UNC or Emory?

<p>i am from nyc and have never visited the two schools. i may have to visit, but based on what you guys know, how is one compared to the other in terms of general education (no major really specified), campus life, student body, gen. atmosphere, resources, fin. aid, reputation, etc.</p>

<p>bump
bump</p>

<p>personally, i would have to say unc because its reputation is getting better and better. I got accepted to unc and emory and I've also visited both campuses. UNC seemed a lot more welcoming.</p>

<p>facing same decision (throw duke in the mix as well)...the relative costs were what made me choose UNC (in-state applicant)</p>

<p>I live near Emory In Atlanta, nice campus, however, it is in Atlanta....carries hefty price tag, Atlanta population has grown tremendously and with that comes not only TONS of people but cars, cars and cars. I am deciding between UGA and UNC and prefer a laid back town....which they both are. UNC is a much nicer small town, with nicer housing around it and a great down town/mainstreet. UGA has over 200 bars for a small town and lots of low cost housing units.....but still a nice down town. Look at what you like, in town living....and all that it offers and costs you vs. smaller town. Sports pretty much suck at Emory too. UNC has great sports and great intramurals for all those great athletes who could not make the teams. Man you need to come for a visit....before you decide.</p>

<p>Other factors, reputation Private vs. Public....UNC respected in both...Emory rep is good too. Fin aid, UNC is great and Emory just passed initiative to limit loans....I would say UNC is the funner atmosphere, campus and overall experience. Negative is us 18% OSS, so you won't find many from NY, on the other hand Emory is heavy Northeastern students.</p>

<p>thanks a lot guys. i still haven't visited yet due to a knee injury, so I may have to postpone visits until end of april. after doing some research, I'm leaning more toward emory, just b/c i feel like they have better facilities and resources and also their fin aid package is pretty good (although, i haven't received unc's yet). I'm not a crazy athletic person so the sports are not too much of a factor. also, i think i'd like a more regional mixture than 82% from NC.</p>

<p>Emory feels much more like a school in the Northeast. heavy influence of students from the metro NY area. My son's roommate fresh and soph year was from GA and he said that when he visited Emory he felt like they didn't WANT Georgians there. You did not mention this but it has been raised in other forums and is perhaps the one big difference between the schools that could be important for some. If you are by chance Jewish and are concerned about the relative size and activity of the Jewish student populations, Emory is by far more diverse with 33% of the undergrad student body versus 5% at UNC. I know that there are others on CC who can give better insight as to how active the Jewish population at UNC is if this is also a factor in your decision.</p>

<p>Emory's campus feels much more like an office park....contemporary architecture and lots of concrete. The student body looks like a page out of J Crew and the designer handbags are very much the norm. If you get a chance read the Princeton Review Top 353 ( not sure what the number is this year) Colleges Book. Its description of Emory is really the most accurate I have seen.</p>

<p>Our take was that UNC was far more laid back in every way; that students were far less concerned with having the right handbag or sunglasses, and were much friendlier and outgoing.</p>

<p>It's been said many times but the 18% OOS number is very deceiving because full scholarship students and athletes are not in that number plus many instate students are recent transplants or have deep roots from other places.</p>

<p>My son could not have cared less about the athletics before he went but the school spirit and experience is truly infectious. The total undergrad experience at UNC is hard to describe to someone who has not visited or spent time there.</p>

<p>UNC is a tougher admit OOS as well. There were several students in my S's HS class that got into Emory and were turned down by UNC, so I would not be concerned about perceived reputation or waht a UNC degree can do for you.</p>

<p>Hey Guys, I highly reccomend going to UNC. I spent my freshman year at Emory, and it wasn't the best fit for me. Emory is truly a "northern school" and UNC is a lot more southern.If you're from NY, you'll find a lot of people at Emory. The diversity at Emory is amazing, but there is a lack of school spirit. Expect to work really hard and spend countless all-nighters at the library at both schools though! Best of Luck deciding! :)</p>

<p>the comparisons drawn between Emory and UNC intrigue me because these are my S's two top choices.
at emory, he is entitled to a scholarship that brings tuition down to under 10K a year.
so the cost, for him, swings in the opposite direction from what some other students experience.
i agree with eadad.
to get into UNC as an OOS student is comparable to getting into some of the ivies; in fact, some who posted as being deferred EA @ UNC DID infact get accepted to cornell and dartmouth.
my S was deferred, and understandably so.
still, before friday, when he learned of his deferral, he was undecided between the two schools.
UNC is an outstanding school for the price, but for him, emory is an even more outstanding school for the price.
he loves UNC basketball and Chapel Hill, however.
then, there's the difference between the UNC OOS admit and the IS admit.
it's clear from the posts on CC that there is a disparite relationship between the stats of the two groups.<br>
so while it is clearly easier for an OOS student to get into Emory than it is for him or her to get into unc oos, the other 80+% of unc's population did not have to achieve that same high standard.
on the other hand, few IS kids with only mediocre performances were admitted either.
then, as eadad says, unc has a more southern, laid-back feel than the more northern emory vibe.
but eadad did not explain this northern vibe too clearly.
i take it that designer handbags and sunglasses mixed in with a less warm tone made emory more northern?
and i have to agree with those perceptions.
on the other hand, i saw lots of designer accouterments at Vanderbilt. and the girls donning them were outstanding in beauty--but definitely with a southern flair.
so i think that eadad might have felt that large jewish population was less than southern?
and emory, as he says, has over 30% of jewish kids compared with about 5% at unc.
emory, like u of penn, has over 30%. (as opposed to Harvard and Yale, Northwestern, Wash U which only have 25-27%).
now here's where i feel uncomfortable: i've never heard anyone say anything about the # of jews at penn. and i'm not clear on why that is. it feels wrong to me.
eadad spoke in a tasteful manner, and his comments are helpful and often really enlightening, so i'm not deprecating his stance.
instead, i'm pointing out that his views, which he shares with many, are of note to me.
i'm sure i'm being a bit sensitive.
Just my 2 cents.</p>

<p>As a New Yorker (although I'm on LI) that goes to UNC, I can tell you that you really won't feel left out. Everyone seriously finds their niche. I don't really know much about Emory so I won't talk about it, but UNC is a fantastic atmosphere.</p>

<p>
[quote]
so while it is clearly easier for an OOS student to get into Emory than it is for him or her to get into unc oos, the other 80+% of unc's population did not have to achieve that same high standard.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>They may not have HAD to achieve the same high standard in order to get in, but many IS students, including my S, did have stats and accomplishments comparable to the best OOS students. It is a misconception among many OOS posters here that because it's easier to get in as in IS student, that the IS students are necessarily inferior to the OOS ones. Sure, some IS students may be weaker, but a lot of them are very strong students, every bit as strong as the best OOS students.</p>

<p>Regarding your concern about highlighting the percentage of Jewish students at Emory, I have noticed a number of comments along those lines on the Emory forum (my S has applied there too), and I'm not sure what to make of them. I'm somewhat sensitive to that sort of comment too, but I'm not sure exactly where some of the comments are coming from. It may just be that NY/NJ (i.e. what Southerners consider northern) accents stand out more at a southern school than they would at Penn? I don't know.</p>

<p>I don't know anything about Emory and faculty accessibility. This was my experience with UNC and the experience of many current students. Be prepared to have some classes with 200+ students in them at UNC. If you want contact with the faculty, you'll have to go after it. Most are not readily available and a good percentage of freshman classes are taught by graduate students. Junior and senior year have smaller classes and a greater potential to connect with faculty. Unlike the smaller LAC's, dinner with a professor is a rare thing for the UNC undergrad. Socially students are very friendly and diverse-lots of folks from small towns in NC, legacy kids and a number of first generation and community college transfer as well. OOS are typically outstanding students wit the best stats.</p>

<p>nceph,
sorry that i inadvertently did not give your son his props.
QUOTE:
"so while it is clearly easier for an OOS student to get into Emory than it is for him or her to get into unc oos, the other 80+% of unc's population did not have to achieve that same high standard.
on the other hand, few IS kids with only mediocre performances were admitted either."
I did try and note that on the other hand, the IS kids had to perform to get in, too.
when you review the kids who got in EA, as you review their stats, you'll note that if their SAT scores were not above, say, 1450, as you scroll down, their residency was NC.<br>
There was also a student who was deaf who had less than 1450.
Now 1450 is not a slouchy score.
Take a look at the thread and you'll see what I saw. It's pretty noticable.
Now again, that's not to say that there weren't IS students posting with some amazing stats!
There just were no OOS applicants with SATs much under 1500 who posted.
Thanks for noticing the emory/jewish focus.
and thanks to Hornet who does make a valid point about size, TAs and faculty accessibility.
If you're at UNC, and you want to develop a meningful rapport with a prof, you can do it. you will need to assert yourself a bit more than would be required at a smaller school.
But if you're more into less face time, you might prefer the larger class. . . .
thanks everone.</p>

<p>
[quote]
at emory, he is entitled to a scholarship that brings tuition down to under 10K a year.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>What is the question? You can barely get to preschool for 10k per year. Emory has a good record of recruitment. Take the money and RUN!</p>

<p>SherBear - I couldn't care less whether you give my son "his props." My point was just that by focusing on the fact that the IS students didn't have to meet as high a standard, people tend to ignore the fact that many of the IS students are way above the minimum standard they have to meet. You are right that there are some relatively low SAT instate students. And I'm sure you know that the sample of stats/decisions here on CC is anything but a scientific sample.</p>

<p>nceph,
it seems i have offended you and i'm sorry.
i am aware that a great number of IS applicants have laudable achievements.
and whether you couldn't care less whether or not i give your son his proper respect, i DO care.
again, i apologize for disrespecting him or for offending you.</p>

<p>nceph - everyone knows that some IS students are just as smart as the smartest OOS students, but the majority of them would not have been admitted had they been OOS. I mean of the 82% IS students, I'm sure that the top 18% equally compare to the 18% OOS students, but it's impossible to believe that the other 64% do....</p>

<p>thanks vistany!
but tuition (8.5) plus room and board of 10.2 still come up to around 20K per year.
UNC would be 29K w/room and board
he's in at UGA, and that's 0$ tuition. (hope scholarship) $8K room/board
and he received a tulane scholarship making tulane, with room and board) about 22.3K.
U of Miami, with partial scholarship, including room/board would be $31K.
Vandy @47K
Duke @45 (hahahaha)</p>

<p>My point is that if there's a reason that EMory would NOT be a good place, than that's still $80 K spent.
Now UNC would be about 10K more a year or so . . . .
well, i guess we'll see where he gets in for sure.
any feedback is very welcome</p>

<p>but back to the original topic. i am wondering the same thing, because I also foresee a decision between Emory and UNC for me come may.</p>