U Chicago (EA admit) sent us a lot of stuff, between scarf, Tshirt, hat and vehicle back window decal, but the love is conditional and comes with a hefty price (full pay).
Once we received information on Selection Day, we found UNC’s materials to be thorough and thoughtful…e.g. what to do in Chapel Hill for the parents. So far, we are impressed and she wants to look into this option further.
@collegemomjam: I am somewhat baffled by your comment about “the disparity in the stats of the in state vs. out of state accepted students.” Is there a link to a site that has this information? Or can you share the specific data underlying this statement? Just curious about your source(s).
@twogirls I cannot thank you enough for taking all of this time to give us a feel for UNC from a high achieving OOS student. Extremely relevant and appreciated.
So happy your daughter is thriving and that she obviously made the right choice. She sounds like an amazing young woman.
I have to admit you have struck a chord with some of your info…I do love the school spirit by night, nerd by day aspect!
Part of my reason for even starting this conversation is that I truly wanted to hear from people that know the school and love it…because on paper it wasn’t really making sense to me. But logically, UNC is so highly regarded, that I felt like I was missing some information. You’ve helped shed some light.
I agree Georgetown is very different, although it is also quite diverse (especially for a Catholic school)…more from an international standpoint than a socioeconomic one. This may be an adjustment for my daughter because while we live comfortably, we are not super rich like some of the people that attend Georgetown. I suspect if she goes there she will gravitate towards students she is comfortable with. I’d be lying if I said that I don’t have some social concerns about Georgetown and I have to agree that based on what I hear about the UNC crowd, I think it sounds like a friendlier, more down to earth bunch (although the Greek life thing might bother her…even though not all students feel the need to rush, I think it would bother her not to try…and then she might be disappointed.)
We do like the pre-professional focus at Georgetown and that is definitely what she is looking for. But she is a business major. If she were a science or humanities major, she might feel differently.
So we very well may go to that NYC UNC dinner just to check it out…fortunately, her accepted students day for Georgetown is before that dinner. If she is on the fence, we will go to the UNC dinner.
Thanks again for taking the time and good luck to everyone, whether you end up at UNC or not.
One more thing… My daughter loves how the town of Chapel Hill ( and neighboring Carborro) is integrated into the campus. We love hanging out in town and you can just feel the love… You can feel how the restaurant owners and families mesh so closely with the school. It’s amazing to sit in a restaurant and have the owner come up to you and ask, “What time is the game tonight?” It’s chilling to rush Franklin Street after a win ( and after an orgo test lol). The school is truly unique and will be with us forever. FYI my daughter is not into Greek life and has never been to a party, but it’s there if you want it.
@SincererLove You make a good point about the price tag. My D received a lot of “love”, emails, invitations, etc from other schools, but I have found the communications from UNC to be very thorough and concise. I appreciate that the school information to families is easy to understand and organized. I have also found them to be very responsive when calling to ask questions. Keep in mind UNC has been ranked as one of the Best Value in American Higher Education by Kiplinger’s for 10 years in a row. This may be why their budget for promotional materials maybe leaner than some.
@twogirls - If my D didn’t already love it at UNC, I would have sent her your post!! My freshman D has experienced all of the same at UNC. In the fall she took a week long trip to CA to study geology with a professor who is highly regarded in his field. This semester she has an environmental law professor who is equally as amazing. Both professors have been highly accessible and supportive. This week another professor took her entire class out for dim sum when he discovered none of them had ever eaten dim sum. The biggest problem she has faced is actually pinning down a major and a minor because there are so many options. I would also say that UNC has not put the kind of money into updating their dorms that some of the other schools have. But my kid finds that charming in an odd way. Another factor is flying in and out for OOS kids. The Raleigh Durham airport is dreamy. Could not be easier to get our D in and out. My D is also not Greek but has attended parties at both UNC and Duke. She has friends at both schools and despite the sports rivalry, has found that the kids are super friendly to each other on both campuses.
@collegemomjam My OOS son is contemplating UNC’s offer also. We aren’t able to attend the accepted students event so visited Kenan Flagler this past Monday for a formal tour. They are not held regularly, so we missed one last fall when we were there for the general tour. It was quite packed and we were paired with a very impressive young woman, who is a senior, double major in business and chemistry. She gave us a very positive impression of the business program and we left feeling a bit more encouraged about the selection process after freshman year. Once admitted to UNC, residency status doesn’t come into play for business school admissions. And she did say that the “assured admissions” this year were extremely limited. She didn’t want to commit, but said 30-ish? That’s it. Also, the vibe at Kenan-Flagler is noticeably different than the rest of campus. More males 60-40, where the main campus is 40-60, more conservatively dressed students, and after fresh/soph year, almost all of your time is spent on this part of campus. I think the big issue as my husband said last night, is that the operating budget at a public university (UNC in this case) is based on what 82% of the students are paying and not what OOS students are paying. So to compare the overall experience (including admissions) to a similar cost at a private school is not realistic. I attended UNC and graduated with a BSBA; it was a wonderful experience, and a great value, but I was a NC resident. There’s definitely more to think about in the equation as an OOS student. I’m not completely convinced that the school’s reputation is going to buy my son anything more than the other schools where he’s been accepted. As @twogirls states so well, it is not where you go, but truly what you do when you’re there.
@madredos your post made me smile. It’s truly an amazing school and our kids are lucky to be there.
Thanks @snorkel mom. On your KenanFlagler tour, did they mention career placement in the Northeast?? I have heard they do better in the south (which would make sense!), and not as strong in the NYC market. Any input??
There is some placement in the Northeast, but Georgetown is much much higher. Definite advantage to Georgetown, especially investment banking over UNC if that is the goal, but can be done from UNC. At UNC will have to work harder to get to the Northeast.
@collegemomjam Yes. That was one of our questions when we met with an admissions counselor at Kenan Flagler last fall and again on Monday. There are fewer placements in the NE; Charlotte & Atlanta are the largest markets. There is a graphic in their packet with specific geographic placement which I can’t access right now. I’ll try to find it when I get home tonight. According to our tour guide, there is a symposium every spring (and fall, I believe) where companies come to talk to the business students. This is how she found her summer internship between junior and senior year. They offered her a permanent position before her senior year started last August.
My son is a sophmore at UNC instate. I will say back 2 years ago there was not much mail and dazzle sent out either back then. I believe he got his offer letter and the rest was online. What I will say is for the parents or kids on the fence about this school is you will NOT find a more caring school!!! I have called financial aid many many times and each time explained things for me over and over! I have had to call a few departments and each time will get the most kind and caring staff. My son did not get honors or any money from the school but I promise you that you will not be disappointed with the school! Visit the admitted days and you will fall in love with the school like we did! My son loves it there and he had 7 schools to choose from!
Thanks everyone. This is all great input. Thanks especially for the job placement info. Confirms what I had heard. But I hear great things about Charlotte and Atlanta as places to live, and probably not as stressful as the Northeast…might not be the worst thing in the world to find employment in those two great cities.
@Nurse001 that is really great to know. I do think someone made a good point earlier that being UNC is considered a great value school, they may be less frivolous with their mailings, which isn’t a bad thing if it keeps the school more affordable. I consistently hear the UNC environment is very friendly and supportive.
This is all great food for thought.
Charlotte and for that matter, the Raleigh-Durham areas are great places to live with thriving business environments, close to mountains and the beach, relatively affordable, and a lot to do for young and old alike. Charlotte was built on banking and is Bank of America headquarters and Wells Fargo’s east coast HQ (took over Wachovia which was Charlotte based). BofA/Merrill Lynch heavily recruits UNC business grads. Over the last 10 years, we get a lot of Northeast transplants, especially when it comes to banking, but the Charlotte economy is much more than that. Can’t speak to Atlanta other than a lot worse traffic than Charlotte but still a thriving economy. Do have to remember though that a lot of people end up in Charlotte or the Southeast because that is where they are from and want to go. Given UNC’s business school reputation, nationwide is not only possible, but happens all the time, it just takes more effort.
@jdogNC thanks for that info. Charlotte has been in the back of my mind as an eventual place for my children to end up because they are interested in banking and I have heard there are a ton of banking opportunities there. Sounds like a lovely place to live, too. It’s been on my radar as a city to check out for a while now.
I know my daughter is very fortunate to have many options. I guess it’s too early to think about where she will end up after graduation, but I feel like the whole job placement thing is part of the puzzle. It’s up to her, of course, but all good things to consider.
Thanks for the help.
if you want to work at wall street, go to umich ross school of business. they place a ton of graduates in new york and the northeast, california, illinois, etc. umich is also 50% out of state, so out of state ppl will have an easier time finding jobs across the country and meeting other out of state ppl on campus.
Thanks @Eeeee127. We visited Ross and U Mich last year. She did like it, but took it off the list eventually because she had to narrow things down. My older daughter got in to Ross, but chose BC CSOM, who also has strong ties to Wall St. Ross is a great choice though. And Ann Arbor is awesome. Weather is a bit iffy…
No matter the reputation of the school, things tend to be regionalized to some extent. Agree with Eeeee127 that Ross is great for NE and Midwest (Chicago), however carries much less weight in CA and the Southeast. CA is dominated by UCLA and UC Berkeley grads and Southeast will have more of the southern schools like UNC and UVA. Texas loves their Longhorns. But as said before it takes more effort but good students from any of those schools can get jobs anywhere, it just takes more effort and all have big networks throughout the country. One more point is that when interviewing for business jobs, none of the schools I mentioned will have an advantage just based on the name, they are all great schools with similar curriculum and professors. It all comes down to the individual and many qualities that are not taught or learnt from these schools. And as a reference I have hired from all these schools and lived in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, DC, and North Carolina. Ultimately you have to go where you are comfortable based on cost, programs, size,Greek presence, religion, weather, etc.
@jdogNC you are so right.
As I mentioned, my older daughter is a sophomore in CSOM at BC. She is going through the recruiting process now as a sophomore…not expecting much as sophomore internships are much harder to come by, but she is interviewing nonetheless for some smaller summer externship programs (and to get some practice in for next year). Many of the firms ask you what your choice of city is, often with an opportunity for a second choice. She put NYC and then LA on one application because the firm has offices all over the place. She said she was told it didn’t really matter which office she put down because she would be considered equally for all of them.
Obviously, when you are interviewing with smaller local firms, the jobs will be more regional based on geography. Not everyone will secure jobs with big national/international firms through their recruitment programs and some will end up in the cities where their college is near for practical reasons.
I heard at michigan ross sophomore students are already interning with fortune 500 companies.