Hey guys! I am a current sophomore at NCSU and I am happy to answer any questions you might have as incoming freshman. I remember getting accepted and I wish I had known about this website and these posts. Happy to answer anything from student life to classes to dorms to greek life and even down to dining lol!
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Thanks for coming back to share your experience! Perspectives like yours are so valuable to other students. My question would be, did you apply to other schools and what were some things that helped you decide to attend NCSU?
Hey happy to answer questions! So I applied to 8 schools total (NCSU, UNC, UGA, UNCW, UNCC, HPU, ECU, CofC) I was accepted to all but UNC where I was waitlisted with guaranteed transfer. After acceptances I was really between NCSU and HPU. I loved UGA but it would be out of state for me so a bit more expensive. I had an awesome merit scholarship at HPU and definitely considered it, but NCSU gave me more of the college experience I envisioned.
Things I liked about the NCSU that helped me decide: well known school with an amazing business program, big school but not too big, huge school spirit, long list of traditions, a million opportunities, tons of clubs and organizations, multiple greek life organizations, several dining options, mix of class sizes ( <30 or 300), football and tailgates, location ( 2 hrs to beach/mtns & close to downtown & a mall), and just far enough from home (2&half hrs).
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Hey, thanks so much for doing this! I’m trying to make a decision between UNC and NCSU. They’re both really great! How do you feel about your professors at NCSU? Also, how has your experience been with career advising?
Yes of course! First off congratulations on having two amazing options! So I’ve honestly had some really incredible professors. I can’t say any of my professors have been bad but I have definitely had favorites and some care more about the individual student than others. The large lecture professors are generally great professors, but not as focused on an individual because they teach so many students. My smaller classes have equally great professors, but they care more about an individual’s success. This is not the case for every professor, but a great generalization. All of my professors, especially major specific, are incredibly qualified in their fields. Also office hours are so helpful if you go. Also not sure of your major, but we do have some foreign professors who although qualified can be hard to understand due to accents.
Career advising is great at NCSU! I have not used it a ton because I’m only a sophomore, but we have tons of great advisors. You get assigned an advisor who can help you with everything from classes to careers and they work in an advising office specific to your major where you can also meet with other advisors. There is also the career center where their main priority is helping you with resumes, securing internships and job interviews, telling you how to dress, setting up a linkedin page, and more.
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Hey! I am planning to transfer to the Wilson College of Textiles this year with a 3.8 gpa. Do you think I Can get in? I am in state and I did the STEP program last year.
Hey! I’m not entirely sure of your whole profile, but I’m guessing you’re a current college freshman? If so a 3.8 gpa is great and will definitely help. Also the STEP program can’t guarantee admission, but can certainly help especially if you “networked” with any faculty. I think you have a pretty good chance, but it is a competitive program!
Hey I know i’m super late to this thread so my bad, but I’ve gotten into NC State as an OOS student and I’m currently considering it. What is your major? I would be a zoology major if I went, so I was hoping to hear from someone out there who has the same or similar major and can speak more to the experience of that.
Hey there! Congrats on getting accepted to State!! I am a business major, so unfortunately I don’t have much experience with the zoology department, but I did take an animal science class as a gen ed lol.
haha that’s ok. What’s Raleigh like? the only place in NC i’ve been to is Asheville and I liked it there, but I don’t know much about Raleigh. What things do you and your friends generally do around the city?
So Raleigh is pretty different than Asheville, it’s 2 different vibes. I like Raleigh a lot because there is downtown and it’s not far but campus feels more suburban without really being in the suburbs. There is also so much around campus which is super nice. So around the city there’s a million things to do, not far at all from campus is the art museum which is honestly fun to go to once in awhile with friends. There’s also the NC fair in the fall which is so incredibly fun and something you definitely have to experience. There is also so many great restaurants in and around Raleigh so if you feel like splurging on the weekends it’s always fun to try new places. Also near campus is a place called Cameron Village which is a nice mix of shops and restaurants similar to an outdoor mall. I don’t think a weekend goes by where I don’t end up there at least once. A few exits down the interstate is another place similar to Cameron Village called North Hills and its like a bigger version with more options, so that is fun to walk around too. Also once you turn 21 going downtown on the weekends seems incredibly fun and there is also tons of options for that. Also there’s always something going on on campus and frats are active on weekends too if that is your vibe.
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Hi, thanks so much for sharing your opinions! My D just received acceptance to NCSU! She’s also considering HPU Honors and App State honors. I noticed you strongly considered HPU and as a parent, I would love to send her there, just because it’s smaller and appears to offer more individual support for students, but at a lofty price. I was wondering what concerns you had about HPU and if you feel like NCSU offers all that HPU states that they offer. Ultimately it’s her decision where to go and I’m very thankful she has three great options to choose from.
Congrats on 3 great acceptances! So I was definitely torn between NCSU and HPU, and like you my parents really wanted me to choose HPU because of the size and support for their students. As much as I liked HPU I had to really step back and analyze what I was looking for in my college experience apart from academics and that’s what ultimately made me choose NCSU.
First off I really wanted a greek experience, but I didn’t want greek life to be my whole life. Although both schools have greek life after talking to current students HPU I found out that if you were not involved in greek life it was hard to have things to do on weekends and it was harder to attend the greek parties. I am a part of greek life and am very active in my chapter, but I am still involved in other clubs on campus and find other non greek related things to do. There is also not as much surrounding HPU’s campus as their is NCSU’s and now that I’m here I am beyond thankful for the millions of restaurants and shops near campus, most of them are even walkable. We also have downtown and museums and so much more to do because we are in a larger city than HPU. My high school did not have a ton of school spirit and I knew I wanted a school with a ton of school spirit. Not that HPU doesn’t have school spirit but there is more at NCSU because it is bigger: we have tailgates, football, more traditions, more fans, more alumni, etc. People are “diehard” State fans, I don’t know of many diehard HPU fans lol. I also really like the size of NCSU because once you get here and get acclimated it really doesn’t feel too big. My mom was worried about the size and thought I would do better in a smaller school, but I really haven’t had any size related issues and do not feel lost in the shuffle.
I also think NCSU has a lot of individual support if you know how to access it and I think being forced to find this your self and take matters into your own hands prepares you more for life. If you want a similar experience to HPU’s offerings, but at a bigger school then advocating for yourself makes that possible at NCSU. (If you’d like specific examples of NCSU’s offerings just ask!) I think both schools are great options and HPU probably does support students just a bit more due to size, but I think having to become more self sufficient probably prepares you a bit more for the adult world in my opinion.
Congrats again and feel free to let me know if you have any other questions!
hey, how does the 8 meal credits work? Is it for 8 different meals on a campus restaurant? Is the dining dollars equivalent to normal dollars? I honestly don’t understand how it all works. I think we have complete access to dining halls on the flex plan monday-friday?
Hey sorry for the late reply. So meal plans seem confusing but I promise they aren’t too bad!
So 8 meal credits applies to on campus restaurants, so when you got to a restaurant there is a little sticker by the checkout which talks about what time a meal credit is valid for and how much $$ a meal credit covers at that place, its usually around $7/8. So for example at Starbucks during the breakfast meal credit time you can use a meal credit and get like a coffee and a bagel. However you only get 8 a week and you can’t use more than 1 during each meal credit time. I don’t remember the exact breakfast time but let say its 6-10 am and lunch doesn’t start till 11, your not able to buy an early lunch with a meal credit at 10:30 regardless of where you used the meal credit earlier (just for an example).
So dining dollars are just like real money only on your campus card. THEY RUN OUT QUICK. So back to the meal credits, like I said they only cover up to a certain dollar amount and depending on what you order the tax will go over the meal credit amount. The money not covered by the meal credit that you owe is then covered by dining dollars. The restaurant food is also much better than the dining hall, so you will most likely choose to dine more at the restaurants and you will most likely need dining dollars to cover your tax. I don’t know hardly anyone who didn’t have to add $$ to their dining dollars throughout the semester.
Yes on the flex plan you have complete access to the dining hall and the flex plan is daily including weekends. The weekday is only complete access Mon-Fri.
Words of advice about meal plans:
If you’re a girl and you’re rushing do not get a huge meal plan because you will be forced to join your sorority meal plan in addition. If you’re a guy who’s rushing, some frats, but not every also have meal plans to join. In this case I recommend the Block 170 plan its the cheapest for freshman.
Also honestly the meal plans are way overpriced and you really don’t need that much food unless you are a super hungry person. Definitely don’t waste your money on the Flex Plus Plan even the Flex Plan gives you way more food than necessary. I definitely recommend the Weekday Plan because literally everyone eats out or gets food delivered on weekends, plus you can stock up from the dining hall on Fridays lol. The Block 170 also gives you a lot of food I promise. In college you eat less than you think and sometimes you eat ramen because you’re sick or don’t wanna walk to the dining hall in the rain so it really all evens out. Also you can always add dining dollars and usually a cheaper meal plan with additional dining dollars ends up being cheaper than either Flex Plan.
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Do you have any friends who have accommodations and have used the NC State disabilities office? D has dyslexia. We have toured NC State with a current Sr and she mentioned she has several friends with accommodations; however her friends have not had the greatest experiences with actually using their accommodations. Thanks!
Hi so so sorry for not replying I definitely missed this question. I don’t have an answer as I have never used or have friends who have, but congrats on whatever school you decided on!