<p>My daughter needs to decide between UNC and U Mich. She got a 10,000 grant from U Mich, but finaid from UNC has not yet been posted. No chance of visiting before accepting offer since she's both OOS and OOcountry!
Any thoughts?</p>
<p>RioMom: I saw your post on the other thread. Both UNC and UMichigan are great universities, with excellent academic reputations. UNC does have a smaller undergraduate population (~16,000) than Michigan (~26,000). Chapel Hill's weather is nicer (much warmer throughout the year!) than is Ann Arbor's. Students at Chapel Hill really love it there. You might want to consider any specific departments or majors in which she might have interest. </p>
<p>We're probably(!) biased on this board, but I vote for UNC! Again, I think they're comparable schools academically; I think the school with a smaller undergraduate population (and nicer weather) would seal it for me, but you should try to determine, too, if you'll be receiving any aid from UNC. </p>
<p>OOS tuition is a little over $9,000 per semester at UNC (I <em>think</em>), and I have no idea what it is for an OOS at Michigan. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for your feedback, Jack! We really are swaying towards UNC for the reasons you mentioned. However, we also heard UNC is a very "local" school and U Mich is far more "international." Do you think this is true and should weight in our decision?</p>
<p>Well, here's my take. Any public university system has (written in their Charters) an obligation to educate more of its resident students than those who are not residents. This is true everywhere. All public universities will have a larger percentage of students from in-state, than from out-of-state, based largely on how much support each state gives to their public university system, also. </p>
<p>The UNC system (16 campuses total) receives 40% support from NC, and that's really a lot of support, compared to many other states. Consequently, the official breakdown for Chapel Hill is something like 82% in-state, and 18% out-of-state. Since recent legislation was passed in NC that gives in-state tuition to any OOS who receives a merit or athletic scholarship, those percentages have probably changed somewhat--closer to 20%+ for OOS, I believe. </p>
<p>At any rate, NC is also a fast-growing state, most especially near the area of Chapel Hill, where Research Triangle Park is located, with an influx of people moving in from all over the country, as well as from international locales. That means that a large number of "in-state" students at Chapel Hill usually moved here in recent years, from someplace else. </p>
<p>I don't really know what the international population is at UNC-CH, but mainly because of RTP and 2 other major universities in the area (Duke and NC State University), this particular area certainly has a strong international population, especially Asian. My daughter attended a public magnet high school, where she had friends who either moved here with their parents, or whose parents moved here from places as diverse as Russia, China, India, France, Japan, and many more who were born in the US, but not in NC. So her public high school was a real eclectic mix of people from all over, not just from NC. Many of those students are either at Chapel Hill, Duke, or NCSU. In this area of NC, at least, I doubt her high school was unusual in that regard. (And while I am from NC and our daughter was born here, my spouse is not from the U.S.)</p>
<p>So I think the 82% in-state student population can be a little misleading. In addition, NC itself is a very wide state, stretching all the way from the coast to the mountains. Even those born in NC, whose parents were born in NC, are wonderful and welcoming people, and who are as different from each other as you can imagine. </p>
<p>I hope that helps. ;)</p>
<p>actually, the OOS tuition is $19,000 for UNC lol..but its still way cheaper than michigan. UNC offers a lot of aid, so im sure you'll receive a good amount =]</p>
<p>misstinax: My quote above was "a little over $9,000" which--as stated--was "per semester" and was tuition only. So, I guess I was ~$500 off per semester? :)</p>
<p>Michigan is 14,000 per semester, so there you go. I have heard however that Intl's fit in better than anyone at Mich and sometimes there are discr. problems at UNC. Just what I heard, no one hold me to it.</p>
<p>jack: oh okay sorry i missed that part ><</p>
<p>what major?</p>
<p>if it's business, go michigan.</p>
<p>UNC has a top 20 business program, but Ross (Michigan) is more recognized.</p>
<p>I just visited UNC yesterday, and I found the people there very friendly. We were helped around by several students because we were unfamiliar with the bus routes, but we managed to get around just fine.</p>
<p>ns347: My d's vocational test showed a strong tendency toward any and all communications (journalism, public relations, communications businessn, marketing, etc)... so we took this into consideration when appplying to schools... basically, we applied to schools with excellent communications programs, but if she decided not to go in that directions, all other academic programs were well-respected, too.. that's why we're down to U Mich and UNC.
We're from Rio and the thought of winter is chilling (no pun!)... Since "home"will be so far away, I truly want her years at college to be home away from home"" and I'm not getting that feeling about U Mich, whereas Chapel Hill seems to have this. Since we won't be doing any college tours and we're mostly relying on second-hand information...please send your impressions our way... thanks!</p>
<p>UNC"s business program is #5, michigan's business program is #3, i believe.</p>
<p>so...i wouldnt say theres much difference.</p>
<p>All other things being fairly equal, I would opt for UNC based on the weather alone (this coming from someone who moved to NC nearly 20 years ago and never wanted to leave).</p>
<p>RioMom: I had the opportunity to travel to Brazil and spend some number of weeks back in the early 1980's. Although we mostly stayed in Rio, we also got to travel some-- all so incredible and beautiful-- and the people so friendly. (We even traveled to Manaus!) Anyway . . . yes, based on weather alone, Chapel Hill is the place to be. ;) </p>
<p>And UNC's journalism school is highly rated, as I'm sure you know.</p>
<p>cellardoor</p>
<p>I have NEVER heard of discrimination problems at UNC. UNC is the MOST liberal school in North Carolina and perhaps in the south...it does not think or operate like other "southern" schools such as Missssippi,Alabama, Tennessee or even South Carolina. I hasn't been called a blue island in the red sea for nothing....LOL</p>
<p>It really makes me crazy to continually read posts that try to paint UNC as insular, unwelcoming, biased against northerners, a suitcase school, etc....it just isn't true.</p>
<p>jack and I both have children at UNC, mine is OOS and hers is instate....they have had the EXACT same experience at UNC and found it to be the friendliest and most welcoming environment that anyone could want.</p>
<p>eadad: Yes, I get so sick of hearing that, too. I honestly don't know why people post stuff like that. I really don't. Chapel Hill--the town and the university--have always been diverse, and very liberal, most especially politically so. In fact, I spent most of today with my sister and another person who grew up in Chapel Hill. This person was describing his childhood, and my sister and I were dumbfounded by some of what he was telling us. I didn't realize where he'd grown up, and so I said, "Where did you grow up?" And he said, "Chapel Hill." My sister and I looked at each other, nodded our heads, and said, "Ah . . . well, that explains it." ;) We couldn't figure out how someone, who had grown up not all that far from where we did, could have had such a different "Southern" experience. haha</p>
<p>Anyway, yeah, agreed.</p>
<p>Thanks all of you for such great feedback! Now, if only UNC would post our financial aid package... believe or not, it hasn't-- we might be able to make our decision!!
Apparently the dorms close during breaks... does anyone know what international kids do for housing during that time?
Thanks again.</p>
<p>RioMom: I'm sure someone will complain shortly that an international student should be answering this instead of me, but I can only tell you that my daughter has a few friends who are international, and they usually spend breaks with a UNC friend and his/her family.</p>
<p>Off topic---Jack, you are a "her"??? All this time I have been reading your posts, I had a distinguished, bearded man pictured. LOL</p>
<p>Riomom - I'll pipe up with another great program at UNC! It's been mentioned several times on other threads, but the School of Public Health is the top PH school among all public universities and tied for #2 with Harvard (behind Johns Hopkins) among all private and public universities. The BS in PH offers four concentrations, including Health Policy and Administration which is a nice blend of business and science.</p>
<p>jack's and eadad's advice is spot on btw. Chapel Hill and UNC are wonderful.</p>