@citymama9 - my son is currently a junior at UNCW. We are life-long New Yorkers who relocated to Maryland a few years ago.My son loves UNCW. He originally said no to Greek life, but found that many of the fraternities are service oriented, so he ultimately signed on and has not regretted it. My daughter is a HS senior who is awaiting her reply from UNCW for the class of 2020. The low OOS # was concerning when we first looked at UNCW, but I have to say it has not been a factor at all. My son never once felt out of place and has established wonderful friendships at UNCW.
- Can you tell me more about the public transportation at UNC W/ Wilmington in general? How are the buses, will I have trouble getting around Wilmington? I don't have a car or a license, nor will I have one for probably freshmen year. I was accepted on Monday!!!!!! I'm so excited because this school is one of my top choices.
- Do you know anything about their pre med program? Is it strong?
- What are the vibes that you get from this school? Preppy? Liberal? Party school? Relaxed or high stress atmosphere? As much info as you can give me will greatly help
Thank you so much!!
Buses in Wilmington will get you around, but it is not a town built around public transportation. One place you cannot get to by bus is the beach. As for general stuff, the area around UNCW is reasonably walkable for a few restaurants/groceries/shops.
Can’t help you much on campus life. I’m just a guy in Wilmington whose kids have considered the school, but ended up elsewhere. The vibe in Wilmington is pretty balanced. I would say it’s left of center, but I’ve for friends who would say it’s tilted to the right.
1)I didn’t have a car for my first two years, and had no problem whatsoever. It’s not uncommon to not have a car, but enough people do that if you need to go anywhere, you can hitch a ride off of a friend.
Never taken public transport in Wilmington , so I can’t speak for it. But I’ve never needed it.
2)I don’t know much about pre-med. Since its more of an intention than a major, I can’t give you specifics. I know we have specific advisors and clubs for those interested in pre-med. There’s plenty of opportunities for research, you just have to be proactive in pursuing it from the beginning to get the best opportunities to conduct, present, and maybe even help to publish research. We’ve got major hospitals nearby, so there’s plenty of opportunities to shadow. When I was in the OR a few weeks ago there were two pre-med students in there with be shadowing the surgeon.
3)Definitely a relaxed school compared to others. Students are still invovled and working hard, but overall the school feels less stressful than others I’ve visited. I say it’s because we’re so close to the beach, it’s hard to get to an unhealthy level of stress.
- @DecideSomeHow covered that topic pretty well.
- The Pre-Med program is indeed very strong. I have a bunch of friends who are on the Pre-Med track, they all say that it’s challenging.
- UNCW is generally in the middle politically. Very relaxed atmosphere, but everyone is focused on doing well in school and getting a degree.
Many congrats on your acceptance, and I hope you decide to come here!! 
@LBad96 thank you! Again, I’m sooo excited. How accepting is UNCW of lgbtq students? Also (I know this sounds dumb) but what does UNCW do around finals time? Like some universities bring in therapy dogs…
@Slytherin98 UNCW is very accepting of LGBTQ students.
We have a reading day the day before the beginning of finals. And yes, therapeutic dogs are brought in.
I just applied with a 3.3 Gpa and a 1550 sat i also own my own company and have a black belt in karate and have done many hours of community service and started a club at school and was in a few what do u think my chances are ?
@Comradedrago where are you from?
north carolina
@Comradedrago hmm. Honestly, you may get in, but don’t be surprised with a deferral. Your GPA is decent but the SAT needs work.
Funny you would say that just got deferraled today , what do u think i should aim for on the sat ?
@Comradedrago wow, what a coincidence. Aim for an 1800 on the SAT.
Ok I also send them a email expressing my desire to get into the school as well
Is greek life prominent at UNC W? Also, how diverse is the school? It is mostly a white school…is it preppy? My friend wants to know about cigarette smokers at UNC W
@Slytherin98 Greek Life isn’t exactly prominent at UNCW, but it’s certainly visible. About 12% of campus is involved in fraternities or sororities. UNCW is about 79% white, but don’t let that fool you. Our diversity lies in the kinds of people who come here to attend our school. You’ll find literally every personality type here, and this has already greatly expanded my worldview. So, no, it’s not preppy at all - in fact, I came to this school to avoid that since my high school was like that. Unfortunately, UNCW does allow cigarette smoking on campus. However, it’s still a very fit campus, and the Student Recreational Center is the best on the entire east coast.
With regular admission do u think i have a god chance of getting in. With the stats i listed before and i wrote them a email expressing my deep interest and that i get in that i will attend. Also if i get around a 1700 total when i redo the sat ?
@Comradedrago expressing your interest helps get your foot in the door certainly; I know from experience because I showed a lot of interest in attending UNCW from the get-go. But it isn’t the ONLY thing you should count on. A 1700 would be an improvement, but with your GPA, I’d try to get it to an 1800 just to be safe. And make sure to have good first quarter/semester grades and send them in as well. I sent in my first quarter grades last year, which were an improvement from my overall GPA, and that may have literally been the difference between an acceptance and a deferral.
Ok Thanks and I also found that freshmen know have to live on campus any advice for which dorm is the best in terms of space and not too much partying.
@Comradedrago Cornerstone Hall, where I live, is the best dorm on campus. It has the best amenities and it’s basically like a hotel. Only downsides are that the social life kinda dies down after October and that the RAs are strict (mine isn’t). No parties are allowed.