<p>I'm a senior at an OOS private high school who has been accepted to UNC, and I was hoping for a few current students to weigh in about their experiences at UNC in the context of UNC's being a public school.</p>
<p>1) I don't know how North Carolina's state budget is now, but if it's anything like my state's, then I would imagine North Carolina is in trouble. Has this had any effect on opportunities or resources you use/may have used if budget issues weren't a concern?</p>
<p>2) Is bureaucracy a problem at UNC? For academics/graduation requirements, funding, extracurriculars, anything?</p>
<p>3) On a slightly different note, what are the relationships between OOS and IS students? I guess this ties in to UNC b/c of the stricter admission policies as a public school, but I'm still curious if self-segregation, etc. exists.</p>
<p>Any answers you could provide, or any related, constructive advice you could offer would be much appreciated!</p>
<p>I’m not really sure about your first question but I can try to answer your second two.</p>
<p>Bureaucracy does seem to be a little bit of a problem at UNC. I’ve really only encountered this with extracurriculars first-hand, but it seems like there are several different offices and administrators to go through if you want to get anything done with a club, so it can be a bit of a pain. Also, there is sometimes a lack of communication between these groups and a lack of organization which can be frustrating.</p>
<p>There seem to be great relationships between in-state and out-of-state students. I have several friends who are out-of-state, and there honestly seems to be no difference or differentiation socially in terms of how out-of-state students are viewed. It may be a little difficult to find a niche at the beginning of the year as an out-of-state student since many in-state students come from large high schools in North Carolina that send 30 to 50 students to UNC a year (and who have already established friends), but I have found that for the most part, both in-state state and out-of-state students are excited and eager to meet new people. Also, I believe there is an some sort of out-of-state organization that meets where you can meet other out-of-state students and make friends that way.</p>
<p>See [UNIVERSITY</a> GAZETTE | March 17, 2010 | The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill](<a href=“http://gazette.unc.edu/budget.html]UNIVERSITY”>http://gazette.unc.edu/budget.html). Budget cuts are inevitable, but it’s really hard to guess how deep they’ll be and what if any direct impact they’ll have on students’ experiences. Also bear in mind that many privates are also struggling with lower income from shrunken endowments.</p>
<p>Not sure about the second two, since I am not a student, but as an NC resident, I can tell you that the legislature here is VERY protective of the UNC-system, and while there may be some budget cuts, the tuition hikes have been nothing in comparison to what all the students were protesting in California, because as a whole, higher education is still pretty well funded in NC. </p>
<p>Also, while NC is in a deficit situation, we are nowhere near the crisis mode that California, NY, and some other states are.</p>
<p>And overall the economy hasn’t hit North Carolina as badly as it has other states - the RTP area in particular has survived it pretty well. Combine that with the government’s devotion to the universities as TonyBallioni said and I think you’ll see that it hasn’t had much of an impact.</p>
<p>As far as resources available go, I don’t think there has been that much affect. Some classes are having fewer sections offered, so some classes are a little larger, but other than that I haven’t seen too many differences. We are even hiring some new professors because of some new anonymous donations.</p>
<p>Bureaucracy can be a bit of a problem at times, but I feel like that is going to be the case at any university you go to. It is really just a matter of getting to know the system. It can take time as a first year, but older students do have a better idea and are usually pretty helpful at getting your questions answered. </p>
<p>As far as advising goes, the advising system should be a lot better now. This year’s graduating class is the last one affected by the old graduation requirements, so virtually everyone will be part of the new curriculum. The transition period between the two curriculums gave advising a sort of bad reputation, but I’ve never had any problems. General academic advising is who you want to go to to figure out what classes you have to take to graduate, while departmental and peer advisors are who you would want to go to in order to find out what classes you want to take for your potential career choice.</p>
<p>As far as in state versus out of state, self segregation does not really exist at all. A friend of mine from oos went to the beach with 5 of his IS friends for Easter weekend, and stories like that are the norm. Where you are from definitely does not define your experience here, its something that comes up when you first meet people and when you talk about plans for break.</p>
North Carolina as a whole isn’t your typical Southern State. Yes there are some shared elements of culture, but it is very different even from South Carolina in many ways. This is particularly true once you get into some of the more suburban and urban ares, such as Chapel Hill-Raleigh-Durham, The Triad, and Charlotte. </p>
<p>Then again, if you go to some of the more rural counties, you may see what many in the North see as the stereotypical South, but in Chapel Hill this isn’t the case. I may be biased because I’ve lived here for my whole life, but NC is a relatively accepting state, and nothing in comparison to some of our southern neighbors.</p>
<p>EDIT: And to play the part of eadad here, I would really suggest you visit the campus before you commit to anyone school. Though I doubt it, Chapel Hill may very well be “too Southern” for some, and then again, you may find the opposite and fall in love with it. You really should visit the schools you are deciding between and compare, fit is a very important part of the college experience.</p>
<p>I wasn’t so concerned about it being “too Southern”- and to be honest, I really wouldn’t know what that would entail. I lived in Texas for a short time and my parents are from South America, so I really am not close minded about different ways of life. My concerns were more about how OOS as a whole fared, but I guess I failed to express that =P</p>
<p>I didn’t apply to my state school, UNH, because I didn’t want it to be a repeat of high school with a bunch of people from my high school or its surrounding towns, even though I actually love my HS friends to death. I know it’s very different, because you can’t even compare UNH to UNC academically or otherwise, but in this situation I’m just worried that NC students just do what (many) people at UNH do and stick with their old HS buddies, etc and I’ll feel even more of an outsider because I’m OOS.</p>
<p>Edit: Oh, and I want to visit! Badly. I just hope I can find the time to fly down with my mom sometime before the end of April. After all, I didn’t get accepted OOS in the first place because I had a bunch of free time with no job/ECs. I do know how important that is though!</p>
<p>I’m going to UNC and from my county there are probably between 20 and 50 people going as well. That is from 5 different high schools. By no means do I intend to limit myself to people I know. In all honesty, I want to get out of my comfort zone and meet new people. UNC is definitely not high school all over again. For those who think that it will be, they will quickly find themselves outcast and doing poorly, because the high school attitude doesn’t fly at UNC.</p>
<p>It’s what you make of it. Dozens and dozens of people from my school go to UNC; some choose to see their old friends every day and others seek out new people. I also don’t think people differentiate between IS and OOS at all.</p>
<p>Most UNC students obviously come from North Carolina, but that does not mean they necessarily want to associate with UNC students from their high school once they get here. For many people, college is a time to branch out, explore new interests, and make new friends. </p>
<p>As an out of state student at UNC, I haven’t ever had trouble making in-state friends. Social life at UNC is based around residence halls and student groups much more so than which part of the state or country you come from.</p>
<p>Chapel Hill is extremely cultural and not stereotypically Southern at all!!! Yes, there are students from more rural parts of NC, but if they got into UNC, then chances are, they’re very open-minded. It’s a great environment, and there’s tons of things to do, especially on Franklin Street! It gets crazy there :D</p>
<p>Please don’t think that people from rural areas of the state are all somehow uber-conservative or uncivilized. Being from a more rural area, I know this is not always the case. We do have our fair share of those types, but no more than any other area of the state or country. Everywhere you go, you will find people with quirks. C’est la vie. Southerners are well known for their good manners, hospitality, and excellent food :D. We will not bite.</p>
<p>As the mother of an OOS sophomore, I can tell you that my northern-bred, ultra liberal son had no difficulty fitting in and making friends at UNC. However, the budget cuts are problematic. Even last year, my son felt the pinch as funding for his extracurriculars was nonexistant and classes he was interested in were cut. He even (briefly) considered transferring for this reason. He is apprehensive about next year as well. On the school website I read that there may be less electives to choose from and larger classes. My daughter is a junior in high school and, while she will apply to UNC, I don’t think I will encourage her.</p>
<p>I realize your attention focused on UNC since your son is currently a student. Keep in mind that UNC is not the only school having to take measures to deal with reductions in funding in the current economy. Here is a link to part of the Duke website that provides links to various articles addressing issues at several prominent institutions. </p>
<p>I can testify that UNC is not ‘southern’, if you mean lots of bad things by ‘Southern’. It’s a cliche, but most of the people in the Triangle are transplants from other parts of the USA anyway (mostly New Jersey and California it seems).</p>
<p>But if you think ‘Southern’ = uncultured or somehow otherwise bad … well you need to open your mind.</p>
<p>The triangle is not southern and lacks the hospitality and other good things associated with the south as well. I live here. Northern and western transplants will feel right and home and may be surprised by the lack of locals. On my street of 14 families, only one is local. As I think about the neighbors closest to my home, Michigan, New York, Florida, California, New Jersey, Connecticut and Arizona are represented. My husband (born in NY but raised in rural NC) has the only southern accent on the block.</p>
<p>I thought this over and realized I could be misinterpreted in the above comment. My post does not mean that folks from other places are not hospitable. My neighbors are great and much more sociable than the south Florida neighborhood I grew up in. My point is that the stereotyped southern charm just isn’t in the triangle.</p>