British student going to UNC Chapel Hill

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
1

<p>Hello everyone, </p>

<p>I'm currently a first year student studying at a university in the UK. I found out last week that I've been accepted to study at UNC Chapel Hill for the spring semester (January to May) 2014 in my second year. However I also found out today that there is nobody else who also got accepted to study at UNC for that semester from my home university. I'm naturally a little bit nervous seeing as I've never travelled so far by myself before, so I thought I'd see if someone could answer some questions about life at UNC. </p>

<p>Firstly, I've heard that there isn't a lot of international exchange students at UNC, but is it easy to make friends and fit in? I'm concerned about this especially since I'll be going in January half way through the academic year when every one has already made friends. </p>

<p>Secondly, any advice on housing? On campus accommodation isn't guaranteed for exchange students although I can still apply. However if I do apply for on campus housing, I would ideally like to be around students that are the same age as me in their second year or older. (I'm currently going through the first year stage at my home university and I don't really want to do it again next year.) Or is off campus housing the better option? Any past experiences on this would be greatly appreciated. </p>

<p>Finally I just wondered if there was anywhere online where you can talk to people prior to starting at the university, such as the people you'll be living with as I've been told that its common for students to share bedrooms which isn't really common in the UK. </p>

<p>I think these are all my initial concerns at the moment. If any one could provide any information on any of these issues I would be very grateful.</p>

<p>Thanks :)</p>

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<p>I’ll try to give you the best information I can, even though I’m not a current student at UNC. I am (hopefully) a future UNC student.</p>

<p>I am surprised that you have heard UNC-Chapel Hill doesn’t get many exchange students. I have read that the number of students UNC sends abroad is among the most of all US universities. Given this, I would imagine the school also receives a lot of international students.</p>

<p>Regardless of the number of international students at UNC, I don’t think you’d have any trouble making friends at the school. The UNC-Chapel Hill student body is quite progressive and forward-thinking, open to different cultures and new ideas. </p>

<p>I don’t know which constituent nation of the UK you hail from; but I think any foreign student will perk the interest of UNC students (If you’re English, then you’re especially lucky. For some reason, Americans LOVE the English accent.)</p>

<p>As far as housing goes, I do not know very much. If you want a room to yourself, you would probably need to look for an off-campus apartment. Most universities segregate foreign students to a specific residence hall. If it so at Chapel Hill, housing would esentially already be decided for you; and you would probably be rooming with another exchange student (but I’m not sure if this is the case). Have you looked at UNC’s website? I’m sure it would have plenty of information on housing options.</p>

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<p>Hi SallyF. Congratulations! You will find UNC a welcoming place. It’s a friendly crowd here in North Carolina. </p>

<p>I am a parent, so a current student will probably answer your housing questions better. If you can’t get on-campus housing, Granville Towers is nearby, almost on campus and next to Franklin St. [Granville</a> Towers Residence Hall - Chapel Hill, NC](<a href=“http://www.granvilletowers.com/index.php/prop/home]Granville”>UNC Housing | Granville Towers | Chapel Hill, NC) Lots of students study abroad, which may leave rooms open for half the year. I don’t think you would want to get too far away from campus, if you choose an off-campus apartment. As an international student you’ll want to stay near by and experience campus and Franklin St.</p>

<p>I assume UNC will have an orientation for you when you get here. Perhaps if you contact UNC’s international office now, they can help answer some of your questions. [ISSS:</a> About Us](<a href=“http://oisss.unc.edu/about_us/index.html]ISSS:”>http://oisss.unc.edu/about_us/index.html)</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

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<p>Quite honestly, its not easy making friends if you’re just transferring in (or if you’re an exchange student) unless you know someone who is already here, and can introduce you to their friend circle(s). You’ll have to sort of go out of your way to socialize and make friends the first few weeks, but it shouldn’t be too bad.</p>

<p>Off campus housing definitely isn’t a good idea, it’ll limit your ability to meet other people. You say you’re not looking for a freshman-ish environment, so avoid South Campus. Try for North Campus dorms. You won’t be able to get a single, but thats a good thing.</p>

<p>Once you get an assigned roommate you can email them through myhousing.unc.edu.</p>

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<p>Congratulations on your upcoming adventure! </p>

<p>It is true that there are not a lot of 4 year international students here. In the fall of 2012 we had about 450 int’l undergraduate students enrolled (there are quite a few more Int’l graduate students). With respect to the int’l exchange student population, I’ve heard that there are between 100-200 additional Int’l exchange students attending UNC in any given semester.</p>

<p>As an out-of-state student myself, I am also the minority here, but, I can assure you that despite not knowing a soul here when I arrived on campus, I have found that UNC is an extremely friendly and welcoming environment. I am admittedly an outgoing person, so, perhaps that also helped. I had absolutely no problem quickly developing a large group of new friends. </p>

<p>I would recommend living on campus to maximize your UNC experience. Particularly as it relates to the social aspects of campus life. Most of the on-campus residence housing is shared bedrooms (doubles for the most part). Singles do exist, but, they are hard to come by. Honestly rooming with someone is a great way to quickly meet their circle of friends. Granville which is mentioned above is a very nice facility, but, it is more of an off-campus facility (separate dining facility and dining plans bundled with their room rates, etc) and I think it would separate you a bit more from the general student population. It is also VERY heavily oriented toward the surrounding fraternity and sorority social life because of its location near all the off-campus Greek houses. On-campus UNC housing breaks down as follows: South campus is primarily first-years and sophomores (the exception is the south campus apartments, which are mostly upper classmen), mid campus and north campus is where most of the upper classmen live (if they don’t move off-campus). South campus does have a lot socializing benefits because of the first-year influence and the social programs UNC housing does to acclimate the first-years. Also many of the dorms on south campus are suite style dorms. Meaning that two bedrooms (4 people) or four bedrooms (8 people) share a common bathroom. Suite mates often grow quite close and socialize together. A good choice for a sophomore would be Morrison (on south campus, close to Rams Head dining hall and the gym… social hot spots). My second choice would be a dorm in the Manning East or Manning West communities or something mid-campus. North campus dorms are great for the proximity to classes and Franklin Street, but, the social circles seem to be more established because of the upper classmen influence and the Lenoir dining hall on north campus doesn’t have great weekend hours. The on-campus dining halls and gyms are great places to meet new people. </p>

<p>Be sure to get involved in student clubs of your interest. We have a ton of them! Everything you could possibly imagine and a way to broaden your social circle. You will find that we take our sports and our rivalries with nearby universities very serious here. You are especially lucky to be coming during basketball season, which is the sport we take most seriously!!! Especially when we play that “other” local school (boo … d00k). Attending men’s basketball games at the Dean Dome is quite a good time, especially in the student bleacher section. It is a giant party. We have a very active student fan group called Carolina Fever. They are a very enthusiastic and engaging group. If you can’t make friends there … something is wrong! They usually have 2-3 “Fever” attended sporting events a week where you go and support the UNC team. They often also give away free UNC items (shirts, water bottles, jackets, etc) at those games! If you would rather play sports, we have a large number of intramural sports leagues, programs and teams (single sex and co/req). The co/req is much more social than it is competitive and a lot of fun. You can list as a free agent and be added to a team. There is a UNC Free Agent site on Facebook. </p>

<p>I really don’t know about your question regarding on-line communication before arrival. I know there are a lot of Facebook based sites that support things like incoming classes (often used to find a roommate) and student organizations. Perhaps there is something related to exchange students. You should do a search on Facebook or speak with the international student and scholar services office here at UNC. </p>

<p>This is a very exciting opportunity for you! Best of luck … I think you will have a fantastic time here!</p>

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<p>Hello I am a parent of a current sophomore and an accepted student and I am actually British. I have been living here in NC for the last 13 years. This is what I think.
Yes do live on campus. All my neices and nephews in the UK have lived off campus. Don’t do that here in the US. The colleges are set up for on campus living. I don’t think you will have any problem making friends. My sophomore daughter transferred in this year and she made friends VERY quickly. NC people are really nice don’t believe anything else you might hear.
I am sure that you will have a great time!</p>

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<p>Try this too!</p>

<p><a href=“https://www.facebook.com/tarheel2015[/url]”>https://www.facebook.com/tarheel2015&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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<p>Beware that students at UNC who live on campus, like nearly all American students who live in college accommodation, share bedrooms. That’s what a double means here. They actually sleep in the same bedroom. If you decide to live on campus, you’ll be signing up for that. If you want to live a bit more of an adult life (drinking and sex without sneaking around like a criminal) then live off campus. I’d say look on craigslist for a room in a shared house. American students are treated a lot like children in these respects.</p>

<p>There are very few foreign students at UNC, but you won’t have any trouble making friends. You might have the opposite problem. I know some international students get tired of being treated a bit like a cute zoo animal.</p>

<p>But it’s a very pleasant and quaint college town. I’m sure you’ll have no trouble making friends and have a great time.</p>

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<p>It might be that I am lucky enough to take classes with international students, but I’ve had more international students in my classes here than people that fit into my non-traditional group. As an OOS transfer student, it is quite nice to meet/see a diverse group of international and domestic students. I live off campus because I am older and from a different state. However, you will probably meet more people living on campus than off-campus.</p>