore the possibility of joining next year’s new class can take advantage of those recruitment efforts at the next “Meet Maryville,” scheduled for Sept. 27 … and get paid for it if they do.

Held three times every academic year, “Meet Maryville” is billed as “the ultimate of all visitation options,” giving prospective students an opportunity to preview Maryville College’s campus and explore the places they’ll eat, sleep, learn and play during their four years on College Hill. Such a visit will pay dividends, said Director of Undergraduate Admissions Kelly Massenzo — quite literally.

“We are offering all students who plan to enroll in the fall of 2026 a one-time $2,000 Visit Award if they attend ‘Meet Maryville,’” Massenzo said. “This will be added to their official financial aid package that they receive in December, if they choose to move forward with enrolling at Maryville College, because that’s how confident we are that once they see and hear everything MC has to offer, they’ll fall in love with this campus like so many students before them.”

The Sept. 27 “Meet Maryville” begins with a welcome session at 10 a.m. in the Clayton Center for the Arts, and the in-person event is designed to help high schoolers, adult learners and transfer students interested in exploring options for the 2026-27 academic year a chance to learn more about Maryville College and what makes the 206-year-old institution unique, said Dr. Alayne Bowman, vice president of Admissions and Financial Aid.

“As a small, private liberal arts college, we pride ourselves on giving students a well-rounded education that includes required courses in a variety of disciplines,” Bowman said. “Businesses, corporations, nonprofits and even graduate schools can be extremely competitive, but we’ve found that a broad foundation gives Maryville College graduates an advantage in the job market, or in obtaining coveted spots in graduate school programs. They won’t just be experts in their particular majors; they’ll leave here with a wide array of skills that are highly sought after by employers in this day and age.”

At Maryville College, Bowman pointed out, students who “study everything are prepared for anything,” and after the morning welcome, the exploration of what studies are available will be revealed at the Academic and Student Life Fair in the William Baxter Lee III Grand Foyer of the Clayton Center, where representatives from the College’s nine academic divisions — Behavioral Sciences, Education, Fine Arts, Health Sciences and Outdoor Studies, Humanities, Languages and Literature, Math and Computer Science, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences — will be joined by staff members from various offices, departments and programs to give attendees a full picture of all that MC has to offer.

“The great thing about ‘Meet Maryville’ is that it gives students and their family members not only a chance to meet faculty and staff members, but to interact and talk with current students, who will be available for a question-and-answer session,” Massenzo said. “We’ll be giving campus tours, holding financial aid panels, and letting potential students check out some of our residence halls. 

“More importantly, we will be revealing early admission decisions for Fall 2026 applicants who have applied and submitted an up-to-date copy of their high school and/or college transcripts. This is several weeks earlier than our Early Action applicants will receive their decision, which is slated for Oct. 20. If students are eager to hear about their admissions decision and receive their automatic merit scholarship, this is the event to be at.”

In addition to academic areas of interest, prospective students and their family members can explore the various other support services Maryville College offers, including the Counseling Center, Academic Support, Disability Resources, military-connected resources, the College’s faith-based initiatives and community engagement opportunities, Study Abroad options, student clubs and organizations, and more. 

Lunch in Pearsons Dining Hall is included as part of “Meet Maryville,” and afterward, an open house for campus residence halls and a meet-and-greet during which potential Scots can meet their enrollment counselors will take place. To cap an all-things-MC kind of day, visitors are invited to stick around for one (or more) of numerous MC Athletics matches taking place on Sept. 27:

  • The MC Volleyball team is scheduled for a doubleheader, at noon vs. Belhaven University and at 4 p.m. against Piedmont University;
  • The women’s soccer team will face off against the Huntingdon College Hawks at 1 p.m.;
  • The Fighting Scots football team takes on the Bears of Pikeville University at 1 p.m. on Honaker Field; and
  • The men’s soccer team will pay tribute to its senior players on Senior Day during a match against Piedmont University at 3:30 p.m.

Throughout the day, the Admissions team will be available to discuss financial aid opportunities, the admissions pathway and to guide students and parents through the application and enrollment process.

“The great thing about ‘Meet Maryville’ is that those who sign up are already interested in what we have to offer — and this is our way of meeting their expectations, maintaining that interest and demonstrating that as amazing as Maryville College looks online, it’s even better up close and in person,” Bowman said. “We’re always grateful to be considered by students and their families, because higher education is an expense that shouldn’t be considered lightly … but we’re extremely confident that at ‘Meet Maryville,’ the College and the people who work and learn here will demonstrate that here, it will be money well spent.”

To register, please visit maryvillecollege.edu/meet-maryville. For more information, please email admissions@maryvillecollege.edu or call 865-981-8092.

Other opportunities to visit announced

One additional Meet Maryville Saturday will take place in 2025, on Saturday, Nov. 1, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For students and family members who cannot attend a Meet Maryville, Massenzo said her office offers several other options to visit campus.

During the academic year (September through April), the Office of Admissions offers tours Monday through Friday at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. ET. Saturday tours will be offered this fall at 10 a.m. ET through Nov. 22.

“Even if they attend a Meet Maryville, we encourage students to schedule an individual visit at a later date, which can be more personalized,” Bowman said. “Visits that allow students to sit in on a class that relates to their area of interest and talk to faculty members who teach in their areas of interest really help prospective students answer that question — ‘Am I a good fit for Maryville College?’ ‘Is Maryville a good fit for me?’”

For more information about scheduling a campus tour, please call 865.981.8092 or visit maryvillecollege.edu/visit.

Maryville College is a nationally-ranked institution of higher learning and one of America’s oldest colleges. For more than 200 years we’ve educated students to be giving citizens and gifted leaders, to study everything, so that they are prepared for anything — to address any problem, engage with any audience and launch successful careers right away. Located in Maryville, Tennessee, between the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the city of Knoxville, Maryville College offers nearly 1,200  students from around the world both the beauty of a rural setting and the advantages of an urban center, as well as more than 60 majors, seven pre-professional programs and career preparation from their first day on campus to their last. Today, our 10,000 alumni are living life strong of mind and brave of heart and are prepared, in the words of our Presbyterian founder, to “do good on the largest possible scale.”