I've had relatives go to both UNC and Clemson. My son didn't get into UNC (out-of-state) and went to Clemson instead, and is very happy there. Similar student body, weather, school spirit, and size.

Anonymous wrote:I'd suggest looking at Tennessee. She'll get good merit aid with 1400+ in SAT. Great campus. No longer a "slam dunk" to get into as out-of-state. This year's application cycle was 23.7% acceptance rate. I think next year will also be < 25%. Knoxville is surprisingly warm in the winter. Many kids from Ohio there.

Greek scene is similar to UNC. Sports are better than UNC. Similar size. Lots of clubs & activities.

No. Their admit rate was 46%.

https://irsa.utk.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/107/2024/02/CDS_2023-2024_C.pdf

Anonymous wrote:I haven’t read the whole thread, but maybe Vanderbilt? I know it’s private and smaller than UNC, but it has a beautiful, leafy campus, and is very close to the city but yet safely apart from it. Great weather, strong on-campus sports and school spirit, plus a bit of a Southern vibe but yet draws students from all over the country and is a top-notch research institution.

Vanderbilt is also going to be much harder to get into than UNC.

Anonymous wrote:OP/ my son is in love with Chapel Hill too- head over heels for the college town vibe. “Even the fire trucks are Carolina Blue,” he says.

We are in NoVA and our private college advisor says she gets kids into ivys and they get rejected from UNC OOS. Much of their OOS are recruited athletes.

I’m following this thread as my son wants many of the same things (college town, warmer weather though not a deal breaker). Wisconsin and Michigan are out for us for other reasons so hoping UF, UVA, UGA and Indiana fit the bill.

Gainesville bites compared to those other towns.

Anonymous wrote:I haven’t read the whole thread, but maybe Vanderbilt? I know it’s private and smaller than UNC, but it has a beautiful, leafy campus, and is very close to the city but yet safely apart from it. Great weather, strong on-campus sports and school spirit, plus a bit of a Southern vibe but yet draws students from all over the country and is a top-notch research institution.

Vandy is *not* a target for any student! OP said they were looking for target schools that could be easier to get into than UNC.

I'd suggest looking at Tennessee. She'll get good merit aid with 1400+ in SAT. Great campus. No longer a "slam dunk" to get into as out-of-state. This year's application cycle was 23.7% acceptance rate. I think next year will also be < 25%. Knoxville is surprisingly warm in the winter. Many kids from Ohio there.

Greek scene is similar to UNC. Sports are better than UNC. Similar size. Lots of clubs & activities.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP/ my son is in love with Chapel Hill too- head over heels for the college town vibe. “Even the fire trucks are Carolina Blue,” he says.

We are in NoVA and our private college advisor says she gets kids into ivys and they get rejected from UNC OOS. Much of their OOS are recruited athletes.

I’m following this thread as my son wants many of the same things (college town, warmer weather though not a deal breaker). Wisconsin and Michigan are out for us for other reasons so hoping UF, UVA, UGA and Indiana fit the bill.

FYI - OOS recruited scholarship athletes do NOT count toward the 18% OOS cap for Chapel Hill.

Ooooh thank you- you’re certain of this?

I’m not sure that’s accurate

NP here. Pick up the phone, call the admissions office AND ASK.

Here is how it works. Most of the schools in the UNC system have an 18% cap on incoming freshman for out of state students (a few schools recently got a waiver because their total number of applicants was decreasing). So every fall, each school (like Chapel Hill) must calculate how the exact number of incoming freshman that are there and report that the Board of Governors . If a school exceeds the 18% of OOS requirement for two years in a row, the BOG can fine the school. The last time this happened for Chapel Hill I believe was in 2016; it was fined one million. When making that calculation to the BOG the school is allowed to put OOS scholarship athletes in the instate bucket.

You need to understand at a school the size of Chapel Hill, the total number of freshmen OOS scholarship athletes will be insignificant compared to the total number of all freshmen. An OOS athlete isn't taking your kid's spot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP/ my son is in love with Chapel Hill too- head over heels for the college town vibe. “Even the fire trucks are Carolina Blue,” he says.

We are in NoVA and our private college advisor says she gets kids into ivys and they get rejected from UNC OOS. Much of their OOS are recruited athletes.

I’m following this thread as my son wants many of the same things (college town, warmer weather though not a deal breaker). Wisconsin and Michigan are out for us for other reasons so hoping UF, UVA, UGA and Indiana fit the bill.

FYI - OOS recruited scholarship athletes do NOT count toward the 18% OOS cap for Chapel Hill.

Ooooh thank you- you’re certain of this?

I’m not sure that’s accurate

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Univ of South Carolina!

No

Yes

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP/ my son is in love with Chapel Hill too- head over heels for the college town vibe. “Even the fire trucks are Carolina Blue,” he says.

We are in NoVA and our private college advisor says she gets kids into ivys and they get rejected from UNC OOS. Much of their OOS are recruited athletes.

I’m following this thread as my son wants many of the same things (college town, warmer weather though not a deal breaker). Wisconsin and Michigan are out for us for other reasons so hoping UF, UVA, UGA and Indiana fit the bill.

FYI - OOS recruited scholarship athletes do NOT count toward the 18% OOS cap for Chapel Hill.

Ooooh thank you- you’re certain of this?

Yes. It’s not secret information.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:VT is nothing like UNC.

Correct. VT is better.

+1

I haven’t read the whole thread, but maybe Vanderbilt? I know it’s private and smaller than UNC, but it has a beautiful, leafy campus, and is very close to the city but yet safely apart from it. Great weather, strong on-campus sports and school spirit, plus a bit of a Southern vibe but yet draws students from all over the country and is a top-notch research institution.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For Privates

Boston College has a little bit of UNC CH vibe but in a colder climate, more compact campus. You would have to go TO and ED.

Umiami is more vibrant more diverse than UNC CH with palm trees and sunshine with similar calibre student. Probably need to do ED II, but test scores would be on the money.

Villanova is an easier admit relative to UNC OOS. I think the campus is a little more remote and boring due to distance from Philly. Smaller student population than UNC but similar demographics.

DC has stats like OP described, and was accepted at BC (RD and submitted 1400), but waitlisted at Villanova (EA, deferred, waitlisted).

So, in our experience ED and TO aren’t necessary at BC for a kid with these stats, and you may be surprised with admission results. We thought Villanova was likely and BC was unlikely.

UNC is very much not a private catholic school in a large northern city (or suburb of such a city). That is an insane comparison.

Based on what OP described as key characteristics that her DC liked, BC ticks a lot of boxes:

“She liked the academics, school spirit, medium to large enrollment size, campus and surrounding areas and the vibe of the student body - it feels like greek life is there if you want it, but school isn't dominated by it if you don't.“

Also Chapel Hill’s proximity to Durham is similar to chestnut hill’s proximity to Boston.

I've been to Durham and Boston. Durham is no Boston. Weather is better, though.

Anonymous wrote:Univ of South Carolina!

No

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP/ my son is in love with Chapel Hill too- head over heels for the college town vibe. “Even the fire trucks are Carolina Blue,” he says.

We are in NoVA and our private college advisor says she gets kids into ivys and they get rejected from UNC OOS. Much of their OOS are recruited athletes.

I’m following this thread as my son wants many of the same things (college town, warmer weather though not a deal breaker). Wisconsin and Michigan are out for us for other reasons so hoping UF, UVA, UGA and Indiana fit the bill.

FYI - OOS recruited scholarship athletes do NOT count toward the 18% OOS cap for Chapel Hill.

Ooooh thank you- you’re certain of this?