Accepted OOSers

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
1

<p>Hey guys! I just wanted to see who exactly was accepted OOS and hear whether or not people are planning to accept the offer of admission. </p>

<p>I personally am still waiting back to hear from a few more schools, but I recently visited and loved UNC, so it is definitely high on my list. I also wanted to use this thread to voice some of our collective concerns as OOSers. Mine are primarily:</p>

<ul>
<li>Since so many kids are from NC, does the school "empty out" on weekends?</li>
<li>Do many kids leave NC after graduation? Is there a strong alumni network outside of NC?</li>
<li>Are kids "cliquish" because so many of them are from the same or neighboring high schools? Or is it easy for OOSers to make friends with both ISers and other OOSers?</li>
</ul>

<p>If any current UNC student could answer those questions for me, or if any other prospective students feel like chiming in, I'd really appreciate it!</p>

2

<p>I was also accepted OOS(from Florida). I, too, absolutely loved the school. The campus blew away any other that I visited(and I visited 10). I'm ready to accept the offer of admission. All I'm waiting for now is the slim chance of admission to Harvard, Princeton, or Yale.</p>

3

<p>I'm also an accepted OOS from Florida.
My main concern is the OOS Tuition I will have to pay plus the room and board, books, etc. which will sum up to $32,000.
My EFC(Estimated family contribution) is approx. $18,000. That's a lot!
My main concern is that I won't get any money from UNC.
We need more people on this forum to answer our questions!...lol</p>

4

<p>D accepted OOS Florida also! Still waiting on some others to decide.</p>

5

<p>So many of these questions have been asked and answered in recent months, and if you do a quick search of the past threads here, you will find them. Since I noticed the OP's screen name is bluesweetie, I figured we might be related, so I'll answer your questions: </p>

<p>(1) There are ~17,000 undergraduates (not counting grad students here)-- and no, this is not a commuter campus. The campus definitely does not empty out on the weekends.</p>

<p>(2) Many in-state and OOS students choose to leave NC after graduation, but often return years later. Still others (in-state or OOS) choose to stay, for either work or graduate/professional school, and then those people stay on forever. While it's often hard to get people to leave Blue Heaven once they've arrived, there is a very strong alumni network all over the US and beyond. Truly. I could give you specific examples, but pm me if you want those.</p>

<p>(3) This last question has been discussed so many times here, it's beginning to get really old. I just answered this question myself a few days ago. Check out my answer as it's still on the front page of this board somewhere.</p>

<p>No, people are not cliquish (or certainly not any moreso than anywhere else); many NC resident students are not native North Carolinians. NC has grown tremendously over the last 10+ years, so many people who live here aren't actually from here. They are from all over the US and outside the country. The US in general is a very mobile society. No one will even notice if you're from someplace else, unless you want them to notice, or you wear a sign around your neck. You will not have trouble making friends.</p>

<p>I am not a student, but I think I'm pretty much on the mark here with my answers. I'm sure students will chime in any second, though.</p>

<p>It's a wonderful campus, and students are generally really friendly and happy. Honestly, I think UNC-CH students are ranked #8 or something on the undergrad campus happiness scale.</p>

6

<p>1) No.
2) Why would anyone want to leave NC?
3) Not as cliquish as duke.</p>

7

<p>I was accepted early OOS from IL.</p>

8

<p>I'm afraid of getting into debt :/</p>

9

<p>You are not alone on that one danny.</p>

10

<p>I think concerns about being an OOS student are very legitimate if you look at the numbers as an admitted student - they can seem kind of scary.</p>

<p>But speaking as a current OOS undergrad, I think I worried too much about the OOS/in-state aspect of social life before coming here. It isn't really that big of a deal.</p>

<p>Campus empties out during breaks (including, to some extent, some of the shorter ones -- such as this upcoming three-day weekend for Easter), but during the normal semester I don't notice people leaving campus on the weekends. If anything, people from other colleges come here to Chapel Hill because there is so much going on.</p>

<p>I'm not an alum and don't feel qualified to talk about alumni bases in other regions except to say that there is a strong network in my home state, which is far away from North Carolina both geographically and culturally. </p>

<p>Although many students remain friends with people from their high schools, everyone has also seemed really excited to meet new people and I don't think anyone really wants to have the same friend group in college as they did in high school.</p>

11

<p>I'm waiting to hear back from some other schools before I decide.
I love UNC. The campus is beautiful; the people are great. The school colors are pretty!!!!
My only reservations are: the weather (I'm too used to snow and spring that doesn't come until late April) and the whole IS/OOS thing where i'm just afraid that most of the students will already have their circle of friends from high school, etc.</p>

12

<p>ilovecapezios</p>

<p>Whatever you use to make your decision, PLEASE eliminate the in-state vs OOS question from your mind. It has been far overplayed on these forums and REALLY is NOT an issue for you to be concerned with. As far as people leaving on breaks, both my kids are OOS and sometimes they go home with friends and other times their group of friends all decide to just stay in town and celebrate things together. In many of the NE private schools the same thing occurs because a high percentage of kids are from mid-Atlantic and NE states and they go home as well, so if you are from the midwest or other places you experience the same thing. A friend has a S at Columbia and he says it is almost like a commuter school on weekends. </p>

<p>The things that should matter are perhaps the best mix of great academics and a great undergrad experience that exists anywhere, and despite what you think about weather, going to college in cold snowy places is very different than high school. In high school you really don't have to be out in the weather most of the day. In college you are trudging through snow, ice and slush all day and all night long; on the way to classes, between classes on the way to library, eating places etc.....I went to school in Wisconsin and I can tell you that I would trade Chapel Hill weather for what I had to endure for four years any day. </p>

<p>I can tell you from experience that in the middle of winter semester when the usual winter blahs set in and you are away from family and your normal support group (especially the first year), being in a place that is cold, grey and dreary makes that time literally drag and also can have a dramatic impact on your whole college experience. Being stuck inside when you can be out and about in the sunshine sure makes winter semester far more tolerable.</p>

<p>I find it humorous (not making fun of you) because with my kids (particularly my D) having been raised in Texas, she wouldn't even consider a school where it was that cold or snowy...they visit their grandparents in Ohio every winter and get enough of cold and snow at that time to make the happy.</p>

<p>I am obviously a big UNC fan, but just want to make sure that you and others make your decisions based on good valid input and don't get hung on things that should not be concerning you.</p>

13

<p>the NC winters really are no picnic. sure we have the occassional 70 degree day in december, but we get down in the 30s, we get down in the 20s. we get snow and ice (sometimes). I am always glad when spring comes, and it doesnt come soon enough. we're transition from winter to spring right now, so it really is not that early.</p>

14

<p>I'm a current OOSer here from New York so I'll try to answer some questions:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>Since so many kids are from NC, does the school "empty out" on weekends?
Not at all. There is a ton going on during the weekend. A TON. Trust me, there is always something to do, a game to watch, a party to go to, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Do many kids leave NC after graduation? Is there a strong alumni network outside of NC?
I know a lot of seniors that have plans to go all over. Many do stay in NC, but there are alumni in other places.</p></li>
<li><p>Are kids "cliquish" because so many of them are from the same or neighboring high schools? Or is it easy for OOSers to make friends with both ISers and other OOSers?
Not in the slightest. I suppose at first some of the people in the same high school hang out, but what's cool about that is that when you meet one in-state person, they introduce you to all their high school friends, and thus you meet a ton of people. Most of my friends are also OOSers that I met at the out of state social during the first week, but over time I've made a lot of in-state friends too. For the most part people are super friendly and always winning to include others.</p></li>
</ul>

15

<p>I was accepted OOS, from Massachusetts.
UNC was one of my top choices.</p>

16

<p>Just a site OOSers may want to check out (it's UNC's Out of State Student Association's website):</p>

<p>Out-of-State</a> Student Association at UNC-Chapel Hill</p>

<p>Another concern of mine:
I hate to be one of those people who cares about what other people think of where they're going to college/who wants name recognition, but I've found that people aren't very impressed when I tell them I got into UNC. Why is that? It's very difficult to get into OOS, so why don't people give it the respect it deserves? And why is UVA more respected than UNC when UNC is harder to get into OOS? I wish I didn't care so much about prestige/what other people thought...</p>

17

<p>You are right, you should NOT care. Academically UNC and UVA are peers in every respect. UVA for many years was the school selected by many rich Northeastern preppy IVY wannabees in the 50s, 60s and 70s and carried that somewhat snobby panache into the 80s and beyond. Perception however is NOT reality.</p>

<p>In the late 60s and early 70s if you were an OOS student vying for admission to UVA you had better be very WASPY or at least appear to be that way. Anyone with a name ending in a vowell, and/or God forbid Catholic or Jewish would have been clearly in the minority there, that is if they even got in. It's not that way today but for many parents of today's applicants that old depiction still rings true which could be coloring the opinions of your friends.</p>

<p>UNC is a tougher admit for OOS students and those who REALLY matter like grad and professional schools know that. UVA is much more of a rich OOS kids party school than UNC and far more pretentious. Chapel Hill is a better college town than Charlottesville, is far more an integral part of the town, and transportation for OOS students is easier because of RDU. The student body and whole atmosphere at UNC is far more laid back and far less concerned with what others think about them.</p>

<p>You are the one who has to be happy for the next four years, and your decision should not be based on peer pressure or peer approval. Did you ever stop to think that perhaps their failure to seem impressed is based on their overall ignorance of reality or even veiled jealousy and contempt?</p>

18

<p>anyone who has gotten in OOS care to give their stats?</p>

19

<p>C'mon eadad, I know there's a natural bias, and we both believe UNC is great, but we also both know that there's a lot UVA fans out there (I'm one of them), that will debate your characterization. Let's just say they're both great schools with more similarities than differences, but to each his own where the due dilligence of choice is concerned.</p>

20

<p>Lol eadad that was the most biased post I have ever seen. And also, why shouldn't we care about prestige? Its a perfectly legitimate factor in our decision making process.</p>

<p>As unfortunate as it is, a lit of people up north have never heart of unc, and many of those who have know them from sports.
:-/ what can I say</p>