<p>I went through six public NC schools in my K-12 education, one of them practically a breeding ground for future UNC students. I absolutely, never ever ever wanted to go to college with people from high school, especially a “big” school like Carolina, and I fought it till after CTOPS. As it is, there’s 7 of us from my high school living in my building alone, including the girls in the suite next door. And you know what? It’s awesome. I’ve kept up contact with a few, but honestly, UNC is as large or as small as you want it to be. And as far as OOS goes, this is the friendliest place I’ve ever been. I’ve never heard of it being an issue for anyone once they got here.</p>
<p>Thank you all for your input! It definitely sounds like it will be a very welcoming community 
I guess now my decision (financial aid aside) boils down to if I can really go to school so far away from my hometown! Is there anyone who lived far away from North Carolina who can talk about their experience? How often you went home, did you get home-sick, etc. I know it’s different for every person, I’m just looking to hear how it worked out for others. I’m sorry for all of my questions!</p>
<p>I can’t speak from personal experience but you sure won’t be alone. While UNC students are mostly from NC. Lots of students from nearby Duke, Elon, and Wake, commute home to the Northeast regularly.</p>
<p>I’m from Alabama. My situation may be a little different, because I was looking forward to being out of Bama, but I’ve still gone home pretty opting. I just went home for the major breaks, Fall, Thanksgiving, Winter, and Spring both years so far, but this year it has been more to appease my parents than anything else. I never had a problem with homesickness, but again, that’s just me.</p>
<p>One thing that you will find is that UNC becomes your home really quickly. Even graduates find as many excuses as possible to come back and visit, both right after graduation and 20 years down the road.</p>
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<p>This is very true. My S graduated in May 2008. He and a large number of his friends stayed in Chapel Hill as long as they could after graduating; in his case until the third week of July and he has been back three times since graduation with one more trip planned for May.</p>
<p>rlee</p>
<p>As packerfan said, you quickly begin to feel that Chapel Hill is home. After a while many people only head home for the major breaks not because they can’t but more because they don’’ want to leave CH. I know this sounds odd but you have to trust that what I am saying is true.</p>
<p>There are plenty of people at UNC traveling an even greater distance to go to school at UNC. We’re from Texas. Among my son’s OOS friends were kids from Seattle, Omaha, both Northern and Southern California, New Jersey, several places in New England,other Texans and even from the UK and Ireland. You won’t be alone being far from home and you will soon love your new home in Chapel Hill.</p>
<p>If the finances work out, don’t be afraid of the distance. Your undergrad experience at UNC will far surpass what it would be at either of the two schools you mentioned and your degree will be worth more in the outside world.</p>
<p>eadad: I have been a big fan of yours and your Carolina posts for more than a year now, but I feel compelled to ask a question. How much do you think your son’s incredible OOS social and academic experience at Carolina had to do him being a Morehead Scholar? From what I understand the academic opportunities and social network of Moreheads is hard to match. Were your son’s closest friends other Moreheads? Were his classes mostly honors classes? Did he have other opportunities at UNC that non-Morehead, non-Honors students aren’t apt to experience? I’m trying to get a sense for how a primarily non-honors academic experience at Carolina compares to a typical academic experience at, say, Wake or Colgate. What do you think?</p>
<p>smbsmom</p>
<p>What you need to understand is that most people on campus are not even aware of who the Moreheads actually are. The kids don’t advertise the fact that they are indeed Moreheads and unlike the Robertsons, they are not individually profiled with pictures on a website or have tee shirts proclaiming their status. They only have two or three organized activities all year (depending on the class year) and other than that go about their daily routines on their own.</p>
<p>Many of my son’s close friends were not aware that he was a Morehead for several years and this is more the norm than unusual.</p>
<p>The Morehead impacted his summers more than his day-to-day activities at UNC. I would say that early freshman year his initial friends were Moreheads that he had met at Finalist weekend and obviously he had a number of fellow Moreheads within his circle of friends through the years. That said though, the majority of his closest friends and his roommates all four years were not Moreheads. </p>
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<p>This is felt more AFTER graduation or during one of the experiential learning summers than during the school year.</p>
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<p>Other than having a Morehead advisor, and the obvious built in support system that comes from the Foundation, he had no day-to-day advantages that any other student might have. To be perfectly honest with you, I don’t think he availed himself of whatever the Foundation may have offered as much as he could have. He was double majoring and taking a minor while fulfilling pre-med requirements. He played various intramurals on a coed team that formed freshman year and stayed together through their four years, he and a few friends founded a campus publication and he played lead guitar in two different bands; one freshman and part of sophomore year and the other for the last two years. He was very busy most of the time. </p>
<p>He was in Honors but entering with 43 AP credits had him taking upper division classes as early as second semester freshman year which made taking a lot of honors classes a bit more challenging. He took honors classes when he could but they were certainly not mostly honors classes. He was able to develop close relationships with several professors and one in fact asked him to be a TA for one of his most popular classes.</p>
<p>I have gotten to know many of his non Morehead, friends very well both while visitng Chapel Hill and through their visiting him in Dallas. Other than him having the paid summer experiences, their time at UNC really appeared to parallel his. Several did semesters or summers abroad, all were active in something from the Campus Y to publications to student government to intramurals to music to any number of other things. Everyone seemed to find their own niche. Many worked part time jobs as waiters, waitresses or bartenders some because they had to and others because they wanted to. Many also volunteered as tutors for local HS students or working at the Carolina hospitals or working with the homeless. Carolina students are known for their volunteerism which is another way that friendships are made. As I (and others) have said before, UNC can be whatever one wants it to be. It can be large and impersonal if you try to make it that way or it can be small and inclusive if that is what you want. Either way, the fact that it IS a major research school offers many more possibilities and opportunities than you might find elsewhere. Most schools don’t offer you that choice of experience.</p>
<p>I can’t speak for Wake but I do have friends with kids who went to Colgate and I can say that you might not find two more different schools or student bodies. From what I have been told, Colgate is VERY preppy and the kids have more of sense of entitlement and tend to be a lot more cliquish than at UNC. This came from a long time friend who lives in Fairfax County VA so I found it a very interesting observation to say the least! She has one D who went to UNC and another D who started at Colgate but transferred to UVA after her sophomore year.</p>
<p>I hope this helps to answer your questions. Please PM me if you have a more specific question.</p>
<p>Thanks, eadad. I knew I could count on you for good answers to these (somewhat rhetorical) questions. I hope they assure others as they have assured me. Just heard today that the Blue vs White spring football game, which will be played in Kenan Stadium and televised live on ESPN, will take place Saturday afternoon April 10th, the day after an Explore Carolina Admitted Student day on April 9th and two days before one on the 12th. With a ton of planned fanfare, it sounds like it will be a great event that could win over an undecided or two! My OOS son and I will be there!!</p>
<p>I’m jealous…wish I could be there…make sure you wear Carolina Blue…</p>
<p>SMBSMOM: Thanks for asking that question.</p>
<p>EADAD: I would echo smbsmom in that I appreciate your thoughtful responses to all questions and have learned much from your conversations/comments. We are leaning toward UNC from OOS and time after time you have validated our thoughts and or put our concerns into perspective. So glad your son is having such a great experience and congrats on being a Morehead!</p>
<p>There…my first post!</p>
<p>sejafan and smbsmom</p>
<p>You are both welcome. Just to clarify though, I’m now an alumni dad…S was a Morehead and graduated from UNC in 2008 and is now a second year Med student. </p>
<p>I try hard to bring a voice of calm and reason to these boards…they can get a bit hysterical at times, especially after admissions decisions come out and the vitriol starts flying. Also many comments and much editorializing is being done by HS students who have little to no first hand experience at UNC. Thankfully we have a few current UNC students like cloying, anne and packerfan (to name just three) who drop by to state the facts and help me dismiss some of the nonsense that is often spread here. Anonymous boards are just that…and unfortunately it can often be hard to separate truth from fiction. My anonymity was lost several years ago when a few posters figured out who I was from some comments that I made so I have an even greater need for transparency in my posts. </p>
<p>Hopefully this year after April 1 we won’t have a number of disappointed students slinging mud and making up lies about UNC. I am still waiting for the annual in state vs OOS discussion…every year someone tries hard to make it sound like being OOS at UNC is something bad…which is an out and out lie…once on campus no one knows and even fewer care…they are all Tar Heels…and they all love their time in what they call either Chapel Thrill or Blue Heaven interchangeably.</p>
<p>I am happy to answer any specific questions or concerns via PM…please don’t hesitate to contact me.</p>
<p>My thanks to eadad too—2 years ago, I was in the same position as some of those wondering about how my daughter would fit in being out of state. I recall your postings were very helpful and reasonable. Now, as my daughter completes her second year, I can personally attest to the fact that out of state doesn’t matter once they hit CTOPS. My daughter met friends right away during that short time and has continued to enjoy a full social life at UNC. In talking to other parents, I have found that this is their experience too. It is a school of bright, highly motivated students who also love to have fun and who give back to the community. My daughter has thorougly loved her time at UNC.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for your responses! It’s given me a lot to think about, but mostly it confirms that Carolina is indeed my top choice
Can’t wait to get financial aid info!</p>
<p>Heyyy. I just made the decision to decline UNC today actually. I will be attending George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia next year. My decision came down to combination of money and the fact that I will be able to compete for GMU’s speech team. I didn’t advance to semi-final status with the Robertson. Although I am an instate student, my EFC from the FAFSA was not pretty and GMU offered me a great merit scholarship. While it’s not ranked as high as UNC, I felt the benefits outweighed prestige. I’d be getting to do something I loved- speech, I had a great merit scholarship, and I have the opportunity of being in their honors college which provides me with great resources and connection with faculty. This is something I think is really important when making the big decision. Is it better to go to a “big name” school where you’re just a number, or a place when they’ve made it clear that they want you and will make it worth your while by providing scholarships? For me, it was an easy decision. Not knocking on Carolina whatsoever, it’s a fantastic place to be. Most of my family have attended.</p>
<p>Hey lazydazy —</p>
<p>That is totally okay! And don’t ever feel like financial reasons make your decision any less meaningful. That stuff matters.</p>
<p>With that said, I always advise people to wait till until NECESSARY to matriculate, just in case if any crazy awards or anything get thrown your way. I’m not saying all the sudden you’ll wake up and be dying to go to Carolina at all, but you know what I’m saying?</p>
<p>Anyway, good luck to you!</p>
<p>rl517 - my son is a sophomore at UNC. As my name implies - we are from New Jersey. He has experienced absolutely no problems being an out of stater. He did not receive any merit aid from UNC but was offered $12,000 a year plus the Honors Program at UDelaware. He chose UNC - and did not even consider the Delaware offer. In fact, UNC was the only school to not offer him money! He is very happy at UNC. However, you do have to consider the financial implications of your choice.</p>
<p>My friend’s D is declining Carolina for NCSU. No scholarships from either one. Just feels State is a better fit for her.</p>
<p>I’m deciding between UNC and NC State. I really am 100% committed to one one day, then it flips the other way the next day. I wish someone would just pick for me. :D</p>
<p>Beta_Fist</p>
<p>They are VERY different schools with VERY different personalities. UNC carries much more national prestige and has stronger programs in both business, and liberal arts studies and is overall a more liberal environment whereas NCSU has more of a regional reputation, is more conservative and is a better choice for those interested in engineering etc. UNC is a tougher admit for both in state and OOS students.</p>
<p>In my part of the world NCSU when compared to UNC is like Texas A&M to the University of Texas. The comparisons are amazingly similar as far as comparing academic strength, national reputation, type of student body and even the college towns.</p>
<p>Have you visited both on a day when classes are in session?</p>
<p>Beta_Fist</p>
<p>I tried to send you a response to your PM and I had computer problems while doing it. Did you get it?</p>