<p>My s received a letter from UNC the other day. We were very excited, hoping it was an Honors Invitation. However, it was a form letter telling him what wonderful student he was and that he beat out many applicants to be accepted to the school and hoped he would attend. S signed up for Explore Carolina so they can tell he is interested. Not sure why they sent the letter except to possibly keep the communication flowing. Still no Honors Invite. He was just accepted to another school's Honors Program, but prefers UNC. As I've mentioned in other posts, he said he would be 90% sure he would attend UNC if he were invited to Honors.</p>
<p>My daughter, who was also selected early, got the same letter this week. No mention of honors or scholarships. She is ranked #1 in her class, Morehead nominee, 2170 SAT, Hard subjects, extracurriculars. I don't know what they are looking for if these stats get no attention for scholarships or Honors. I'm disappointed only because I feel she deserves it. So we are in your same boat. She did get a 1400.00 a year scholarship to a private college, so we really don't know what to do.</p>
<p>I got that letter, too. Did it mention the Public Service Scholars Program? I'd already enrolled so I don't really need to be wooed, but they hadn't received my deposit until after the letter was sent, it turns out. I was very excited and hoping that it was Honors, as well. But no luck. That's okay. I'll just apply to the program second semester or second year after I put in some good hard work.</p>
<p>Yes, avangarden, same letter. Good luck to you at UNC!</p>
<p>If being invited to honors is what's keeping your son, I'd suggest reevaluating the honors program at UNC. Yes, it is awesome, but it's also very easy to get into it your second semester. If your son commits himself to his studies enough to get something like a 3.2, he'll have no problem getting into honors and thus getting the benefits of early registration/smaller classes. I'm not saying that the honors program sucks, but they really do mean it when they say it's accessible.</p>
<p>I got a similar letter dated Feb. 1. I have signed up for Explore too. Was hoping it was an invite to Honors Program. Maybe we are the second tier down from the Honors students and they want us to fill up their large classrooms. Have any of you accepted yet. I haven't still weighing my odds. Could be they are disappointed we haven't signed up yet and are trying to make us feel special.</p>
<p>Last year when I was deciding whether or not to come to UNC I considered an invitation to the honors program to be essential. I did end up receiving an Honors invite, but having been here for a little over semester, I think I vastly overestimated the value of being invited to the honors program.</p>
<p>Why? Because:
- non-honors students can take honors courses (even if the class is "full" you can email the profs and they may very well let you in)
- you can apply for the honors program once you get here
- there is no one dorm where all honors students live, there is no social separation between honors and non-honors students, and being in the program will NOT determine whether or not you have academically motivated friends (you can find them -- or avoid them -- either way)
- being in the honors program is not the same process as graduating with honors.</p>
<p>So I understand the emotional/psychological aspect of wanting to be invited -- I fell for it, too. But honestly, I do not think it will affect your experience that much while here - and I strongly believe that deciding not to come to Carolina because of a lack of an Honors invitation is a mistake. There are lots of good reasons to choose one school over another. In regards to Carolina, whether or not you get into Honors should not be one of them.</p>
<p>Daughter received the same letter. In-state, accepted EA but hasn't committed, likely letter.</p>
<p>It's possible the letter wasn't just a consolation prize for those not getting honors invitations at the moment -- it could have been strategic timing aimed at students who might have been getting likely letters from competing institutions. The timing of communications from UNC has seemed very strategic in the past.</p>
<p>Either way, NJmom, I echo what others have said here: an honors invitation shouldn't be a deal-breaker at this school. If your son is looking for academically motivated peers, plenty of opportunities are there, including that service scholars program mentioned in the letter.</p>
<p>While my kid's lucky to have a network of in-state friends already there, I know these students are the kind who welcome new friends and would be happy to support OOS students by introducing them around. While it might be a bit intimidating to meet in-state students who have friends they went to pre-school with, it's not a closed society.</p>
<p>If it's about trying to figure whether your child will get scholarship money, I'm as clueless as everyone else, trying to read tea leaves and just chilling and saving for a few weeks.</p>
<p>And I'm sure in-state parents like me would be happy to share Thanksgiving dinner. Y'all come.</p>
<p>Thanks for your replies. My son joined the UNC Facebook group and is meeting new people already. Unfortunately, lots of kids on the group already chose their roommates, but since he is not 100% commited yet, it's OK that he hasn't yet. Speaking with the kids on Facebook, he is getting even more excited about UNC. He hasn't mentioned Honors lately and of course we would welcome any scholarship!</p>
<p>Yeah, I found that last year a lot of people went with facebook to make their roommates, and I guess that's okay (I haven't heard of many horror stories), but I'd still opt for pot luck. You should go into your roommate experience looking for a roommate, and not a friend. It sounds cold, but you're way less likely to be disappointed and to view your room as a room and not a social venue where distraction and drama can occur.</p>
<p>Anywho, I totally echo what Thoughtprovoking was saying. I couldn't agree more - I partly made my decision based off of my scholarship and honors, and though I can say that my program does change Carolina a bit for me, I'd still feel at home here without it. Last semester in one of my honors seminars (one that I can honestly say has changed my life, or at least what I plan to do this summer) I'm pretty sure that maybe only three out of the ten kids in the class were in honors. I didn't even know that until the end, and it was one of my favorite classes.</p>
<p>Hope this helps!</p>
<p>2007 mom, in the other thread you said that your son received a letter the other day. Was it an honor's invite? And if so, when did you get it?</p>
<p>I'm NewJerseyMom, not sure if 2007Mom will see your post.</p>