<p>Hello!
I am an undergraduate student and will be transferring to a 4 year university as a Junior. I am currently really interested in NCSU and UNC-Chapel Hill, but, I most likely won't get to visit either one before enrolling. How do the two schools differ in terms of the social atmosphere? </p>
<p>What kind of people do the two schools attract? Are they more down to earth at one school? More humble? More kind? Does one attract more city / rural minded people? Any academic snobbery? Is one more religious than another? More religiously tolerant? More liberal or conservative? Does one school have a better dating scene? </p>
<p>Details About Myself: I'm a gal. I have a 4.0 GPA, but, I don't really care too much about academic prestige. I am planning on getting teaching certifications in Elementary, Spanish, and/or ESL. (I haven't actually decided if I will be majoring in Elementary Education or Spanish yet but it will be one of the two.) I get along best with overly practical and logical people who also happen to be very humble and kind. I grew up on a small town farm so I'm also a bit more attracted to others who grew up in a similar situation. Also, a note about financing, even though I am out of state (CA) I will be coming in with a large amount of scholarships so the tuition shouldn't be a huge issue. Feel free to suggest other schools to aside from NCSU and UNC-CH too!</p>
<p>Sorry, OP, I have nothing to offer - but NCSU and UNC-CH have a pretty storied rivalry. (For what it’s worth, as an outsider I don’t think the students’ personalities probably don’t differ substantially between the two. NCSU has nearly 25,000 students and UNC has about 19,000. With student bodies that big, there’s probably more variability within them than between them. But I don’t have first-hand experience.)</p>
<p>One major difference, though, is the selectivity: UNC-CH is a great deal more selective (27%) than NCSU (47%). UNC has, on average, slightly higher SAT/ACT scores and a higher percentage of students who came from the top 10% of their high school class. For that reason, it might be easier for you to transfer into NCSU than UNC though - especially given that you are out of state.</p>
<p>Why are you choosing between UNC and NCSU? That should help people suggest other schools. Similar schools would be Clemson, University of South Carolina, UNC-Greensboro, James Madison University, and the University of Virginia (which would probably also be difficult to transfer into).</p>
<p>From the way you describe yourself, I think NCSU would be a better fit. I think Julliet is correct that given the size of the schools, there would be a variety of students at each, but I think you would fit better at NCSU.</p>
<p>NCSU is composed of several colleges such as engineering, agriculture, textiles, arts and sciences and more. Since you asked about the dating scene, the ratio of male students to female students is higher at NCSU . At UNC it is about 60/40 women to men I think. </p>
<p>Personally, I think NCSU tends to be more conservative overall than UNC.</p>
<p>While UNC is more selective with regards to admission, NCSU is a very strong school on its own. Any rivalry between the two colleges isn’t nearly as strong as the one between UNC and Duke. NCSU student are able to stay out of the rivalry radar and let the two of them go at it, especially when they play basketball against each other. </p>
<p>Similar colleges, as suggested would be Clemson, U South Carolina. If you are considering a smaller college- Elon and Furman might interest you. </p>
<p>I’m a UNC partisan through and through, but I can be objective here. Really.</p>
<p>I don’t think there’s that much difference in the quality of the students the two schools draw. UNC is more selective overall, but NC State’s design and engineering programs are quite selective (design school especially). Also, because many students from NC are raised to be fans of one school or the other, there are a lot of top students who go to State and never would apply to Carolina (and vice versa). In other words, despite UNC’s being more selective overall, there are plenty of very intelligent students at both places. You should be fine academically at either place with your major.</p>
<p>Similarities:
Students at both schools are generally down to earth and friendly. Employees at both places are friendly and have a good rapport with the students.
Sports are BIG at both State and Carolina.
There is a lot of political and theological diversity at both places.</p>
<p>Differences:
UNC is a fairly liberal school, although there are more conservative students who are quite happy there. NC State is more politically diverse. Both have a variety of associated religious groups – Christian (fundamentalist to very liberal), Jewish, Muslim. There is even a Hare Krishna group that serves a weekly meal at UNC.
Chapel Hill is the quintessential college town, and UNC has a beautiful campus. Raleigh is larger, and State’s campus is a little gritty in places but has lovely spots as well.
For heterosexual women, the dating scene is better at State (although I know a number of UNC wife/NC State husband couples!). For anyone else, the dating scene is better at UNC. Note: This isn’t speaking to the quality of potential dates (I’m a parent, not a student, so I don’t judge that ), just the percentages.
Because State has engineering and UNC doesn’t, there is an extra geek/nerd quotient at State. (I mean that only fondly, as I have geekish/nerdish children myself.)
Because State has agriculture programs, it attracts a number of students who want to run the family farm – although it’s more agribusiness-focused now.</p>
I have to wonder about this. Do you have these scholarships already in hand? And you’ve come up with $38K x 2 years? Can you share your secrets with us? </p>
<p>I was wondering the same thing. I didn’t know of any portable scholarships like this. I was also curious about the choice of NC. These are two great schools, but there are a lot to choose from. However, I assumed that the OP may have family in the area, or some other reason to be in the NC triangle area.</p>
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), just the percentages.