<p>"I think that the fact no such rule exists for UNC is what makes the overall student body, among other things, more diverse. Sure there's the requirement that a majority of students come from the state - that should be the policy for a state-supported school..."</p>
<p>I would say a mandate of in-state students approaching 90% is not just a 'majority'. How truly diverse can you be when almost the entire student body is from the same state? That doesn't make it bad or inferior, just not very diverse-even taking into account that not everyone was born and raised there. I'm sure admissions tries very hard to work within the mandate to address this, but honestly, NC isn't a bevy of cultural diversity and its residents make up almost the entire student body at UNC.</p>
<p>goheels, there's no way I believe that. Out of place and unwanted? I can't even tell if someone is OOS, even after getting into deep conversations with them. I've never heard anyone ask why an out of stater would come here if they're not from North Carolina. Why would anyone ask that? It's an outstanding school in tons of areas and known around the country. I get so angry when people come onto this forum saying things like this - it's like you're polluting the minds of prospective students.</p>
<p>The out of state vs. in state student issue is so overplayed. Here's what happens - the out of staters show up and initially think that they're smarter than all the in staters. I heard a few out of staters throw their SAT scores on the table the first few weeks of school. Then grades start coming back in and it's a very humbling time for in and out of stater alike, trust me, and then the rivalry dissolves.</p>
<p>Bluesweetie, if you visited and you liked it, then you got a pretty good idea of what the campus feels like. This forum is great for getting information on deadlines, essay strengths and weaknesses, what to do once you're accepted, etc., but feel free to take goheels' opinion (as well as my own) with a grain of salt. Hopefully heathergee and getouttabuffalo will weigh in here, as some out of staters...</p>
<p>Going to a North Carolina public school now, knowing lots of friends who go there and being a resident of NC all of my life tells me that goheels is either a troll or really has a lot of other issues in his/her life that has influenced such ridiculous remarks.</p>
<p>Do you really think that everyone on the campus(or anyone for that matter) really cares what state you came from? I mean does it even come up in conversations that often?</p>
<p>You are correct stone. No one walks around with OOS stamped on their foreheads. I know my son has made friends with a couple guys who after spending quite a bit of time with them, found out that one was from Boston and one from New Zealand. Son must not have an ear for accents, lol. Anyway, he says he has no idea where a student is from unless they bring it up in conversation--and then he finds that it is an interesting point for further conversations. </p>
<p>The majority of students may be NC residents, but that does not mean that the population is not diverse. I see much more diversity at UNC than I do at some other selective privates where the student body is much more cookie cutter as far as ethnicity, socio-economic levels, and attire.</p>
<p>UVA admits more out of staters but the experience at our competitive local high in PA says it's just as difficult as UNC to get in. Lots of rejects and waitlists from both schools - and with top-notch kids. My son didn't apply to UNC because he was worried about the OOS kids not fitting in. We visited on Easter weekend and the place was a ghost town. Too bad cause I think it would have been a nice choice for him - if he could get in of course (a big if). First impressions count for a lot though...</p>
<p>Either you don't live in the Great State of North Carolina, or you're stupid. </p>
<p>There is tons of diversity here. Wake and Mecklenburg Counties are two of the top ten fastest growing counties in the country. We get tons of people coming here for tech, biomedical, and other jobs in RTP and people coming for commerce jobs in Charlotte. So there is a large portion of us who are not originally from NC. Myself included. Neither of my parents are from here. Out of the rural areas, it is hard to find people who have been here for generations. We have a lot of racial diversity. Asians are heavily represented, as are blacks, and certainly hispanics. They are drawn here for a lot of the agricultural and construction(theres so much construction that a popular joke calls the traffic cone our state flower) jobs. I know I've worked with a lot of hispanics on tobacco fields. Also there is a lot of socioeconomic diversity. We have poor people who farm, poor people living in the cities, people with the old money from colonial times, and people who are getting rich from specialized jobs.</p>
<p>What makes you the authority on diversity in North Carolina? Clearly you have no knowledge of it.</p>
<p>I guess the only tip I could give you is to apply to the College of Liberal Arts as like a astronomy or slavic studies or some other unpopular major, and to then internally transfer into whatever school you want to after freshman year. I knew several kids that got rejected from business as a freshman and then internally transferred into business as a sophomore. UT, in general, isn't that hard to internally transfer into different schools.</p>
<p>"Either you don't live in the Great State of North Carolina, or you're stupid." </p>
<p>Neither. Have first hand knowledge of NC and the UNC student body. And, I was not disparaging North Carolinians or Tar Heels, I was simply making the observation that 90% of the student body is from NC - a tad 'limiting' IMO. If the mandate were not in place, it would be the natural inclination of the Admissions Dept to admit students from a broader range of regions/countries as do private schools without similar requirements. The reality is, they don't have a choice which is why even the academic standards for IS are less than that for OOS.</p>
"We enrolled 3,895 new freshman for Fall 2007; 80.4% come from North Carolina and 19.6% are residents of other states and countries. "
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<p>It certainly makes sense to me that the OOS population will have a higher set of metrics since the selectivity is higher. I also think the cultural diversity of the State of North Carolina is higher than you posit, not to mention the diversity of the 20% of the class that comes from out of state.</p>
<p>Clearly you're not an out of state student if you can't identify with those feelings. I am serious when I say people ask me that ALL the time. Actually at the first OSSA meeting I ever went to Freshman year they mentioned how people always ask that, and I thought "surely not", but yeah, it still happens, virtually every time I meet someone. It's harmless, like trying to make conversation, but it gets really old.</p>
<p>It's funny that you should say I'm polluting the mind of prospective students, because one thing I really resent is how when I was deciding where to go to school, I only heard good things about both schools I was considering. It's like students were afraid to be honest about most of the negative aspects until I was already in school there. It's only fair for people to get both sides of the picture. I'm offering a frank, honest opinion to someone who is considering becoming an out of state student at UNC. I have heard similar opinions from other out of state students, but either way, whether you believe that or believe me or not, this is MY experience, MY opinion, and your observations have nothing to do with that.</p>
<p>I think you'd be ok if you went into it with the right attitude and with the expectation that it might be difficult, and there'd be additional challenges for you that many in-state students might not face.. it depends on your personality, yeah. I did feel like so many things were more obviously structured around in state students... even the words to our song.. "tarheel born, tarheel bred", and felt alienated not knowing anyone, and meeting so many people with connections already established on campus and stuff. If you're a 'go getter' and are willing to work a little harder than you might have to in another situation, and you like the school otherwise, go for it. And there are plenty of out of state students with differing opinions, but there are also those who feel the same way I do.</p>
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[quote] goheels3. . . even the words to our song.. "tarheel born, tarheel bred" . . .
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<p>First of all, it's Tar Heel (2 words),</p>
<p>Second, you're kidding right? UNC-Chapel Hill is the state school of NC (which is the Tar Heel state.) Why on earth would the word Tar Heel be in the school song? Go figure! ;)</p>
<p>i didn't object to the word tar heel being in the song...</p>
<p>yes, the tar heel state... .obviously i have no objection to our school songs including our mascot or references to the tar heel state, that makes perfect sense. </p>
<p>the point:
not every single student at unc is BORN in the tar heel state, hence, while every student is a tar heel, not every student is a "tar heel born,"
since not every student has come from a family of alumns or fans, not every student is a "tar heel bred" either.
these statements seem applicable to specifically in state students, and i feel weird singing them</p>
<p>About the school being geared towards NC residents. It's the STATE SCHOOL of NORTH CAROLINA. I wouldn't go to Cal and get mad because their school is centered around state residents; you shouldn't do the same at UNC.</p>
<p>Goheels- Can I ask what other school you were considering when you were a senior? You said it came down to UNC and another school. Why did you end up choosing UNC? </p>
<p>Also, random question, if you're so unhappy at UNC, why is your username "goheels3"? Do you still feel a sense of pride in attending UNC?</p>
<p>if you private message me i'll be happy to talk about other schools. also, i have always been a huge fan of carolina athletics, i will always be a UNC basketball fan. nationally there's still a sense of pride attention UNC, but more locally, in the state among other local schools and even some in the southeast, i don't like the stereotype. </p>
<p>i think i'm done contributing to these forums--- i was trying to be helpful, and give someone the opportunity i SERIOUSLY wish i had coming in, i didn't know i'd be attacked from every angle by people whose opinions differ. why can't you just let someone have their own opinion? i don't criticize yours for being overly complimentary, i don't criticize you for romanticizing every detail, and i don't criticize you for kissing each others butts, i don't doubt your experiences or bring up that for some of you it's not even firsth and experiences you're talking about. i'm not trying to devalue anyone's opinion in here, so just let me have my own because i'm entitled to that. </p>
<p>i feel like the university in many ways unknowingly treats out of state students differently. i feel that the process, and atmosphere, and many of the experiences nad policies highly favor in state students. and i do believe it is more difficult socially to connect, it's a whole different set of challenges.</p>