<p>I was just wondering who had decided to decline their acceptance for another school. I am trying to decide between UNC and another school, but I love UNC so much. What school did you decline UNC for and why?</p>
<p>well idk yet but I WOULD decline for Wake Forest (if i get) in b/c i enjoy the smaller school size and for the professors to be more personable to you than you would at a big state university with teacher’s aids and lecture halls. thats basically the only reason why i’d pick Wake Forest over UNC. cost could be an issue but both schools meet 100% of need so idk haha</p>
<p>For me, it’s a question of merit aid: I have substantial merit aid offers, and I quite literally cannot afford to go to UNC with no aid vs. somewhere like Pitt which may be slightly lower ranked, but which I will be paying approximately $25 less per year to attend. It’s sort of like an equation, to my eyes. There’s a certain “prestige factor” and also “price factor,” and you have to take both into account in varying weights and degrees to fully realize all the pros and cons associated with your choices</p>
<p>UNC is a great university in almost every way - except it is huge. I know quite a few students who have not applied for or seriously considered UNC because of its size. Many qualified students from NC choose Davidson, Elon, or Wake over UNC in order to get a great undergraduate education and then choose UNC or another university for graduate school.</p>
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<p>That’s a BAD misconception.</p>
<p>Penn State, Ohio State, The University of Texas and University of Wisconsin are huge. UNC is a mid sized state university (like UVA) that (other than campus size) actually feels a lot smaller and more personal once you get there. Ask the current students…it’s surprising how “small” it can feel once you are there. I’m not saying it’s like Elon but on the other hand it isn’t Ohio State either.</p>
<p>My daughter is in just about the same situation as flying<em>phoenix. She has several acceptances already in. At least a couple of them are from schools with relatively generous merit aid offers, (also) including U. Pittsburgh. As f</em>p mentioned it’s going to come down to weighing whether the added prestige, name recognition, and idyllic setting is worth paying the full OOS freight.</p>
<p>^^^ Me too. i’m also considering UPitt, but I like UNC alot more</p>
<p>I have to agree with eadad. 15,000 sounds like a lot, but that’s nothing compared to some of the massive state schools. And once you’re here, the only time you feel like another number is when you make the choice to be one. Within 5 minutes of leaving a building, often times I will run into at least two or three of my friends. And I’m not exactly the most social person in the world.</p>
<p>I was in the same boat as a lot of you a couple of years ago, with acceptance but no financial aid. I could have gone to other schools for free, but I can’t imagine myself anywhere else now. Every decision differs from individual to individual, based on financial situations and personal desires in a college. However, I do not want any potential students to give up on UNC because it is “too big”.</p>
<p>Since I am a UNC student, I didn’t pass it up, but getting to know my friends here, I’m constantly amazed hearing which schools they chose to not attend. Stanford, Yale, Harvard, Dartmouth, Tufts, Vanderbilt, Emory, UCLA, and UC-Berkeley just to name a few.</p>
<p>Yeah, third’d on the issue of size. Honestly I get pretty annoyed when people say UNC is huge. It’s big enough to where I meet new people in my graduating class every day but I have never ever ever ever had problems making friends, getting close with professors, getting into classes, etc. Also I think people don’t realize that TAs have to compete hardcore to actually get to teach classes and because they’re grad students they’re in the thick of recent research…</p>
<p>This was just a response to that comment - if people turn down UNC for whatever personal reason that’s a-ok.</p>
<p>I got into UNC but I will decline in favor of NC State</p>
<p>One great thing about UNC is that because it is the top public university in NC and crazy (Ivy League) hard to get into OOS, both current students and alumni will defend it as “the perfect school” forever. To even suggest that a thoughtful and well qualified student might make a different choice based on personal preference and solid reasoning awakens the “we are perfect, and who said otherwise” sleeping legions of UNC supporters. </p>
<p>I will not poke the Dragon anymore but I stand by my earlier comments.</p>
<p>PS: For those of you not privileged to be from NC let me explain that the entire state is always dressed in UNC, State, or Duke colors at all times. Sports are big in the old north state and traditionally it was the large university’s who provided the best teams to watch. You are just as likely to find a 50 year old high school dropout sporting a UNC t-shirt as a current student, and they will defend the school as perfect in every way just as strongly (except maybe this years basketball team). When you are born here, you are delivered into a Wolfpack (NC State), Blue Devil (Duke), or Tar Heel (UNC) family and thats it… forever… — GO TAR HEELS!!!</p>
<p>^ I like NC mentors PS. Having been born into a Duke family, it is an odd prospect to be attending UNC , but I do know some friends (who were also born Dukies) that refused to apply to Carolina just because they were Duke fans. </p>
<p>My reason for not applying to my local UNC system university was “Mom, when you go to a school, and over half of the campus is sporting Carolina, State, or Duke atire, that should tell you something…” not the best reasoning I know, but I do think that school spirit should be taken into consideration when determing which college is the right fit for you.</p>
<p>My daughter will decline UNC, along with many others including my husband’s and my school, UF, in favor of Auburn. Auburn’s scholarship offerings so far equate to a full ride and she loves the school. UNC is a great school with a lot of opportunities. She was honored to be accepted, but a free undergraduate education, in our minds, is far more valuable.</p>
<p>Since I haven’t heard about financial aid from anyone, I’m not yet sure if I’m declining, but if I do it will be for either University of Delaware (I actually haven’t heard back from yet, but I think I’ll get in!) or Springfield College for financial reasons. My dad teaches at Mount Holyoke, which is part of tuition exchange along with UDel and Springfield, so I would be able to attend for a very reduced (or free) tuition price, in addition to a substantial scholarship from Springfield. I didn’t get any scholarship money from UNC, and they’re not on tuition exchange.</p>
<p>I know Delaware isn’t as good as UNC, and on paper Springfield is probably five or six “tiers” below UNC, but it’s great in exercise science, athletic training, sports medicine, etc., which are my interests.</p>
<p>I also have some concerns about UNC’s location. I live in MA, so I probably wouldn’t be able to come home very often. I’m pretty adventurous, but then sometimes I wonder if I could really be away from my friends and family for so long. On the other hand, this is the time to be exploring and finding myself, and I absolutely LOVE the campus, the town, and the “feel” of the school. </p>
<p>Also, could someone address the in-state/out-of-state situation? How much of a divide is there? I guess I’m just worried that 80%+ of the students will all know each other and I won’t know anyone! I know it’s not really like that, but there must be some high school groups that just stay together.</p>
<p>I’m sorry this got a little rambling; it’s just all so confusing! UNC has been my top choice since my freshman year, but now as May 1 gets closer and closer I don’t know what to do anymore!</p>
<p>^ UNC meets 100% of all demonstrated financial need (cost of attendance-EFC).</p>
<p>true, but my family’s in that in-between place where we’re better off than some, but certainly not able to pay full tuition. I guess I’ll just be keeping my fingers crossed!</p>
<p>“”“UNC meets 100% of all demonstrated financial need (cost of attendance-EFC)”“”.</p>
<p>That may be true, but the way EFC is computed leaves perhaps a majority of otherwise eligible students unable to afford even a “meets 100% of need” school. Many middle class students would be much better off attending a school that offers scholarship aid. Never confuse EFC with affordable. </p>
<p>As far as Northern Students attending UNC… From everything I have seen you will be welcomed. NC Students selected to attend are top students and know that the competition for OOS students to attend UNC is crazy. So everyone is a top student and you will have that in common to begin with. You may also be surprised to know how many UNC students are the S and D of “Northerners” who moved south over the last 20 years, but to the best of my knowledge no one keeps track of such things.</p>
<p>Being OOS is not a big deal at all. Where you’re from definitely is not what defines you as an individual or as a student at UNC. Half the time my friends forget that I’m OOS, and I have a hard time remembering which of my friends are IS and which are OOS.</p>
<p>Also, although there are some people that are IS that want UNC to be a continuation of high school, I would definitely say that there are a lot more who want a fresh start.</p>
<p>that is my concern, literally over 100 kids were accepted from my high school, and I really don’t want to go to school with the same friends i went to HS with, even though they are great-I want to meet new and different people. i am still deciding between about 6 schools.</p>
<p>My daughter is a junior at UNC and she doesn’t keep in touch with her high school friends at UNC. If she sees them on campus she will talk with them, but most of her friends her from other parts of NC and OOS. You will not be labeled OOS at UNC. When she mentions someone as being out of state, she makes the comment that they must be really smart to have been admitted to UNC, which is true. It’s a good thing to go to UNC from OOS.</p>