<p>I have been accepted by both UT-Austin and UNC-Chapel Hill and I will probably go to either one of them. Problem is, I can't decide and it's driving me crazy (ya I know I still have time to decide but I want to know now lol).</p>
<p>So basically I'm going to go on a rant about my feelings on both schools and I just want people's opinions on them and basically which they favor. So...</p>
<p>Both schools are very similar in that they are a great balance of academics, sports, and social life. Chapel Hill and Austin are superb college towns and I know I would enjoy my time at either one. But...(here comes the differences/cons)
As a native Texan (lived in the Houston area my entire life), I kind of want to get out of Texas. I feel like if I went to UT, I would probably stay in state for medical school (I plan on majoring in bio and going to med school) and end up staying in Texas for quite a while. Whereas, UNC is oos and I think I'd like the new environment. However, I feel like if I went to UNC, I'd be leaving basically my entire life behind (that's how it feels) and I wouldn't have that safe/close to home feeling, which really scares me. I'd be a lot farther than the three hour drive to UT.
Also, UT's campus is very city-like; you can't really tell when you're on campus or not, and I definitely favor UNC's more suburban campus feel. UT's huge student size (and not too huge campus size) bothers me too. UNC is about half of UT's size at about 17,000 undergrads, which I definitely prefer.
But the majority of students at UNC are in-state (82%) and I feel like people would already have some groups formed from just old high school friends. Being out of state, I don't know how much of an outsider I would feel like. At UT though, it's the same but opposite case. I am in-state so I wouldn't have that outsider feel.
Money-wise both are public schools so it wouldn't be too bad. UNC tuition is like 25k and UT's is like 8k but I think UNC has much better financial aid than texas (which is super crappy).
So I'm at a standstill and just don't know which to favor. Obviously, both are great schools and have their own pros and cons, but I can't make up my mind.
Sooooo, basically please just tell me your opinion of which school I should go to. Thanks! :)</p>
<p>Oh, I'm also curious about greek life at both schools (I plan on joining a sorority) and how hot the guys are (don't mean to be shallow or vain, just curious).</p>
<p>I would recomend UT-Austin just for the savings of $68,000 over four years. On top of that UT will afford you many of the same opportunites as UNC-CH when it comes time to apply to med-school. Most guys at UT are in fairly good shape and there is a strong culture of fitness in Austin (Just go to Town Lake on any warm day).</p>
<p>Assuming UT remains $17,000/year cheaper than UNC, I say go to UT, save yourself $65,000 and don’t look back. Should UNC give you and generous package, then I say go for UNC since you want to experience a different part of the country.</p>
<p>well the thing about money is that with all of UT’s expenses, it comes to about 25k (I don’t know about UNC), but my efc from the fafsa is 25k. So really, they are pretty equal financially for me because of this and because UNC’s aid is much much better than texas’s, which has super crappy aid. So really, the difference between the two schools might be like 2kish a year…</p>
<p>I’m a believer in getting out of your comfort zone and experiencing life in another part of the country. Most Texans love it so much that they will be back but how often are you going to try a different culture than Texas when you get older? You simply will not since you will be on track to getting settled in life and starting a family. If finances are an issue than that would be a dealbreaker but it sounds like you favor going out of state.</p>
<p>UNC does NOT just use the FAFSA EFC. It uses the CSS/Profile as well which takes assets into account. You need to try a calculator that uses the institutional methodology to get an idea of your UNC costs.</p>
<p>I am also a proponent of taking the opportunity to experience a different part of the country. I love Austin and if we still lived in Texas I would have insisted that my kids apply to UT as their safety just as I did with UNC (in fact, UT would have been a better match for my ballet dancing physics major than UNC), but they both have gone on to schools further away. I would not be concerned about being locked out of cliques at UNC. Both of my kids have many friends that went there and their social circles are primarily outside of old friends from HS.</p>
<p>If the money works out, go to UNC. I agree with you about the UT campus (and I DO love Austin). I suspect you will be back for med school, since there are great med school options in TX and you will save money if you go in-state for med school. Spread your wings now, but NOT if it is going to cost $65K to do so.</p>
<p>Don’t know if it matters that much to you but since you did ask about guys at UNC you should know that UNC is heavily female. It’s 68% female/32% male. There is a thread on the UNC forum about dating at UNC that you might want to read.</p>
<p>Sorry PackMom, but I think your stats are a little off. I know there’s a higher percentage of females, but according to the princeton review, its 58% female/42% male. I wonder if you can really tell the ratio difference on campus though…</p>
<p>I applied early action so no, I don’t know my financial aid yet. Actually, I had auto-admit for UT (top 8% rule) and I don’t know my financial stuff from there either. I think I will hear back from both schools around mid-March though.</p>
<p>I’ve lived both in Texas and North Carolina. I have to say that UT has a much stronger alumni base and a more collegiate feel than UNC. Nationally, UT also has better reputation. Also, I feel like UNC have an inferiority complex because they are so close to Duke. Whereas UT dominates the Southwest region. The employment opportunities are much better coming out of UT.</p>