<p>I am an out of state student applying to UNC Chapel Hill, and as of now, that is my first choice. i really like the friendly and laid back atmosphere of the students that i met there, and the campus is absolutely gorgeous. i am slightly worried about the size of the school because i had always thought that i wanted to attend a college w/ a smaller student enrollment (my high school is about 350 kids so i feel like it might be difficult to adjust to about ~16000 undergrads)
anyone have any suggestions for schools that are similar to UNC, with very good academics?
i have heard many say that UVa and UNC are similar so UVa is another one of my options. </p>
<p>UVirginia and UNorth Carolina are almost mirror images re size/quality/difficulty OOS admissions.UNC a bit less pretentious. The best Southern schools re academics Rice, Davidson,Wake Forest, Emory, Vanderbilt, Duke, William & Mary, Washington & Lee. These schools are much smaller and more of an undergrad focus.</p>
<p>Go visit and get a feel for the campuses first hand. Best use of your time to answer this question.</p>
<p>Furman University is a STUNNING campus! It will blow you away. Its only about 2,700 students and HIGHLY selective with some amazing programs and a very warm student body. My D got in last year, but ultimately picked another school…but it was a tough call. Furman is a touch easier to get into than W & L and not so remote. Its in Greenville SC which is a lovely town and a thriving downtown. Its near Clemson as well. Furman has Division I sports. </p>
<p>Another school is Sewannee the University of the South, which is near Chattanooga Tennessee. Its also a gorgeous campus but very rural and very small. I think Teddy Roosevelt went there! Its an Episcopal School. But highly regarded. </p>
<p>University of Richmond is also a superb private school with wonderful programs and a gorgeous campus. Its on a par with Furman. Division I sports there also.</p>
<p>William and Mary is a STATE school, the oldest in the Nation. Its very small and very hard to get into OOS. But its awesome! </p>
<p>For a safety look at James Madison University. Its about 15,000 students but it doesnt feel that big. Its in the gorgeous Shenandoah Valley, about 45 minutes north of Washington and Lee on I-81. Division I sports and a very friendly student body. It is gaining in national reputation academically as well. I know several students who are going there and they adore it!</p>
<p>Swish:
On what basis do you say that W and L, Davidson, Wake Forest, and CWM are better academically than Carolina? You can’t even compare these schools to UNC. Only Wake is a real university, and none of them are members of the Association of American Universities. You’re joking right?</p>
<p>my school only has 150 kids and my 2 college options have 28,000 and 50,000 total people. the 28,000 isnt a big deal at all and i liked it, but ill admit the 50,000 is getting up there (lots of grad students though). its really hard for anyone to say if ull like that or not so that parts up to you, but otherwise the options these guys are throwing out seem to be good.</p>
<p>Swish has clearly listed schools that have a more undergraduate focus than UNC and UVA. That said, you can DEFINITELY compare them. W&M is the oldest university in the country. YOU’RE joking, right?</p>
<p>AAU holds very minimal importance (read: none) regarding undergraduate education.</p>
<p>All of that said, UNC is a great school, and if you have the chance to go, I would definitely take it. If you love UNC, the size will not be a problem for you at all.</p>
<p>You have to be joking. AAU is all about PHD programs. Not very relavent to high school seniors. Also it has members like Iowa State, Texas A&M, and Suny Buffalo, not a very prestigious group.</p>
<p>UNC is a fine school, but it is not focused on undergrads, nor has the overall student body of the aforementioned schools. Stop whining and be happy to be a good research school, great campus, and #1 B-ball team. Thats pretty darn good.</p>
<p>You are flat out wrong. Academically UNC is a great school for undergrads. The outstanding graduate programs provide teachers, programs, research opportunities, and academic resources totally unavailable at smaller schools.</p>
<p>The OP asked about schools with good academics that are smaller than UNC-CH. The response was answering that question. Nobody is saying UNC isnt a good school nor that one cant get a good education there. But to say Davidson or W&M isnt in UNC’c class is a ludicrous statement. Your point is really that you like Research U over LAC. That is a valid point and has been argued many times in CC land. </p>
<p>But do not disparage other schools on Swish’s list. There are literally thousands of kids @ UNC that would have no chance of admittance at W&L,Davidson, or William & Mary.</p>
<p>Best for undergrad, yes. Overall, UT-Austin and Duke, and to a lesser extent Georgia Tech, UVA and UNC are the strongest Southern universities in terms of faculty quality and academic department prestige and global recognition.</p>
<p>I was not responding to the OP. I was responding to the Swish’s statement that said that CWM, Davidson, and W and L had better academics than Carolina. I’ll not argue about Vandy or Duke. I don’t know about Rice, which is primarily an engineering school (correct?) or Emory. </p>
<p>As to the question raised by the OP. UVA and UNC are similar schools although the UVA undergrads may have higher test scores. Schools like WF, W and L, and Davidson may have one very distinct campus culture that you may or may not fit into. At Carolina or UVA there are many cultures and numerous opportunities to re-invent yourself and make the campus smaller.</p>
<p>tsdad,
Rice has a very good and surprisingly broad array of engineering options for its undergraduate students, but it is far from being an engineering school. In 2006, Rice awarded 18% of its total undergraduate degrees in engineering fields, encompassing the areas of bioengineering, chemical engineering, civil engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering, and related fields of materials science & engineering, and computer sciences. As you probably know, U North Carolina does not have a dedicated undergraduate college for engineering. </p>
<p>I agree with your comparison of U North Carolina and U Virginia and see the schools as close peers. I think that the biggest differences may be the slightly larger size of U North Carolina (about 15% more undergrads) and the % of OOS students on each campus (18% at UNC and 34% at UVA) and how that affects the academic statistical strength/depth and the social patterns of the students.</p>