Just wanted to say thanks

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
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<p>Thanks to all of you that encouraged our daughter (Tarheelhopeful) through her process of applying to Carolina. Most of you know by now that she didn't get accepted, but she is fine and has moved on just as any typical seventeen year old should do. I think her dad and I pouted longer than she did but hey....we were trying to live vicariously through her. ha!!! Anyway, she was accepted to Appalachian last week and is thrilled and is already making plans to be the best Mountaineer she can be. She knows about six students from her school that were also accepted and they are all pumped and even a couple that were accepted to Carolina AND App are choosing App....something about the football team I think. :) JK.</p>

<p>Thanks again and wish all of you the best and hope all your dreams come true and thanks again for telling her to hang in there. Who knows....she may re-apply in a year or two if she finds Boone toooo cold.</p>

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<p>some on this site can be a bit snippy or even rude but not your daughter. i tried to send her a private message and it did not go thru. she is very encouraging to others and with a good heart like that, it does not matter where she goes to college. she will be happy and do great. </p>

<p>i am already in college with a s a few years older and a b a few younger. my mom is involved like you are and it has been a good thing. but she is always saying that it was nothing like this when she did this. she is so sad that it has been almost like a circus to get into college. a few have so much power over where we spend four or five years of our lives. guess it is good that when you are 17, you bounce back. but these guys judge us on something so stupid as a 4 hour test (let's face it, that is the primary focus no matter what everyone says) and it is kind of sad that we have pegged everyone like that. </p>

<p>Tell her carnut thinks she is great.</p>

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<p>SharonD, I corresponded with your daughter several times as well. I always enjoyed her messages - she is a wonderful young woman. I was sorry that she did not get into UNC but am happy that she was accepted to Appalachian and that she is looking forward to attending. I wish her the best of luck!</p>

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<p>Carnut & New Jersey Mom: I appreciate you kinds words about our daughter and I will tell her what you both said. It has been a stressful time for her and she is relieved it is over. She has no idea what she wants to major in and is thinking along the lines of the medical or legal field....but at 17 that could change 20 times. :) We told her it does not matter where you go the first two years so just go, have fun, work hard, and hopefully her college advisors will help guide her in the right direction by the end of her sophomore year.</p>

<p>She was thrilled to get an email from one of the people over the admissions dept. at App congratulating her on her acceptance and telling her she was being considered for a scholarship. She should find out for sure in the next week or so...fingers are crossed.</p>

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<p>I don't post often on this site, but I did want to tell Tarheelhopeful's Mom that App State is a WONDERFUL school. Two of my three "children" attended UNC, but the oldest went to APP State. We found it to be an enormously nurturing environment with bright, engaged students. The "feel" of the campus is just so positive and upbeat. App State is a good bit smaller than Carolina, and it can do some things better just because of sheer size. The advising is excellent. Channels of communication are very open, which can be unusual. And, yes, there are plenty of students who do choose it over Carolina for any number of issues. SO, it shouldn't be considered a lesser choice, just a different one. I wish your daughter the very best there. She will love it!</p>

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<p>App State is getting a steal. I would have been happy to be your D's classmate at any university. I wish her the best of luck in all of her future endeavors.</p>

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<p>Your D will love App State. I got a PM from her and she is a real gem of a person. Carolina is a great school but I have known several people that transferred out of Carolina to NC School of the Arts, App State and UNC-Asheville because the fit at Carolina (not ability to do the work) wasn't exactly what they wanted. On of the ones that went to App transferred b/c he felt he would get better help in his pre-med studies (more attention). He is now in Med school. App is so friendly and warm and you are less likely to be taught by graduate students during the first two years than at UNC. Check out App's Residential College program-it offers more academic challenges in a smaller college setting. US News ratings are not the be-all-and-end-all to choosing good schools.</p>

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<p>hornet: While I agree that Appalachian is a fine school, and I congratulate Tarheelhopeful on her acceptance, your suggestion that UNC-CH students are likely to be taught by graduate students during their first two years, is utter nonsense. </p>

<p>The UNC system (16 campuses total) is really excellent, and Appalachian is part of the UNC system.. To make untrue assertions about UNC in order to point out the merits of Appalachian is completely unnecessary. Do you know anyone at UNC who was taught by graduate students during their first two years? Do you think that students and their parents would even tolerate that for two years? Students are always taught by professors. </p>

<p>In large lecture classes, where there are recitations, graduate students (PhD candidates) will often lead those smaller recitations, but they are excellent. (This is also typical at most universities, large or small.) Even some small foreign language classes might have TA's (PhD candidates) in recitations, but they are native speakers of the language and are also excellent at what they do. All classes are taught by professors, however.</p>

<p>I just wanted to clear up that little assertion/misconception. Carry on.</p>

<p>Again, congratulations to Tarheelhopeful on her acceptance to Appalachian.</p>

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<p>The point I made has to do with personal contact, not access to professor quality. Many students find it much easier to approach a professor in a smaller class. At App, there is less need for graduate student recitation support of large classes. Having been a UNC student, I know firsthand how intimidating it can be for a young student to approach a professor in a class that has 250 students or more in lecture. I loved UNC but it did not do much in the way of helping me find my voice. I quietly sat in large classes for the majority of may career there and did well. It would have been helpful to have been in a smaller setting where I would have been pushed outside of my cocoon of quietly taking notes. That did not occur until I attended graduate school and was forced to speak my opinion. This was many years ago and UNC now has freshman seminars and smaller academic communities that help a lot. However, the sheer size of the school (28,000+), through no fault of its own, limits the amount of individual contact for the average, not too assertive underclassman. UNC is an outstanding major research university and faculty do have to place a great amount of emphasis on their research. App is more of a teaching college with fewer demands for publishing and mentoring graduate students on its faculty. Each school has its strengths. At UNC you get to see really outstanding faculty who are at the top of their game but, because UNC has such fabulous graduate programs, the graduate students are where the faculty direct most of their energies, not the undergraduates.</p>

<p>Too many fine students, particularly in North Carolina, feel badly about not going to UNC because there is a myth that it is the best there is for all things. Carolina is outstanding in many, many ways. Direct, individual professor to undergraduate contact is not one of them.</p>

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<p>Sorry, Sharon D. I did not mean to hi-jack the response and turn it into a flame-out over the merits of schools. My intention was to take some of the sting out of the thin letter your wonderful daughter got (I know how painful that can be) and celebrate what I think will be a great experience at Appalachian. It saddens me to see so many students not be able to treasure and celebrate their acceptance to a good college in North Carolina because it was not Carolina.</p>

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<p>Hornet: I was responding and disagreeing with your earlier sentence, " . . . you are less likely to be taught by graduate students during the first two years than at UNC." </p>

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However, the sheer size of the school (28,000+), through no fault of its own, limits the amount of individual contact for the average, not too assertive underclassman.

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</p>

<p>As you must be aware, you are including the graduate student population in your comments about undergraduate education above. The undergraduate population at UNC is ~17,000-- not 28,000. </p>

<p>From the UNC website: The student-faculty ratio at UNC is 14:1. 50% of classes have 20 or fewer students. 70% of classes have fewer than 30 students. Nearly 30% of undergraduates participate in research.</p>

<p>Compared to UNC's ~17,000 undergraduates, Appalachian has ~14,000 undergraduates. Appalachian's faculty to student ratio is 17:1. (Again, UNC's is 14:1.) From their website: "Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of northwestern North Carolina, Appalachian State University has built a national reputation for providing outstanding academics. With a student/faculty ratio of 17:1, faculty members are able to take a personal interest in student progress, often becoming mentors, advisers, and friends - even tennis partners."</p>

<p>I am very surprised by your comments, that "individual professor to undergraduate contact is not" one of UNC's strengths. In fact, I think one of UNC's majors strengths is that, given it's size and the strength of its graduate programs and professional schools, they really have emphasized and maintained the excellence of their undergraduate programs. That is unusual for a strong research university, I agree, but UNC has managed to do that remarkably well. </p>

<p>I don't know when you went to UNC, but my guess is, it was much smaller than it is now. You have a real misperception that students are unable to connect with their professors at UNC . Additionally, only freshmen intro classes-- usually requirements for majors-- are large, and many of those can be bypassed if a student has tested out, with either high SAT scores or AP/IB credit. Many of those large intro classes are also taught in honors-- as honors courses-- which are very small.</p>

<p>Again, I think the UNC system is unusual (compared to other states' systems) in that many of the other 15 campuses are quite strong in their own right. The flagship is excellent, but the other campuses-- and certainly including Appalachian-- usually have certain strengths or offer majors that the flagship may not. (Think engineering at NCSU; performing and visual arts at NCSA; creative writing and dance at UNC-Greensboro; Applachian is strong in many areas, including the arts and education-- and its location in the Blue Ridge Mountains can't be beat.)</p>

<p>I don't mean to hi-jack this thread, either; however, your misperceptions and incorrect statements about UNC-CH needed to be addressed.</p>

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<p>Well I'd like to say that tarheelhopeful is an awesome girl. I've had a few exchanges with her and she is just impossible not to like. She's super friendly & bright, and I know that she'll adapt really well wherever she goes. I'd like to second what vc said up there- it would have been a privilege to have been classmates with her. App State is indeed getting lucky. I wish her the best.</p>

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<p>hornet: Yes, as did some others in my immediate and extended family. I am also familiar, through my work, with some of the other UNC campuses, including Appalachian, which-- as stated before-- is a fine school in its own right. Regardless, some of the facts I posted above (faculty to student ratios, class sizes, undergraduate population, etc) speak for themselves. I'm sorry if you had a less than stellar undergraduate experience at UNC yourself. I do think some students are better suited to LACs than to universities, for many reasons-- regardless of the size of a university campus/undergraduate population.</p>

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<p>Hornet: I should also add, with regard to your comment about TAs, this is how PhD candidates, who want to be academics, learn to teach. Most are really excellent at it. Also, I believe the only colleges one will most likely not have TAs is at small liberal arts colleges. Even the Ivys have TAs.</p>

<p>Both Appalachian and UNC-CH have TAs leading recitations or labs for larger classes. On Appalachian's website, it states:</p>

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Appalachian State University employs between 100 and 120 Graduate Teaching Assistants each year in several academic departments and programs . . . These GTAs typically provide instruction in introductory courses and laboratory sections, and are closely supervised by faculty mentors who are themselves outstanding teachers. A graduate teaching assistantship provides valuable classroom experience for graduate students who plan to teach at any level, but especially in postsecondary settings.

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</p>

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<p>I'm a freshman this year and I've been taught by many TAs. While my recitation leaders havent' been the best, my foreign language classes and english class TAs were better then some of my actual professors. I could barely tell they were grad students.</p>