<p>My daughter had a great visit with UNC and as parents we were very impressed with holistic development approach. Now a senior and finalizing her short list, which certainly includes UNC. Metrics are 34 ACT, 3.7UW, AP Scholar (5,5,4) strong EC, with some sports, leadership, etc. The UW is perhaps a little low but very competitive school -top 200 HS per US News (and she got B's in the AP classes where she scored 5s). School does not rank, but we believe top 10% Excellent writer (35/36 Reading/Writing) so I believe will have a competitive essay(s). Intended major is International Studies, which has been supplemented by three trips alone to other countries at 13, 15 and 17 (cultural exchange month in Spain and one month at home with exchange partner).</p>
<p>What's admit chances and merit aid likelihood? Any thoughts are appreciated!</p>
<p>Admit chances good based on admissions data…though it’s very competitive with the introduction of the Common App.</p>
<p>Merit aid chance low (I’m guessing) since there isn’t much merit aid outside of Robertson/Morehead. Should definitely apply and see what they offer.</p>
<p>If you compare UNC OOS tuition (~26k) to comparable academic schools (UVa, UCLA, UCSD etc.) you’re getting ~8k off tuition. You would need about 15k merit from a lot of privates to make tuition equivalent. </p>
<p>Think of UNC’s discount as guaranteed merit aid for just getting in.</p>
<p>Thanks for the thoughts. The discount is duly noted and we’d agree with the logic Her other stretch schools are GW/JHU and American Univ., although not quite as selective, is on the list. And in those cases, the sticker is even higher, so net and value wise, I think she’ll give it her best at UNC and see what happens compared to 1 or 2 of the above.</p>
<p>@JohnBlack: Just curious as to why you say OOS is $26k. Not doubting you or anything, as you seem to know a lot about UNC, but I was pretty sure I read that OOS for UNC is closer to $40K. Is that not true?</p>
<p>Sure. Tuition is 26k. But you’re right. The total cost of attendance (COA) is closer to 40k. </p>
<p>Cost of attendance is tuition + living expenses + misc + insurance etc.</p>
<p>Some schools have different cost of living calculations (some don’t include insurance in their COA etc.)… so its much easier to just compare tuition across universities.</p>
<p>Perhaps a new thread would be better for this line of thought, but…how much impact does the intended major have on the admit / scholarship decision process? For instance, if a school is trying to build its reputation in a certain area, will its actions in the admit / scholarship process reflect the same. I’d imagine its about impossible to determine from published data. And so a corallary would be, am I better of applying or showing as an intended major general college vs. business?</p>
<p>She has a good chance at getting in but very low chance for merit aid. My OOS daughter had a 4.0, AP with Distinction, IB Diploma candidate, higher ACT & SAT, NM finalist and excellent EC’s and was not offered any merit aid. She was admitted EA into the honors program and offered special choices between research opportunities and study abroad programs. I believe they are following the CA model that OOS students should be full pay. Her intended major on application was also International Studies. She applied and interviewed for Robertson but didn’t get it. Another odd thought, I believe the ratio of girls to guys at UNC is edging towards 70/30.</p>
<p>The female to male ratio is not 70/30. Look at this link to JohnBlack’s post of the Preliminary Class of 2015 stats. You’ll see this year’s ratio is 58 percent female, 42 percent male.</p>
<p>Sorry about the ratio comment, I should have checked more throughly, as I said it was an odd thought at the end of the post. I have read some articles and saw a TV show about more girls than boys at UNC but I should have looked it up.</p>
<p>Not sure if this is too personal of a question to ask (only share if you feel comfortable), but did you guys end up having to pay the $40,000 OOS tuition? Reason I ask is that I’m an OOS student, and am going to be applying this fall. Obviously, the financial aspect is a big one for me, as that sort of money is not feasible for me.</p>
<p>I’ve read that UNC has a very good financial aid policy all over this forum, but then I also see some contradictory posts once in a while (like yours). So I’d like to hear from someone like yourself who knows from first hand experience. How much did you guys end up paying per year?</p>
<p>thedon23-She did not go to UNC because she had large merits offers from several other universities. We were looking at merit aid rather than need based aid. I have also heard that UNC is very fair with need based but have no personal experience. Many state universities give the most merit aid to in-state students and we understand that. It is difficult to try and figure what will work financially. Good Luck!</p>
<p>^ Moreover, thanks for the feedback. Pretty amazing outcome, but when you look at the OOS stats the number of admits are so low, they can award on a beyond selective basis. So we are not banking on any merit aid, but will likely make a run at it as opposed to looking back and wondering. At the end of the day, there should be other strong value propositions available as it sounds like you found was the case for your daughter. Assuming she stays in IS, which we think is very likely, she will need her Masters and so she can always have another shot at grad school there and we will have saved enough money to pay for most of it.</p>
<p>^^ISI2Mom, I agree if you really like a school you should go for it. Many students from her high school were impressed with the UNC admit, and they did deny some of her IB classmates. You should definitely try for the Robertson, as we had a few from our high school who have won it. I also remember a long thread on the UNC forum sometime last winter where GADad looked up UNC’S scholarships and pointed out the majority were for students from North Carolina. You might look for it though as it might lead you to something for your daughter.</p>
Her other stretch schools are GW/JHU and American Univ., although not quite as selective, is on the list. And in those cases, the sticker is even higher, so net and value wise, I think she’ll give it her best at UNC and see what happens compared to 1 or 2 of the above.</p>