<p>My junior, child #1, is at Wake. We visited a number of schools in the DC, Virginia and NC area during that search, and again with child #2 who ended up in the northeast. We were all about finding that right fit; I want my kiddos happy ('cause I surely was not during my college years). For my kiddo, Wake just matched so many things on the list of what college was supposed to be.</p>
<p>From what I have seen with my S1 and his friends (who ALL attend one sch. or another in the UNC system), all the big state u's are somewhat commuter schools in the sense that most kids stay on campus the first two years and then most drift off to nearby apartments. They are still involved with campus life but just moved to a bigger place with a less crowded bathroom,LOL.</p>
<p>tom - Towson and Ashville are very different - Towson, in many ways, is typical suburbia, but with lots of colleges in the area so more and more college-type places are opening. Towson still has a small town feel to it. Ashville is funkier and a more artsy community. Greensboro is in its renovation infancy - the downtown area that is. There is a group that is trying to rebuild, opening bakeries, coffee shops, theaters, art galleries and a number of upscale restaurants. Security is an issue but there was a real presence there and lots of street sweepers - they know that cleanliness and safety are key. Other than the downtown area, the rest of it is sprawl. There is a street of little college-type shops right around UNCG. My favorite town in NC is Boone - friendliest people in the world - great restaurants, little funky, hippy-type shops. Gorgeous area - but just a little too remote for my D.</p>
<p>One tip I'd give someone from the Northeast who is considering schools in the South is to overdress for interviews and scholarship weekends. I was just talking to a young lady last week from Connecticut who flew down for a scholarship weekend at a NC college. She just dressed as she would for such a thing where she was from - jeans and a cute top. She was very embarrassed by how much every other kid dressed up. She did get the scholarship but she says her scholarship weekend was pretty traumatic :-) She loves it here now, though!</p>
<p>In the South, day to day, kids tend to dress like every where else, but for special stuff, they dress up more than I think other regions do. A girl should wear a pants suit or dress or nice skirt and top and a guy should wear slacks and a shirt with a collar minimum. At the scholarship interviews we went to last week, every guy had on a tie and blazer or suit. </p>
<p>I think someone mentioned Western Carolina at Boone - my ds has some friends who love it there. The state colleges in NC vary <em>widely</em> and some are more like a private college than a state.</p>
<p>Thanks for the suggestions. I don't know about OP's D, but my D hasn't been looking at the publics (w/ the exception of St. Mary's - MD) b/c she wants a smaller sch, hates distrib requirements and b/c many of the publics require early declaration of a major. </p>
<p>We considered but dropped Rhodes, Centre, Furman (?) and several other southern LACs b/c of frats (also, some guides suggested little cross-racial interaction). Thus far, we haven't paid any attention to the respective college towns, but I know that will be an issue.</p>
<p>huguenot: I have no idea what sort of scholarship weekend the young lady from CT was interviewing for, but I honestly can't imagine anywhere (not just in the South) where a student would be invited for a scholarship weekend, and he or she would not "dress" for the interviews (and would, instead, choose to wear "jeans and a cute top"). To dress appropriately for this (and that doesn't mean jeans) would seem standard to me, not "overdress"-- at any university in the country. Obviously they do things differently in CT. I guess. ??</p>
<p>huguenot --</p>
<p>I think you are absolutely correct about dress. From what I've seen, college kids pretty much all dress the same.</p>
<p>Hope I don't sound too picky, but Western Carolina is in Cullowhee, NC. Appalachian State is in Boone.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, I looked this up. Here might be another reason to at least consider a NC (or probably other Southern) school.</p>
<p>OS expenses for one year at UConn - $31,636
OS expenses for one year at UMass</p>
<p>Furman's greek scene is not overwhelming. D isn't rushing & most of her friends are not, either. No one worries about feeling odd by staying independent, since it's no big deal one way or the other (except to "some" ... and those same few people are found at any school, whether or not there is a greek community). Not that I am trying to change your D's mind, nyc. I am just clarifying that for anyone else considering Furman.</p>
<p>For those looking at towns, Asheville would probably fit in well in the northeast! It's quite different from other southern towns.</p>
<p>
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She just dressed as she would for such a thing where she was from - jeans and a cute top.
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</p>
<p>I really think this is a very generalized and rediculous statement to make about those from the northeast - not very true or realistic at all - one applicant's style of dress certainly does not represent a whole region of the country - it was her bafawwww - not the northeasts.</p>
<p>Your post makes the northeast kids sound like a bunch of bums - we have alot more class than that as a region - so please don't lump all of the northeast students into some generalized group because of just 1 person.</p>
<p>hugeunot, my southern upbringing shows up when it comes to campus visits. Neither my D nor I ever wear jeans when we go to any campus function - including the tours, even in the northeast. She is definitely in the minority, but that's just the way I was raised and she has modeled it- your attire reflects a certain level of respect, and it is a special event.</p>
<p>Sorry, somehow this got posted before I finished. I swear, sometimes I feel like roadkill on the information highway.</p>
<p>huguenot --</p>
<p>I think you are absolutely correct about dress. From what I've seen, college kids pretty much all dress the same.</p>
<p>Hope I don't sound too picky, but Western Carolina is in Cullowhee, NC. Appalachian State is in Boone.</p>
<p>Just out of curiosity, I looked this up. Here might be another reason to at least consider a NC (or probably other Southern) school.</p>
<p>OS expenses per year at UConn - $31,636
OS expenses per year at UMass - $27,977
OS expenses per year at UNC-G - $21,000</p>
<p>JUSTAGUY - you have a very good point - and that was one of the big reasons that we really considered NC for schools - the cost of OOS tuition/room/board/expenses/etc.... was pretty similar to our instate costs.</p>
<p>Justaguy, This is why we looked outside of the northeast at public Us. We could not afford many of the OOS publics like UConn.</p>
<p>
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Lots of CofC girls date Citadel men.
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</p>
<p>This is the kind of comment that, for me, provides valuable food for thought in terms of assessing fit.</p>
<p>Thanks Lukester!</p>
<p>
[quote]
all the big state u's are somewhat commuter schools in the sense that most kids stay on campus the first two years and then most drift off to nearby apartments. They are still involved with campus life but just moved to a bigger place with a less crowded bathroom,LOL.
[/quote]
</p>
<p>When I consider the commuter school issue, I want to avoid a situation where most freshmen already know a bunch of people and/or frequently go home for the weekend.</p>
<p>Out-of-state students need a critical mass of peers who are also coming from elsewhere and need to establish a whole new circle of friends so that they can feel at home.</p>
<p>I really appreciate everyone's input and best wishes!</p>
<p>Back to the jeans issue: you generally don't wear jeans to an interview in the North or the South, whether for a school or for a job, and I would consider specific scholarship weekend events an interview--would have suggested jeans. </p>
<p>There have been many what-should-I-wear-to-interview threads on CC, and they all emphasize the need for appropriate attire--khakis or comparable pants or a skirt for girls, khakis or corduroys for boys. North or South, if it is just a tour and info session, I think jeans are fine; for an interview with an adcom they would not be. For an invitation-only event, I'd at least have suggested khakis, which can feel casual or be dressed up and can be made to look right in almost any context. I do remember that when my D visited schools she wore jeans if no interview was involved; for interviews she wore skirts (it was summer for most of them so skirts were comfortable). She did not interview at or visit schools in the South although in fact she attends one--had she interviewed there she would have dressed just as she did for her northern schools and would have looked just right.</p>
<p>I need to jump in because we looked at Elon, High Point, Queens and UNC Charlotte. We live near Rollins, so can answer questions. And we know students at Eckerd, Florida Southern and Stetson. My daughter has accepted a merit scholarship from Queens. She fell in love with the school when she did an overnight last month. Is is a small school, about 900 full time undergraduates. The school is in a beautiful area of Charlotte called Meyers Park. Everything was picture perfect. For some reason, she did not feel the "fit" at Elon and she did not like the remote location. So one application and one acceptance! She is attending an accepted students event in March. Queens is a welcome change from her very large, impersonal high school. The business department is very strong, with many good internships in Charlotte. 100% of students do internships and 90% study abroad. The study abroad is included in the tuition. Nursing is another big major. My daughter will be an education major. Another plus is that my son is at Duke, so they will both be in North Carolina.</p>
<p>When you think about it, NC has a remarkable range of educational opportunities. Three schools in CC top 10 categories (UNC-CH, Duke, Davidson), a very good smaller private university (Wake Forest), some good, but lesser known LAC's (several mentioned here), NC State (which hasn't been talked about much), and several "regional" (there's probably a better term) universities that may not be at the academic level of UNC-CH, but offer a good educational value - three in the Blue Ridge Mountains (Western Carolina, Asheville, and Appalachian State) that might appeal to someone who's really interested in outdoor activities, two near the beach - and IMHO the Carolina beaches are among the best on the East coast (Wilmington, East Carolina), and two in very high growth urban areas (Charlotte, Greensboro). The non-Chapel Hill public universities are each very distinctive, some have probably seen a tremendous growth in the last couple of decades, and a couple are, I think, much better academically than the "regional" universities in many other states. Although NC is a Southern state, it's a state that takes higher education seriously.</p>
<p>I know this is a thread for NC, but for those parents in the NE who are looking at yearly OOS costs of over $38,000 at UVermont and over $30,000 at every other NE state university (I looked), and have kids who don't mind going away to school (and there is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting to close to home; in many ways I wish I had), there are a lot of interesting options out there. Those in NC have been mentioned here, but just two out of many others: University of Delaware (OOS $27,000), probably more well-known to NE folks, closer to home, beautiful campus, some unique programs, and for the sake of full-disclosure, my alma-mater; University of Kansas (OOS $25,000), an excellent public university with an outstanding honors program, an attractive campus, a place that probably doesn't fit many stereotypes of Kansas - except for the weather, and for you parents for whom tuition is actually of some concern (as in most of us) a program that guarantees that for first-time freshmen, the cost of tuition for that student will never increase the four years they are there.</p>
<p>Candace, I remember recommending you take a look at Queens when you asked about NC schools awhile back. I'm glad you D liked it so much. A D of an aquaintance goes there majoring in nursing and loves it. It is in one of the prettiest parts of Charlotte. </p>
<p>fendrock, I can understand your apprehension about all the instate kids leaving on weekends to go home. My S1 is at NCSU, 2.5 hours from home as are many kids from our town. He rarely comes home. There are always plans afoot for weekends at sch. Most of his close friends at sch. are not the people he knew from home. </p>
<p>Also re: instate kids deserting the campus on weekends...keep in mind that NC is a very wide state. A kid who lives near the coast and decides to attend Appalachian State in Boone will have a 7 hour drive...not one they would make often. My S2 will be attending one of our state u's (go ECU Pirates!) that is 4 hours from home next year. I"m not expecting him to be coming home very often either.</p>
<p>To the OP: Another private school in NC, located in Raleigh, is Meredith College. Meredith is probably less than a mile from the NC State University campus. It may be too small for her (~2,000 students), all women, but located in an urban setting on a beautiful sprawling campus. It actually has a walkway that eventually links up to the NC Museum of Art. It has an excellent reputation, with a strong dance/theatre/music dept, but also academic. It's fairly selective, and although smaller than she might like, it's close enough to NC State and not at all isolated, that this may not be much of a factor. Check it out.</p>
<p>^^^ A friend's D (who was Val. of her class) is a freshman at Meredith this year and really likes it. She is majoring in education. My best friend from high sch. is also a Meredith grad. who is still very involved in the sch.</p>