UNC 2017 Transfer Student Thread

So my professor forgot to do my recommendation but she said she could get it done by the end of this week. I called admissions and asked if this would be okay and they said it would be fine. However, I was kind of in a rush and had to hang-up before I could ask how this should be submitted. Does anyone on here know what I should tell my professor regarding submission? Thank you.

@martintrevor Tell your professor to email it to uncsubmit@admissions.unc.edu. That’s where they told me to send it.

Hi again @TranslationLost ! I was wondering, did you get to register for spring classes with the 4/5 semester group or the 0/1 semester group. (If that makes sense.) I know my friends who applied as first-years out of early college have to register with the freshman. Is it the same for transfers?

thank you i will @isuncforme493

@TranslationLost I have a few questions. Thank your for taking the time to do this:
1.what was the hardest part about transferring(I mean once you stepped foot at chapel hill last fall)
2.if you could go back and give your pastself advice about transferring, what would it be?
3. how was transferring credit generally? were you coming from a CC or university? did most of your credit transfer?
4. how is class rigor compared to at your old school?(if you don’t mind mentioning the university you transferred from it would be helpful)

@isuncforme493
I think I understand your question. Going into my Junior year, did I register with juniors or first years? It was in between last year. I registered after current students had registered but before first year students could register. I was able to get the classes I needed, but it definitely wasn’t with the best professors.

@HopefullyIGetIn
I am always happy to help if I have the time. A little background about me, I was in the business school at UNC Charlotte with around a 3.9 doing a double Economics and a second undecided business major.

  1. The hardest immediate thing was the bump in difficulty. I made a terrible schedule last fall taking two upper Econ weed out courses, a math, an education research class, and a fitness class. Despite only being thirteen hours, it was a nightmare, and I was not ready for the time commitment required by those classes. Keep in mind, I had taken 15-16 hours for the past two years. The Economics program is insanely analytical and quantitative here. I can speak to that more if anyone is interested. The point being, I felt a jump in difficulty and I felt that many of my prereqs had not prepared me for the classes here. For example, they have a special calculous for Econ majors that teaches ideas from Calc III.
  2. I don't want to sound negative because transferring was one of the best things I have ever done. However, I would tell myself not to expect the same kind of success here as at my previous school. That was a huge burden on me last semester. Many transfers go from a big fish in a little pond to a big fish in an ocean. Most of the people I have talked to feel at a disadvantage being a transfer but are usually still glad they transferred up here. Your GPA will almost certainly fall, it's just mitigating how much it falls.
  3. It was fine for the most part coming from a UNC school. I was supposed to graduate early at Charlotte, so it didn't have a huge effect on me. I lost a business, a heath course, and was going to lose a marketing class but the MeJo school ended up taking it. I feel fortunate. I have heard of people having it much worse. There's a really good spreadsheet on the transfer website about how credit will transfer. I actually went up and spoke with an admissions advisor, and they were helpful about planning for the transfer credit.
  4. I was in the UNC Charlotte business school as I said before. I found my first semester to be much more difficult due to the reasons I outlined before. However, this semester has been much more similar for most of my classes. I'm taking a 500 level Economics course, and that has been a nightmare.

I hope these all answer your questions. Transferring to UNC was a wonderful decision. I wish I could have come here as a first year or sophomore. Feel free to ask any follow up questions, and I will answer them to the best of my ability.

Have you heard anything about the transition to the bio program? I’m sure it’s going to be a big bump.

@TranslationLost do you know if the major you’re applying for impacts the chances of your acceptance? I’ve heard yes and no so I’m curious. Thanks!

@jtut2006
I have a friend who is bio/premed. It seems like a difficult transition, but I can’t speak to it personally. Most of the people I interact with are arts and social science majors.

@BryantB02
As far as I am aware it does not, but it would probably be a smart thing to ask admissions. The professional schools (nursing, business, MeJo) require a separate application once you get in.

@TranslationLost these answers are very heklpful.
As an econ major, the advice about the econ department helps a lot, but is also really good for me since I will need the math if I decide to go to grad school(plus the school I am currently at pretty much teaches econ w/o math). I will definitely take some math courses before taking econ classes if I’m fortunate enough to go to UNC.

1.Also what econ classes were they? were they intermediate mirco/macro or econometrics? as those tend to be harder then other econ classes.

2.Also what is the general strength of the Econ department? like where I go(a small school) the econ department is downright awful and is big impetus for transferring. Obivously UNC is better, but how would you rank the general strength of the department? Also it sounds like classes are rigorious, but are they curved?(I am also thinking of going to law school which is why I care)

3.how would you recommend preparing for the bump? I would really like to keep my GPA up if possible. Was the problem for you just lack of math skills? lack of study skills? lack of classes taken at charlotte teaching you material needed for the classes you were taking?

lastly, feel free to throw any relevant information about ECON department you think it would be benefical to know.

Again, thank you so much for doing this. Especially since I am being a (insert French) and am inundating you with questions. As a transfer student it can sometimes be hard to find people to ask questions and I really appreciate you coming here to do so.

4 weeks to go

Let the madness begin

@jtut2006 : what is your major?

Biology is what I have reported but end up with exercise physiology and minor bio

@HopefullyIGetIn
Glad to see someone transferring in for Econ! You need at least a statistics course, Calculus 1 and knowledge of partial derivatives to be moderately successful in the quantitative aspects of Econ.

  1. They were Intermediate Micro and Econometrics. Both are very difficult courses. Personally, I had a lot more trouble with Micro than Econometrics but both were difficult.
  2. It’s a very prestigious and well respected econ program. There are definitely different sects of the department. For example, teachers that are more banking/finance oriented versus teachers who are more political and public policy oriented. I have been told they shoot for around a C+ average in the econ classes. I personally think it might be higher, but I don’t have any data to back that up. Either way, you will be competing with people who have been doing algebra since they were in diapers. If you want an idea of the difficulty, keep in mind that you can take individual honors econ classes with a 3.0 GPA. Yes, a 3.0 is considered honors (though you need 3.5 to actually be admitted and graduate with honors). Classes are sometimes curved but don’t expect to ride the curve like you probably do at your current school.
  3. It’s going to be a whirlwind no matter what you do. I’m just warning you. I would definitely recommend trying to refresh your calc and partial derivative skills for sure. You use partial derivatives so much in Micro it’s not even funny. You’ll know soon enough. I do recommend trying to find your study place on campus early. Personally, I always studied in my room at my last school, but now I always study in the library. Just find the place where you can go everyday and devote time.

I can’t think of anything else off the top of my head. Hopefully I answered your questions satisfactorily.

As always, if anyone has questions feel free to post them here or direct message me.

@TranslationLost thank you again for advice. These answers are extremely helpful. makes sense that you had so much trouble since you were taking micro, which people have told me is the hardest ECON course(also crazy that I guessed them). I think I will definitely buy a math book and work on some problems over the summer if I get in and decide to transfer. Ive already taken intermediate miacro and am taking micro now, hopfully they transfer if I get in, but probably not.

Also I’m going to ask one more question and then I will stop annoying you. do you know the deal with foreign languages as transfers? If I took 3 years in HS am I exempt?(I could not find this information online for any schools I’m applying to) and If not how many courses do I have to take?

Thanks again!

@TranslationLost: My major is computer science. I appreciate if you have any idea about my major. Thanks.

T-minus 4 weeks

@HopefullyIGetIn

You’re not annoying me. You have to take a placement test. It is possible to place out of your foreign languages. I took three years of Spanish but decided to retake it in college. I did not place out of it. You must take three levels of a foreign language. Three semesters. It is possible to place out of one and just do a couple though. It will depend on your individual skill. Personally, I was happy to start over. I am really enjoying Spanish II right now.

@ScQuan

Sorry, I wish I could help you. It’s a well respected program, but I don’t know much about it. I’m sure you’ve look at it already, but the department websites are usually really good for getting general information about a program. http://cs.unc.edu