It’s so funny how people see schools. My son loved Purdue…thought outstanding. My daughter hated Wake bcuz it had parking lots in front of every building vs large garages at the edges. And I hated UIUC when I looked for grad school and my son who loved Purdue thought UIUC was dumpy.
Goes to show you every campus has its fans…even the ones rated low. And every campus has those who don’t love them.
Make sure you get out and see all the schools. Eat the food. Walk the nearby towns. Stop some students on campus talk to them. Ask questions. About class size and student life and weekends and whatever is on top of mind.
Everyone, even within a family, sees things differently.
Schools ranked from 20ish to 100 in US News. However, maybe make it top 30. Emory doesn’t consider interest but Wake does.
Schools like SMU and TCU consider interest and Miami, Lehigh, Tulane, etc. do as well. Early Decision can fill up half of some classes. Can you apply ED1 or ED2 at Boston College? I can’t find their common data set to see if they weight applicant interest or how much of their class is filled with ED. Of course, with UT as a possibility, you may not want to ED anywhere.
It is great that UNC has the strategy and funds in place to get students’ full demonstrated need met without loans. At the same time, I find the site is a little misleading for students and families who do not fully understand how this works. It is like others that also leave families confused when the aid package includes loans after the big print said no loans. It is great that UNC has figured out how to get everyone to the EFC, but to come up with the money for the EFC the NPC at the end recommends “self-help” student loans and then links lead to student loans, Parent plus, and institutional loans from UNC at 5%.
Some have no loans, others have a combination of grants and small loans. My daughter received a nice grant from the out of state student association when we had 2 in school. The loans are subsidized, if you choose to take them.
As with all schools, you need to see what works for your family. UNC took into consideration what no other school would.