I was accepted EA to UNC and RD for Cornell and I am having trouble deciding which to attend. With the financial aid they have given me and the NPCs for every other year, the cost for both will be about the same. When I visited UNC I loved the campus and the general atmosphere because all the students seemed to really enjoy it there. The UNC pre med is very well known which I think would improve my chances of getting into an accredited med school. I have not visited Cornell yet but I have heard it is very competitive and it would be hard to get a good GPA. However, I have also been told that simply the Ivy League name will assist me in getting top internships. If anyone has any insight about either school please tell me!! Time is running out and idk what to do. Btw I also posted this in the Cornell forum to get many opinions
OOS parent here…
Congrats on two great offers!! Are you from NY, NC… or elsewhere?
You will not have any problem getting internships or research positions at UNC. My D has been involved in research since her first year. One of her friends at Cornell was still struggling to find an internship last May. This, of course, was likely due to the student and not the school. Opportunities are available at both schools to those who are interested and take the initiative.
My D has a high gpa… but she studies and manages her time wisely.
She met with a premed advisor who gave suggestions for shadowing, which she successfully followed up with. There are also a lot of opportunities in the area for volunteering.
If you have any other questions… feel free to ask. Good luck and congrats once again!
@twogirls I am OOS for both. What major does your daughter have and does she find the pre med/ general classes to be very challenging? Is she involved in many school clubs or other activities that are not academically related? How are the students, like are they as academically motivated as she is? Thank so much I really appreciate it!!
She has a combination of majors and minors revolving around science ( bio chemistry etc) and foreign language… she just switched which is why I am being somewhat vague… not entirely sure of the combination. Even though she recently switched she was still taking all of the premed classes.
When she began UNC she reported that HS classes were harder. She has since taken many more classes including most of the prerequisites for med school ( not sure if this is the route she will take) and says that the classes are challenging, but are also “just right” …meaning not too hard and not too easy. She does study and work… a lot…for classes such as organic chemistry etc…and does very well in those classes. As for the other classes… she describes some as easier…while others were more challenging. She works hard for her gpa and manages her time well.
Her friends are academically motivated and have gotten some really nice internships. When D was in HS she had academically driven friends, and wanted the same in college. That being said… there are likely some students that are not quite as academically driven ( which is nice as everybody brings different qualities to the table). One of her first friends was less academically intense, and she helped my D bring out some more positive traits… such as balance, spontaneity etc. This friend helped my D grow and mature…a lot.
She is very heavily involved in a few clubs and other “things” on campus, volunteers weekly, and does research. She has become very close to everybody involved in these activities.
Cornell is a great school as well. D loved it…but ultimately did not want to be in upstate NY and wasn’t sure if she would have the overall balance that she wanted. You won’t go wrong with either school … you need to choose the right fit for you… congrats once again!
@twogirls thank you so much!! I am so happy to have these two choices right now but now it makes the decision especially different!! Do you know about her social life/ can she balance a good mix of them? I am hoping to join Greek life but I do not want it to impede on my academics
She is not in Greek life. During the week she is very busy with classes, studying, and clubs. It’s not uncommon for her to be home for the evening … during the week…by 9:00 because of meetings etc. Sometimes she is in doing work on a Friday or Saturday night, while other times she will go to dinner with friends, attend a local concert etc. She doesn’t usually go out both nights… if she has plans on Saturday night she may stay in doing work on a Friday. She is rarely alone… there is always somebody else doing the same thing and they will eat together etc. Her weekend days are busy with school work and various meetings. She keeps herself very busy.
I don’t know a lot about Greek life. For the most part it’s all off campus. I do know students who are involved and still do well academically. Sorry I can’t give you more information.
@gradclass2022: Regarding your question about social life and Greek life, you can have a satisfactory social life without going Greek. You can also delay going Greek, as my daughter did – she purposefully did not rush a sorority during her first year, because she initially wanted to get her academic and social bearings on campus; during her sophomore year she and some friends (who also had not rushed during first year) went through the rush process, got bids, and joined their respective sororities. My daughter seems to be pleased with the way that it worked out. Had she not joined a sorority in her sophomore year, however, I think that she also would have few complaints about her social life.
@twogirls thank you, I appreciate the informative description of your daughters mix of academics and social life
@gandalf78 do you know when the rush process takes place? if it is a week before school starts or during the first week of classes? I think I would like to join a sorority freshman year just because I think it would be a great opportunity to get to meet people and have a smaller community. Thank you for your info as well
@gradclass2022: I think that rush began after classes started, but I’m not certain; and bids went out about a week after Labor Day.
Most of the friends my daughter had during her first year came from her residence hall, her classes, and an activity that she joined after attending a campus-wide activity fair on the first or second weekend after classes started. You should have lots of opportunities to meet people and make friends.
Also, it’s “first year” not “freshman”.
Rush takes place over the Labor Day holiday and the few days after, which is around 2 weeks after school starts. The benefit there is that you can still make friends and be involved with everyone those first couple of weeks and the first couple of stages don’t interfere with classes at all. Some of the big SEC schools start a few days before school starts and for those that ultimately choose not to join a sorority, they lose out on making friends in those important first few weeks at school. In the fall of 2017 there were some illnesses (norovirus) which caused a week delay to the rush process.
My D joined a sorority and is very happy with it and it is not difficult for her to balance studies and fun. Greek life can get a bad rap but it is not all parties. My D has benefited academically from having others within her sorority to study with and advise on classes or teachers. Sororities also strive to maintain GPA’s and have standards that need to be met, otherwise you can be on academic probation. Also, while it is off campus, all the houses are right off campus and in most cases are closer to the heart of North Campus where most people take freshman and sophomore classes than the South campus areas. That said, like most schools only about 20% of the school is in the Greek system. That leaves a lot of people to do other things with. People succeed at making friends outside of Greek and people within Greek can end up having a hard time, so don’t make too much of it.