Who You'll Meet at UNC: Part 2

Each year, about 82% of our incoming first-year class is made up of North Carolina residents. But just because these students are NC residents, that doesn't mean they all grew up here! Many of them were born across the nation. (And beyond!) Check out this graphic for a visual.

Who You'll Meet at UNC: Part 1

Did you know? The incoming first-year class represents students from 95 counties of the total 100 in North Carolina. That's a lot of counties! Check out this infographic for the breakdown and a few fun facts about the in-state residents of the Class of 2017.

Arbra's 6 Simple Steps to Applying to Carolina!

Hi! My name is Arbra and I'm a Senior Communications Specialist who also happens to be a proud graduate of UNC. I've been with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions for over ten years and throughout this time, it's been my honor and privilege to help thousands of young people apply to Carolina. If you're considering applying to us, I'd like to offer 6 simple steps that may help you along the way.

Step 1 – Go to www.commonapp.org
Step 2 – Click "Create An Account" and follow the steps to create your Common Application account
Step 3 – Click on "My Colleges"

Step 4 – Select "University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill"  to begin the application.

Hint: For school or city name enter "Chapel Hill" in the "College Search" box. Then simply select "University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill." Click "Add" and then select "Dashboard."

In this section you will begin the official Common Application portion that is required to apply to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There are six sections to complete:

• Profile – your personal information
• Family – mother, father, and sibling information
• Education – school(s) you have attended and academic information
• Testing - ACT or SAT information
• Activities – clubs, sports, or volunteer information
• Writing – Here you will see the Common Application's essay question prompts. Choose your choice (only one is necessary) of the five prompts offered and write an essay from 250-650 words. Hint: The Common App makes it easy on you by giving you a handy box to enter your essay into! See below.

Step 5 – Select "University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill" to complete the section of the application that includes the UNC-specific questions (also known as "Member Questions") that are also required.

Go to the "Writing Supplement." In this section you are asked to upload answers to your choice of one of five essay questions specific to UNC (400-500 words) and to answer six short-answer questions directly into the boxes on the screen.

 

Hint: As you make your way through the Common App, look for the green check marks that will appear as you complete each of the required sections: the Common Application; the Member Questions (questions specific to UNC); and Assigning Recommenders (where you'll input email addresses for your teachers and counselor). 

The screen to the left shows that an applicant has completed all required sections of the Common Application. 

 

 Step 6 – Almost there! You may now proceed to the "Application Submission" screen as shown below. Here you'll have a chance to review  your application one more time, submit your payment or fee waiver, and certify it with your electronic signature.  Click "Start Submission" to submit your application.

 

For additional questions about applying to Carolina, you are welcome to post them here and we'll do our best to answer them promptly. For technical issues related to the Common App or applying to other schools, we refer you to the Common App's Applicant Help Center, which provides an excellent database of the most frequently asked questions.

We thank you for your interest in Carolina and look forward to reading your application and getting to know you.

Meet Us on the Road this Fall

Asst Director Melissa Kotacka and her college fair tablecloth in NYC

School is starting again and so is our busiest travel season. Throughout September and October, our recruiters will be hitting the road and bringing Carolina to schools, college fairs, and other events across the country and around the world.

Where are we going? We’re glad you asked!

In North Carolina, you’ll find us at every CACRAO event – our admissions reps (David, Olivia, Brandon, and our newest team member, Joe) will be crisscrossing the state to talk Tar Heel with students from Murphy to Manteo. We’ll be traveling with lots of other colleges and universities, so these events are great opportunities to connect with plenty of schools. Elsewhere in NC, we’ll be attending as many parent nights and school programs as we can, along with additional visits to high schools to connect with students.

For those outside of North Carolina, we’re coming to see you, too! We’ll be hitting up the Atlanta metro; Dallas-Fort Worth; Columbus, OH; Boston; NYC, Long Island, and a few counties north of the city; Charleston, SC; Tampa, Miami, and Ft. Lauderdale; Orange County, CA; the DC metro; Chicagoland; and the Virginia Tidewater.

Speaking of out-of-state travel, we’re also teaming up with Emory, Notre Dame, and UVA to visit a total of 19 cities in 15 different states in September – details here!

We’re even doing a bit of overseas travel to find the best and brightest students. Melody and Jen will be in Toronto for the NACAC college fair; Jared will be heading to London and Paris; Patty is heading to Central and South America; Melissa will be in Turkey; and Andrea will be in Bangkok, Ho Chi Min City, and Manila. 

We also have amazing alumni ambassadors who are covering college fairs in even more places around the country and occasionally overseas, too.

WHEW!

We are pumped to meet you in your towns, but we also want you to come to ours if you can – it’s a great way to learn more and get a feel for what it’s like to be a Carolina student. Whether we see you on the road or here on campus, WE ARE EXCITED. Travel season is super fun for us, because we get to talk about opportunities and possibilities – and it builds anticipation for reading season when we get to learn even more about the amazing things you’re doing.

 See you soon!

-Melissa Kotacka

Tour's Over... What Now? Part 4

Finished your tour, but haven't gotten your fill? Check out advice from Olivia, a UNC alumna and current Admissions representative, for her top five must-sees of Chapel Hill and the surrounding area.

Phone Troubles

If you've tried to call our office today and have experienced troubles—such as a loud crackling noise—we're very sorry. Our telecommunications department is investigating the issue and we're optimistic it will resolved soon.

In the meantime, please feel free to email us and we'll be happy to answer your questions as soon as we can.

Thank you for your patience, and as always, we appreciate your interest in Carolina.

Tour's Over... Now What? Part 3

Finished your tour, but haven't gotten your fill? Check out advice from Deseré, a current senior at UNC, for her top five must-sees of Chapel Hill and the surrounding area.

Tour's Over... Now What? Part 2

Finished your tour, but haven't gotten your fill? Check out advice from Joe, a UNC alumni and current Admissions representative, for his top five must-sees of Chapel Hill and the surrounding area.

Consider Carolina! The Common App is Now Live.

If you're a rising high school senior, and you're thinking about college, we hope that you'll consider Carolina. Here you can build a circle of friends who will inspire you to do great things.

Preview of the new admissions website coming soon!

We also wanted to let you know that the Common Application (CA) is now live. The UNC section (known as "Member Questions" on the CA website), which is what you'll need to fill out before your application is complete, is still being finalized. We expect that it will be available by the first of September, if not sooner. In the meantime, however, you can go ahead and start working on your essay questions. To help, one of our students has recently posted a series of essay-writing tips.

Additionally, we are proud to partner with the College Foundation of North Carolina, a free service of the State of North Carolina that helps students plan, apply, and pay for college. CFNC is a partnership of Pathways, the N.C. State Education Assistance Authority, and College Foundation, Inc.

We have chosen for CFNC to link to the Common Application for students who are interested in applying to Carolina. A link to the Common Application (which will include the additional questions for UNC) will be available on the CFNC website in early fall. If you attend a N.C. public high school, you can use CFNC.org to send your official high school transcript to us for free.

We encourage you to take advantage of all the free career and college planning resources on CFNC.org. By visiting this site, you will be guided to the best option for applying to your choice of North Carolina colleges or universities.

The first deadline for Fall 2014 admission to Carolina isn't until October 15, which will give you plenty of time to complete the application and the UNC member questions. Students who need more time have until our final deadline of January 10 to apply. Neither deadline is binding and all admitted students have until May 1 to enroll.

Very soon the Office of Undergraduate Admissions will also be launching an exciting new website, which provides even more reasons to consider Carolina. The students featured on our site will give you an inside look at their own communities so that you can start imagining what your life might be like if you decide to join our campus one day. Stay tuned!

Tour's Over... Now What? Part 1

Finished your tour, but haven't gotten your fill? Check out advice from Chelsea, a current senior at UNC, for her top five must-sees of Chapel Hill and the surrounding area.

Guide to the Perfect Tour

Planning a college visit trip? Whether you're going to be on the road for a day or a week, here are a few tips to prepare you and your family before you get there and how to get the most out of your stay.