<p>Hello all, i am looking for advice as i try to decide between American and UNC Chapel Hill. I was accepted to UNC as an International Relations major, but i was also accepted into SIS at American with a Deans Scholarship and the Honors Program. Though i think UNC has a better ‘brand name’ reputation, i feel like American (with the specialized IR department and resources of dc) might give me a better education for the program that i want (plus the honors program would help me get more personal attention). But then again, UNC is closer to home and has a growing IR program and i didnt really like the lack of community feel at American.</p>
<p>minikc, my daughter is interested in History and will probably end up choosing between UNC (her mother’s alma mater), Wake Forest (my alma mater), and AU (Honors). Her mother and I think AU (in large part because of the strength of SIS and SPA – and of course the Honors program) offers a better opportunity for a career (apart from teaching) relevant to History. </p>
<p>We think UNC is a strong (and very economical) second choice, but our daughter has always been drawn to smaller schools, and UNC is huge. Also, a higher percentage of AU students live on campus than UNC students. UNC only guarantees on-campus housing to freshmen, AU to freshmen and sophomores.</p>
<p>We will watch with interest for others’ responses.</p>
<p>UNC and AU are definitely VERY different schools on many levels. Actually as a much smaller school with more on-campus residents (and even those off-campus close by), I’d say AU would have the greater community feel. However, if you’re referring to “Tar Heel Pride” at UNC, they definitely have the advantage with the big sports program with the national following. One thing to keep in mind is that if you decide that IR is not for you, UNC might have more options because it is much larger (for example, if you decide to switch to engineering, that is something I believe UNC has but AU does not). However if you are set on IR, AU probably has the better resources in that area, especially with a new facility opening this year that will likely take the program to an even higher level. Also, in my opinion, the new building will help to build a much greater community feel within the School of International Service itself, as the programs are currently spread out all over campus and this will centralize them for the first time in five decades. Finally, if you are from NC then the low price tag might make UNC the better option, but if you are out-of-state then the scholarship might put AU over the edge. Hope some of that helps, but comparing a small private college with a large state school is pretty tough. Much easier for the individual programs.</p>
<p>AU is rated far higher than UNC-CH in IR. And the number of students in IR is at least four times larger, with many more course offerings, study abroad options, and internships. </p>
<p>But you’ll get a great education at either.</p>
<p>This weekend, I was talking to my son who is a freshman at AU about what he would recommend about AU. He recommends three programs at AU- SIS, Poli Sci and Kogod. CLEG is also a standout. He would not recommend the school of arts and sciences. He also seems very happy with the honors program. </p>
<p>I have posted before about the honors program- the quality of the students they admit is very high, and they do provide special programs for them (honors sections of basic courses, special honors colloquia, honors community building events)</p>
<p>Not sure what you mean by a lack of community feel. If you mean that it isn’t a college town like Chapel Hill, you are right but DC has other advantages, especially for an IR major. And there are several colleges nearby - Georgetown, GW, UMD-CP, Catholic… So, there are lots of college kids around.</p>