<p>A friend of mine says there might be the possibility that his job might be re-located to North Carolina. He has a son in high school and a possible move would upset his son's college plans. The son had planned to stay in Pennsylvania for college, but if his family moves he said he might want to go to a school not too far from his family.</p>
<p>The young man is a solid B-plus/A-minus student, smart but not valedictorian material. He is very good in English, French, history; not as good in mathematics or science. Right now he is is ranked in the top quarter but not top fifth of his graduating class. He will probably major in one of the humanities or social sciences or possibly something in mass communications.</p>
<p>My friend and his wife doubt that their son could get into UNC-Chapel Hill; coming from out of state, they think even North Carolina State would be a stretch. They think that the two colleges in the state that he would do well at would be the Asheville campus and the Greensboro campus of the University of North Carolina system.</p>
<p>Does anyone have an opinion about either or both of these schools? Thanking everyone in advance.</p>
<p>i heard UNCA was really good and had better student reviews than Greensboro but i live in missouri so i cant tell you anything in detail about these schools. im just going by word of mouth</p>
<p>Location - Asheville is in the mountains. The campus is very lovely and within easy access of the city via bus. Asheville is vey walkable and has a lot of nice shops, restaurants, bars, etc. UNCG is in the central part of the state and within reasonable distance of a couple other large cities. The campus is not quite as nice, in my opinion, but Greensboro is a decent town, and public transportation is reliable. </p>
<p>Size - UNCG is four times as large as UNCA. This cuts both ways.</p>
<p>Academics - UNCA is mostly a public liberal arts college. Pre-professional offerings are not really as popular, though mass communication is offered and is popular. UNCG has more to offer in pre-professional areas. UNCA has extremely strict/complex graduation requirements, and it is rare for students with a minor or second major to finish within four years. The graduation requirements at UNCG are more lax.</p>
<p>Diversity - UNCG has twice as many female students as male students. UNCA is a little more even, though it too is very lopsided. UNCG and UNCA are 65% and 90% white, respectively.</p>
<p>School spirit - Both schools draw heavily from their neighboring areas, but UNCG has a solid reputation as a commuter school (as does UNCC, its sister school). </p>
<p>Selectivity - UNCA is noticeably more selective, and its student body is more uniformly excellent.</p>
<p>I was talking to my friend today. He said that is son was thinking about AFROTC which he can do at Greensboro; AFROTC is offered at nearby North Carolina A&T. Other than that, Asheville seem to have more to offer his son.</p>
<p>In the pecking order of UNC system schools, UNC-Asheville is consistently rated the one immediately below UNC-Chapel Hill. Its a smallish, but extremely strong public Liberal Arts college. Outstanding school. Appalachian State up the road a piece in Boone, NC is also a very highly regarded college. Its larger, with a stronger sports program (three time national champions in 1AA football), with strong science and math programs, accounting and business.</p>
<p>Moving to NC you will have many choices, both public and private (in no particular order)
UNC-Chapel Hill, UNC-Asheville, UNC-Wilmington, UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Greensboro, UNC-Pembroke, Appalachian State, NC State, Wake Forest, Duke, Elon, Belmont Abbey, Gardner Webb, Guilford College, High Point University, Queens University of Charlotte, Barton College, East Carolina University, Western Carolina University, Lenoir Rhyne University, Warren Wilson College, Mars Hill College, Salem College, Meredith College, Wingate College, and if you are a minority, NC A &T.</p>
<p>If he can get in, he sounds more appropriate for UNC-A which is an excellent public liberal arts school. Several of my kid’s friends have left UNC-G due to the fact it’s more of a commuter school than they want. One student said classes are too easy there. UNC-A is challenging but laid back. App state probably has ROTC. Certainly consider UNC-W.</p>
<p>UNC-Chapel Hill is #1 in the state, there’s no disputing that.
After that it’s NC State (which is #1 if you’re doing engineering) or UNC-Asheville. If you want to major in a more professional major/technical major like engineering or textiles, you go to NC State. If you want a great liberal arts major, its UNC-Asheville (even sciences too like atmospheric science I think).</p>
<p>After UNC-Asheville, I would say UNC-Greensboro would be next.</p>
<p>I both agree and disagree with ncmentor. Chapel Hill and NC State are usually preferred over any other NC schools, but a fair amount of good students wanting a small school prefer UNCA over State (e.g. my sister did), and the two are roughly comparable for selectivity. I wrote about the relative standings of NC schools elsewhere:</p>
<p>Interesting post… only one thing according to USNWR UNCA is a Tier 3 school not 1. (though I don’t much care for ratings). UNCW and App State are Tier 1 schools…</p>
<p>UNCA is also less selective than both the others, but still selective. </p>
<p>^Fiske’s Guide To Colleges, Princeton Review and other college guides have rated UNCA as a top school in UNC so that’s why it’s becoming more popular. If I was majoring in a liberal arts field, I would consider UNC since it’s low cost, and you get a small school setting that is more personal as composed to a 15,000+ university.</p>
<p>I do not know anything about this program, BUT:</p>
<p>We toured UNC-A. I asked the tour guide if the grad rate was low, for example, because they don’t have an engineering school. Well, even though that was one explanation that I got through admissions (along with other reasons), the tour guide’s response was enlightening. He was an OOS student majoring in ENGINEERING at UNC-A. He told me that they have an agreement with another U. (I want to say that it was with NC State, but I do not recall with 100% certainty). He said that cameras and TVs are used and he sits in classes (interactive) with students and professors from the other NC public for his engineering classes. He remains on UNC-A’s campus for the engineering classes. He will end up with a diploma from BOTH UNC-A and the other public U.</p>
<p>The point I was making was not about the ENTIRE UNC System, it was about the UNC-schools…UNCA is rated above UNCW consistently, and its harder to gain admission. UNCW is improving, yes. </p>
<p>I consider APP and NCState, ECU and Western as inside the UNC system, but separate schools. Maybe its just me. My own quirk of viewing them all that way.</p>
<p>Finally, UNCA is a small school…and markedly different from its larger cousins at UNCW and UNC-Charlotte, UNC-Chapel Hill, NC State and App and all the rest. Its a special place and its SPECIFICALLY dedicated as a Liberal Arts College within the UNC system which makes it doubly special in my book.</p>
<p>Nothing against NCState and App and the rest. But if you want a top flight LAC type education from a public college, that is SMALL and demanding classes, then UNC-A is the choice. Plus Asheville is a regional arts center.</p>
<p>What if you were interested in a possible business major - maybe marketing - what do any of you who are familiar with NC schools think of UNCA for a marketing major? I know if offers the program - just wondering if you think it is a popular major at UNCA - would it make sense to go there to be a business major?</p>
<p>If the student will count as IS for North Carolina, then as a B+/A- student he stands a chance for UNC-CH and definitely NCSU. Even OOS he has a great shot at NCSU because he’s in the top quartile</p>
<p>^^^That totally depends on the major. NCSU is unique in that you apply directly to your major. For instance, if you list engineering as your first choice major, it’s way tougher to get admitted than if you list Forestry as your first choice. The College of Management has grown in popularity in recent years and is now also a tougher admit.
So the student could get in NCSU depending on SAT’s and which major he applied to.<br>
Since he is interested in humanities, he would have a good shot. Yes, NCSU offers humanities too. </p>
<p>I know a student who was denied at UNC-W and admitted to NCSU.<br>
ASU has gotten much harder to get into. Several students I thought would def. gain admission this yr. were only offered Jan. admission. I know a girl (VA resident) who was turned down by App. and admitted to VA Tech. You just never know.</p>
<p>ECU has a wide variety of humanities majors, big school, big football, kids love it.</p>
<p>“I consider APP and NCState, ECU and Western as inside the UNC system, but separate schools. Maybe its just me. My own quirk of viewing them all that way”. </p>
<p>Just so you know all the public universities in NC are officially UNC schools. 7 of them have the letters UNC in their name, but all 16 (and one high school for gifted students) are UNC schools.</p>
<p>^^ Mentor: I know that is the official view of the world, but its definitely not the way those schools view themselves. There is a stronger notion of separation by NCSU, AppState, Western, ECU than the other UNC system schools. Is that justified? Does it really matter? Perhaps not. I always tell kids to look at each school individually and evaluate it on its own merits/drawbacks. Comparisons are natural and normal, but each should be evaluated on its own if possible. </p>
<p>I dont have a dog in this fight. I know kids who loved ECU and some who felt like it was not for them. But I can say the same about just about all the other NC publics. Kids leave Wake to go to Chapel Hill. Kids leave Chapel Hill to come to Wake, on and on. I just hope kids pick the right school out of the shoot and are happy and thrive. </p>
<p>Also people have different agendas for college. I know neighbors who think college is about sororities, fraternities, getting drunk, football games and academics is really just a business diploma so they can go out and become a pharmaceutical salesman. Its antithetical and anathema to a classic liberal arts experience. Whatever. Not my ideal. But its not my kid either. Takes all kinds. They view me (us) as nerds and ethereal intellectuals. They make more money and somehow that justifies their theory. I could care less. </p>
<p>My point was that UNC-Asheville is the designated Liberal Arts college in the UNC system. Can you major in marketing and become a salesman there? Sure. </p>
<p>But I wouldnt go there to do that. If I were a marketing person and just wanted to have fun in college, get a degree and get a job selling I would go to ECU or App or NCSU or UNCW or UNC-Charlotte. But that is just me.</p>