Hello, Prospective Students! My name is LBad96, and I am a current freshman at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, also known as UNC Wilmington or UNCW. I made the journey here all the way from New Jersey in August, and plan on majoring in either Entrepreneurship + Business Development or International Business. I’m absolutely loving life here in Wilmington and I’m incredibly positive that I made the right decision to come here.
Now, it’s my turn to give back. I’m more than happy to:
chance people on probability of admission
answer questions about application deadlines, admissions requirements, scholarships and financial aid, etc.
answer questions about admissions requirements to any of the four undergraduate colleges: Cameron School of Business, Watson College of Education, College of Arts & Sciences, and College of Health & Human Services
answer questions about anything else regarding campus (on and off-campus housing, campus buildings, campus foods, sports teams, etc)
answer questions about the city of Wilmington and the surrounding areas.
All things considered, this is a fantastic university that is rising very quickly. UNCW isn’t even 70 years old, and is already widely considered one of the top five or six colleges/universities in all of North Carolina, and the third best public university. Those who come here are intellectually challenged and stimulated. We are also highly touted for our strong programs in business, the sciences/marine sciences, film studies, and education. There is a superb sense of community here and everyone gets along with each other. We are just minutes away from Wrightsville and Atlantic beaches and have a truly incredible student body. Wilmington is an incredibly vibrant, lively port city that’s also chock-full of history. It’s a popular destination for tourism. We also have a new chancellor who came in at the same time as my class, so it’s a very exciting time of transition for the university. You can’t go wrong with choosing to attend the University of North Carolina Wilmington!
So…ask away!! Dare to Soar, and don’t be afraid to Feel the Teal!!
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Single-user “Ask Me Anything” posts are not allowed on College Confidential, as all too often, the original poster disappears, leaving other users in the lurch. Therefore, any student/parent/alum,/etc with knowledge, is welcome to answer questions.
@colleger09 the city is absolutely gorgeous. The downtown area has a lot of nice restaurants and shopping areas, and especially tons of quality seafood dining areas. The riverfront is one of the best in the country according to USA Today. The campus is something special as well. The architecture is brilliantly constructed.
As for fun, I normally hit up friends to eat together on campus, attend sporting events (soccer and basketball whaddup), chill in my dorm’s common room, or even hit up the Rec Center on occasion. By the way, the Rec Center is one of the best gyms on the East Coast!
What SAT scores and GPA’s are typical for acceptance into UNCW? Lowest that you’ve heard/seen accepted? Also are there any other colleges that are comparable to UNCW in difficulty of being accepted? For example, would UNCW’s acceptance compare to Penn State University, or is it harder to get into UNCW? I’m just wondering because I’m from PA so I generally know the difficulty of being accepted to Penn State, and what range of SAT scores/GPA’s usually get people accepted there.
@centpa44 well, for this year’s freshman class (my class), the average HS GPA was a 4.11, and the average SAT score was a 1192/1600. Unfortunately, the award for the lowest GPA I’ve heard would have to go to me - I came to this school with a 2.8 weighted, 2.7 unweighted. OTFS, I also have the second-highest SAT score (of anyone I’ve met here) at a 2000. People have come here with 4.4s/1540s, though. NC has grade inflation because the K-12 schools are poor in quality.
If you’re looking for schools that are comparable in terms of difficulty of acceptance (independent of acceptance rate, mind you), then you’d be looking at San Diego State, Elon, Appalachian State, JMU, GMU, USF, UCF, UDel, Rutgers. Those are schools where the enrolled freshman class has similar high school stats to us, and are also academically equal to us (but we’re just a bit better ) Penn State University Park is much harder to get into than UNCW, that’s for certain. But FWIW, UNCW is about 4 stars on a 5-star scale, equal to all the universities I just mentioned save for Penn State.
@decidesomehow they changed the law actually so all students graduating in 2017 and beyond will be weighted +1 for AP, and +.5 for honors. They also switched to a 10 point grading scale and did away with letter grades. It’s all numbers now from what I understand.
@DecideSomeHow the point still stands. So many of my classmates say that NC high schools are awful. There’s a huge gap between the tippy top students and the cellar dwellers.
@LBad96 - Sure, NC schools are a mixed bag. Some good some bad. It’s just that the grading scale a separate issue, which should begin to mitigate. FWIW, my third kid is a HS student within a stones throw(maybe a really long throw) of UNCW. I’m very familiar with the HS situation.
I just applied to UNCW and I have a GPA unweighted of 2.88 and a weighted GPA of 3.6 (I believe). My composite ACT score was a 25. UNCW is one of my top choices for a school, and I applied the 13th for fall 2016 semester. What would you say my chances are of getting in, and when will I receive my decision letter? Thanks!
@Coldun hmm…while your weighted GPA is good, your unweighted GPA may be a cause for concern. It would also help if you bumped up your ACT score. I would consider it a reach for you. Considering you applied RD, you probably won’t hear back until February at the latest.
I’m choosing UNCW was my top choice on my study abroad application. I just have a few questions if that’s alright?
What's the best way to meet new people? Is there specifically a good area to go where a lot of people hang out or is it largely spread out over campus?
If I am able to choose between on campus accommodation, which ones should I apply for and which should I avoid?
Are there intermural sports to play? I'm a big soccer fan and although I don't compete anymore, I would like to come over and play some soccer just for some fun.
Is the surrounding area big? I have a drivers license but I don't really want to be renting a car during my stay. If it's a big area, how is the transport?
There are tons of ways and a multitude of places for you to meet new people. People normally hang out and chill in the dorms with their friends, but the library, Fisher Student Center, and Fisher University Union are all excellent places to meet people. The Student Recreation Center (often called the Rec) and the dining halls (namely Wagoner Dining Hall AKA “Wag”, Hawk’s Nest, and The Landing AKA “Landwich”) are all great places to chill with friends and make new ones. Being outgoing in your classes is also a great tip I can pass off to anyone. Campus is generally very social as a whole.
Yes, you are able to choose on-campus accomodation; however, it looks like your only two choices are the University Suites or the University Apartments. You won't even be able to choose, from the looks of it. http://www.uncw.edu/international/isss/prearrivalreservehousing.html
Yes, there are intramural sports to play! I actually just finished playing co-rec intramural soccer a little over a month ago. I believe that it's only offered in the fall semester, however. But you can always play some pickup soccer indoors at the Rec!
Wilmington is 41 square miles. From experience, it's a bit tough if you don't have a car, as you can't see as much of the sprawling downtown area as you'd want to. The shuttles running from campus are of decent quality.
I hope you end up choosing UNCW as your university to study abroad for Fall 2016! Where are you from, if you don’t mind me asking?
This school sounds great in terms of location, size, majors etc. I am very interested in what it’s like for someone from the northeast. Is it easy to make friends or do people tend to stick with their HS buddies? Does being out of state put you at a disadvantage if you want to join a frat or sorority since you don’t have connections? Do people tend to stay on campus on the weekends or go home? How do they feel about those coming from NY or NJ? Thanks in advance
@citymama9 I’m glad you asked! I came to UNCW as (unsurprisingly) my high school class’s lone representative, knowing not a single soul outside of the online world. From firsthand experience, it is almost impossible to not make friends. Most people here are very social and outgoing. I have OOS friends who are in frats and sororities and they’re not at any disadvantage. People mostly stay on campus during the weekends, especially to attend parties and such. The in-state students are all very welcoming to NY/NJ OOS students, but there are very obvious personality differences haha. I will say that I have become a far laid-back person since coming here.
My favorite dorm is Cornerstone, obviously. My least favorite dorm would have to be Belk, as I don’t know a whole bunch of people who live there. However, it is apparently set to go to co-ed status next year, so that should be interesting. In any case, I highly recommend any UNCW student to dorm as a freshman; the friends and memories you make will last a lifetime. I can already confirm that at the end of my first semester that I’m very pleased to have been placed into Cornerstone instead of living in Graham-Hewlett (which also would have been superb).
Where are you from, if you don’t mind me asking?