A Note of Caution for All Prospective Students

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
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<p>To all prospective UNC students:</p>

<p>One thing that everyone needs to keep in mind when dealing with a completely anonymous public forum is that there is no way to assess exactly who is responding or what their real motivation is.</p>

<p>There have been previous posters on these and other schools' boards who have changed their CC identities after being rejected by those schools. Sadly, they did nothing but spew venom and misinformation....pretending to be very unhappy current students....I guess if they couldn't go to UNC (or whatever other school) they wanted to try to poison every person who was accepted hoping that they could/would keep them out of the school as well. There are others who just genuinely are not happy people and want everyone else to be as unhappy as they are regardless of their situation. This happens in the real world and in the workplace everyday so why should it be different in college?</p>

<p>CC has become a great asset to many in trying to navigate through the college selection process. Since everyone can remain completely anonymous the real trouble though is sorting through what is REALLY the truth and what someone wants you to believe is the truth. In other words, there are many agendas being presented here and the difficulty can be in determining which are genuine and which are hidden.</p>

<p>As an example, when I read a comment in another post about being "out of state and unwanted", my B<strong><em>S</em></strong> meter pegged far to the right....I really don't understand why this supposed issue has become so overblown on these boards in the last two years because nothing in our experience or in that of other OOS parents we know would indicate anything even remotely like that happening to their kids. As cloying said in that particular post "once you are here no one cares......."</p>

<p>Is UNC absolutely perfect for everyone?....Certainly not. Is it a great school with involved, caring and happy kids with lots of school spirit in one of the best college towns in the US ....Yes....</p>

<p>No one is forcing anyone to attend, we're merely trying to point out what you might be missing...the choice is and should be yours; not your friends nor your teachers, but yours.</p>

<p>Please take everything negative and malicious being spewed on this thread and on the threads of other schools with a VERY large grain of salt....you will be the better for it.</p>

<p>Good luck with whatever decisions you arrive at and I sincerely hope that you are happy now and after four years.</p>

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<p>"the choice is and should be yours; not your friends nor your teachers, but yours."</p>

<p>That's exactly what I needed to hear, especially today. Thank you, eadad, I always find your posts very helpful. Also, thanks to cloying. Both of you have offered me a lot of insight on UNC and on the college selection process in general.</p>

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<p>I love Carolina, but I wanted to study engineering and have been accepted into a few engineering schools. UNC does not have an engineering school but do you know what their "equivalent" majors, if any, would be for someone who thinks they would rather study engineering.
Eadad or anyone else have an opinion or any advice?</p>

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<p>BBall2008, </p>

<p>I was in the same situation as you when I came out of high school. I loved Carolina but I really wanted to get into engineering, so I went to an engineering school instead. I ended up hating engineering, and have applied back to UNC as a transfer. I'm not saying that will be the case for you, but just make sure you make the right decision for yourself.</p>

<p>As far as equivalent engineering majors...UNC does have Comp Sci, and there is an Applied Science degree with your choice of concentration in either biomedical eng, computer eng, or materials eng. Not exactly a true eng major but from what I understand, most students who take that route usually go on to an engineering school for a graduate degree. Hope that helps :)</p>

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<p>That was very helpful, thank you so much! Awesome!!</p>

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<p>What about mathematical and decision science? Would that be helpful to a budding engineer?</p>

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<p>bball2008 I have heard that UNC has a very good Enviromental Engineering Masters Program</p>

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<p>really.... I am a OOS student...and after hearing some comments about the unsatisfied students...i almost mark off UNC as a school...is this true...can someone set me straight...i am so confused about all this college stuff...</p>

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<p>NO. DON'T LISTEN TO AHDUKE99 OR ANY OF THESE OTHER UNHAPPY PEOPLE.</p>

<p>They're trolls and are just trying to influence your decision because they didn't get into UNC. UNC is a great school, and if you go in there with the right mindset you'll have no problem making friends. LISTEN to the advice EADAD and Cloying give because it is really good and they have experience with the school.</p>

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<p>I can agree with wolfpack12 that ahduke99 seems like a troll, but he seems quite acquainted with the professor's name and the whereabouts in UNC...</p>

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<p>yefa, ahduke does go to UNC. but some of these other people...</p>

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<p>ahhhhhh Both my cousins are from the northeast. One transferred his sophomore year and the other came her freshman year. They love it. They are both doing well academically. One has been accepted into the MBA program so is staying on. They are not overly social but have made a great many friends from both OOS and IS. They did join clubs. They probably will not stay IS after they graduate but have loved their college experience.</p>

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<p>ahhhhhh</p>

<p>The reason I started this thread was for people like you. For some unknown reason this past year the vitriol level about UNC on these boards has dramatically increased especially this whole non-issue about instate and out of state. As I said it has also occurred on the threads for other tough admit schools as well.....hmmmm...see any parallels here?</p>

<p>You can go back through all the archives on CC with minimal effort and see that overwhelmingly the comments are beyond positive, that the GREAT majority of kids at UNC love the school and Chapel Hill and to a person would not change their decision to attend.</p>

<p>I really hate to relate this again but.....in our case, my S was an OOS winner of the Morehead who was also admitted EA to Yale and had admits to a number of other very prestigious, very elite schools some with substantial merit awards. Yale had been his and our dream since the 8th grade and he faced a very difficult decision.</p>

<p>He opted to accept the Morehead and is now a senior with 45 days until commencement. Within days of arrival at UNC we saw him being happier than we have ever known him to be. He NEVER looked back and NEVER regretted his decision and has often said that he couldn't even imagine himself being anywhere else.</p>

<p>He has at least three different and distinct circles of friends who are a nice mix of in-state and OOS and to a person they are all doing everything they can to maximize their final days together and all are very melancholy about leaving the place they have come to love. It is often mentioned in passing in posts on these boards but seriously, they really DO call the place Chapel Thrill. My wife and I have come to really love the place as well and will certainly miss our visits to "Blue Heaven." If any of these wild claims about friction between instate and OOS or anything else were in any way true I would be the first to warn anyone, but it could not be farther from the truth .....</p>

<p>ahduke does attend UNC and has been unhappy since almost day one but I suspect that he was unhappy about even going to UNC because he had his heart set on Wake Forest. It is hard to know how hard he really tried to be accepting and to like the school because his posts have been so negative abd seemingly full of despair.</p>

<p>I've read every post he has written and from the very beginning their tone was one of hopelessness and despite all the good advice that has been given to him from parents and other current UNC students who even offered to meet him for coffee or include him in their newfound activities etc, he continues to be miserable. He is ultra conservative,and in his own words is very outspoken about his beliefs. In my experience, many ultra conservative people are also very closed minded and unwilling to accept and sometimes unwilling to even listen to other divergent viewpoints. This would be a recipe for disaster at anyplace other than a very conservative school which UNC certainly is not. I really do hope he finds happiness somewhere.</p>

<p>As I said in the original post....BEWARE OF THE HIDDEN AGENDAS.....wolfpack is right, there are a number of people on these posts who got into other schools I'll use Michigan for one example and were either wait listed or denied admission to UNC and now all of a sudden UNC is a bad place....as I said in the original post, my B*** S*** alarm is ringing loudly.....as Shakespeare said in Hamlet:"the lady doth protest too much, methinks."</p>

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<p>i am a third year out of state student at UNC. just because we do not share the same opinion does not make me a fraud. some people disagree with you, get over it. some people have different opinions. i want people to be able to see things from multiple perspectives, rather than the propaganda given to them by people trying to sell their schools when they visit.</p>

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<p>And you have no right to call it a non-issue, that's incredibly disrespectful to those who have found it to be an issue. So basically what I'm getting is that you started this thread to try to devalue and decredit anyone who has a different opinion than you.... very mature.</p>

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<p>If you have serious doubts about whether I am an actual student, private message me and I'll tell you my name and be happy to talk to you about anything. It's not that I hate UNC, I've grown to like it, but there are issues I have faced that I wished I was cautioned about.</p>

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<p>No one ever said that YOU were not a UNC student...there are however a number of current HS students (and a few lurking from last year) who were not admitted to UNC whose level of vitriol increased after they they got their decisions and have been working hard to throw incendiary comments into play when people are struggling with decisions.</p>

<p>No one is trying to diminish what you went through either but one thing that no one talks about or is considering is that there is a period of adjustment at ANY school including privates that comes into play, so merely blaming it on being OOS "could" be an oversimplification of the issue. Again, do NOT take this personally, there are many threads and posts across the CC boards about some people having harder times adjusting to and fitting in at schools all over the country, especially on the Parents forums. All I am trying to do is illuminate what might be fraudulent comments (again not pointing to yours) and hoping that a prospective student isn't scared away by something that, in the four plus years that I have been around these boards, has really not been an issue for the majority.....note "majority" of students posting here or that I have come to personally know.</p>

<p>I have only been trying to point out that some people, not you, have clearly been trying to sabotage the decisions of accepted students here and on other threads and for any accepted student to take all comments with a grain of salt.</p>

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<p>I was waitlisted OOS at UNC.</p>

<p>Did I want to go there? Yes, I would have seriously considered it due to cost and environment.</p>

<p>Is it for everyone? No. UNC HAS ISSUES!!! So does every other school. Is UNC geared more towards in-state students? Demographics suggest so. </p>

<p>Can OOS students have a great time? I don't see why not. </p>

<p>Do some people not like the schools for legitimate reasons? YES!</p>

<p>Just because people get on here with complaints does NOT mean they should be disregarded. No school is perfect; do not doubt a poster simply because they are unhappy, but at the same time, recognize that many, many students love the school.</p>

<p>UNC isn't for everyone. Pick the school that is right for you and go for it! Like eadad's son, take your best effort wherever you go, and results are bound to be favorable.</p>

<p>Congrats to all admitted, and to those of us who weren't good luck wherever you choose to attend!</p>

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<p>eadad-
I'm sorry if I reacted defensively, but I took it personally because in the original post you referenced someone being out of state and feeling unwanted, and that was me. </p>

<p>Maybe that's an oversimplification, but to me, it's certainly not BS. Since I seemed to get such a one-sided positive view from people while making my decisions, I hesitate to sugarcoat anything like that. My aim isn't to "scare" anyone away, but to be honest and realistic about the things I wish I had less-romanticized insight into before my decision. I genuinely want prospective students to be happy at whatever schools they will be happy at. There are many types of students who thrive at UNC, and many out of state students who are able to overlook and overcome the obstacles and perceptions I and some others have struggled with. Since I know there is so much positive information prospective sudents are getting from others on the same issues, and with the knowledge that I am just one student, they can take my 2 cents for what it's worth. Also, I'm not sure why highschool students would bother trying to deter people from UNC(unless they're hoping to shorten the wait list), but... sad. It's probably for the best to take these opinions, especially when backed up by specific reasoning, and explore them by asking others to weigh in, and supplement them by their own experience and research.</p>

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<p>EAdad, as usual your post was eloquent and spot-on. I'm glad you started this thread. :-)</p>

<p>I know just how your son and you and your wife feel about UNC and Chapel Hill. Our family has come to feel that it's an extraordinarily special place.<br>
My older son is a junior OOS Honors student at UNC-CH and has had absolutely nothing but positive, wonderful experiences. His three years at Chapel Hill have far exceeded in every way what he, or we, had hoped they'd be. He arrived there knowing no one at all, but, like your son, has developed several overlapping circles of good friends who run the gamut -- in-state, OOS, big city, small town, lots of ethnicities, many political persuasions, many socioeconomic levels. He's worked very hard, been very well-served academically, had a fantastic time and adores Chapel Hill. DH and I love it, too. We are not-so-secretly hoping that our second son, who is right now pondering all of his college acceptances, will choose UNC, too, even though he has the option of some very fine private universities as well. We would love to have another few years to be visiting parents. ;-)</p>