Im a rising senior in high school and im debating on a school to go to. Right now im looking at UNC charlotte, but my only concern is a lot of people say there is nothing to do there. Also, ive heard crime is pretty high there? My GPA is a 3.9 and my ACT score is 26 if that helps, any comments or recommendations would be great.
Are you in-state or OOS? What is your major?
In state, computer science
UNCC is about an average, middling school - above UNCG and ECU, but definitely below the likes of UNC-A, App State, and UNCW. More of a commuter school with a sketchy surrounding area.
With your stats, you should be looking into NC State, UNCW, and App. NC State by far has the best CS program of the bunch, though.
26 is at the low end of the ACT range for State - and CS students likely skew higher. UNCC is gaining in reputation especially due to their strong engineering program. 26 is mid-range for App.
I would rank UNC-Charlotte well above UNC-A, App State and UNC-W. It is a larger school with engineering and architecture programs.
I also wouldn’t call the surrounding area sketchy. The campus is adjacent to a typical suburban shopping area.
I agree with the two posts above. UNCC has a very solid rep in CS and is growing and improving rapidly, as is the Charlotte area in general. The university has moved away from its commuter school roots in the last couple of decades by creating a football team, building dorms, etc.
As of next year, a light rail line will run from UNCC to downtown and NoDa, which will be quite nice for students. There should be plenty to do in your free time.
@OrangeCrush75 it’s not quite academically comparable to the others, though. Not yet, at least. @warblersrule has noted that the school is very much on the rise.
UNC -Charlotte is classified as a doctoral / research university by Carnegie. UNC-W and App State are Masters universities, and UNC-Asheville is a Baccalaureate College.
UNC-C is the 4th largest university in the state and offers a wider variety of majors including STEM majors in engineering and architecture.
I’m not sure how those others including UNC-Asheville which is less than 4000 students can be described as better academically.
@OrangeCrush75 that’s a very shortsighted way of looking at colleges, essentially basing them purely on size. Why not compare the entering freshman GPA and test scores and then say which schools are better?
I’m not basing them purely on size but size does matter when it comes to getting a job from a networking standpoint.
I specifically mentioned more majors and it has more doctoral programs and research., so it is curious you are suggesting that I am only looking at size.
UNC-A is a tiny school so it obviously can be very selective. That doesnt’ tell you anything about the school itself.
@OrangeCrush75 Um, we’re talking about undergrad here, kid. how about retention and graduation rates? Surely, your premise is defeated then.
UNC-Charlotte is actually more selective than UNC-Asheville, despite having nearly 23,000 undergrad students.
Ok, I don’t understand how a university that offers engineering and architecture is a lesser college than a small liberal arts college that doesn’t offer many graduate programs.
UNC-A is a public Liberal Arts university, the only one in NC. Comparing against other UNC institutions is apples to oranges. It’s not about size or the number of graduate programs - it’s about quality.
Ok, aagain, I’m not sure how UNC-C, which offers challenging engineering and architecture programs, does not offer at least as much quality as a small liberal arts college with little name recognition.
As the parent of a Tar Heel I have had my share of defensive posts, so I am absolutely not judging.
I think it’s time to accept the fact that it just doesn’t matter which of these three schools is “better.” What’s important is that the students who attend are at the right school for them. This means something different for everybody.
@twogirls facts only. Spot on with that assessment. It’s all about fit, not prestige. At least, that’s how it was for me.
@OrangeCrush75 @LBad96 regardless of graduation rates, i know i am a dedicated student to my work so im not too focused on comparing all these schools academic wise, as long as i am getting a decent education, and a computer science program that is atleast average i am fine. I am talking the atmosphere of the schools mainly, and the safety and likeability of Charlotte.
Bring up your ACT and check out NC State. @drew221 Could you add some info about the courses you have taken + ECs?