Going to university overseas?

Parents Forum
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As a parent, it is a wonderful thing for your child to have good options at each stage of life- and it sounds as if your daughter does, @sweetgum!

Third-level is used a lot more in Europe than the US- it refers to post-secondary school education. NC has been working hard on their third level system for quite a few years now.

They have developed their Community College options in two directions. For students who are not interested in a 4 year degree, but want a qualification that is likely to lead to meaningful job opportunities, the offerings have been expanded to meet local employment needs. For example, CFCC in Wilmington- a port city and regional medical hub- has programs in marine technology and health science ,whose graduates are snapped up for good career jobs locally,

For students who want to get a 4 year degree, but for various reasons can’t go straight into a 4 level university (cost, inadequate secondary school prep, immaturity, etc), the CCs have become more carefully aligned so that moving from a CC to a university is (relatively) seamless.

Then, at the University level, there has been a move to develop the other campuses of UNC. CH is obviously still the crown jewel, but other campuses have seen a general upgrading overall, and an effort to make each of them the center. So, Wilmington is the star for Marine Sciences, Charlotte for Finance, etc. They are also starting to knit links between the UNC & NC State systems, such as the joint engineering program at UNC-A.

I have been impressed watching this work over the last number of years. But- I don’t say any of this to discourage you/your daughter from going to the UK! I believe in opening as many doors and windows as possible for our chicks- and then let them soar! We cut our parenting teeth in a Montessori school, where the philosophy was ‘follow the child’.

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I do like the ‘follow the child’ philosophy and I have no problem with her going to the UK for university if that’s what she wants to do. She definitely wants to do Creative Writing and it’s not like that is a practical field where you jump right into your career like computer engineering. I figure why not explore the world a little?

BTW, I think you might’ve mistyped in your third paragraph. Sounded like you were saying that UNC and NC State were part of different systems, but they are both part of the University of North Carolina system. There are 17 universities in it and some start with UNC like UNC-Asheville, UNC-Wilmington, UNC-Charlotte, but there are a lot that do not have the “UNC-” moniker like NC State, Appalachian State, East Carolina, etc.

If anyone has any questions on colleges and universities in North Carolina, I am happy to give my perspective as a parent of a high schooler and as a UNC alum (and current resident of Chapel Hill0.

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@sweetgum, you are right of course! but collaboration between the two parts is a relatively recent development, and indicative of more of a ‘big picture’ approach being taken across the system.

(we won’t talk about the lop-sided rivalry between NC State & UNC-CH)