<p>Chapel Hill has always been my dream school, but now I'm becoming more and more skeptical. Coming from the liberal Bay Area in California, will I be isolated in a school 80% of people from North Carolina? People keep telling me that it's not as great as I think it is... Thoughts and opinions appreciated.</p>
<p>It's a very good school (as good as UCLA, UVA or UMich and almost as good as Cal) but very tough out of state - that's why it's so heavily in state, they have a strict cap on oos admissions even though they get quite a few.</p>
<p>Do you think I would enjoy a northeastern school more than going to the south? I'm looking at Boston College (which is Catholic, but I don't know how prominent that is daily student life), but I really like UVA and UNC, which are in the south. How does UMich fall in terms of democrats/liberals/nonreligious views?</p>
<p>Actually, I would say that UNC is probably around 70% liberal. Its a great school, I know lots of out-of-staters here and they all fit in fine.</p>
<p>Also, the location is great. Right in the triangle, tons of stuff to do, great rivals only minutes away, and lots of jobs here for graduates.</p>
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Chapel Hill has always been my dream school, but now I'm becoming more and more skeptical. Coming from the liberal Bay Area in California, will I be isolated in a school 80% of people from North Carolina? People keep telling me that it's not as great as I think it is... Thoughts and opinions appreciated.
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<p>Why has UNC always been your dream school? Because of its basketball team? You should ask yourself specific reasons why UNC appeals to you, as this is the next four years of your life that you are dealing with, and you should know exactly why you are applying to so-and-so school.</p>
<p>OK, so you're from the Bay Area, and people have been telling you it's not so great--these are Californian opinions of an East Coast school, I really think you should take them with a grain of salt. They probably think the world of the UC schools, namely Cal and UCLA, which makes complete sense as they're from CA. Speaking of which, why aren't you considering applying to Cal or UCLA? They offer outstanding education for in-state students at a great in-state price.</p>
<p>UNC is a public school, and has an 82% quota for in-state students, so it comes as no surprise that NC residents dominate the student body at UNC. That being said, that doesn't make your experience there any lesser if you aren't from UNC. College is what you make of it. One person's experience, anecdotes, or stories do not define another's. </p>
<p>UNC is extremely tough to get into out of state, more so than UVA. </p>
<p>Unless you would get a scholarship or significant financial aid, I really wouldn't advise going to a public state school out of state, simply because 1) the UC's are some of the best public schools in the country, and 2) the tuition for out of state students is nearly the same as private school tuition--which, unless money is no big deal to you, is a very important factor, especially in this depressing economy and in light of grad school (if you plan to do that in the future).</p>
<p>No one can tell you where you would enjoy better, but of course you should explore your college options and not rule them out because of any poster's personal opinion or experience. Is there any particular reason why you wish to travel across the country to go to college? Have you looked at UC's or colleges closer to home? Just asking.</p>
<p>UVA and UNC are pretty preppy, and I suspect BC as well. Michigan is liberal-leaning, but I hope that you are considering other factors besides those. Do you simply want to apply to state schools or something?</p>
<p>The appeal of UNC is more than it being a D-I school. I like the quality newspaper and business school, location, seasons, academics, social aspects, school spirit... it's just a great school.</p>
<p>I'm not considering any of the UCs because I want to go to school outside of California. It's great education at a great price, but I want to live in another part of the country and see what it's like.</p>
<p>I'm considering a lot more than just if it's liberal, but I don't want to attend a heavily Republican/religious school. I don't plan on attending any schools in California, I'm applying to public and private schools in other parts of the country. At the moment, my favorites besides the ones I mentioned are PSU, George Washington U, and Northwestern.</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your input! It's really helping me.</p>
<p>the fact that UNC is in the south is unappealing to me.</p>
<p>What is it about the south that you find not appealing? Weather? Culture? The fact that you'll be surrounded by oh-so-delicious food?</p>
<p>Seriously though, a lot of people who are not from the south have some preconceived notions about the region, but the folks who post here who are from UNC might be able to assuage those concerns.</p>
<p>And joewii, good for you for keeping an open mind. UNC definitely has a fair share of conservatives, but Chapel Hill is an incredibly liberal town. Furthermore, due to the prominence of Research Triangle Park, the surrounding area has SO many transplants from the Northeast and the West Coast.... I was born and raised in North Carolina, but the vast majority of my friends, while in-state students, were born somewhere else. Even among my friends who were born here (and this was especially the case in middle and high school, located in a more urban area), I am almost alone in that both of my parents were born here as well. </p>
<p>There is a world of difference between 82% of the student body being considered state residents and 82% of the student body being provincial country folk who know nothing of the world but the county in which they were raised.</p>
<p>Here was the scene in Chapel Hill on election night, circa 11 pm:
YouTube</a> - Franklin Street 2008 Election Celebration</p>
<p>Hope this answers your question about the political leanings of UNC.</p>
<p>I posted this in another thread but it gives you some idea about Chapel Hill and UNC in general:</p>
<p>Jesse Helms, in perhaps his most famous quote regarding a discussion about raising money for a North Carolina State Zoo, once said: "Why build a zoo when we can just put up a fence around Chapel Hill?"</p>
<p>UNC while geographically in the south, it is not really a "southern" school when compared to the "true" southern schools like South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss, Tennessee etc. UNC is far more liberal, more diverse and more tolerant. Chapel Hill has the highest concentration of Ph.Ds in the nation on a per capita basis and the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area annually ranks as either number one or two on the " most educated populations" surveys done by the nations Realtors.</p>
<p>The town of Chapel Hill exists today BECAUSE of the university and when on Franklin St it is hard to differentiate where one begins and the other ends. The weather is great most of the year, the student body is active and engaged, school spirit is rabid and contagious and you get a great education at a very good price even if you are there without merit aid.</p>
<p>I've told anyone who asks me that the worst thing about having a child attend UNC is that they may never want to come home....seriously. UNC and Chapel Hill are both places that one can easily fall in love with and never want to leave...it happens all the time and in fact the NY Times wrote an article about it in July.</p>
<p>Many North Carolinians especially in the Triangle are transplants from other parts of the country and when their children enroll at UNC as in state students, they often have spent much of their lives in places outside North Carolina and add to the diversity of the student body in ways that UNC's FAQs about diversity don't necessarily reflect.</p>
<p>As to U Michigan, while a great school, there is a huge difference in weather (obviously) and unless you like lots of cold, grey days, and being cold from October to May, the ability to be outside and ride a bike to class all year long is hard to beat. Michigan is significantly larger. Under grad freshman class alone is about 1/3 larger than that at UNC and overall the school itself is just under twice as large.</p>
<p>As a New Yorker (and we're pretty much as liberal as it gets) I can tell you that UNC is not overly Southern at all. There are a few little funny cultural things I've encountered, like someone complimenting me on my "tobaggan" today, which is apparently what Southerners call winter hats. And there's a few new foods like grits and fried okra, but it's not anything close to a culture shock.</p>
<p>I have a few friends here from Cali and they all like it. But then again, everyone I know here likes it soooo...</p>
<p>Yeah..I've said this many times, but practically everyone I know at Carolina loves it here because there's something UNC can offer everyone, no matter their interests. Also, a large majority of students are liberal, and many of them are from different states or haven't lived in NC their entire lives.</p>
<p>I'm originally from Pittsburgh but moved to NC with my family. I'm an in-state student & my entire family is populated with Jews and Socialists--definitely not your typical rich, white-bread southern family ;) I'm not the majority, but I'm just trying to underline that Carolina is far more diverse than schools you'd classify as more typically "southern," like UVA or USC. It really is the "university of the people."</p>
<p>Yeah, you'll meet your fair share of "Southern belles," but many of them come from moderate or liberal families and graduated at the tops of their high school classes. Embracing southern culture isn't akin to embracing conservatism or racism! Everyone at Chapel Hill is proud of their little piece of blue heaven, but that doesn't mean they're closed-minded.</p>
<p>One way I think people are mistaken when judging UNC is the idea that having a majority of students from NC makes Carolina a lesser school academically. In actuality, most of the NC students who are accepted to UNC were the cream of the crop at their high schools.</p>
<p>Also, if you are interested in journalism, you absolutely CANNOT go wrong at UNC. It arguably has the second-best J-school in the nation (second to Northwestern, which is not as economically attractive to most people) and probably the #1 student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel. Opportunities are positively boundless for journalism students here, and the advising system really will help you find internships and ultimately a job when you graduate. Having UNC-CH on your journalism resume will automatically move your application to the top of the stack for many employers. </p>
<p>If you or anyone else has any questions about journalism, feel free to PM me or post a topic!</p>
<p>Agree with everything leah said, except if UNC is the second best journalism school in the nation it is second to Syracuse, not Northwestern (arguably, once again). And yes, I have an SU bias.</p>
<p>Syracuse is more well known and more highly regarded for Broadcast Journalism than print.</p>
<p>I love UNC to death but I think it's incredibly silly for you to go to an OOS school and pay an obscene amount of money for an education--arguably better--you could get for about 1/4 the price.</p>
<p>If you have the kind of money where you're not going to graduate with tens of thousands in debt then go for it, I just think it's pretty silly to not even consider UCLA or UCB since you're in-state. </p>
<p>You have the rest of your life to see other parts of the world, I promise you that it is MUCH harder than you imagine to live 3000 miles away from your home and your family as well. </p>
<p>UNC is great but there is really not much here that you can't find in Cali.</p>
<p>true--if you're interested in broadcast, syracuse is the way to go!</p>
<p>when i was applying to schools, though, i found that syracuse wasn't very generous in terms of merit aid. i was awarded one of its best merit scholarships, but it barely covered half of the tuition, not to mention room & board. UNC has some great merit aid programs for both in-state and OOS students.</p>
<p>I plan on applying to the UCs, but I know so many people who go there, it'd be nice to go to a school far away and have a completely new start, as opposed to being one of the 15 people from my class who will end up at Berkeley or UCLA. The distance is difficult, but appealing at the same time.</p>
<p>Chapel Hill has beautiful seasons and is the definition of a college town. I worry about fitting in, since so many people will know each other (like a North Carolinan going to a UC), but it's a huge school and I'm probably overreacting. I love the school spirit and sense of unity the school gives off. I'm excited to tour this year.</p>
<p>So what if your classmates go to UCLA or whatever. There are dozens of kids I went to high school with who go to UNC now and I have seen maybe one of them since I've been here, and that was only in passing. </p>
<p>I don't think you realize how different college is from HS, it's not like everyone knows one another at big public schools. I think you really need to sit down and reevaluate your reasoning for why you want to go to school at UNC or anywhere else. Do you really think the school spirit here is any different than that of UCLA or UCB? I promise you its not. </p>
<p>Dude, seriously sit down and think about this. I'm a UNC student trying to convince you to not to come here for the reasons you've listed, it's not like I have a vested interest in keeping you from coming to my school, I just don't want you to end up disillusioned with your naive ideas about college life like a lot of people.</p>
<p>jwlstn,</p>
<p>With all due respect, the reasons he's listed are good enough for now. He likes the school, thinks he will find the distance from home appealing, and doesn't want to go where everyone else from his school does. Those are all perfectly valid reasons for coming. I know a few Californians here who could have gone to UCs but absolutely love it here. Why don't you just let him tour and make his own decision?</p>
<p>Thank you Cuse0507 for standing up for me and my reasons.</p>