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[quote=Anonymous]I'm from the DC area and am in my last year at UNC-Chapel Hill. I applied to both UVA, U Mich and UNC. I got into all three.

The UNC experience was difficult at first as many freshman already had friends from high school, but the southern hospitality was evident. It is definitely harder to join a sorority if you are from out of state. Within a few weeks I had a solid group of friends and always had invites to go home with locals for the breaks. In my last year though I can say that I identify more with out-of-staters and my best friend and boyfriend are out-of-state.

University of Michigan was too far, too large and too cold. I have many friends who go there (as it was extremely easy to get into out of state if you had above a 3.5 in high school) and struggle with SADD and how far away it is - they can rarely come home. I had family in Michigan, but still wasn't feeling it. So, for me, it was UNC vs. UVA. UVA seemed to have a slightly higher academic reputation, but when you really look into that instead of just taking the rankings at face worth, UVA is really only impressive for the humanities. UNC was perfect for the sciences. There are so many opportunities to become involved with research and volunteer in the hospital. I've made invaluable connections with PI's and medical professionals. UVA didn't seem to have the same span of opportunities.

Next was the visit. I liked that UVA was closer, and was leaning towards it. After one visit, the vibes of the campus threw me off. People were pushing past you not even saying excuse me. Everyone dressed ridiculously nice and I had a feeling if I was paying OOS tuition I wouldn't be able to afford the same types of clothing. It was 30% Greek and this was very evident. I even ended up joining a sorority at UNC, but I hated how it was the main focus of the social scene at UVA. I got a very pretentious vibe. It wasn't campus, it was "grounds." It wasn't sophomore, it was "second year." And don't even try to criticize something the administration does - I mentioned that the single sanction honor court system seemed a bit draconian and received an hour long defense from a UVA student. At first, I thought wow these people really love their school! But the blind loyalty is almost sickening to a point. They are so loyal to their school that nobody will critique it. It is very much a culture and a tradition. If you are into this and you were raised a hoo, go for it. But you have to know that if you are not the UVA type, you will struggle here. It is a bit smaller than UNC and thats pretty evident once you step onto campus - oops, I mean grounds. It is definitely beautiful with the mountain views and the Rotunda. But, the Corner is very small compared to Franklin St. Most people go to Boylan Heights and Trinity, and you run into the same crowds. It is EXTREMELY easy to get into these bars with fake IDs - ABC is almost non-existant ever since the racism incident.  A little bit trickier at UNC.

Basically, if you buy into the UVA culture, you'll love it. But if you stop and really think about it, it's a bit sickening. I chose to avoid it.

UNC definitely has its flaws, from the parking situation to academic advisors. But in the end, it was the choice for me. Way more liberal and the RTP triangle is growing. A more diverse student body with more diverse views. People critiquing the administration and calling for progress every day - saw this the first time I visited when I walked through the Pit. Franklin St expands into Carrboro offering a plethora of dining options - even more once you get a car. 10+ bars so that you don't see the same people every night. Dean Dome and rushing Franklin. Although there have been tough times as an OOS student for sure, I have never regretted my decision. I visited UVA again over fall break to see some friends and this just affirmed my choice - they came off more snobby, drank way more than ever before, and really only wanted to talk about how great UVA was. I missed the southern part of heaven and in my senior year, became fully confident that I made the right choice. [/quote]

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