UNC vs GWU

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
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<p>Hi I am a Chinese high school student and have recently been admitted to UNC after being WL for a month. </p>

<p>I like GWU for being in a major city and great programs in Pol sci and IR, but UNC has an overall better reputation. </p>

<p>Many people told me that as a foreign student I may feel lost in a large school like UNC, and hard to find friends. </p>

<p>Where do you think I would make friends and form engaged learning groups except roomates?</p>

<p>I don't know what my major would be but I really like humanities and classics. Could anyone tell me about those programs in UNC? I am mainly concerned with the class size.</p>

<p>I know it is ironic but I like the engaged education in the LAC. Do you think I may find that in humanities and classics program? I suppose they have less people?</p>

<p>Could anyone just give me some reasons that why I should go to UNC? </p>

<p>Thanks in advance.</p>

2

<p>If you were from most other countries, then I would tell you that yes, being an international at UNC might be a concern. But there is a mostly thriving Chinese community at UNC, with an active listserv etc.</p>

<p>Class sizes at UNC are too big. Even the small discussion sections are rarely smaller than 20 people. The higher level classes are a bit smaller, but still large.</p>

<p>At UNC you will stick out a little as an international – be prepared for people to always ask you where you are from, and practise their bad Chinese on you. I know some internationals who love this, some who don’t mind, and some who find it absolutely obnoxious. It depends – how much do you want to be able to blend into a crowd?</p>

<p>Culturally, Washington is obviously in a different league to Chapel Hill.</p>

<p>You will likely have to get a car at some point to fully enjoy the triangle. Be aware that foreigners get horribly treated on car insurance in North Carolina (expect to pay $2500 just for insurance, in your first year).</p>

<p>It’s a tough call.</p>

3

<p>I actually decided between GWU and UNC. At the time I was sad to turn down DC - I love that place - and their dorms are pretty sweet, too. But now I’d pick Carolina ten times out of ten.</p>

<p>Really you have to ask what you want. Despite the fact that GWU has the hook up in terms of internships within the capital, its overall IR program is not as good as it should be for where it’s located, and from what I understand Carolina’s dept is much better. For liberal arts, as well, Carolina has GW beat.</p>

<p>My feeling is that the only reason why GW might win over UNC is if you feel that you absolutely must live in DC. But I’m pretty convinced that the educational experience at Carolina will be better. And it’s also definitely possible to get DC internships from Carolina over the summer.</p>

<p>There is a wonderful community of Chinese-Americans, Chinese international students, and those interested in East Asian studies at Carolina. I’m an East Asian studies major and as the jerk keepittoyourself would eagerly point out, I’m one of the people who would be practicing my terrible Chinese on you. I was in Beijing doing an intensive mandarin-only pledge last year and was thinking that when I got back to Carolina I wouldn’t be able to find anyone to speak Chinese with. BUT that was entirely false. There are some legitimate Chinese food places around where I live (Gourmet Kingdom is authentically Sichuan) and I’ve made some friends with Chinese exchange students to the point where I could easily speak Chinese every day if I like.</p>

<p>Not even 5% of our classes are over 100 students and a lot of the departments cap their class sizes (math, English, foreign languages) so that shouldn’t be a problem.</p>

<p>People make most of their friends from their first-year dorm as well as their student groups. My best friends right now I met through music groups and sports.</p>

<p>Good luck on your decision! :)</p>

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<p>I agree with cloying that a (and perhaps the only) good reason to choose GWU would be a desire to live in DC during the entire year. At UNC, you could live in DC in the summers or for a semester through the [Washington</a> Semester](<a href=“Public Policy”>Public Policy) program, but you obviously would not be there year-round.</p>

<p>Academically, UNC is going to be stronger. UNC-Chapel Hill actually has one of the country’s best Classics programs.</p>

<p>Also, UNC is going to be much cheaper over the course of four years, assuming you received aid from neither school.</p>

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<p>I think we are all pretty much in agreement: academically, UNC looks the more promising.</p>

<p>From a lifestyle point of view … </p>

<p>How much do you want to fit in? In Chapel Hill you’ll stand out somewhat as a foreigner. In central Washington DC you won’t. So that might be better if you want to blend in to a diverse city. Life in Chapel Hill will probably be a lot less hectic, though. So if you want a relaxed smalltown college town experience, go UNC.</p>

<p>Culturally (museums, shows etc) DC has much more to offer. Yes, you can get there from Chapel Hill for the weekend, but you won’t be doing it without a car (transportation here is terrible, the train takes 6 hours to cover the 240 miles) and as I mentioned getting a car would be horribly expensive.</p>

<p>As cloying mentioned, there are some OK Chinese food places in the area. She mentioned a good Szechuan place, and there is Grand Asia Market which is very nice, but about a 40 minute drive away. Again, you hit on the fact that a car is needed to hit on what’s really good about the area, in many ways.</p>

<p>One point, and it might be a subtle one. Most of the foreign people here are either exchange students (for a semester or a year), or grad students. The population of foreigners who are directly enrolled undergrads for the 4 year programme is very small: if you are looking to hang out with other internationals, you might have a hard time finding a stable group of undergraduate people here for more than a short time. </p>

<p>That said, the Americans and grad student crowd here are very nice.</p>

<p>You mentioned on your other thread that you wonder how much weight American employers put on university prestige. The answer is … quite a lot. It’s not everything, but it is a lot. But one thing you might want to consider is that you might have a hard time finding any job in the US after graduating: working visas are typically not available for the sorts of entry level jobs that people get after college. So if neither GWU nor UNC is known in China, that might be a consideration, since that is more likely where you’ll be after college.</p>

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<p>keepittoyourself: thank you for the long reply. It really warns me that i might not get a job in the US. I might have to work hard and try to figure it out. thanks</p>

<p>I think I can be around with anyone, pretty much. i am not looking for a big international undergrads group because in that way I would miss out so much. So, diversity is not something that matters a lot to me. </p>

<p>UNC attracts me the most because I would have a typical college experience. A beautiful campus and good learning.Being in GWU would be like a , pre-professional training or something, although opportunities are many.</p>

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<p>cloying: Thanks! I would definitely love the summer program in DC. When I was an exchange student in US three years ago as a high school student I became to love DC and that’s why I applied three schools in DC. But recently I became unsure whether I 'd like my four years in a no-campus college. Anyway, a Washington Semester would be a good thing for me . </p>

<p>Although I am not looking particularly for Chinese community in UNC, I think I am someone who really loves sharing my culture with others. And thus I’d love to share my Chinese language and knowledge with anyone who is interested in them. </p>

<p>I think I’ve decided to go to UNC and still waiting for the package.</p>

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<p>ThoughtProvoking: I am glad to know that UNC has an excellent classics program. Even though GWU give me 15,000 dollars scholarship a year, the COA of GWU is still more expensive than that of UNC. So, unc would save me some money and the taxes in NC i suppose is not as terribly high as that in DC.</p>

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<p>cloying: I am not very familiar with the dorm system in NC. Do we have to change our dorms at the sophomore year?( as you said you make most of your friends at the first year dorm?)</p>

<p>How many people are in the one room usually?
Are you currently an undergrad at UNC?</p>

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<p>“If you were from most other countries, then I would tell you that yes, being an international at UNC might be a concern.”</p>

<p>Omg ***. I’m Indian… does that come under “most other”? =(
Blah. I was going to pay the deposit today. x_x</p>

<p>Awaiting your reply.</p>

<p>Edit: The concern that you’re talking about, is that just about making friends from foreign countries? I don’t much care about that.</p>

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<p>blue_box:
hi, I have heard from some people saying that foreign students may feel lost in a large school, since the environment is so different and not as much personal attention as those available in small schools. I didn’t mean to make friends to any particular group of people. Just to make friends in general.</p>

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<p>blue_box</p>

<p>Don’t be concerned. keepitoyourself appears to have an agenda from time to time and his/her posts are generally 180 degrees opposite the remainder of posters here. He/she has tried to compare class size and diversity to European schools like Oxford for example…</p>

<p>UNC is a much smaller school than the BIG US schools like Michigan, Ohio State and Wisconsin which in some cases are almost three times bigger and would, as a result, have a bigger international population.</p>

<p>You’ll be fine and remember there is also a large international population living in the research Triangle of Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill.</p>

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<p>Agenda? What the hell are you talking about? I just call it as I see it. You may disagree, but why question my motives? And what is wrong about making comparisons with the best international universities? You are the one who’s always going on about how great UNC is, so why not compare it with the best?</p>

<p>blue_box: are you comfortable being one of only a few foreigners who is not an exchange or graduate student? Are you comfortable with the fact that the very top of the social structure here (elite sororities/fraterinities/fake castle) is generally ‘Anglo’ whites only? Are you ready to be something of a cultural ambassador for India, whether you want to or not? Are you ready to hear in nauseating detail about someone’s ‘study abroad’ extended vacation to Nepal or Pakistan, as soon as you meet them?</p>

<p>Now, these are all fairly minor concerns, as eadad would be quick to point out. There is little genuine racism here, but there is a fairly pronounced homogeneity.</p>

<p>If none of these things bother you, then come to UNC and don’t worry about them. It’s a very good place. As you might have guessed from my posts, they do bother me to a greater or lesser extent – I felt happier in places where I was just one person in the crowd, and not ‘the foreigner’ or ‘somebody’s xish friend’.</p>

<p>Be aware that the ‘large international population’ in the rest of the Triangle (a) doesn’t generally mix with students, and (b) is concentrated over towards Cary. You will need a car to get there, and as I’ve mentioned that is extremely expensive for foreigners. To get a roadworthy car, and insure it etc, you are looking at $5k in your first year driving – not to mention gas and parking.</p>

<p>UNC is a very good place, I’m sure you will be very happy here. But it’s not perfect. Really appreciating the place means seeing its flaws too, and it does have them – especially from a foreign pov.</p>

<p>I graduate next year, and I am very much looking forward to moving to a place where a foreign accent doesn’t make you stand out.</p>

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<p>Hmm. I see what you mean. I don’t intend to participate in Greek life, and I don’t mind (to a certain extent) listening to other people’s traveling tales. Being an ambassador for my country is less appealing, and facing genuine racism is a total turn off.</p>

<p>I think I’ll go ahead and accept UNC’s admit offer, though with considerable reluctance.</p>

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<p>Don’t be reluctant! It really is a great place. Many of the things I’ve mentioned are just natural consequences of going to college in a smallish town in the hinterlands of a foreign country. If you want to go to a campus university in the USA, you could hardly find a better choice than Carolina.</p>