<p>I really don't understand why you would even apply to UNC out of state... Do you not realize that most of the students at UNC will be significantly less qualified than yourselves? It's not even that much less money. Explain it to me.</p>
<p>it is actually a lot less money, esp. if i get scholarships (not trying to be arrogant, but i'm hoping i'll get at least something)</p>
<p>it's as close as i can get to the top-top tier while still being able to afford it</p>
<p>As an out-of-state student at UNC who turned down acceptances at Harvard, Yale, Duke, and others, I'll try to explain, given that my experience at UNC has been amazing, and I am even more convinced now that I made the right choice.</p>
<p>First, there are plenty of extremly well-qualified students at UNC who are far more intelligent, accomplished, passionate, and driven than I am. Granted, there are a lot of UNC students who you might not find at an elite private school, due to state laws regarding admissions policy, but I have found that this does not really affect (and may even improve) my experience. </p>
<p>Here's why: Every year at UNC, hundreds of students are attracted away from elite private schools by offers of scholarships and cheaper tuition. So there is a large number of people who are just as "qualified" as those who attend Harvard, Stanford, Brown, etc. This group is large enough for me to find people with common interests, talents, etc., and so I'm really not missing out on anything. And even so, to assume that the rest of the people at UNC, who are not out-of-state or on scholarship, are not "qualified" or interesting or intelligent, regardless of where they are from or where they were accepted to college, is condescending and uninformed. Besides this, I find people who are less concerned with status and prestige much more pleasant to spend time with. If you look at the discussion boards for the elite private schools, you will notice so much angst about which school is better than which and which has more prestige and all this nonsense which really doesn't matter in the end. UNC students don't really concern themselves too much with these things, and I think this helps contribute to a happy, friendly, laid-back group of peers. </p>
<p>Second, the cost is significant for a lot of people, especially for those who receive merit scholarships. For me, I couldn't justify spending $43,000 a year to go to an elite private school when I had an offer at UNC that was significantly cheaper. Many of my friends were in the same situation. I have never understood what value is added by going to an Ivy League school over a school like UNC. Even if there is some, I can't see it totaling thousands of dollars. The argument that people who were accepted to the Ivy League but chose a lower-ranked school earn less money has been systematically disproven by several studies, and I can't figure out what part of the college experience I am actually missing by forgoing one of those schools. Maybe it's the fact that Yale has 16 a cappella groups and UNC only has 9, but I feel like at some point there are diminishing returns to things like that. The same goes for number of students with high SAT scores. </p>
<p>All in all, the college experience is so much more than can be explained by a US News Ranking. And within the "top" 30-40 schools, I believe you will find a very similar experience on the whole. Within those, you should focus on finding a school that won't put you in too much debt, that has programs that you are interested in academically, and that fits your individual personality, since different campuses have very different feels to them. For me, UNC was the optimal choice and I continue to be very happy here. I wish you luck in finding the best choice for you.</p>
<p>COtarheel: Well said.</p>
<p>UNC is ranked #1 overall for Biology/Pre-Med Undergraduates.
And also the obvious reason of UNC basketball.</p>
<p>I think that it would be a serious misjudgment to conclude that in-state students at UNC are not very smart. Many extremely competent students who live in NC choose to go to UNC. It's not an easy admit for anyone!</p>
<p>dsm1232,
I am glad to hear that UNC is ranked #1 overall for Biology/Pre-med undergraduates. Can you give references that support the statement?</p>