<p>We are ATL,Ga residents and my daughter has been accepted to both UGA (honors college + HOPE scholarship) and UNC-CH (but not honors). She prefers UNC-CH because she feels special there (75% of UGA is from ATL) and honored to be accepted as OOS and also likes the smaller feel to the campus.She is undecided in her major but she wants to take a combination of courses in journalism,creative writing,and business.We know UGA has a good journalism school but overall we feel her degree may be more valuable from UNC-CH in other majors,but we are unsure whether it is really worth 4X the price for her to go there.</p>
<p>Congrats on getting into UNC! Thats tough as an out of stater! Only 18% get in from OOS. If your daughter will feel fine in the minority (most students are from NC) at UNC, personally, I liked UNC better that UGA (speaking as someone from your neck of the woods). UNC is smaller, and you mentioned that size matters to your dau, but of course UGA is closer to home. My s wouldnt even apply to UGA, to our chagrin. </p>
<p>I agree though, UGA has a great journalism school. I don't recall offhand what UNC offers in journalism, but I do recall, for instance, that a student has to apply as a soph to get into (for eg) the business school. Is it the same for a journalism major? Does your dau want to end up back int he Atl area after school? If so, UGA may be a better choice. </p>
<p>Yes, UNC is much more expensive as an OOS'er, and more expensive than UGA, but it still a reasonable cost-- not as expensive as some private schools. Are there other variables to consider??? Its a tough, but enviable position to be in.. Good luck!</p>
<p>Indeed congratulations are in order! It is no small feat to be accepted as an OOS student at UNC-CH. But given that UGA's journalism school is quite prestigious, and in fact very highly sought after particularly for graduate level work, UGA is more than a bargain. If her major area of study was significantly better at UNC to make it worth it, then perhaps I'd advise differently. Based on the info you've provided though, I'd save the extra $ for grad school.</p>
<p>FYI I totally understand your D's feelings about UGA and "high school revisited". (We're GA residents too) However, my son ended up there after his school closed for Katrina. He initially had the same reservations about UGA as your D. Once at UGA for his "Katrina" semester, he learned pretty quickly that while he would occasionally see some kids he knew, the people he ended up socializing with were mostly all new ones. So the "high school" perception turned out not to be the problem he anticipated.</p>
<p>Faced with a very similar choice, our son chose UGA. UNC-CH is a great school and a wonderful campus and town, but for this year total COA for OOS is 33,000, and he was offered no FA and never got close to a scholarship. With HOPE and a Charter scholarship, the cost at UGA is, frankly, a breeze, which could give him more grad or professional school options. The Honors Program at UGA is really great, and he has been invited to apply to a joint BS/MA program which could result in a Master's degree in four years in additon to his BA. There are many such opportunities, and I believe the Honors Program will do plenty to make her feel special. PLEASE, give very careful thought to the value of the Honors Program, and check out the thread by "vig108" (sp?) on his experience there, in the parents or financial aid forum.</p>
<pre><code> You mentioned feeling special, which I understand. OOS admission at UNC is a real accomplishment, but I don't know if over time your DD would really feel that. That is, will people at UNC get wide-eyed when they learn she's from Georgia? Only a few, I think. I, too, felt like I wanted a college that was "special" enough for DS. But you know what? He is happy, involved and doing great at UGA. For us and our finances (We have another rising college student, and I got laid off in December) UNC was just not 4x better. In my opinion, it can't be that much better in general, as much as I truly admire the school and loved the environment there.
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<p>Given the money, I would choose Georgia. UNC is excellent, of course, but in this economy, it just doesn't make sense. Read the above thread on one young man's excellent experience at Georgia.</p>
<p>Go to GA. UNC is not worth four times the price. We are in a large sch. system in NC that sends tons of kids to UNC-CH. I would bet that most kids at UNC-CH don't even realize how much harder it is for oos admits because it doesn't matter to them. It is a great accomplishment for you D to get in and I'm sure it does make her feel special (and deservedly so) but once she gets here, she'll just be another freshmen. Friends/People in GA will look at her admission as a greater accomplishment than NC students at UNC-CH.<br>
I would tell her to take the money and the honors program at UGA and don't look back.</p>
<p>My 2 kids are at NC state u's with lots of kids from our area but it has never been a problem. The schools are just too big to be running into high school classmates all the time unless they want to. Mine like having some familiar faces around in a huge sea of strangers.</p>
<p>catrobwil - First, congratulations on two fine choices. My older D graduated from UGA a few years ago, from Grady, as a magazine major. She received a wonderful education at UGA and currently lives and works in Atlanta. We had hoped she would return home (she was an OOS student while at UGA), but she was just not ready to leave Georgia. Her boyfriend also graduated from Grady, as did many of her friends. All are working in the journalism field. While UNC-CH has a strong reputation, I would not pass up UGA, since your daughter has HOPE and the honors program. Also, my D had several wonderful internship opportunities as an undergrad (both in Athens and Atlanta) and was fortunate to get a job at a small magazine publisher in the Atlanta area after graduation. She has since moved on to another job, working for a large Atlanta corporation in the communications department, where she continues to use the skills she learned at UGA. UGA prepared her to enter the working world and I have been impressed with the many UGA/Grady grads I have met thru her. If your daughter plans to live in the Atlanta area after college, I don't think you can pass up the networking opportunities that UGA will provide.</p>
<p>As another NC mom with 5 kiddos I second Pack Mom's recommendation for UGA. All her observations and suggestions were ones we have seen and witnessed ourselves. Mom of Wild Child is also correct in saying save the money and don't look back.</p>
<p>Kat</p>