My daughter was wait-listed at Columbia, so now she’s trying to decide between UNC and UVA. She’s not sure what she wants to study, but leaning towards Chemistry or Economics. The schools seem evenly rated (UVA ranked #3 as a national public university; UNC ranked #5 as a national public university). Alumni networking and research are very important to her. She will be an out-of-state resident for both, so cost is not really a deciding factor at this point.
TIA
Go with whichever school she prefers.
Problem is, she can’t decide. She likes both. She’s visiting them again this week at their admitted students’ days. Since she likes them both so much, she wanted to figure out which would be better long term.
Don’t take my word for it, but in my high school, UNC is considered a much better school. Again, this is just my school’s view.
These are peer institutions. She can choose based on whatever random factor appeals to her.
The schools have many similarities and, to be honest, you cannot go wrong with either school academically. Hopefully the campus visits help her. My D is a very happy UNC freshman who also liked UVA. We opted for UNC as we are in-state. Good luck.
For whatever it’s worth, the US News rankings of graduate programs in Economics has UVA #30 and UNC #32: http://grad-schools.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-humanities-schools/economics-rankings/page+2; and the US News rankings of graduate programs in Chemistry has UNC #15 and UVA #49. Not significant differences, really; and @happymomof1’s suggestion of an “appealing random factor” may be just as good as any.
Just curious, what part of the country is your daughter coming from? Are there local UVA or UNC alumni chapters there, with members that you could speak to about networking and/or research opportunities at the respective schools?
They are both very strong schools and very similar. In Business/Economics there very close, with UVA having a slight edge. In the sciences, UNC being much stronger. Here is a side-by-side USNews comparison rankings of both schools departments. Your D can’t go wrong. Both great schools!
Business School
UNC-CH:: 16
UVA:: 10
Medical School
–Primary Care Medical:
UNC-CH:: 2
UVA:: 25
–Research Medical:
UNC-CH:: 22
UVA:: 26
Law School
UNC-CH:: 34
UVA:: 8
Economics
UNC-CH:: 32
UVA:: 30
Math
UNC-CH:: 28
UVA:: 52
Physics
UNC-CH:: 39
UVA:: 40
Computer Science
UNC-CH:: 25
UVA:: 29
Biology
UNC-CH:: 25
UVA:: 50
Chemistry
UNC-CH:: 15
UVA:: 49
Psychology
UNC-CH:: 5(clincal)/12 Regular
UVA:: 26
Sociology
UNC-CH:: 6
UVA:: 35
English
UNC-CH:: 15
UVA:: 10
Statitics
UNC-CH:: 12 (bio-stats) & 20 regular
UVA:: 63
History
UNC-CH:: 11
UVA:: 20
Poli Sci
UNC-CH:: 13
UVA:: 36
As a UNC student, as much as I hate to admit it, these schools are very much equal, I think, and really in most areas ranking one above the other feels arbitrary. I will say that I love, love, LOVE going to school here, and all of my friends do, too. I have never personally met someone who begrudged their decision to go to UNC (just being honest – I’m sure they do exist). I had a friend in Chemistry who liked it very much, though he transferred to our prestigious biostatistics program after his admission junior year. I believe our Economics program is also strong, based on its association with the business school.
These are peer schools. She should pick the one that appeals to her more.
My wife and I are UVa alums and loved it. However, we are now NC residents and my daughter will be attending UNC-CH in the fall. I am confident she will love it. We have visited Chapel Hill often and have many UNC alum friends. There are truly peer institutions. That said, there are a few differences between the schools for OOS students.
Again, I’m kind of splitting hairs between the schools, but maybe the above helps tips sway your daughter in one direction or the other. Hard to go wrong with either school.
I think DevilStick made some good observations. I think UNC’s only engineering is Biomedical.
I am a UNC-CH alum and I would say UNC is more culturally “Southern” than UVa if that makes any sense.
You didn’t mention it but did you receive any merit at either school?
We live in Chapel Hill. My children have numerous friends at Carolina. The Chemistry classes, as are all the pre-med classes, are very challenging and competitive. The preparation is excellent for graduate studies. I have worked with many medical students who did undergraduate at Carolina and they speak highly of their experience there and their level of preparation. We also have a good friend who is a freshman in the undergraduate Business school track who has been very happy with his classes and the organization of the business program. I have yet to meet a student in town who did not “love” Carolina and their experience there.
Our D was faced with this decision in 2010. She was OOS for both. She chose UVA for three main reasons:
I would agree both are fantastic schools; however, I believe UVA to have slightly better national recognition.
@DevilStick summed it up beautifully. I wanted to add that to me, UNC does not have a more southern vibe at all, but I realize this is purely opinion. I actually agree with " hippy/granola due to the location. As far as class size, it probably depends upon the major. Many freshman year classes have 30 students or less. The intro science lectures are big ( maybe 200). Sitting front and center helps, and the professors are very eager to help as well.
UNC faces a much worse political climate than UVa as of today. Peers otherwise for ug…
@barrons is right, however it needs to be mentioned that this is not the political climate at UNC and surrounding areas schools.