Pardon Our Dust

Next week will mark a turning point for our office and for the University, as we go live with a new administrative system called ConnectCarolina.

Eventually, ConnectCarolina will provide a consistent environment for online interaction with UNC-Chapel Hill. Prospective and current students will use it heavily, as will faculty and staff.

For now, prospective undergraduate students will be using the system to apply for admission, check the status of their applications, and register for campus tours and other events.

We hope the new system will make it easier for you to interact with us over the course of the coming year. We also hope you’ll bear with us as we work through any problems we might face.

Although we’ve built ConnectCarolina carefully and believe it’s ready to go, we know we’ll need to keep tinkering with it for months to come. So please pardon our dust -- and as always, please let us know how we may serve you better.

--Stephen Farmer

Enrolling Students: Last Call for Final Transcripts!

We still have some enrolling students with outstanding documents that must be submitted by July 31. You will not be able to enroll without getting this information to us!

First-year students:
We must have an official transcript from your high school showing your final grades.

Transfer students:
If you were enrolled in a college or university during the Spring 2009 semester, we need to have an official transcript showing your final grades.

We also need your completed Community Standards Form. Please note that if you selected the option at the bottom of the form to complete a background check rather than have a school official sign the form, you are responsible for completing the background check. When we receive your signed Community Standards form, we will initiate the process and you will then receive an email from the background check company with full details about how to proceed. If you have not received this email, please call our office. (Well, first check your spam filter and then call our office!)

These documents are firm enrollment requirements, so you will not be allowed to begin classes without submitting them. If you are unsure about whether we have received these items, you can give our office a call at (919) 966-3621.

Let me know if you have questions. Thanks!

Julie

What's Your Life Goal?

I spent much of last week on vacation with my family, which includes our dog Samwise, shown here in mid-retrieve.

On the ride home, our daughter told us about a conversation she’d recently had with two of her fourth-grade friends about something they called their “life goals.”

“Jenny’s life goal is to try mahi-mahi,” she said. When we asked her why mahi-mahi, she thought for a minute. “I don’t know,” she said finally. “Maybe because she’s never tasted it.”

She went on to tell us about John, whose life goal is either to get a minifridge or to become a garbage collector -- the latter, we were told, "because he just likes the stench."

People who work in admissions like to talk about "passion," which I suppose is our word for "life goal." It's not a word I'm fond of, mainly because students tend to hear it not as passion but as Passion -- something cosmic, final, and fantastic, rather than something familiar, provisional, and real.

We ask about your passion not so that we can weigh your aspirations, much less pass judgment upon them. Rather, we ask because we long to know who you are.

Whatever drives or intrigues you -- whether it's medicine or monetary theory, travelling or retrieving, gustation or refrigeration or sanitation -- is exactly what we hope you'll show us should you choose to apply to Carolina.

In the meantime, please know that we wish you all the best.

--Stephen Farmer

Why you should visit Carolina this summer

You may have visited us before; perhaps you've attended an athletic event or driven through campus. But have you experienced Carolina from the perspective of a student? Have you taken a tour of our beautiful residential campus? Have you visited a class? Or, have you simply taken a seat along the Pit -- our famous gathering place -- and observed the unique energy of our students?

Our students are some of the strongest and most diverse in the nation, and they'll happily tell you about the academic opportunities we offer that will prepare you to change the world. They also have their own opinions about just why you should visit us. In fact, we asked a few of them that very question:

“Carolina was the only in-state school where I applied. After scouring the east coast for a school that would fit my personality, I finally decided to take a tour at UNC. The minute I stepped foot on campus, I realized Carolina was exactly what I was trying to find. What sets Carolina apart from every other university is the vibrancy of its students. Carolina has some of the most inspiring and active individuals that you will ever meet.” -- Kelsey Farson

“As a high school senior, I knew that UNC would be the perfect niche in which my intellectual curiosities could flourish with the support of like-minded, gifted students from all over the world. But it took a visit to UNC’s breathtaking campus to know for sure that I wanted to make Carolina my new home. What really makes this place special, though, is not the university’s statistics, history or reputation. It’s those personal touches—invaluable relationships, boundless studying and exploring opportunities, and a sense of a connected and compassionate learning environment, which I’m a part of every day—that’s what brought me here, and that’s what will keep a piece of my heart in this place for the rest of my life.” -- Ben Anders

“When I was applying to colleges, I was almost positive I wanted to go to an out-of-state Ivy League, and UNC was actually the only in-state school I applied to. I thought I knew everything about the campus and about the people. I also thought I would have too many connections here, making a college a mere continuation of high school. When I came to visit, however, I discovered I was so wrong. I felt like I already went to school here. And that's when I knew it was a perfect fit.” -–Tori Stillwell

The summer is one of the best times to visit Carolina. The beautiful weather makes it impossible to stay inside and the campus is alive with inspiring students such as Kelsey, Ben, and Tori. They are eager to meet you and chat with you more about Carolina. Schedule your campus visit today. We look forward to seeing you soon!

Want to Join Tar Heel Blog?

We're searching for a few good writers to join us over on Tar Heel Blog. We're losing our dear Katie, who has shared her thoughts on the blog and helped prospective students learn more about Carolina for four years. She graduated in May and is now preparing for an exciting new job in Singapore. We wish her the very best.

We'll probably be bringing a handful of new bloggers on board as we want to continue expanding the Tar Heel Blog and get lots of new perspectives on life at Carolina.

So are you interested? If so, fill out the short form below! Please also email a brief writing sample to me at jsizemore@admissions.unc.edu. The writing sample can be one of your college essays or any other short piece that you feel is a good representation of your writing.

***Update: Thanks so much to everyone who applied this year to join the Tar Heel Blog! We've now chosen our new bloggers for the year. Thanks!***