I went to grad school at UNC and loved it. Undergrad, well they have a mandate most of the students will be from NC, so out of state students will definitely be a minority as undergrads. It is a large school and sometimes takes more time to graduate, if you have to wait to get into oversubscribed popular courses. Beautiful campus, some great academic programs, and chapel hill is a fun place to live. More down to earth, more diversity, and less preppy than UVA, in my opinion.

Anonymous wrote:does unc have any famous alums except for MJ or ESPN people?

It isn't a serious school.

UMD is way better. just look at the success stories from umd

um. no. but to answer your first question:

Thomas Wolfe
Clyde Edgerton
Charles Frazier
Walker Percy
Andy Griffith
Lewis Black
Jeff MacNelly
Frank Bruni
Carl Kassel
Robert Ruark
James K. Polk
David Sentelle
Mia Hamm

But those are just the names I expect that someone reasonably well read might know. Plenty of other luminaries in arts and sciences (as well as NC politics and business). I suppose it is possible that none of them are as famous as MJ, but who is?

UNC-CH has taken a beating during the current administration and with the academic scandal, but the institution is bigger than the current foibles, I should hope.

(I'm from NC and about half my family went to UNC-CH. I did not, finding the size too overwhelming at the time. But having interacted with lots of people who spend their whole lives in private school bubbles, i'm a big proponent of state school undergrads and consider it a significant plus when making hiring decisions.

My kid chose a private over Chapel Hill because during the tour the NC kid kept saying that the out of state kids were the "smart ones". And yes, with their in-state quota, requirements for NC kids are less rigorous than OOS kids (as it should be).

I would rather be in an environment where all the students were admitted with the same criteria.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:does unc have any famous alums except for MJ or ESPN people?

It isn't a serious school.

UMD is way better. just look at the success stories from umd

Ok. You keep thinking that.

They are not so starkly different in terms of the quality that a Maryland resident should choose UNC over UMD.

http://colleges.startclass.com/compare/1840-3104/University-of-Maryland-College-Park-vs-University-of-North-Carolina-at-Chapel-Hill

UNC and UVa supporters always point to the rankings but, seriously, what measurable qualities UNC/UVa have over UMD? I am really curious.

Smaller class sizes mostly.

Anonymous wrote:I agree with a PP that many of the out-of-state students hung out together, and there seemed to be a lot of us in my dorm, for some reason. While I enjoyed a lot about UNC, there were many times that I felt like a fish out of water culturally, and wished I had not turned down Duke, where many of my friends went. At times, I felt that my UNC years were kind of a blip - a detour in my life. But I wanted a different experience, and I got it, so in the end, I'm glad for it.

This was my experience exactly ... I came from an NYC private equivalent to the Big 3 here, and I chose UNC because of the scholarship offer. As a previous poster stated, academically, I was probably at the top of my class coming in (in higher level courses and entirely placed out of some). I was also there during the academic scandal, and I agree that they really only coddled the athletes, the rest of us didn't receive that treatment, and the courses were actually decent/rigorous.

My nephew is an out of state students attending UNC and he loves, loves, loves it. Being surrounded by North Carolinians doesn't bother him a bit.

I agree with a PP that many of the out-of-state students hung out together, and there seemed to be a lot of us in my dorm, for some reason. While I enjoyed a lot about UNC, there were many times that I felt like a fish out of water culturally, and wished I had not turned down Duke, where many of my friends went. At times, I felt that my UNC years were kind of a blip - a detour in my life. But I wanted a different experience, and I got it, so in the end, I'm glad for it.

Splitting hairs over which state university is better.

Where's my popcorn?

Anonymous wrote:does unc have any famous alums except for MJ or ESPN people?

It isn't a serious school.

UMD is way better. just look at the success stories from umd

Hell, my favorite Maryland-raised person graduated from UNC: Lewis Black.

In my experience, a lot of the out-of-staters hung out together freshman year (most of the honors classes were filled with out-of-staters), but as the years went on, there was plenty of mixing up.

As far as the academic scandal goes, they must've only coddled the athletes. So as long as there aren't a bunch of football players in your kid's class, you can be sure it's a real class with challenging tests/coursework.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:does unc have any famous alums except for MJ or ESPN people?

It isn't a serious school.

UMD is way better. just look at the success stories from umd

Ok. You keep thinking that.

They are not so starkly different in terms of the quality that a Maryland resident should choose UNC over UMD.

http://colleges.startclass.com/compare/1840-3104/University-of-Maryland-College-Park-vs-University-of-North-Carolina-at-Chapel-Hill

UNC and UVa supporters always point to the rankings but, seriously, what measurable qualities UNC/UVa have over UMD? I am really curious.

QoL, attractiveness of campus, and attractiveness of student body

that's really the only things.

well finance/consulting recruiting is way better from mcintire than umd.

but if you aren't going into finance/consulting, then it is the first three things that loom in peoples' minds when comparing the two schools

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:does unc have any famous alums except for MJ or ESPN people?

It isn't a serious school.

UMD is way better. just look at the success stories from umd

Ok. You keep thinking that.

They are not so starkly different in terms of the quality that a Maryland resident should choose UNC over UMD.

http://colleges.startclass.com/compare/1840-3104/University-of-Maryland-College-Park-vs-University-of-North-Carolina-at-Chapel-Hill

UNC and UVa supporters always point to the rankings but, seriously, what measurable qualities UNC/UVa have over UMD? I am really curious.

Well for one negative point, UMD is in.... Maryland.

Not even sure what that means... Compare to what? Right outside of DC is a bad thing?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:does unc have any famous alums except for MJ or ESPN people?

It isn't a serious school.

UMD is way better. just look at the success stories from umd

Ok. You keep thinking that.

They are not so starkly different in terms of the quality that a Maryland resident should choose UNC over UMD.

http://colleges.startclass.com/compare/1840-3104/University-of-Maryland-College-Park-vs-University-of-North-Carolina-at-Chapel-Hill

UNC and UVa supporters always point to the rankings but, seriously, what measurable qualities UNC/UVa have over UMD? I am really curious.

Well for one negative point, UMD is in.... Maryland.

Anonymous wrote:interesting to see UMD has higher SAT and ACT mid-50%tile than UNC.

it's because unc has to take 80% north carolina natives and NC natives are dumber so UNC is working with sub-par ingredients.

A very good school overall. The academicquality of in state kids is, in my view, at least a half step below the academic quality of in state UVA kids (if not more). So if you get in from out of state, you'll be near the top of the food chain.

interesting to see UMD has higher SAT and ACT mid-50%tile than UNC.