University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a hot, hot school. The campus is gorgeous, the academics are excellent, it falls consistently near the topic of the rankings year after year, it’s loaded with school spirit, and it oozes higher ed prestige. For all these reasons and more, the funnel to get in is very narrow. While the most recent reported acceptance rate is 15%, it’s important to remember that the university caps out-of-state enrollment at 18%. After recruited athletes, legacies, and other institutional priorities, that doesn’t leave a lot of room for ordinary uber-accomplished valedictorians. That said, UNC has a plan to grow enrollment by 500 students per year over the next ten years. Whether those additional students will also be split 82/18 is an issue currently being considered by the chancellor, but the Board of Governors gets the final word. Stay tuned!

UNC, which was the first public university in the US, has about 21,000 undergraduates and 12,000 graduates. There are too many schools and colleges to mention here, but as noted above, no school of engineering. However, in 2024, the university did introduce an Applied Physical Sciences program which, unfortunately, has limited capacity and is therefore very competitive to be admitted into. Some other interesting undergraduate majors include Neurodiagnostics & Sleep Science, Peace, War & Defense, Radiologic Science, Biostatistics, Medical Anthropology, Clinical Laboratory Science, Human & Organizational Leadership Development, Linguistics, Contemporary European Studies, Media & Journalism, Dental Hygiene, Health Policy and Management, and three tracks for Classics majors – could this mean that this is an institution that is continuing to support the humanities?

The biggest news here is that the university will be break ground on “Carolina North,” a 230-acre site two miles north of main campus to expand STEM programs, housing, and dining, among other things. It has even been proposed that UNC could found a school of engineering, though whether that ever comes to pass remains to be seen.

The town of Chapel Hill is a quintessential college town, and students really seem happy here. I will say that the “Go Tarheels” vibe is very, very strong. While students who don’t care much about game day might not seem like a great fit, I’m sure that UNC has enough to offer that all kinds of students could find their people here.