You are welcome and good luck!
I don’t see my daughter as a big fish- I see her as belonging to a large group of big fish within the school… If that makes sense lol. It boils down to fit and the personality of the student. My daughter is always nervous so she really had to go to a school where there were strong kids like her, yet at the same time it had to be a place that would not feed into her academic anxiety like other schools would ( given her personality). It’s a real balancing act…
I’m oos and so far I have gotten into vanderbilt (one of 300 mosaic invites with an early acceptance) and into umich (which I will prob go to as it is my state school) stlil waiting back for other colleges! I agree that out of state ppl who can get into unc r good enough to get into ivy leagues.
@Eeeee127 congrats! You are very lucky to have such a great instate option!
@collegemomjam Father of an OOS D that was accepted. The entire process has been underwhelming - three weeks to get our acceptance package, incorrect graduation year in the packet, no communication since. Big school, not much effort put into wooing us for the privilege of paying $200k for an undergraduate degree. Same can be said for other schools - U of Michigan and U of Wisconsin that D has been admitted. They are big organizations with wait lists so they don’t have to bother with the soft sell. 99.5% of the students are just cogs in the wheel.
Other schools U of S. Carolina (Honors), Indiana (Honors), Ohio U (Honors), U of Miami FL (invited to scholarship weekend) - scholarship packages, almost daily emails, invites to local receptions/dinners, twitter chats for questions, calls from current students, etc. A lot of love coming our D’s way from these schools.
Waiting on Brown, Emory, Rice and Northwestern.
No schools have been eliminated but that will change once we get more of our questions answered, attend a few admitted student days and receive the final round of merit based scholarships.
“Better” school is the one your family can afford and one that fits your S or D. This is an undergraduate degree - not a guarantee of future success. Your D will get out of college what she puts into it.
Our approach to this process with our daughter:
Hello @twogirls! I have appreciated your comments about UNC. My D and I are traveling to Chapel Hill this weekend for our first Admitted Students event!
She is also an OOS who has applied to several other schools including Ivies. This weekend will be a welcome break from the long wait until we hear responses from all schools at the end of March. I am keeping my fingers crossed that she likes it as much as your daughter 
@camoguy did your family get invited to the out of state functions? We were invited as a family to an accepted students event at a NYC restaurant plus a welcome event at a house.
@HSCounselor2 good luck! Any questions please ask.
@camoguy Could not agree more. D has top grades and stats, ECs, recommendations, etc. She was offered Honors, top scholarships, etc. at all her other schools. To say that UNC’s response, offerings and follow up was underwhelming would be an understatement. They admitted her then forgot her. Very strange. We don’t need to be coddled but a little interest shown might be nice in exchange for OOS tuition.
I guess that my point for posting these thoughts is that we are disappointed that we feel this way. We were so gung ho for UNC and absolutely loved the school when we visited. It is just disappointing to have that excitement dissipate when the university could do so much more without spending a lot of money.
@houstonmama I’m in the same situation. 1580 SAT, 2/185 class rank, president of several clubs, UNC was my top choice, and UNC didn’t offer me honors, a scholarship, or any excel@Carolina opportunity, and it was the top school I applied to. So now I’m going to Indiana or Ohio State.
My D is an OOS freshman at UNC. Also a Robertson. She got into Stanford and Brown, UF, UM, Berkeley, and another UC whose name I have forgotten. She loves UNC but the caveat is that she is a Robertson. Had she not received that scholarship she was heading to Stanford at almost full pay. So we were very grateful to UNC. I am sorry that some of you feel that they haven’t reached out enough to your kids. I do think that for some reason I can’t put my finger on, this is an odd acceptance year. Odder than most. Maybe the college bubble that Andrew Ferguson spoke about in Crazy U is finally coming to pass. Best of luck to all of your children that they find the place that is where they thrive.
I agree that UNC has not been as enthusiastic with communications about admitting my D as other schools have, but it has not dampened my interest in learning more about what opportunities are available to her there.
It is kind of strange that the acceptance materials have been trickling out so slowly. I wonder if once the RD decisions are out if we will start to feel more “wanted”.
My older daughter two years ago was accepted to Michigan in Feb. (after being deferred in Dec.) and U of So Cal. They were by far the most enthusiastic schools once she got in. I think USC actually sent her a box of goodies once among other mailings…and Michigan sent her a flag, among other things. I still wear a scarf she got from Indiana, come to think of it) She got big envelopes from them all of the time with different info. She ended up going to a school that actually did NOT woo her at all once accepted (Boston College, I guess they just don’t do that?), but BC had always been her top choice so it wasn’t really a turn off. And also, when she was admitted to BC EA she had an extra hand written note from the admissions counselor which was a nice touch.
After reading some of the posts from other OOS students with amazing stats that also have received the bare minimum at this point and no honors anything, I’m glad that my daughter is not the only one.
@twogirls We have not received any invitations to events in our area - Chicago - perhaps there have not been any. Last email correspondence from UNC was to be sure to update them on any outside scholarships - that was 3 weeks ago.
As we go through this process it is interesting to compare the approaches each school takes towards its admitted students, their methods of communication on important items (i.e. email invites to scholarship weekends vs. FedEx packages - I know of a few students who missed out on scholarship weekend interviews because the email went in their spam or junk folder and they did not realize it until it was too late - potential loss of $45k/yr), housing choices based on your application date vs when you submit your deposit and flow of information/next steps. Would make for a great business case study except the demand is greater than the supply so minimal adverse consequences to those institutions who are lackluster in their approach.
When my daughter was accepted she received several emails, a postcard from a student, and invites to events in March ( dinner) and June ( a home event). I agree that this year things are a bit " off."
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I guess going into this with no expectations, I am happy with what I have received from UNC - invites to events, welcome package, alumni dinner in NYC, 1 excel program and a finalist for another - much more than what I have received from my home state school Rutgers, even though I received Honors College and a full tuition merit scholarship there. Reading these posts are so disheartening…
Just to clarify, my daughter has received a few emails from UNC - the most “personal” was inviting her to the NYC reception, which she is considering going to. The biggest issues on her end are the time it took to receive anything in the mail (longer than any other school by far, even UVA who took their time but their Assistant Dean is on their CC thread and kept us connected/updated), lack of honors anything, lack of direct admit to the Business school, and just the disparity in the stats of the in state vs. out of state accepted students. But NC has the right to do with their tax payer dollars whatever they want to do…I respect this. It just makes her think twice about attending because it personally doesn’t sit right with her. She’s still leaning towards Georgetown.
These “issues” are not complaints at all…just stating the facts and how she is feeling since she has been accepted. She is very grateful for her acceptance (only one from her school, as I mentioned before the boy ranked second, one behind her, with a 35 ACT was deferred).
Anyone attending the Admitted Students event at UNC on Sunday?
@collegemomjam congrats on your daughter’s Georgetown acceptance! It’s a great school- but very, very different than UNC-CH. If your daughter loves GT I don’t know if she would love UNC.
My daughter graduated #1 from a competitive, northeast suburban HS. She had test scores into the 99% and tremendous leadership both in the classroom and in our county ( sorry to repeat this). I asked her about the disparity between the instate and out of state students. First she got mad at me and called me “elitist.” I had to explain to her that I was not- I was just curious and thought it was a legitimate question. She told me that she has met some of the smartest people… ever. Her friends include students who owned and sold their own companies, started clubs in states where they don’t live, Robertson scholars, etc. her friends have had internships all over the US and world. She is very happy with the level of discussion in her classes, and does not feel as though the professors are teaching to a lower group. She also told me that all of her classes are taught by professors. What she loves is that she can be a science nerd in the morning, listen to the POTUS in the afternoon, and attend a game at night. She can do all of this while doing research, being an active member of the campus, talking anthro for two hours, etc. She also has an opportunity to teach- she loves it ( this is not her major). Are there students on campus who received a lower ACT or SAT score than she did? Absolutely. Does it matter to her? No. Many of her instate peers are very smart. Do the lower scores negatively impact her classroom experience? No. The only time I can remember was when she had to write a group paper and she was not thrilled with one of her peers writing skills ( I hate to admit this because it sounds horrible) but they still did well. Do you know what she learned from group work ( different project)? She learned to adapt to other people’s styles and personalities. UNC is diverse despite being a state school- she wanted diversity. This includes economic diversity which was very important to her. This school opened her eyes up, in a good way… unlike the homogeneous town where she grew up.
UNC is not for everybody. There is a focus on community service and giving back to society ( as with many schools). The students are told to explore their passions and are encouraged not to choose a major right away. I recognize that this does not sit well with everybody- it took me time to get used to this. There is not a “pre-professional” vibe like at other schools. This bothered me at first but now I really like it. There are quite a few kids that do programs such as Peace Corps etc. My daughter loves the school spirit and how it really brings the campus together. She literally cheers and cries with thousands- there is a real bond going on and she is part of it.
What are the negatives? The campus is beautiful but there are probably a few buildings that are not. Occasionally she feels some competition, however this is very occasional and more likely due to her perception and lack of confidence. She is taking all of the pre-med classes ( not sure if she is pre-med) and is doing very well in them, but it is not a cake walk and she works hard.
What do I love? My daughter took a few weeks to adjust and discussed this difficulty with her professor during office hours. That night she received an email from the prof and in the subject line was written… “You belong here.” I also love when we visit and she stops to talk to professors on campus- and they know her. They know her name. They ask her questions about a project or about an internship she applied to.
UNC is a big school ( although there are bigger schools). You need to take advantage. My D is at all office hours and has been to the writing center. It’s a great school and I totally understand how your “Carolina Family” stays with you forever. However… It’s not for everybody and that’s ok. I would describe UNC as “eclectic.” You can be an academic nerd looking at cells in a lab while discussing DNA in detail… and then attend a D1 basketball game a few hours later.
Ok I am done now LOL. UNC is not for everybody, and that’s ok. Good luck to everybody!
Kudos twogirls, well said. If people are going into UNC thinking there is a lot of intellectual disparity between instate and OOS, then there will be a lot to learn. All the smart people with high stats, great EC’s and all the other stuff don’t come from OOS. For both instate and OOS, visit campuses, talk to people, feel from your experiences and make a decision on what school fits best for you. Really liking a college and later figuring out the vibe just didn’t feel right for any number of reasons (including not getting enough mail) is very common and is all part of the selection process. 4,200 smart, insecure, confident, different kids will start UNC in the fall and forge their way ahead. And make no mistake, there will be plenty of kids with terrible ACT scores of 30 that will come into their own and and outshine the “superstars”. Happened in my day and will continue to happen.