<p>My son is planning to major in Finance and he is torn between Schreyer and UNC Chapel Hill. Schreyer will be in-state, so somewhat cheaper than UNC. UNC has offered some financial aid to narrow the gap with Penn State (difference is approximately $5000 per year). I greatly appreciate your comments to help us decide between the two. As far as rankings go, UNC beats Smeal in almost every category but I doubt if the rankings take into account the Schreyer experience.</p>
<p>I think UNC is very well regarded, and it has a BEAUTIFUL campus</p>
<p>Congratulations to you on two really good choices!<br>
my son is in Schreyer and is a business major. The Schreyer experience can be great...but personally, I think the best Schreyer students are ones who love PSU anyway. It does give you access to some small classes (not all). Priority registration is great for a big school. And the dorms aren't palaces, but they are a step up from the regular dorms and very well located...plus you get four years of guaranteed housing (a plus). The honors classes have been terrific and some of the regular classes have been good (some very large though!). Check out the Schreyer blogs (the dean and students both post on them).<br>
We visited UNC but my s didn't apply. Some of it was timing as we visited on easter weekend and the place literally cleared out...a ghost town. It didn't help that we visited Duke the same day and there were lots of kids around. It was a shame because we thought UNC would be a great match for him (although VERY hard to get into).<br>
As you know, UNC overall, has a better reputation. If your son is fine with being an out of state student with 80% North Carolinians, it is likely to be your better choice (my son would have gone to UVA in a minute be he didn't get in!). 5K per year is not enough to be a major factor, IMO.<br>
Whether or not the UNC is a problem for out of staters is up for debate (see the many threads on the UNC board). If you son is a social kid, it's likely to be a non-issue.<br>
One question though. Does he like basketball or football? :)</p>
<p>Thanks toneranger. Your comments are right on the money. We visited Schreyer last week and saw the dorms and other facilities -- they were really nice. It's funny you mentioned UVA since that is also an option for my son even though we haven't yet heard from their Fin aid office. I also agree that 5K per year is not a significant difference in cost. Really appreciate your input.</p>
<p>I dont think 5K is a big difference but UNC is not worth 20K more than PSU over 4 yrs. If it was Harvard or even Michigan I would say it is but not UNC></p>
<p>Hi UCLA, could you please elaborate a little on your response? If UNC matches Schreyer and both are equally priced, would your choice still be Schreyer? Thanks for sharing your thoughts.</p>
<p>As expected, UNC has offered more money to close down the gap with Schreyers -- so now what??? I don't want to make a selection based on seemingly flimsy criteria so if anyone out there has any insights on either school's Business programs I will greatly appreciate hearing from you.</p>
<p>good news zeherisa. Which school does your son like better?
One thing to check out about UNC - is it hard to register for required classes? How is advising? I've seen complaints about both...but not sure how serious really.<br>
PSU has a great trading room - and an investment club. The business building is new and quite impressive. Not sure about UNC.
I know if it was my son, he would probably choose UNC if the cost was the same. Just to get out out state I think. Plus UNCs business school has a better reputation overall. Although the 81% NC figure is a bit of a concern...</p>
<p>zeherisa,
Congrats to your son on his acceptances to two terrific colleges (and U Virginia). If the choice ultimately includes U Virginia, I would urge you to look closely there as their McIntire business program is going to be the strongest of the three. But if the decision stays PSU Schreyer vs U North Carolina, I would probably suggest U North Carolina by a hair. </p>
<p>I like PSU Schreyers a lot and think that their program does a lot to give their students a different and better experience than the great numbers at Penn State. Given the resources at Penn State and the access that Schreyers provides, this is no small deal and Schreyers is very plugged into the world of finance, including every major investment banking firm that he could ever want to get to. U North Carolina also places well, but Schreyer's focused program already does some of the screening and thus he would be (perhaps) better positioned than coming out of U North Carolina's business program. </p>
<p>One small advantage to U North Carolina is that Chapel Hill is, like State College, a great college town, but there is also a lot of other stuff close by (including Duke a mere 8 miles away and Research Triangle) which is not the case in Happy Valley. U North Carolina also is about half the size of Penn State and some folks prefer this smaller size. And finally, and perhaps most important, is that U North Carolina offers the chance for a change of scenery from Pennsylvania. Not meaning to knock Pennsylvania, but many people consider college as the time to try some new things and going to a college like U North Carolina is a relatively low-risk way to do this. North Carolinians are wonderfully hospitable folks and I suspect that you would greatly enjoy your visits to see him and the school. </p>
<p>As for the social life, it's great at both and for athletic life, there are the obvious differences in football and basketball. PSU rules the former and UNC the latter, but U North Carolina's football scene would be considered better than Penn State's basketball scene (which is pretty much non-existent).</p>
<p>Wow, that's such great advice. One thing that's fairly clear from all your posts is that it is going to be a very close call. Thanks again for all your input.</p>
<p>Wow Hawkette, I finally agree with one of your posts. Well, almost. Have you ever been to a football game at UNC? Cricket...Cricket...Tumbleweed...I would say that, after having been to many Penn State basketball games and many UNC football games, they are both equally boring. </p>
<p>Zeherisa...I love Penn State, but I agree with Hawkette about college being a good time to get away. I am from the south, so going to Penn State was getting away for me. I know you would love Penn State, but UNC or UVA would be great because it would open you up to a different southern culture that you will not get at Penn State. Again, congrats on getting accepted to all three. They are all great schools. Best of luck.</p>
<p>jec,
Glad that I could finally oblige. :)</p>
<p>As for UNC sports, the football scene is better even if the win-loss record is not. No one will ever mistake Chapel Hill on a Saturday in the fall for State College, but they did pull in a respectable average of 57,417 fans for each of its 6 games last fall. </p>
<p>As for Penn State basketball, I'd describe it as pretty underwhelming and nothing compared to the excitement and intensity attendant to ACC games at U North Carolina.</p>
<p>hawkette - yeah , it's kind of pathetic that PSU hasn't been able to pull together a better basketball program. But I've been paying attention for the last couple of years and they are getting a bit better. Last year, the kids charged the floor TWICE - after beating highly ranked opponents - Indiana and Michigan State. Pretty cool. So maybe there's hope?
IMO, there's NOTHING like a PSU football game. Went to Notre Dame last year. Amazing. After the first half, my h said "Why didn't I come here?"
Granted, he's a big sport fan. PSU is a good school but it can be heaven for big sports fans. Even with the team doing just OK lately...it's still a blast. And will be for those alums...for years. I saw lots of walkers and canes at the last game!<br>
zeh- sorry for the diversion...but hey...it's another piece of info.</p>
<p>"...My son is planning to major in Finance..."</p>
<p>At UNC your son would have to apply to transfer junior year to the business school. This is not a guaranteed acceptance. If one of his other schools offers a guarantee that he can major in finance, that might be a plus in the other school's favor.</p>
<p>"At UNC your son would have to apply to transfer junior year to the business school. This is not a guaranteed acceptance."</p>
<p>Yes, I am aware of that and he's willing to take the risk. I believe the acceptance rate into their Business School (Kenan Flagar)is 66%. It's probably (almost sure) going to UNC. UVa will let us know about their offer in a week or two but it is very unlikely they will be able to come down to the low 20's level</p>
<p>I really did not like the location of the UNC B school way on one end of campus and off by itself. Also I find the campus nice but not all that special for one of the top state schools. The main drag by campus is all of three blocks long and everything else is a mall away from campus.</p>