UVA Echols vs UNC

College Search & Selection
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Really struggling with the wonderful dilemma of UVA Echols vs UNC for our senior who is OOS for both. He’s not sure what he wants to study- possibly interested policy, econ, stats? We visited both a year and a half ago and probably won’t be able to visit again and we didn’t cue in to super distinct vibes… he’s a down to earth, great kid- class president etc, he loves sports, is hoping for a great group of friends but likely won’t go Greek, will be looking to get involved with a great campus ministry, and he assumes grad school might be the next step, but he’s unsure and I’m sure a great job offer would be compelling! wondering if folks here might have insights?

Considerations:

*we are prepared to pay, but UNC is maybe $18 cheaper per year, which is not insignificant
*Echols is attractive, and he was disappointed by no honors at UNC

Wondering if anyone else is or has faced this tough match-up?

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Seems same price u take UVA.
At 18k discount UNC is a no-brainer, even if you got the money.

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The OOS difference in the two is significant while the job prospects are similar. Similar vibe to the schools in my opinion. Echols seems to be a more robust program. The interdisciplinary major of Echols may be appealing. From what I understand biggest benefit of Honors Carolina is priority registration. Echols freshman are required to live in the Echols dorm while that is not true at UNC.

4

I think the cost difference is significant, especially given the possibility of grad school. Both schools are excellent, and IMO there are some subtle differences in vibe between the two.

5

There are of course differences, and Echols is nice- but is it Porsche Cayman nice? b/c $18K/year adds up to a paid-for Porsche.

Fwiw, Policy route almost ends up with a Masters- and $75K will almost pay for an ok one (or ~3/4 of a big name one).

6

Very exciting options in my view.

UNC has a higher percentage of in-state students than does Virginia.

How much does your son value Echols Scholar status versus non-honors status at UNC ?

Might be helpful to get current figures on percentage of students at each school who are members in the Greek houses.

If I could redo college, I would love to have these options.

P.S. Any cross-registration privileges at UNC with NC State or Duke ?

If yes, is that of any interest ?

7

Yes, cross registration between Duke and UNC is permitted. Some majors also have joint classes with NC State.

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8

UVA Echols

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Echols requires living in the dorm? Didn’t 20 years ago…

10

You are right. It was required when I was there. Now it is strongly encouraged per the website.

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11

S18 was offered UVA Echols and really liked the idea of no core classes. Coming in with a bunch of APs would have made graduating in three years quite straightforward. So that might be a consideration to offset the higher cost. It was definitely his top choice on the east coast, though in the end our CA flagships won out.

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12

I would go with Chapel Hill. UVA has been falling in the rankings while UNC has been rising. Also UNC has a lower admissions rate than UVA and is much harder to get into.

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The comparison between both schools is splitting hairs but as someone who holds degrees from both schools, I’ve always felt UVa is slightly stronger academically across the board. There are exceptions for each department but UNC benefits from a mystique that’s created by the difficulty in getting in OOS.
The disparity is due to each state’s mandate with regard to the percentage of OOS students they are is allowed to have. UNC is limited to 18% whereas UVa is 33%. This artificially inflates (or deflates depending upon how you look at it) the OOS acceptance numbers.
Also keep in mind 82% of UNC students are from schools in NC which is not known for the strength of its public school system. I know my children went to public school in NC (through 5th grade before private school.)
As a matter of fact my daughter got into UNC in-state and UVa out of state and she’s at UVa.

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14

I agree that the difference is like splitting hairs- you are going to get strong students at both schools. The main difference, at least to me, is the vibe on each campus. Both schools are excellent and you have two wonderful choices.

If grad school is in the picture you might want to save the money.

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