UCLA vs UNC (d is from S. Calif)

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
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<p>D's top 2 choices are UCLA or UNC. Would appreciate comments helping us to make an intellegent decision based on D's interests, etc.</p>

<p>UCLA is located about 1 hour from Brea, the city we live in. UCLA in state cost will be about $22k/year, UNC out of state cost will be about $29k. D got invited to apply for Honors program for both, however we didn't get any merit aid for either school.</p>

<p>UNC is about 19,000 undergrads, UCLA is about 24,000.
We are Asian but d goes to public school where Asians are about 5% of student body. In UCLA, about 40% are Asian, at UNC Asians are probably only 15%, if that. Not sure if D would like going to a college with 40 % Aisians, however as a Californian, would she "stand out" as different at unc, and be less likely to have friends since she doe't know anyone?</p>

<p>D is fairly conservative, doesn't smoke, drink, or do drugs, and at this point, not interested in the frat scene. D is interested in attending college outside of California. Her major at this point is History and she is planning to go to law school and then work in Calif.</p>

<p>At UCLA, I hear that class size might be large, making it hard to get the class you want ( and potentially making it hard to graduate in 4 years). Is that true for UNC? In Calif, available funding is getting less and less, is that true for UNC ( wouldn't want to pay $18K tuition and still have problems with class size, decreased public funding, etc).</p>

<p>Do you think we should pay $10k more a year to attend UNC vs UCLA? Any comments would be appreciated.</p>

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<p>Hi, mom of four. It sounds like your d. has two very nice options. I can't speak to being Asian on the Carolina campus. But I will say that two of my son's female friends are Asian and I have never heard any comment from them indicating any problem socially. Both these girls are extremely active with large circles of friends who it seems they have made through their majors, clubs and other activities.</p>

<p>You may find this link helpful for the information it provides.
<a href="http://oira.unc.edu/images/stories/factsAndFigures/dataSummaries/prevFactBooks/fb2006_2007.pdf%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://oira.unc.edu/images/stories/factsAndFigures/dataSummaries/prevFactBooks/fb2006_2007.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>I suggest going to the UNC thread on this web site and ask about grades (curve, difficulty of History) before deciding. Also, keep in mind, that law schools might like to see some kind of law internship or related experience when you apply to law school. If your daughter wants to be a lawyer in California, then law related internship in Los Angeles might help the law school application more than out of state. Just a thought and I don't have real world experience to back my opinion up. UCLA is a great school.</p>

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<p>First of all, your daughter has two very good options lined up for college. I can't really speak for UCLA but I can for UNC. A lot of prospective out of state students worry about feeling left out when coming to an institution where no more than 18% of the student body can be from out of state. In general, out of state students do not have a hard time getting to know people because Carolina does such a great job at the beginning of the school year trying to get students (particularly incoming freshman) involved by having an event called fall fest (a street festival where most student organization recruit new members) during WOW (week of welcome).I'm not from out of state so it is difficult for me to relate personally, but those students that i do know from out of state (three of which are from California) feel like it was easy to get to know people, especially when living in a suite or joining organizations on campus. </p>

<p>If you are interested in learning about the faculty in the history department or just the history department in general visit Department</a> of History, UNC Chapel Hill — History for more information. </p>

<p>UNC, like any other large public school, has large classes. Entry level classes tend to be larger and class size naturally decreases as you move into more advanced courses. This exception here is entry level english, spanish and math, and some other courses that have their enrollment per class capped which helps keep classes significantly smaller than at other school. A recent report stated the following: "In 2003, 51 percent of UNC’s course sections enrolled fewer than 20 students. That was second (topped only by UC-Berkeley at 54 percent) among UNC’s public peers and up from 40 percent in 2002. U.S. News considered an additional measure: only 12 percent of UNC’s course sections enrolled 50 or more students in 2003, down from 13 percent the previous year." If your daughter got in as an honors student at Carolina she will have virtually all small classes if she wants them. Honors classes are, by nature, much smaller than normal classes. </p>

<p>Now to the issue of available funding....</p>

<p>Carolina, at least in the foreseeable future, does not appear to have funding issues. For the 2004-2005 fiscal year UNC received 25.01% of the whole UNC system budget that provides for 15 other state institutions. Actually since 1991 UNC has never received less than 24.81% of the whole UNC system budget from the state. This trend will likely continue. Furthermore, the Carolina First campaign just ended on December 31st. It is the fifth largest fund raising drive among higher education institutes in the nation to date and raised 2.38 billion dollars for the university. Of this money, $345.3 million is allocated directly to aid students, including 577 new scholarships and 196 new fellowships; $579.4 million for research; $664.8 million for strategic initiatives; and $185 million for facilities. Looks like funding is okay given these things.</p>

<p>Hope this cleared up a few of your questions!</p>

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<p>Hey,</p>

<p>I could potentially give some insight. I did not read through the whole post, but I did pick up the Asian part and the California part.</p>

<p>I grew up in N.Calif. Sonoma county to be exact. I moved over to Cary, about 20 mins from Chapel Hill a year ago. I will be attending UNC as a transfer student and let me say, it's a great opportunity. I am asian as well and it is different than California. I don't want to go into specifics to the general public so feel free to send me a Private Message with any questions and I could help answer them.</p>

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<p>As an attorney, I feel attending the homestate university and lawschool has definite advantages. Given she wants to return to California.... She will be building a network....very useful in the legal field. Also do not rule out the greek scene....good network there also. That is my two cents.</p>

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<p>We have decided to visit UNC and also Clemson. We just found out that D got substantial merit scholarship to Clemson, and it would only cost $3,500 tuition /year to attend there,or about $13,000/year total, which would then free up money to go to a prestigious law school later on. UNC would cost about $18 k in tuition and about $27k year total/year.</p>

<p>We are flying into charlotte which is half way between the two schools. Anyone able to give tips on who to contact to take a tour of UNC, learn more about the honors program which D has been invited to join, etc? We fly in Wed night, will visit UNc on Thursday and then Clemson on Friday, returning home on Sat.</p>

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<p>For a tour of UNC you should try to make a reservation through your daughter's UNC "homepage". As far as questions regarding the honor's program, you might call the honors office at (919) 966-5110 to try to set up an appointment.</p>

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<p>admissions office has tours on the website you can sign up for daily. Schools are very different so take time to get to know each school. you can sign up to sit in on classes too but you need to hurry to get in on the lists. Is this an explore carolina visit or on your own? good luck. parking at the moorehead planetarium is a good spot for the day and it opens at 7:30. Admissions is not too far of a walk from there. Pray for some good weather it has been chilly & wet this spring in the south.</p>

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<p>How are the two schools different? Thanks for the input.</p>

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<p>The atmospheres at the two schools are very different. UCLA is VERY lively/active, with something going on all the time. UNC has some great stuff two, but it's more "quaint," if you know what I mean. Not in a bad way at all, just simply different. I suggest visiting both.</p>

<p>If your D wishes to live and work on the west coast, UCLA will be more "prestigious" to many employers than the others. Likewise, if she likes the atlantic region, UNC will carry slightly more weight there.</p>

<p>Good luck, all are great schools!</p>

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<p>I don't know what exactly you mean by "quaint". Chapel hill is by no means LA but there is something going on at the school or even in chapel hill all the time too. With over 600 clubs and organizations, there is always something on campus to do. Chapel hill consistently ranks as one of the best college towns in america as well. So yes, the two are very different, but to say that carolina isn't very "lively" wouldnt be true in my opinion. but on to other differences since you asked....</p>

<p>Historically Carolina is much older than UCLA as it was founded in 1789 versus UCLA being founded in 1919. doesnt mean that much but speaks to the design of the two campuses-- speaking of which UNC's central campus is larger at 729 acres while UCLA sits on 419 acres. Also, you said your daughter wants to major in history, so she may be interested in that. FOr example, Morehead planetarium at UNC was the first ever on a college campus and between 1959 and 1975, nearly every astronaut who participated in the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz programs trained at Morehead. Also the Wilson Library houses the North Carolina collection, considered the best state-focused historical collection in the US as well as the rare books collection (also considered the best of its kind). Its also considered the best place to study the american south in the us. i know it sounds like im just tooting unc's horn but, if she is interested in history, it might be important to her</p>

<p>The weather has obvious differences, if that is a big deal to your daughter.</p>

<p>we won't talk basketball ;)</p>

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<p>I guess I would say quaint compared to UCLA....in that it IS a small town (very-physically), There are plenty of things to do between the cultural, athletic and surrounding areas. The campus area and surrounding areas are absolutely beautiful, tranquil, and NOTHING like UCLA. Mountains 3 hours and beach 3 hours. Larger cities with professional sports are not far, minor league baseball 5 miles away. Big new mall with all it brings, theatre, great restaurants, 5 miles out. Free bus system but a bike and friendly area. It is a very different life and a good one. Good meal plans and dining with a lot of options....great recreational sports and facilities....often see late night soccer on the rec fields. Many oppty to get involved and meet people.</p>

<p>As far as CLEMSON that you have thrown in, closer to UNC in type of town, southern school but I would dare to say reputation and students are different....CLEMSON does have engineering programs although I knew someone who got an engineering degree there without ever taking calculus.....!!!!! Clemson has water and is on a lake, pretty part of S.C. Has rabid fans for football and a good basketball program. Not sure on the make up of the student body.</p>

<p>UNC negatives=parking, parking tickets, some big classes
Many many positives including=sheer number of majors offred, world class faculty, high ranking students, one of the top public universities int he nation, good reputation for grad school applications, etc.</p>

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<p>My d is in freshman honors this year and has enjoyed meeting many intelligent, diverse, passionate people through the program this year. Her honors courses this year have been both challenging and fun. She's enjoyed some great discussions in these classes. She's also enjoyed the honor's teas and has gotten involved in the honor's executive board. It has been a good base to make new friends. Everyone she's met has different interests and strengths, so they all seem to enjoy getting to know each other and help each other. My d's passion is Asian languages and culture, she is fluent in Japanese, but as she says, "I don't speak math." One of her best new friends in the honors program is a math whiz, but has needed some help in his Japanese language class. D has needed help in a Calculus class. It's worked out well for both of them. She's also met a lot of fun, intelligent kids in her other classes. Luckily most of d's classes this year have been on the small size. She came into Carolina w/ a lot of credit hours from AP exams, so that helped her avoid some of the larger freshman type classes. Her Asian languages and culture classes (Japanese and Chinese) have been small and she's had the opportunity to get to know the professors/instructors as well as students, a good number who are Asian-American, many taking the classes to improve their language/writing skills or to learn more about culture.<br>
Like your D, my D doesn't get into the "party scene", and is somewhat conservative, too. She has been able to find "like minds" at Carolina, especially through the honors' program.<br>
D is IS, and white, but has not seen "IS verses OOS" problems or racial, ethnic divides. Probably half of the kids she now considers friends are OOS, and a good number of them are ethnic, mostly Asian-American.<br>
I'd have to check with D, but if she is available during your visit to Carolina, I'm sure she would be happy to meet you all and talk about honors program; help w/ a tour and/or anything else you might be interested in. It might also be possible for her to arrange for your D to meet some of her Asian-American friends and hear 1st hand their experiences at Carolina. Please PM me if you are interested.</p>

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<p>About Clemson: They do a lot to try to attract top students. NC kids (maybe all states' kids) w/ a certain level SAT score(I don't remember exact score, but less than N.M. award levels) are offered in-state tuition. D visited w/ a friend who ended up attending w/ a full ride. The friend is in engineering. It is a big engineering school, historically an agricultural school, my FIL attended there in 1950's when it was all male and military. They do offer more liberal arts type majors these days, but it is not what the school is known for, and in many cases the programs are quite limited. You'd have to check out if that is the case w/ History. When it came to Asian Studies, D thought that the Clemson website was quite decieving. It looked like a good size, growing dept, but that was not what D found when she visited. Very small, limited dept. and when she checked out the library (something she did at every school she visited;she says it tells you a lot about the school and the strength of depts) she only found a hand full of books written in Asian languages.(yes, I think she said a total of 5 books) That was the end for her, plus she said that the day she was there, it was near 100degrees w/close to 100% humidity! That was too much for even a southern girl. Clemson continued to send her invites, and although she never responded or completed her application, offered her a scholarship.<br>
Clemson has very devoted students, & alumni. Boy, do they love wearing Clemson ORANGE! It is quite blinding. At Football games they are a very rowdy, wild, partying orange bunch.<br>
My opinion, you may find some students of your D's caliber at Clemson, but not nearly as many as you will find at UNC or UCLA and they most likely won't be in the depts. that your D is interested in.<br>
I'm glad you all are making the trip.</p>

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<p>Thank you all for your replies. A picture is worth a thousand words, so I think seeing the campus and hopefully talking to students who attend there, and sitting in on a history class will really help to give d a good view of what UNC is really like.</p>

<p>some of the things we are hoping/planning to do are:</p>

<ol>
<li>take a tour, esp seeing the lirary, dorm, cafe, classroom, etc</li>
<li> sit in a class, preferably history</li>
<li>view the surounding area</li>
<li>talk to someone in the history program
5.talk to someone in the honors program</li>
</ol>