UNC Chapel Hill vs Wesleyan vs Dickinson w Presidential Scholarship

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Hey everyone! This is my first time posting here so apologies for the sporadic as structure.

I’m an international student whose been accepted to UNC at Chapel Hill, Wesleyan, and Dickinson with a Presidential Scholarship.

I’m looking to study econ and sports management, but I’m not sold on any one career path. I would love to take a few classes in bio or history or something of the sorts, hence why I applied to so many LAC’s. After graduation, I’d probably like to end up management consulting or in sports management.

I play a pretty niche sport at a very high level (not recruited bc I messed up the timeline), and Wesleyan and Dickinson both have this sport at the varsity level where I’d be able to walk-on absolutely no problem, but UNC only has it for club.

I’m looking for a uni where I’ll also have a great social life, and I can go out or find something fun to do like dinner or pick-up basketball or something with friends most days of the week. I’m not interested in joining Greek life though.

For the uni i choose, I need to know I’ll be academically pushed, and that’s my biggest concern about Dickinson - that I won’t get the same quality of education or rigour of courses as at UNC or Wesleyan.

I’m in a very fortunate position where financial aid doesn’t really control my decision, so I’m really looking for the school where I’d be happiest, would have access to great academic standards, and would be in a great position for a top job or grad school program after graduation.

I haven’t been able to visit Dickinson or Wesleyan in person, so haven’t been able to get a vibe of each place.

I was accepted to Kenan-Flagler at UNC, and would double major in econ and sports management. At Wesleyan I would major in CSS I think, and I have no clue what I’d do at Dickinson (probably econ or public policy).

I’m from a pretty big public highschool (3000), so am used to larger classes, but I’m not sure if that’d be best for me.

Weather isn’t too big of a factor, as I don’t get snow at home so would love to see it, but also love the warmth. My understanding is that all of these colleges have 4 distinct seasons. As long as more than half the year isn’t windy, overcast, and drizzling then I’ll be happy with the weather.

If anyone can give me any anecdotes, or any sort of advice on if I should absolutely go to/avoid one of these schools please let me know. Any and all advice or information is greatly appreciated. thanks :slight_smile:

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Congrats on great admissions.

How do you know you can walk on no problem?

Great social life - sounds like UNC, Wesleyan, DIckinson.

Pick up basketball - sounds like UNC, Wesleyan, DIckinson.

Don’t want to be greek - sounds like you can be at UNC, Wesleyan, DIckinson.

Please don’t equate “rigor” with a name not ranked as high. You’ll find some classes more rigorous. Others less. I remember when I was in grad school at #40 for my MBA. My roomies college roommate was at Wharton (#1) and he had little rigor where we were loaded. The point - you don’t know a school’s rigor just because it’s rank. It may be better, the same, or worse - but it’s likely class dependent.

All will get you to grad school - in fact most schools - even not these would. What grad school - if you think MBA, you’d need to work a few years first - to go to one that can impact your life - top schools won’t accept you without experience.

So Keenan Flagler isn’t direct admit except for a small amount of kids they have Assured Enrollment. You are saying you are one of them?

One concern - Econ is in Arts & Sciences and not KF. So you might be doing another major that’s in KF?

At Wes, you’re not getting sports coursework - but it seems like you’re getting the rigor you’d like in CSS - As a CSS major, your sophomore year will consist of three small (no more than 10 students), intensive tutorials in government, history, and economics, and one larger colloquium in modern social theory.

Dickinson has Law & Policy, Poli Sci, econ and more.

On the surface, if money is no matter and I’m not sure the difference, I’d eliminate Dickinson because the CSS program at Wesleyan seems up your alley.

That said, I do think UNC is the better school for you given you are interested in Sports Management and I don’t see any related classes at the other two.

If I were to consider Dickinson, I might combine your major choice with the Intl Business Major that I don’t believe Wes has.

If you’re ok with the size, it seems to me UNC just fits better.

While you’re international so likely going home, I put the link for exercise science at UNC below. Salaries are about $40K - but it doesn’t break out Sports Management so I don’t know how well they do there. But of course a major like this is low paid; everyone wants to work in it - but the skills you’ll get in this program will probably transfer well to your home country.

Wes doesn’t post usable data. They are big in entertainment - so you might ask career management if they place folks into sports teams.

I included Dickinson - they show hires at the NY Jets and Mets. You can look on linkedin for background - one did an english degree and then masters at gtown in sports management. Another did a sociology degree.

I lean UNC based on info you provided- but hope that helps. Of course, it’s the biggest by far of the three.

Good luck.

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Thank you so much!!! I did not expect anyone to help me this much!

The sport I play is individual and has a fairly accurate grading system. I’d be going in ranked much higher than several starters are this season, and have talked pretty extensively with the coaches about the program and where I’d sit in it.

I’ve tried my hardest to ignore rankings and acceptance/yield rates as measures of academic rigour, but that’s about as much as I can go off of from where I am without asking current students directly. I’ve tried my best to do this but get such mixed responses from students studying the same classes at the same schools.

I must have confused myself, no direct admission into Kenan-Flagler - just into UNC. My understanding was that in the US, econ was treated as a major in the business school at most unis. Is UNC different in this regard or am I just completely wrong?

Also thanks for your input suggesting UNC. I feel like the fit there is pretty good, but as I’m sure you can tell, a lot of my info is way off so I can’t be so sure of what I’ve read about these places.

Again, thanks, and have a good one

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Where do you plan on living and working post graduation. You will likely find it hard given your expressed interests to find an employer to sponsor you for a visa.

These are career paths that as a recent undergraduate you will have a very hard time proving the“unique skill set” required for sponsorship. To qualify for an H-1B visa you need to have a training in a “special occupation” which tend to be technical in nature.

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Consequently you may want to focus on the name and reputations of these various options in your home country. Do any of these schools have cache in the local environment in which you may find yourself competing for a job?

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Best of Wes: Alumni in Sports

EDIT:

and Part Two:
Best of Wes: Alumni in Sports II

EDIT:

News - Wesleyan — NBPA FOUNDATION

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ha ha - thank you. I was looking for compilation / aggregate data (current salaries, placements, companies, etc. But thank you!! I mean, all schools will have alums in sports of course. But i’m sure OP appreciates the links - thanks for sharing.

@OP - most schools business schools are direct admit but UNC is not. You apply after you are there. Econ, at most but not all, is in Arts & Sciences are similar colleges within universities. That’s because, Econ is not business but it’s a social science - so like a Poli Sci, sociology - so theory vs. say finance or marketing or more.

So you could study a business discipline - finance marketing and more at UNC - and they have unique ones that most schools don’t such as Consulting, Investment Banking, Sustainability.

Or you could study Econ, that you’re right, many pivot into business roles - and UNC as a whole is a top tier university - in the US.

Reputationally, here, it’s one of the top public universities and some would argue the top.

Wes is seen as a top LAC by most, maybe not the top but the next level.

And Dickinson is very solid but not the cache of Wes by most.

That said, that is less relevant in my mind - it has the business curriculum. Compare it vs. an Econ Curriculum - which excites you more?? I put Dickinson business and UNC Econ below. Wes will do very well in the business world but I don’t believe has the business curriculum - at least as a major.

The other thing - the Sports Management major is in Exercise Science. If you’ve not been admitted yet, how easy is it to double? Often departments like that are smaller and impacted - so if I were to choose UNC because I wanted to double major in that, I’d check that I’ll be able to do so. I put the info below - that shows how you can get to that major. The major itself might have some overlap with business - so perhaps an Econ (vs. business) dual would be suitable to give you an even more expansive academic experience - "Course topics include communication, , data analytics, economics, event planning, facility management, finance, governance, licensing, law, marketing, media, sales, sociology, sponsorship, and other important components of the sport industry. "

So good you are asking - you have to decide Econ or Business (finance, marketing, etc. and others) and if want business understand you won’t know til after you are a student. And you want to make sure that yes, it’s realistic to double with Sports Management.

Those may also impact your decision.

Hope that’s helpful.

International Business & Management | Dickinson College

InstructionalPoster-tree-update-2024.pdf

Admissions | Exercise and Sport Science

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Probably an accurate assessment.

For Sports Management, the opportunities for practical experience might be best at a large Division 1 university such as UNC-Chapel Hill.

Your academic qualifications must be very strong if you were admitted as a non-North Carolina resident to UNC. If correct, and if money is not a concern, then forget about Dickinson College.

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Finn - It’s your decision that counts, of course. But I listed the thumbnail sketches of Wes alum in the sports field not for their statistical value but for their anecdotal value; to illustrate that there are always different ways “to skin a cat” as it were. And that’s why LACs exist - even the ones that nest inside larger universities as colleges of the arts and sciences (CAS). Bill Belichick, the GOAT NFL coach was an Econ major at Wesleyan. The greatest gift you can give yourself at such a young age is an education that will keep rewarding you for your entire life as opposed to training you for a niche job that you may (or may not) change your mind about over the next four years. Studies have shown that your brain is still pretty flexible and will continue to produce cells and neurons well into your twenties. Why not expose it to as many different approaches to learning as possible while you still can?

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My only thought is that Wes students come from all over the US and UNC feels much more “local” for lack of a better word. Have you looked into the stats for international students at each school as % of population and also diversity across US regions. UNC felt quite different for my West Coast kids vs the East coast and midwest schools.

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I’d love to work in the US if visas allow for it. With all that’s going on right now with mass deportations and an overall more isolationist government sentiment, I really don’t know how viable that would be though. I’m still looking into all my options for different visas though.

Honestly, the only unis that have any sort of recognition or positive reputation in my home country are HYMPS, so I don’t think reputation matters so much in that regard. Bc of this, and other obvious factors surrounding reputation, I’m trying to avoid considering the name of the school in my decision

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Think about what you want.

Courses in sports management - UNC

Business for sure - Dickinson

Rigor - it seemed like the Wesleyan major you chose

I tend to think UNC given you want to learn about sports admin. You might be able to do business there too. But if you 100% want business then Dickinson - which will be excellent.

It’s highly doubtful you can stay but you can cross that bridge later.

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Thank you for these!!!

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That’s a really good point you have about “training” for a niche job. if I go UNC, study business and get to the job I’ve been studying/training for, and hate it, I’d be kinda screwed. Having lots of skills from a LAC’s education definitely seems useful

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Just looked at UNC’s metrics - even more North Carolina heavy than I thought. Not necessarily a bad thing, there just wouldn’t be as much geographic diversity.

Wes seems very East Coast heavy, but with a decent amount from all over the US, and quite an interesting spread of internationals. Wes would certainly be more diverse and I’d find a lot more people there (I think) who’d also be on campus over smaller holidays

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It’s the difference between public and private. Public schools are typically subsidized for in state students and some, like UNC, are required to have a certain percentage from in state. North Carolina is this way.

Wes and Dickinson are private.

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I think Dickinson might have the highest percentage of international students- google says 14%, Wesleyan around 10, UNC around 6. You might want to check those numbers. Of course UNC being much bigger will have the most actual international students. But most of the people you meet there will statistically be from North Carolina and it will have more of a regional feel. The international business major at Dickinson is pretty unique for a lac, and I am sure will be plenty rigorous. They put a high emphasis on foreign language competency and study abroad is really strong there. I think of Wesleyan as more arty, both are wonderful schools and I am a fan of liberal arts colleges. Those two will be more similar to each other because of size and emphasis on liberal arts. You would see snow at both of them, less likely at UNC. I would also think about how important it is to you to continue in your sport, a good club can be a great option but won’t be the same as playing on a varsity team- You have 3 amazing choices, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them.

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That may or may not be true; I guess they place a lot of people in the entertainment industry. However, about 25% of the student body also participate in varsity sports:

College Athletic Recruiting for Wesleyan — TKG

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