I was accepted to UNC Chapel Hill (my dream school) and NCSU for undergrad. I am planning on double majoring in mathematics and computer science and then going to grad school (probably for data analytics). I’ve been talking to a senior at UNC and they keep telling me to go to NCSU because it is easier to get good grades there and that they cannot get into a good grad school because UNC was too difficult and they have a bad GPA. I’m not one to back down from a trial, I know that I’m going to have to work really hard for good grades at UNC, but I want to go to a good grad school. Would it really be worth it to give up UNC and go to NCSU for the sake of getting into a good grad school? (More info: I have a great HS GPA and I took college classes at a local community college and got a 4.0, I know that UNC is going to be much more challenging that the community college, but I’m willing to put in the work to get good grades).
Based on its standardized scoring profile in relation to that of other colleges, UNC–CH may not be inordinately competitive:
https://www.businessinsider.com/the-610-smartest-colleges-in-america-2015-9
Don’t second guess yourself. If you want to go to grad school YOU will make it happen no matter where you go to undergrad. If UNC is your “dream college”, go for it, otherwise you might regret your decision for a long, long time.
You seem like a smart and bright student who is up to the challenge. Just because a college is easier does not make it a better fit for you. My close friend went to Yale undergrad pre-med and Yale Medical School. If you listen to folks on on CC, they would have advised him to go to a state college for undergrad to get the “best grades” but my friend would challenge this theory as he now is a pediatric opthamalogist and has a fabulous medical practice and career.
Your friend’s logic assumes that grad schools are so dumb that they don’t know the difference between a tough undergrad program and an easy one (not implying that UNC and NC State fit this mold - I don’t have any first hand knowledge about either). Would you want to go to a grad program that was that stupid?
I read this comments like this on grade deflation all the time on CC and it makes no sense. Grad schools are not idiots - they know that GPA’s are not equal across schools.
My initial reaction to you post was identical to merc81’s. Given the standardized test scores at UNC, I’m a little doubtful that it is THAT competitive. However, it could be that none of the lower scoring student are math or CS majors.
Go to UNC. Grad schools aren’t that dumb and you want to spend four years getting the best education, not preparing your grad school app.