UNC vs. Rutgers vs. Cornell

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
1

<p>There are only a few days left and I'm still deciding. Anyone have an opinion?</p>

<p>Rutgers - <em>FREE</em> since I got a full ride scholarship, which is actually the only reason I'm even considering it. Only a half hour from home, my whole family went there and most of the graduates from my HS go there too, so it's really familiar and comfortable. PROS: Money, familiarity. CONS: too close to home, not as good a school, new brunswick sucks</p>

<p>UNC-CH - A much better school, plus I was invited into the Honors program which is actually really prestigious and has some real perks (much better compared to Rutgers' Honors, which takes pretty much everyone with certain objective stats)... they also offered me a free laptop up to 1,500 bucks. I haven't visited (I know, bad idea) but I might this weekend. PROS: Better academics, more prestigious, great college town and classmates, relatively cheap CONS: I haven't gotten my finaid yet, which sucks. Also have ZERO interest in athletics, which makes up a large part of their social life. </p>

<p>Cornell - Probably the one I like the least. The only thing it has going for it is its relative prestige and good academic rep, though I think UNC is the same, if not better in these aspects. PROS: Ivy rep CONS: Sucky, depressing, isolated location, partying social vibe, overwhelming richness and whiteness of student body, expensive (I would exhaust all my savings and go over 60,000 in debt)</p>

<p>AGAIN, I know sooo little about the latter two schools, which is why I'm posting this. If I'm dreadfully wrong about something, flame away. Also, comments like "omgggg UNC is like the best school evar hehehehe" from current UNC students are unhelpful and counterproductive. If I had to name my most important factors, they are money and whether or not I will find my social niche there (students like me and a student body who is interesting, diverse, intelligent, and open). Things like prestige and academic rigor are important as well, though secondary, because I plan to pursue advanced degrees after my undergrad and will probably try to transfer. Weather wise, I'm more fond of warmth and find winter a horrible black vaccum of suckage and despair. </p>

<p>I plan to study History, though I am not closed to pursuing overlapping fields like anthro, classics etc.</p>

2

<p>Congrats on getting UNC honors, but I wouldn’t base your decision to come here on your honors status. Being an honors student DOES NOT mean that you graduate with honors (this is a common misconception which you may or may not be aware of). An Honors student and non-honors student diploma will look exactly the same. The honor student’s transcript will have notes that they were a “honors student in good standing” for that academic year, but again, you do not graduate with honors unless you write an honors thesis (which is open to honors and non-honors students alike). </p>

<p>You can live in Cobb dorm if you agree to live with an honors roommate, which is a perk compared to Hinton James or South Campus, but that is only one option out of many (LLC, calling housing, Granville, being lucky, getting a dr’s note for allergies, etc).</p>

<p>You do have priority for honors classes, but you MUST take 2 honors classes per year to stay in the program, which can be difficult for some students depending on their major (as a history major, you should be fine). </p>

<p>IMO- I’m an honors student and while I’m glad I’m in the program, I’m a little peeved at how it’s used more as bait for high acheiving students rather than a comprehensive, 4-year program that dramatically inriches the college experience of honors students. </p>

<p>I don’t mean to be overly negative, UNC is a wonderful school, but I think you should be aware that Honors isn’t necessarily the most important factor to consider when you’re making your final decision. It’s nice, it has some perks, but it’s certainly not as transformative and life-changing as some make it out to be.</p>

3

<p>Thanks so much ArtesemiaDea. I kind of figured that although it had perks, UNC was probably using its Honors as a way to encourage students to matriculate. In the end though, I still really like the idea. I like being grouped with a selective group of students since it would make it easier to find people who are more or less similar to me, which is nice since I’m a little shy and probably wouldn’t be so great at finding them out on my own. </p>

<p>I’ts not really the Honors program that draws me though. If I ended up picking UNC, it would probably be because its location and academic reputation is so much nicer than Rutgers, and that although it won’t be free, it certainly won’t be as expensive as Cornell.</p>

<p>Can you explain the dorms available to me more? I’m a massive clean freak and one of my greatest fears of college life is the general dirtiness compared to my home, where I have my own room and bathroom. How big are the dorms, generally? Are they cleaned by staff everyday, or are students expected to maintain their own bathrooms? Is it possible to get a private bathroom? I don’t think I want to isolate myself so far as to want a single, but having my own bathroom would be SO NICE. Since you mentioned Cobb Hall, do you think you can explain the types of rooms or living arrangements that are available in that particular building?</p>

<p>thanks so much for the feedback you’ve given me so far.</p>

4

<p>I am currently struggling with a college decision regarding UNC as well, but here is my first thought: why the hell would you take on $60k of debt for an education that is roughly comparable to cheaper alternatives? Especially if you intend to pursue advanced degrees and claim to be not-so-concerned with undergrad location due to the pursuing of advanced degrees. </p>

<p>I will be pursuing an advanced degree and am thus only considering the two schools that have given me full rides; I took a school off my list because it was a whopping couple thousand a year. </p>

<p>I say screw the debt. Even more so when I reread the apparent distaste you seem to have for Cornell. I won’t venture into the argument regarding the other two. I am not wise or experienced enough to help you there. </p>

<p>Read this thread:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-north-carolina-chapel-hill/1126338-unc-vs-berkeley-physics-124k-price-tag-difference.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-north-carolina-chapel-hill/1126338-unc-vs-berkeley-physics-124k-price-tag-difference.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

5

<p>^^ If you run a search, you’ll see many threads on housing. You have many options available to you (Honors Housing, LLC, Granville, being lucky, Dr.'s note, calling housing, or South Campus). Basically, this is my 5th year of living in dorms and the UNC dorms, from what I’ve seen, are basically your stand dorms. If you want cleaner than the national average, go for Cobb or a newer dorm. </p>

<p>I’m glad you’re considering all the aspects of UNC. I’d scratch Cornell off your list because $60k in debt would be crippling. Wait until UNC comes back with its FA offer (which sucks, sorry you haven’t gotten it sooner) because while UNC is fantastic, being debt free should be a huge factor in where you choose to attend. </p>

<p>I wouldn’t have the mindest that “UNC will only put me into $30k (say) instead of $60k.” Instead, I’d think “Do I really want to go $30k into debt to go to a school that’s marginally better than Rutgers? What will $30k worth of debt look like in terms of monthy payments? How will this limit my options after graduation?”</p>

<p>Also a note: Cobb is a slightly anti-social dorm and you’ll likely only have one honors class per semester. While the honors kids are there, I’ve found that so far, it doesn’t feel like we’re a cohesive group or anything like that.</p>

6

<p>I’d say you are overestimating UNC’s prestige and academic standing. In international terms, I’d say they’re comparable, with UNC having the edge in some areas and Rutgers in others. Rutgers is certainly better known. On the west coast, people probably haven’t heard of either.</p>

7

<p>

</p>

<p>Really?..keepit, from your other posts I believe you’re a very bright person but the level of naivete in that statement surprises me…really hope you were kidding…</p>

<p>…and honestly, very few American college students care about how their schools are viewed internationally…what matters most is what grad and professional schools as well as employers think…</p>

<p>I attended Rutgers College (then the all mens college within Rutger University, and most highly regarded) before transferring many years ago and one of my D’s best friends went there on an D-1 athletic scholarship five years ago. While doing an east coast college tour with my son about 8 years ago we stopped briefly in New Brunswick so I could re visit the school and see how things had changed.</p>

<p>When I was there even the in state kids didn’t think that highly of the school and wondered why I (as an OOSer) chose it. It’s not much different today…everyone wants to get out of NJ as fast as they can.</p>

<p>The schools are SO different that it’s hard to enumerate in a forum like this…New Brunswick was and is an unattractive quasi industrial town (not as bad as Newark) and has a long history of racial tension…the campus is huge and very spread out…the original “Old Main” /Douglas Ave campus is quaint with an almost Ivy feel and is the only part that even comes close to feeling like UNC…the rest looks like a Big Ten school…very spread out, widely mixed architectural styles etc…and being the State University of NJ, has numerous “campuses” within the overall campus in New Brunswick that cater to a far more broad mix of students (read lower performing) than UNC does.</p>

<p>nritya…PM me if you have an more specific questions</p>

8

<p>

</p>

<p>Thank you. I wasn’t kidding… exaggerating, maybe. I’ve met plenty of people on the west coast who haven’t known what ‘UNC’ stands for. Not so sure about Rutgers, I admit. But I hope you’d agree that Cornell is far better-known there (though not, perhaps, very well liked).</p>