I have heard being male and being from a rural area will help increase your chances getting into UNC CH from out of state? Are there any other criteria that will help get you into UNC, such as specific race, interests, ect…? I am white, male, from rural Georgia?
Being a recruited athlete and/or legacy…
Consider it a big reach unless you’ve got Ivy level stats.
I have not heard that … but who knows.
It is a reach coming from OOS unless you are an OOS legacy or recruited athlete. You will need top grades and scores, strong essays that demonstrate why this school is a fit for you, outstanding letters of rec, and activities that you show a commitment to- and if these activities show how you are a fit for the school… in my opinion that would be helpful.
Despite the fact that the entering freshmen classes at UNC-CH for the past number of years have usually been about 60%-40% female to male, being male confers no admissions advantage at UNC-CH (i.e., there does not appear to be an effort to remedy the female/male imbalance among the undergraduate population through the admissions process). If you look at Part C1 of the Common Data Set for UNC-CH, the last three years of data reveal the following admissions percentages for first-year (freshmen) male and female applicants:
2014-15: men, 29.4%; women, 27.9%
2015-16: men, 29.9%; women, 29.7%
2016-17: men, 26.5%, women, 27.2%
There doesn’t appear to be any significant difference between the overall percentages of women admitted as first-year students compared to the percentages of men admitted as first-year students.
As the above posters have noted, being a recruited D-1 athlete or an OOS legacy may confer an admissions advantage (e.g., the Admissions Policy Statement for UNC-CH states at Part III that “In the application of this policy of competitive admissions to nonresident students, preference for admission may be given to nonresident applicants who are children of alumni of the institution.” See http://www.admissions.unc.edu/files/2013/09/Admissions__Policy.pdf). Being a URM (“under-represented minority”) or a first-generation college student may give you a slight boost; but those characteristics are considered in the context of the admissions factors set forth in Part C7 of the Common Data Set. As for whether living in a rural county OOS will help you with the Admissions Office, I have no idea.
However, if you are “unhooked” in admissions parlance (i.e., not a recruited D-1 athlete, or a URM, first-generation college student, etc.), then you should look at Part C9 of the Common Data Set for UNC-CH, which gives the median 50% for both SAT and ACT scores, as well as the percentage of the entering first-year class falling within certain ranges of SAT and ACT scores; Part C11 gives the percentage of entering first-year students falling within a range of unweighted GPA on a 4.0 scale, and Part C12 gives the average high school GPA of first-year applicants.
By way of comparison, our OOS high school – urban, not rural like yours – usually has 8-10 students who apply, and 1-2 students who are admitted, each year to UNC-CH; with the exception of legacy students, these admitted students have ACT scores of 33+ and weighted GPAs of 4.4+. Additionally, these successful applicants also were involved in extracurricular activities that showed commitment over time (no “drive-by” ECs), and demonstrated leadership in the school as well as their ECs. Other kids in our city who I know were admitted to UNC-CH recently also had similar academic statistics and non-academic characteristics; and all of these kids were “unhooked” applicants.
As an OOS applicant, you will have a hard row to hoe in general: UNC-CH admits OOS applicants in numbers that are calculated not to exceed 18% of an entering freshman class (see “Undergraduate Admissions” on Page 2, here: http://www.admissions.unc.edu/files/2013/09/Admissions__Policy.pdf), and the overall acceptance rate for OOS students is around 15% (e.g., http://admissions.unc.edu/apply/class-profile-2/). In addition to the high grades and standardized test scores, you will need essays and LORs that are top-notch as well as demonstrating leadership in your school and your ECs.
Good luck to you.
What do you like about UNC CH? Perhaps we can help you find a more reachable similar university.
Thank you to everyone who has helped! I want to attend a school in North Carolina with fun athletic teams, good school spirit, decent academics, and an affordable price. After finding out most North Carolina schools don’t offer set merit based scholarships, I am wondering if college in North Carolina is possible. I have a 4.0 GPA and a 30 ACT, my family can afford out of state with limitations; they can afford about $25,000 per year. I will just have to apply to some of the schools and see what they will give me. Do you have any North Carolina schools meeting this criteria?
You might fare better with private universities in North Carolina: https://www.charlotteagenda.com/50543/north-carolina-private-college-admissions-statistics/.
Your statistics would likely get you merit aid at the University of Alabama (not just the main campus in Tuscaloosa, but UAH and UAB as well), or other schools such as Ole Miss or Auburn; not to mention SLACs such as Birmingham-Southern.
What’s the problem with going to school in Georgia?
UNC WiImington, App State, UNC Asheville - those have smaller scholarships that would make attending within your budget. Wilmington has awesome beaches and has mild weather (shoutout to @LBad96), App State has football and snow, Asheville has a great revitalized, walkable small town and unique majors. All offer good academics, have a nice campus, and are within budget.
Run the NPC on Elon and Guilford (respectively match and safety); Davidson and Wake Forest would be reaches but worth trying if the NPC is within budget - they offer excellent financial aid.
gandalf78, I know my hunch for going to a North Carolina schools seems a little crazy! I have family in Greensboro area and have fallen in love with NC! Thanks for the help though!
MYOS1634, Thank you so much for this! I have checked into Elon and think it might be a good idea to go visit soon! I will also have to look into App State, UNCW, & UNCA! Thanks for the help!!