4.5 out of 5 Stars
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The Culture - the students, faculty, and staff are all amazing. The campus is one big family
DownersThe size of the campus is big - difficult to walk everywhere
CommentsGoing to UNC is the best decision you'll ever make!
Would You RecommendYes
Culture, diversity, academic rigor, and location -- the campus is beautiful
DownersIt can seem too large at times. Intro classes can be impersonal.
CommentsTry and get into a North Campus dorm or one of the new South Campus dorms.
Would You RecommendYes
No cars needed. Small classrooms where you can sit down with your professor.
DownersIf you do not get into the business school, the econ department does not have great financial courses
CommentsIt is a college campus with a very diverse student body.
Would You RecommendYes
The people, professors, and the atmosphere are unlike i have experienced. Big school feel in an amazing city
DownersAlthough the people are great, they are sometimes overly liberal and tend to cannibalize any opposing viewpoints. Conservatives are not really accepted
CommentsOverall UNC-Chapel Hill is a great place to go to school. You get the big school feel, at a top tier institution along with amazing sports and there aren't many other places where you can get that. Coming to UNC was the best decision i ever made.
Would You RecommendYes
School pride, beautiful campus, leading professors, strong athletics, it's not Duke
DownersCareer Services could be much stronger, especially with regard to non B or J school students
CommentsCarolina was one of the best decisions I made in my life. I chose Carolina over a number of other schools, virtually all of which were closer to home. But I've never questioned my decision, because the people I met and the atmosphere I got to become a part of made the distance worthwhile. I wish I could go back.
Would You RecommendYes
The people I met made my four years at UNC some of the most important of my life. There were so many amazingly accomplished people who also led balanced lives--they performed well in classes, played sports, gave back to the community through meaningful long-term volunteer opportunities. The standard is to be involved in as much as possible, and it makes for a very rich experience.
DownersStill a large school and can be tough to find a place to fit in initially. Despite academic prestige, sometimes the social scene seemed to be more important.
CommentsLook into the Honors program. When I was there, it was open to everyone on a class-by-class basis, so you could take some excellent individual courses with great professors without being overcommitted to an exclusive program.
Would You RecommendYes
Amazing professors, good access to classes, great social scene. Clubs are well organized and there is excellent student diversity
DownersHard to limit your activities! There are just too many great opportunities.
CommentsTake advantage of as much as you can. 4 years goes fast.
Would You RecommendYes
It depends on your major, but I am definitely earning my chemistry degree (not just paying for it). The general requirements can be tough to navigate at first, but after your first semester you learn how to make it fun and use the system for your benefit. However, academic advising expects you to learn the system yourself - if you come into your meeting and are unprepared or don't know information accessible on the website or aren't that familiar with the structure of your major's requirements, you are going to have a bad experience. Also, they are not that helpful with undecided students. However, there are lots of programs through the career center that are way more helpful. Class size is good after freshman year and professors are really accessible through office hours/willing to make special time for you. Most are really welcoming too; there are exceptions to this, of course, but I've never had a bad office hours experience. Research opportunities are outrageously accessible. Grading can be tough - like I said, some degrees are harder than others, but it is usually really tough to get out of the B-zone in a chemistry class without at least 2 or 3 hours of daily studying for just that class. Studying abroad is really accessible too - there are tons of grants and scholarships floating around. Also, the Honors Program is really great. Basically, it just allows you access to 70+ really small, unique courses taught by world-class profs. You have to take at least 2 each year though, so if you aren't careful you can get stuck your senior year with not enough room in your schedule.
Quality of LifeThis is notoriously an extremely friendly school. People smile at one another, wear UNC gear ALL THE TIME, and are really dedicated to both school and extracurrics or a specific organization, which gives things a really well-balanced vibe (and generally just makes people more interesting). Also, Campus Wellness Services are super approachable and really helpful - my friends and I go there all the time to vent.
AdmissionsThe "short answer" questions were rather unique; we had ~1 sentence to answer something like "What is your favorite joke?" or "Where would you go if you had a free round-way ticket?" or "What animal fits your personality?" - things like that. We also meet 100% of academic need, which is really great for a lot of people.
Level2
Graduation Year2013
We are required to complete general education requirements, including foreign language, literary arts, dramatic and fine arts, social sciences, mathematics, hard sciences, experiential education, etc. Some of these requirements can be fulfilled through AP scores. Carolina is fairly generous with AP scores. I came in with 36 credit hours. You are required to meet with your adviser at least once every semester. During this meeting, the student and the adviser review the student's academic worksheet. Any questions are answered. Advisers have regular office hours, so if the student has any question beyond the meeting he/she can visit his/her adviser as often as necessary. 51% of classes are fewer than 20 students. Math classes are capped at 35. Foreign language classes are capped at 25. First-year seminars (classes exclusively for first-years) are capped at 15. When the class is large, there will be a required recitation. This means that students go once a week to essentially a review session that is led by a Teaching Assistant (TA). The TAs are typically graduate students typically who are very highly qualified and knowledgeable. Professors and TAs are required to hold office hours throughout the week; if a student can't meet during these office hours, he/she can easily schedule an appointment with the professor or TA. Research opportunities are readily available and are not limited to the hard sciences. While the classes are difficult, students are not operating by a cut-throat academic mentality. Students do not typically discuss GPA and/or grades loudly or blatantly. Students respect privacy and confidentiality. Many faculty have a lot of tenure here and are world-renowned. Nevertheless, they are humble professors who are very approachable. About 40% of students study abroad at least once during their four years here. There are over 300 programs in over 50 countries, and getting transfer credits are fairly easy to do. Scholarships, financial aid, etc. are available for students with financial concerns about studying abroad. Typically a student takes an average of 15 hours (about 5 classes) during one semester. The minimum is 12 hours to be a full-time student, and the maximum is 18 (although it is easy to overload and take 19 or 20).
AdmissionsI completed Carolina's application in the early fall as an early action applicant, and received notification in January of my acceptance. I was glad that I got the opportunity to describe in detail why I couldn't necessarily take certain classes at my high school (this was an optional portion of the application). I also got the chance to answer the optional essay at the end of the application. In March, I received an invitation to join the Honors Program here. I also received an invitation for "Scholars' Day." I was given material to read and discuss in a session at Scholars' Day with a UNC professor. After the discussion, which was held in a classroom at UNC, each invitee was given a blue book in which to write for 30 minutes about the previous discussion of the topic. I received notification two weeks later that I was offered the "Carolina Scholars" Scholarship. I ended up declining the scholarship because I also received the Morehead-Cain Scholarship. I accepted the Morehead-Cain Scholarship and am now attending UNC as a first-year.
Level1
Graduation Year2013