UNCW, ECU or UNCC

LBad96
Thu, 02 Jun 2016 20:07:07 +0000

@ITBgirl UNC-Waitlist. Huh. Interesting indeed. Let me tell you from personal experience that it is FAR harder to get in from OOS. I just finished my first year and a small part of me is still surprised I got admitted early action. 10 of my high school classmates (including myself) applied to UNCW, and I was one of only three to get in. From 2011-2015, only 16/39 applicants from my high school got in (41%). Four decided to attend, all of which had respectable GPAs and very good test scores (and we have two coming in next year). Average UW GPA of those admitted is a 3.48, average SAT/ACT is 1817/26. Meanwhile for ECU, 15/27 got in from 2011-2015 (56%), only two of the 15 admits ended up picking it (both of which were only in the last two years). Having known those two students personally (not getting along with either of them), they were at or near the bottom quarter of their respective graduating classes for both grades AND test scores. Average UW GPA is a 3.08, average SAT/ACT is a 1557/22. That’s just from my NJ public high school. The top 25% at ECU barely scrapes the bottom 25% at UNCW. UNCW took no students off the fall 2016 waitlist this year because they already had the enrollment numbers they wanted, so those students are coming in the spring. Not to mention the disparity between the acceptance, retention & graduation rates as well. So if we’re “UNC-Waitlist”, then ECU is the second-to-last resort.

The gulf in class and quality between UNCW and ECU is very, very damning. The only reasons that anyone not in the ECU Honors College would pick ECU over UNCW is for engineering, dentistry, the easier-to-get-into nursing program, or because they want a (below-average) football team on campus, or because they want to party their college years away without any real accomplishments to their name, just coasting through. On campus, we call them “Easy U”, “ECPoo”, or “Purple Nurples”. Most people at UNCW pity/can’t stand ECU, and anyone who knows both schools can see that the Seahawks soar above the Pirates academically and otherwise. And while Chapel Hill are certainly better than Wilmington, we’re not nearly as far off from NC State as you like to think. ECU can’t touch us, and aren’t even as good as UNCC or UNCG as far as the stats are concerned, although I will say that they are certainly better than High Point or Pembroke.

But although I very vehemently oppose your position, I do enjoy seeing the other side of the debate.

@WiliyamMSL fair point. Like I said, UNCW is gonna appeal to everyone. No school appeals to everyone. I will say that I agree that as long as you don’t attend Pembroke (or Elizabeth City State or High Point or some other low-end private) that you are in good hands in the state of North Carolina.