I’m a transfer student, who’s having a hard time deciding between 3 colleges - American, UMiami, and UNC Chapel Hill.
Price wise, these three colleges are practically the same for me. I’m majoring in International Relations and planning to head to law school afterwards. Hopefully, one of the top 20 law schools. Which of these colleges would provide me with the best International Relations education? Would one of these colleges give me a better chance of being accepted into a good law school in the future?
I prefer American’s smaller size. Personal attention is extremely important to me, as I would like professors to actually know my name. I’m also not a fan of Greek Life and parties, which seem to be a big part of UNC’s and UM’s communities. And, of course, American has an amazing International Relations program. Nonetheless, UM and UNC seem to have an overall better reputation and a certain prestige factor. What would be your opinions on this?
Thank you in advance! I greatly appreciate all the information you can provide me with.
UNC is pretty diverse. I bet there’s tons of non Greek activities. American for IR is great too.
I would narrow to two schools. It makes it easier to select than three way. And my two would be the schools I noted above.
@privatebanker thank you so much for the information. I think this is exactly what I will do… I’m pretty much choosing between American and UNC at this point. But for me, it is still a pretty tough choice to make!
Congrats on your great options!!
Reading your post it sounds like you want to attend American but feel like you should choose UNC. I’m a UNC alum and huge fan, but if there’s something about American that draws you, then you should go for it. Being in DC you can access some great international-focused internships and if you do very well I’m sure you can be a great path for law school.
Both UNC and American have moderate weather and true campus feels. CH is a really awesome college town; DC is a great city. Choose the one that ‘feels’ right to you.
[[Last note: Greeks are only about 20% at UNC so they don’t dominate social scene at all.]]
Good luck and let us know what you decide!!!
Greek life is small at UNC… under 20%… and it’s very easy to have a social life that does not involve parties ( there are parties at all schools). That being said, I get the impression that you want to attend American. I agree that if you are drawn to American, then your decision has been made. Best of luck!
@AlmostThere2018
Thank you very much! I greatly appreciate all the information. It was very helpful.
I think that exactly summarizes how I feel… I have been drawn to American since 2015. I visited it last year and absolutely loved the school. I visited UNC as well and also had a good impression. Besides, a friend of mine currently studies at UNC, and he told me a lot of great things about it.
I applied to many schools this year; AU’s acceptance rate is in low 20s these days, so I was not sure if I’d get in. Likewise, when I got accepted to UNC (being an out-of-state student), I was very pleasantly surprised!
Now, I hear a lot of great things about UNC. It is ranked well-above American, and it appears to be very well-known around the country. UNC also seems to have an overall better reputation. So, at this point, even though I think American feels right to me, I am worried about making a mistake. I don’t know if I should turn down such an amazing school as UNC.
Would you say that - compared to UNC - American is less respected? What do you think contributes to its lower ranking?
@twogirls
Thank you for your response. I appreciate the input.
Good to hear that Greek Life is not as big as I thought. I visited UNC during the last day of classes, so, possibly, that’s what contributed to my wrong impression of Greek Life at UNC. Yes, I am definitely very much drawn to American. I am just worried about turning down such a well-known and reputable school as UNC.
Do you think that AU can at least somewhat compare to UNC in terms of reputation? In other words, am I more likely to get into a better law school and find a better job as a UNC graduate than AU graduate?
I think getting a good job and/or getting into a good law school will be dependent on you, your gpa and LSAT scores, what you do while in school to build your resume, etc. Whether you attend American or UNC …will not matter.
I agree with @twogirls completely. Either place can take you to the future you create for yourself. Important thing is to choose where you think you will thrive.
Good luck!
@Kate0615 – what did you choose? 
@AlmostThere2018 sorry for such a late response… But only today I finally made my ultimate decision. I am going to American University this fall! I’m so excited about this decision, as AU was initially my first choice.
Thank you for your advice! It helped me make this decision
Bravo to you – go be awesome!!