<p>Hey guys i was in your same spot last year. Constantly checking this website for advice from other people. Posting stats to see if i had a chance. If you guys have any questions about applying, or just general questions about UNC I would be happy to help you out.</p>
<p>Ok, thanks for helping out… I have one question… is UNC really that challenging? Some people I know are really struggling and are constantly doing homework and are overworked to death… they told me not to go to UNC because the work is too demanding…</p>
<p>Basically, 9 times out of 10, college is going to be a transition. You aren’t in class all day like you are in high school, and by and large, most classes you take won’t have busy work to make sure that you are keeping up with the readings. Instead of “effort grades”, you will have 3-4 grades a semester, and that’s it. And before, you might have been the big fish in a little pond, but at UNC, or any college on the same level, you will be in a much larger pond, and you will not be the only big fish. </p>
<p>All that being said, you can still do well at UNC if/when you figure out how to balance studying along with doing everything that’s going on here in Blue Heaven. Until you do that, it can be a bit rough.</p>
<p>How do you feel about the very uneven gender ratio?</p>
<p>I have a few questions for you guys. Hope you don’t mind responding. Thanks in advance!</p>
<p>How’s the social scene?
Does the 60-40 female to male ratio have a palpable effect?
If you had to do it over again, would you choose UNC?
What are a few things you dislike about UNC?</p>
<p>Hi guys! (UNC senior here - in the midst of exams, ha ha)</p>
<p>I agree with everything packerfan said. You can read my past posts to see things I have written about before… I doubt people want to read the same stories over again! ; -)</p>
<ol>
<li>Yes, UNC is really challenging. This was a huge shock to me freshman year. Major in something easy if you want some leeway.</li>
<li>I sometimes joke that UNC feels like an all girls school because there is a seriously high population of girls. My friends and I joke that UNC has four categories of guys - gay/taken/frat/weird. No offense to any male readers - I’m sure y’all fall into the exceptional (albeit small) fifth category - normal. ; -)</li>
<li>The social scene is great.</li>
<li>If I had to do it over again, I would choose UNC - I always planned to stay in-state, and I never would have been happy at State or Duke (just not good fits for me).</li>
<li>The only thing I dislike is the difficulty factor - there are some classes here that are just unnecessarily hard, and that can be a downer. Just know what you’re getting into, and you’ll be okay. : -)</li>
</ol>
<p>I’m graduating this year. 
I’ve posted on here for four years now, holy crap, since I was a senior in high school.</p>
<p>Is Carolina Challenging -
for me, it was never that bad - most classes don’t use bell curves, which ultimately are what kills people, grade-wise. My high school was rigorous. What’s more challenging than class is balancing all the fun stuff you’ll want to do with the grades. My GPA took a pretty decent hit freshman year, but I had planned on that. That said, to make all As is by no means easy, though it can be done (probably not by a Chem major, mind you). It took until my junior year and going abroad to really buckle down and get the good grades. That said, I worked my butt off in all of my classes and took every assignment seriously. You can’t coast and make As…or Bs.</p>
<ol>
<li>The social scene is awesome if you know what you want. For every kind of person in the world, there is something to do at Chapel Hill. I have a lot of faith in our clubs - I have some eclectic interests and for all of them was able to get involved immediately with pre-existing ones. My best friends came from clubs and my dorm, and as time went on, through my major.</li>
<li>That’s a complicated question. My freshman year I had just broken up with my boyfriend so wasn’t really trying to date anybody, and honestly just wasn’t interested in any of the Carolina Boys I was tending to meet. Just wasn’t really feeling it… but no one really dates freshman year, anyway. By sophomore year I realized I’d never date anyone from Carolina… and then I met my current boyfriend through one of the clubs I’m in, and I’ve been dating him ever since. So, I don’t know if I fit with statistics. For the majority of the student body, I don’t think the ratio is something we really think about. That article was so bunk it drives me nuts.</li>
<li>Great question - it depends on the economy. I’m going to be real with you - an undergraduate degree does not amount to much these days, and I’m not saying that because I go to Carolina - I have friends at a number of elite private and public schools and everyone’s all over Teach for America, grad school, and going back to live with their parents right now. Graduating with a BS or BA and a pile of debt (if you have the choice ont to) is so stupid I cannot even articulate it, ESPECIALLY if you know you’re going to grad school. I’ve known since I was 14 that I wanted to go to law school - your undergraduate institution only matters so much for that, certainly not enough to warrant going into debt.</li>
</ol>
<p>Ultimately, I would definitely return to Carolina. There are so many things that are special about it to me - I was able to play in the only Cuban music ensemble of its kind there and really got to get to know more about the Southern Folklife Collection. There are a lot of excellent profs that are attracted to Carolina and I loved living in Carrboro. There are a billion great things to do all the time, and the students genuinely care about service. Heel yeah!</p>
<p>That said, I would do things differently. I’d have started my major immediately, not taken Ling 101 or Japanese 102 (these courses are fine I just shouldn’t’ve taken them), tried to minor in Bio, and never entered a fraternity/associated with fratstars. I also would have placed less emphasis on being in the honors program. Also, I would have started working in a lab IMMEDIATELY!! So mad I didn’t.</p>
<ol>
<li>The dorms aren’t nice except for Kenan community and Old East (can’t remember which community that is). There aren’t good singles. Off campus housing is a doozey… I like living in Carrboro but I am jealous of my friends at other schools who get to live in nice singles. But I think that’s just part of public school. I’ll take it.</li>
</ol>
<p>I hate the panhellenic fraternities/sororities so so much. Good, smart people will disagree with me, but I feel very strongly about this. I wish they didn’t exist and I hate the divide it creates on campus (and yes, it truly is a small percentage, but I still hate it). It isn’t a divide in that someone wouldn’t hang out with me because I’m a GDI, but I’d rather just not have to deal with all the negativity/sexism/racism/materialism they bring. It’s annoying to me that everyone spends their first year chasing down parties at fraternities. The irony is that the worst (as in most annoying and boring and filled with air heads) parties are at fraternities. The most fun parties I’ve gone to are all off campus. </p>
<p>Disclaimer: I know I’m talking about partying here, but people party in college and that is OK. I worked hard, made good grades, did lots of things I’m proud of, am doing just fine, and also partied some at Carolina (though not as much the past year or so… my body clock has killed me). Dead serious here, Carolina is not a party school.</p>
<p>sorry to hijack things, I’m procrastinating on my last paper for this semester. :-)</p>
<p>If anyone is from out of state, how do you feel about the adjustment? Is it difficult to make friends because it is so heavily in state? Would you recommend UNC to an out of state student?</p>
<p>Cloying makes some really good points in 3 and 4 - an undergrad degree really doesn’t count for much these days (and no kidding - people were all over Teach for America this year). I didn’t even think to mention the sorority/fraternity thing, but I agree 100%. I’ve never been able to wrap my head around that.</p>
<p>When I say UNC is challenging, I am mostly referring to science classes (oh, the memories…).</p>
<p>Personally, I don’t think I would come to UNC from OOS unless I was getting a big scholarship or something. Just my opinion though.</p>
<p>I’m a first semester freshman OOS and in response to ooo0ooo, I didn’t have any trouble making friends. Everyone is in the same situation looking for friends so it’s easy to meet new people. I will say though that the people that I am closest to are also OOS. We just sort of bonded over our non-in-stateness =)</p>
<p>I absolutely love UNC and would pick it again in a heartbeat!</p>
<p>Thanks, that helps. Being from Wisconsin, a lot of people are surprised when I say I want to go to Chapel Hill, since it’s in the South. So many people commented on it that I was starting to worry about culture shock, especially because I haven’t visited yet.</p>
<p>cloying, how does one get started working in a lab? Just email professors? What does working in a lab entail in terms of number of hours a week? Did you find your work there impacted your ability to keep up with your other classwork?</p>
<p>Hi! How is UNC for liberal arts majors? DS plans to major in History, as a pelude to law school. (And also because he loves History!) He may minor in Classics, since he has been taking Latin and Greek forever. (He was home-schooled by his dad, a Byzantinst.)</p>
<p>How are the liberal arts classes, especially in History? Super-tough? Anyone know?</p>
<p>(BTW, fwiw, we are in-state.)</p>
<p>Next question for the seniors: If you think your first semester grades are good enough to apply for the Honors Program, should you? Is there any reason not to apply…a downside to being in Honors?</p>
<p>At LadyDianeski: UNC is good for liberal arts from what I’ve heard, and has a surprisingly good classics department. Not too familiar with those being a double science major, but another thing your son might be interested is the Peace, War, and Defense Major.</p>
<p>awayfromitall: I don’t think that applying for the Honors Program would hurt. The largest complaint that you get with the Honors Program is the lack of class options, needing to take 2 a year, but I haven’t found that to be an issue, especially with the Honors contract option and research counting as an honors class. If for some reason you don’t like the program, you can drop out and still write an Honor’s Thesis.</p>
<p>Also, fitting in OOS is a non-issue. I’m a junior OOSer, and I honestly forget where my friends are from half the time.</p>
<p>Doing research? Go to the Office of Undergraduate Research and look for postings, or email the professors.</p>
<p>Wow, these posts are really helpful. Could you elaborate more on the first few weeks? The whole process just seems extremely intimidating. Also, was it hard finding places to sit in the dining hall? As dumb as that might sound, I hate not knowing people in the cafeteria in high school, so I’m a little worried about the adjustment period, but hopeful nonetheless</p>
<p>I have another question - If you’ve studied abroad, how was your experience? Is it easy to do at Carolina?</p>
<p>The History and Classics departments are really good here.</p>
<p>I have not studied abroad so I can’t comment much on that, but I think it is pretty easy to do if you are not a science major (just because the chem/bio tracks are pretty intense and only have specific classes offered certain semesters, etc). I don’t know anybody who has applied to study abroad and not gotten accepted.</p>
<p>As for sitting in the dining hall - that is not a dumb question at all. I think one of the biggest things people worry about is not having people to eat meals with. The dining halls can get super crowded around peak times (12 or 6), and sometimes you have to scout out a table, but it’s usually fine. Also keep in mind that during the first few weeks of Fall semester, all the freshmen are new and going to be going out of their way to make friends. I saw freshmen approach other freshmen eating alone in the dining hall and invite them to come eat. Everybody is super friendly, so don’t worry. : -)</p>
<p>You will always see people eating alone for the first few weeks, and most of them will be extremely grateful if you ask to sit with them. Just remember that most are in the same situation you are and are on the lookout for new friends.</p>