UNC CH vs. Wesleyan vs. Arizona State

All my decisions are officially out now, and I’d like some advice. I’ve been accepted to Wesleyan, and with a financial aid package, my cost of attendance looks to be around $20,000. I’m in-state for UNC, and I’ve been invited to Excel@Carolina, but my financial aid offer hasn’t come out yet. As a NMF, I’ve also been accepted to Arizona State with a full tuition and an extra scholarship, and I’m in the process of applying for its Barretts Honors College. Here’s what I’m looking for:

I’m hoping to double major in biology and computer science, at least until I decided which one I like better. I’m also into dancing (to kpop and for winterguard, specifically) and band. Which one has the best options of all that? How is the LGBT+ community at UNC? Also, a little shallow, but how are the dorms and food there?

All of those seem like good options and it’s really going to come down to where you feel most at home. I know UNC has an excellent bio program and a good computer science program too, although it has had some budget cuts recently that have made it less appealing. I’d definitely read the Daily Tar Heel article on the cuts–Google “UNC Computer Science Daily Tar Heel” and click on news. It should be the second link down.

Again, I have no idea about the ASU and Wesleyan bands, but I am a member of the Marching Tar Heels. It has been my best college experience. It’s not a competition based band and I wouldn’t say it’s extremely intense, but we do perform at all of the football games and other events–we went to a NASCAR race and played some songs and the Anthem this year. It also gave me the opportunity to travel to Detroit for the QuickLane Bowl and I got to go to some NCAA Tournament games. And the Duke game, but we won’t talk about that…lol.

As far as winterguard goes, I don’t think we have one but obviously some great independents around here. That’s the extent of my guard knowledge.

The LGBT community is definitely active here. I can’t comment much more, but again, they’re definitely there.

Dorms are okay–you can read one of my older posts for a complete breakdown, but they’re nothing extraordinary. Same with the food–it’s pretty hit or miss but there are always plenty of options on Franklin Street and on campus (Subway, Chick-fil-a, locally sourced food place, Asian food place, etc).

Hope that helps!!

Thanks! Is there anyone else who can comment further on anything?

@rhinemem - ASU/Barrett is one of my D’s final two choices, as she also has a National Merit Finalist scholarship there. Keep in mind it is the desert and gets very, very hot. Personally I think Chapel Hill is a nicer campus, but D did not get in there as we are out of state and she did not find a cure for cancer. If you are in-state for CH, they say cost before scholarships/aid for in state is $24,120, which is more than you will pay for Barrett (they say our out of pocket will be about $18K a year). But you also have to factor in travel time and costs, and I have learned there is no such thing as cheap flights to Phoenix from the East Coast, and imagine what the costs would be at holiday time!

I think Wesleyan is an overrated/overpriced school myself.

@collegedadof2‌

Hmm. Nearly twice the number of faculty per student at the same price as in-state tuition? You must be crazy.

The biology and computer science department are both highly regarded. The food is good - you have several on-campus options (in addition to good dining halls) as well as (almost) anything within a short walk of campus. The campus is beautiful, and the students are intelligent, yet down-to-earth.

Also, as a gay senior male at UNC, the gay community is active and strong.

Thanks for all the replies. Update: I’ve been accepted to Honors Carolina and Carolina Research Scholars, and with my aid package, my cost of attendance with loans is about $8,000. Can anyone weigh in about these programs?