<p>LadyD, please look at this link. [UNC</a> Admissions Blog: First Generation Student Wins Scholarship to Cambridge](<a href=“http://unc-admissions.blogspot.com/2011/02/first-generation-student-wins.html]UNC”>UNC Admissions Blog: First Generation Student Wins Scholarship to Cambridge)</p>
<p>A student from a small rural NC town won the Morehead. This clearly shows that they do not discriminate against students from poorer rural areas. If your son did not have many extracurriculars, that is not UNC’s fault. Even as a home schooled student in a rural area, you can find opportunities to volunteer and build leadership skills if you want to. I don’t care where you live, there will always be people in need. You can not blame the school. Although I imagine that you don’t have any problem with the holistic approach at any schools that are giving your son money.</p>
<p>I live in Wake county, and even though my “plush” school gave me more opportunities, I am not getting any scholarship money, and almost nobody else I know is either. If you are so set on going to UNC, you can make it work. Like southernbred said, you can always take out loans. You don’t seem to be willing to pay much for your son’s education, even though you said you are out of the bracket that will get need-based aid. Obviously you do have some money. There is also the possibility that your son could look for outside scholarships (as most students do) and that he could get a job during college to help pay for his education. There are SO many other options out there besides merit aid, which the majority of students do not get. </p>
<p>If you refuse to listen to anybody else on here who is trying to give you more options, please go post on the Alabama board about how excited you are that your son will be there next year.</p>