So I assume you are looking for good fit over cheap schools.
What other priorities can you provide assuming you might want some other options?
my situation is weird in the case that i almost need to get into a Raleigh university. so nc state or chapel. so m applying to engineering and business is to insure i get into at least one of them, preferably chapel as well. UNCC is likely worst scenario for me and my family but OOS would be out of the question unless it is a really good school like Georgia tech.
So - there are other schools in NC closer to Raleigh than Charlotte.
ECU, UNCG, Wilmington, privates and more. And many privates.
So if you “have to” be in Raleigh, you can do better than Charlotte in regards to closeness…or Georgia Tech.
So now this perplexes me - unless it is a really good school like Georgia Tech.
So you “almost need to get into a Raleigh university” - but you can go to Georgia Tech? Doesn’t make sense to me - but let me ask you this, what makes Ga Tech great - besides a rank, etc.
It is great - don’t get me wrong - but why not a U of SC or UGA or Auburn or Delaware or wherever.
So I’d step back and say -
what do I really want - if it’s engineering and to be in Raleigh, you have options:
NC State and Duke and others close. NC has 15 colleges (at least) with ABET accredited engineering disciplines. If it’s business, then there are options - both public and private.
But you are then throwing names - Ga Tech, for example.
What do you want in a school - size wise, location wise (if it’s Raleigh, how does Atlanta work), weather, environment (urban, rural, etc.).
I see you throwing out the prominent names in the state…but forgetting names, what kind of school would you seek.
Let’s take Ga Tech off the table because if you didn’t get into NC State, then Ga Tech would be unlikely.
So let’s say both of those fail and UNC fails - would you be happy at Charlotte? Too many only have their safety to choose and then get upset they have to go. Hence I made the comment - if it’s financial, you’d have OOS options too - with your #s.
But I’d want to know - what do you want in a school so you find the right school.
I’d still go back to - if I want to study engineering, to me that trumps all.
College is four years - so if you go to UNC and get a job in marketing…that’s great…but it’s not great if your goal was to study and become a mechanical engineer. No school’s prestige or name is worth that tradeoff in my opinion. College is a small snippet of a long life.
So I think you should really figure out - what is it I want in a school from the many aspects that there are - as mentioned earlier.
Thanks
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You definitely need to figure out if you want to major in engineering or not.
Chapel Hill is not Raleigh. If you need to actually be in the city of Raleigh there are other universities there but UNC is not one of them. And no one calls UNC ‘chapel’ — please stop. People do say “Chapel Hill” although that is pretty old school like from the 60s,70s,80s. Most people just say UNC or Carolina.
I think you have a decent chance at State and Carolina but you are not 100% a sure thing at either. Get that good SAT score and I think that will bump your chances the most of anything you could do.
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I’m old school! 
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UNC alum here. It’s definitely an old school way to answer a question like:
Q: “what college are you going to go to?”
A: “Chapel Hill”
But people did say that back in the day. I don’t hear it much any more and I would, living in NC and having college age kids.
UNC itself is really big on “Carolina”. They talk about “The Carolina Way” a lot.
There is plenty of officially licensed UNC merch and some UNC-Chapel Hill merch along with the “Carolina” and “Tar Heel” (two words, both capitalized) merch. I do love a local non-official shirt that says “Chapel Hill vs All Y’all” but that is the rare example of college related “Chapel Hill” merch. (There may be some town of Chapel Hill merch with “Chapel Hill” on it.)
No one, however, EVER says just “chapel”. That is like nails on a chalkboard wrong.
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Live in Charlotte, and the kids around here definitely still refer to the school as Chapel Hill (in addition to UNC and Carolina - not to be confused with that other school down in Columbia).
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GPA usually weighs significantly more than EC’s.
But not “chapel”.
I live in Chapel Hill, am an alum, have college age kids, know kids that currently go to UNC, spouse works at UNC, and am here to tell the OP that no one says just “chapel” when referring to UNC. Most people say UNC or Carolina. Sportscasters, of course, say North Carolina. Some people being thorough say UNC-Chapel Hill (but we all know that’s the real UNC and all the other UNC’s get an extra letter ala UNC-C, UNC-W, UNC-G). I don’t mind hearing “Chapel Hill” when referring to the school, but it does sound very old school to my ears. Native NC-er here.
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Absolutely not. This is the first time I’ve ever heard it referred to as ‘chapel’.
Oh, no, that is definitely Myers Park. My spouse is from Charlotte and his whole fam still lives there.
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Due to the nature of College Confidential being Confidential, probably best to avoid giving away too much detail about student high schools. Also, it’s off topic, as is UNC’s nickname. Thanks for your cooperation.
If you’re going for engineering at NC State, that ramps up the admission competition quite a bit, as getting into engineering almost anywhere is very competitive. I would be very sure that engineering is more than a passing interest to you before you mark boxes on applications. Engineering isn’t typically a major that one chooses on a whim.
Even the School of Management at NC State, which is where their business programs live, is becoming a lot more competitive. When my daughter applied back in 2020, NC State’s application included a “why us?” essay. You should research the NC State “vibe” and really come up with a slam-dunk piece of writing (more than just “I need to be in Raleigh”).
We are in NC and my kids’ high school stopped using class rank like five years ago. Plenty of kids get into UNC & NC State every year.
My daughter and her friends (UNC alums) would use the nickname “Chappy” a lot - as in “I’m headin’ back up to Chappy”. Also, Chapel “Thrill”.
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Please make sure to refer to the school that way in your essay, your campus visit, and when you visit your sibling there. They will love that and you will really stand out among the other applicants. You will make so many new friends.
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