Public vs Private Small Liberal Arts College in North Carolina

I think both are great options! Greensboro will have more diversity, but Asheville is a great college town. I have visited UNCA for work in the past and loved the faculty and students I met there. It seemed like a close-knit and supportive environment. I do really like Guilford, too. I am familiar with the campus and have friends who have taught there and have heard a lot of positive things. I would just caution you to really investigate what the current situation with finances is and specifically how that would apply to the chosen major–how big is the department? How many students are currently in that major? Are faculty tenured/tenure-track or mostly adjuncts/lecturers? That answer may reveal enough to give you an idea of what may or may not happen with that department if finances get tight again as they were very recently. I will say that the new president they brought in is well-respected and everyone was really excited to see him take over, so I think people are hopeful that they can overcome the financial challenges they are facing and I think GC is addressing those concerns very well right now.

Since you’re looking at Greensboro anyways, I would encourage you to check out UNC-Greensboro too. I know it is MUCH bigger compared to UNC-Asheville but they have some great student success initiatives there and do a good job of making it feel smaller than it is.

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