Of the many schools we have looked at, only UNC-W has almost no traffic on College Confidential. Why might this be? I am trying to think of positive reasons – fewer helicopter parents! kids too busy with academic pursuits! – but I do worry that it is a tiny flag of general apathy or disconnectedness. Comparable schools are jam-packed with discussion threads, with new comments daily. Any thoughts?
My best guess is that there is less traffic in some of the busiest college admissions months because most Early-Action applicants to UNCW have already received their decisions unlike other public universities in North Carolina like UNC and NC-State.
I hear what you are saying, but I’m comparing across multiple comparable public universities in several states. The UNCW board is nearly dormant, with a month or more going between any new activity. Every other school has at least one posting per day, usually more, and has admissions staffers checking in and posting regularly. Nothing here. It may be an irrelevant data point, but combined with some other observations I am starting to think the school may be more of just a regional commuter school than I was hoping. I would be grateful for any direct experience to the contrary.
I cannot say why there is less traffic here - but will admit it is a little unusual.
I can try to address that from my perspective - I live in Wilmington and my son applied, was accepted, but did not choose to attend UNCW. The simple answer is no, it is not a regional commuter school.
Just from my own observation, there is a noticeable decline (not huge, just noticeable) in traffic across town when school is not in session. When we sent to open houses at UNCW, met a lot of folks that were not from the area - again this is just my observation, it is equally likely that “local kids” already knew enough and did not bother to visit.
But when it comes to real data
https://uncw.edu/aboutuncw/aboutJustthefacts.html
only 13% of the student body is from southeast NC, and a fair amount of the counties listed could have an hour+ drive to UNCW, not exactly commuter distance - at least in this part of the country 
Thank you for sharing you experiences with UNCW, as well as some useful data about the school. I appreciate youro perspective!
Hi! This response may be a bit late, but I’m a senior about to graduate from UNCW and I’ll be staying here for my Masters so I was checking out the incoming group! 
I CERTAINLY would not attribute lack of activity to “apathy or disconnectedness”- in fact, I chose to attend UNCW based the enthusiasm of the students when I toured and I still feel that excitement on campus all the time. I honestly don’t think that forums such as College Confidential are well known here by students already attending and perhaps those who come here aren’t checking it out on forums as much either (I’ve never heard a soul mention it). I didn’t come across this page until my sophomore year when I was looking at scholarships. UNCW is a fantastic school full of dedicated, passionate, great people and I would be happy to answer any of your questions.
Thank you for this reply! I appreciate your positive perspective. I have been popping in from time to time and and was discouraged to see no traffic at all, while the boards for comparable schools are exploding with questions and conversation. Is there another forum that prospective students and their families should check out?
There was an enthusiastic representative of UNCW called LBad96 that posted a lot but he’s disappeared.
@blueskies33 thank you for asking the question! As parent of a junior who is very interested in UNCW after our recent visit, I wondered the same thing when I checked the forum out after our visit. We are from Ohio and am not familiar with the regional Carolina schools and I had seen in other student review sites concerns over commuter school. So thank you too, to HerpGeek13 for answering so enthusiastically. My daughter felt that enthusiasm as well and she loved the campus. HerpGeek, do you mind sharing what degree you are graduating with?
Hi everyone! I’m happy to get to be the enthusiastic UNCW voice on this forum for now!
@blueskies33 I’ve never really heard of or seen a forum that UNCW students turn to like this one! Most incoming freshmen tend to talk to students who already attend more than they chat on message boards. Social media and location tags are great for finding students to chat with and ask questions. For example, check out people who interact with the Honors College page. I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t be happy to talk to prospective students and their families. Checking twitter and instagram for #uncw22 (or whichever incoming year) also helps with connecting with other students in the same year- I made lots of friends before coming to UNCW that way.
@incadinca I’m graduating with a B.S. in Marine Biology but I’m also a psychology and neuroscience double minor. I’ve loved both programs, and I’ll be continuing here as an Environmental Studies Masters student.
I’ll chime in myself! Hi everyone, just joined this site after hearing about it from a few buddies! I’m a junior (well, I guess rising senior now) who is enrolled in UNCW’s Cameron School of Business. I first heard about UNCW through a friend of mine and decided to apply on a whim, and have not regretted my choice for a second. I truly love being a Seahawk and am more than happy to answer any and all questions you might have about my experience here.
@HerpGeek13, how hard or easy is it for underclassmen to get research positions in MB?
@RekatenArtest thanks for chiming in! Can you comment on UNCW’s party school reputation? I come across reviews that seem to think all students are just interested in the beach and partying. I did not get that impression though from our great tour guides.
@incadinca UNCW actually isn’t THAT huge of a party school; of course there are great parties, but it’s certainly not all that students are interested in. UNCW is excellent academically and I’ve met a lot of very intelligent and motivated students at the university. Although, most students here do love the beach!
Thanks @RekatenArtest! I love the beach too and it was definitely part of the reason UNCW has moved to the top of my daughter’s list, especially since she is considering marine biology.
@incadinca good that your daughter is considering marine bio, as UNCW is one of the top schools in the country in that department! Where are y’all from, in-state or OOS?
We are from Ohio so I am kinda anxious about her going so far away but would be good with it if she really loved it.
@incadinca oh wow! I actually know quite a few Ohioans at the school! They seem to cope with the distance well and they all love it. I’m several states OOS myself, and my own parents were the same way about me going so far away. But it’s worked out well for all involved.
@incadinca I don’t think it is difficult at all if they’re willing to start out with volunteering their time, particularly if they are interested in a topic with many faculty researchers. I personally started my junior year with a Directed Independent Study after taking a class that I loved sophomore year and I have worked with that professor ever since. Many students get involved earlier than I did if they 1. know what they are interested in researching 2. reach out to professors and volunteer their time 3. don’t mind doing work that professors and research assistants don’t want to do
And I second what @RekatenArtest said about a relatively minor party scene! UNCW used to have a pretty bad rep as a slacker school but that has long since faded away. Greek life is small on campus and greek housing doesn’t exist, so most parties are at houses off campus and the police know the area to bust them pretty quick. The dorm that you stay in also can make a huge difference for that kind of culture as well!
This BB is very quiet. We are heading down to look at UNCW next week, I think it could be a good fit for my son 2020HS. I toured years ago with daughter and I really liked it.