UNC Chapel Hill, University of Michigan, or University of Southern California

[bluebayou]

But b/c NC has attracted so many residents from all over the country in the last few decades, by the time their kids end up at UNC it doesn’t really have so much of a southern feel these days.

Not for undergrad, which is still 90% instate students. OTOH, both have large grad programs which bring in 20-somethings from all over.