My child is in the process of choosing between UNCCH and UNC Greensboro. He really likes both campuses and is intending on majoring in music. Thoughts?
Will there be a significant difference for your child in the cost of attendance between the two? For example, are there scholarships in play?
Also, how do the faculty at each university rate for your child’s musical specialty?
Hello! I was formerly a student at UNC-Charlotte-- which I consider similar to Greensboro-- and a current student at UNC. UNC is a totally different experience from most of the other state schools. Considering both are similarly priced, I would highly recommend UNC over Greensboro. I’m not saying Greensboro isn’t a good school but simply that UNC blows them out of the water in terms of education quality. For music, UNC has far more resources than Greensboro and in the past has offered unique courses such as Emcee Lab, Jazz Lab, Rock Lab and more. Along with the music classes you would expect, these provide a unique experience, even if your child doesn’t wish to become a Jazz musician. I really believe UNC to be a great choice. Lastly, if your child doesn’t like UNC, he could always transfer to Greensboro easily. However, transferring in to UNC – while certainly not impossible – is much more difficult.
Best,
With all due respect @TranslationLost, your statement that “[f]or music, UNC has far more resources than Greensboro” is simply not true. Regarding academics, well that’s another story. UNC * is * a great choice, but so is UNCG. It just depends on the student and what they’re looking for in a music program.
To the OP, @TranslationLost is correct that it would be much, much easier to transfer from UNCG to UNC-CH.
I’m just going to assume that your child has had sample lessons with the faculty at both schools. Was there a preference? If your child is thinking about a double major or perhaps only minoring in music (because he/she can, in fact, imagine doing something other than music for a living), consider how he comfortable he/she would feel in the academic classes. You’ll know from the Common Data Sets for both schools that the student body makeup is quite different between the two. I’m not suggesting that students can’t get a fine education at UNCG, but the atmosphere will be different. And then there’s the whole “prestige”, name recognition, alumnae network thing…
If you are able, I’d suggest visiting both schools again. If your son is interested in anything else, try to visit with someone in that department at both schools. You didn’t mention if your child is a vocalist or instrumentalist, but if he/she is the latter, see if you could observe an ensemble rehearsal. I have a rising senior and we’ve done both, visited with folks from other departments and observed rehearsals, and I’m glad we did.
You could also ask if your child could sit in on a studio class at both schools to get a feel for what the other studio members are like (not sure if this is something VP students do if your child sings). The visit to the studio was a deal breaker for a friend’s son who now studies UN-Lincoln. He thought he wanted to attend another college until he met the studio members and realized he wouldn’t be happy in that group. He’s very happy at Nebraska.
You might try posting a similar question in the music major forum. Perhaps someone else will chime in with some advice for you. Best of luck.