Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Stuff UNC Kids Say

"I'm about to catch the RU and meet you at the UL to study for our JOMC exam."
"Ugh.. my ONYEN password is about expire."
"I have class in Dey Hall this semester, I mean Day.. I mean Die.. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN."

Translation:
The RU is one of the main bus routes around campus (very handy in case of rain).

The UL is the Undergraduate Library, where librarians, resources, and study space abound.

JOMC refers to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. AKA the J-School.

Your ONYEN is the "only name you'll ever need." It's your UNC username, used for everything from your email to class registration. Having to reset your Onyen password every 90 days is great for security, if a tad annoying.

And Dey Hall, home of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Romance Languages, is indeed pronounced "Die."

Want to learn some more #stuffUNCkidssay? Head over to Twitter!

Monday, July 29, 2013

How to Plan for College

It’s never too early to start thinking about future college plans, so why not start this summer? If you are a high school student wondering what steps you should be taking to ensure you are a strong college applicant, you have come to the right place! No matter where you are in your high school career and college search, here are a few steps you can take to ensure you are on the right path.



If you are interested in Carolina and what we have to offer, create a MyCarolina account to receive information directly from our office that caters to your specific interests. Also, be sure to connect with us on Facebook and Twitter, meet current Tar Heels on our student blog, and visit our campus!

Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Internships & Study Abroad - Student Spotlight: Hunter Motte and Jenny Bingham

After that last final exam of spring semester, it’s done for the summer right...? Well, not exactly. Many students at UNC extend their educational learning from the classroom to the real world with study abroad programs and career-related internships, and in some cases, both.

Two students in the Entrepreneurship minor, Jenny Bingham and Hunter Motte, are making the most of their summers in New York City and Beijing, respectively.

Hunter is interning for ClubFootball China while taking classes as part of his minor, including a Chinese language class taught almost entirely in Chinese! What he’s liked most about studying and interning abroad is the chance to see exactly what another culture is like.

“UNC allows us as students to see the world in a different way after complete immersion in a society that some only read about in textbooks.”

Hunter said that the coolest thing he’s done by far was hike and camp on an unrestored section of the Great Wall. He and his group met people from across the world including Australia, Singapore, Germany and Belgium, and hiked for four hours without seeing a hint of tourism. They ate barbecued chicken hearts, lamb and potatoes cooked by Chinese locals, then set up camp on the Wall.

Jenny, on the other hand, took a slightly different approach to her summer “abroad.” She’s been spending it in the Big Apple, interning for PR Consulting, a brand imaging and public relations development firm for fashion, beauty and lifestyle industries. Her internship has brought her renewed motivation, not just for school, but for life in general.

Although it sounds cliche, she told us that New York City is always buzzing and if you seize the right opportunities, you can end up on a rooftop 30 stories high watching the sunset or riding scooters around Google’s headquarters. She suggests that for students interested in Public Relations or Advertising, networking in Manhattan is key. Already this summer she’s worked on accounts connected to Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Beyoncé! Even if fashion isn’t your thing, she thinks that being in the city opens your eyes to all kinds of college and young professionals who are so motivated to be successful.

“It’s like being surrounded by driven Carolina students, but throw in a couple 4 a.m. nights, skyscrapers, celebrities and constant adrenaline. The saying, ‘The city that never sleeps,’ is 100 percent spot-on and is perfect for college students because after all - all nighters are our thing.”



Ready to spend next summer exploring new cities and gaining real life experience? Check out these resources at UNC and start planning ahead now!


Entrepreneurship Minor - http://www.unceminor.org/internships

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

We're hosting a Twitter chat... and you're invited!

PSA: UNC Admissions will be hosting the hottest event of the summer -- an interactive Twitter chat on Friday, July 19th -- and you’re INVITED! Come join in on the fun and get all of your most burning questions answered about applying to college, writing college essays, or about life at Carolina in general. We’ll be starting the chat with a few open ended questions to get your thinking juices flowing, but don’t hesitate to chime in with whatever comes to mind. The more the merrier, so tell all of your friends!

The good news is you’re already really good at using social media... so, all you have to do is compose a 140 character (or less!) question using the hashtag #UNC2018 and/or mention @UNCAdmissions and we’ll reply with our best answer. This is geared toward the potential Class of 2018 (so that’s you rising high school seniors!), but it’s open to anyone with questions about attending or applying to UNC. No question is stupid, only the ones that aren’t asked!

Can’t wait to hear from you!



Friday, July 12, 2013

Essay Writing Tip #5: Be Yourself.

The moment you’ve all been waiting for... our fifth and final essay tip of week! 

Quite simply, be yourself. Instead of trying to figure out what you think we might want to hear, figure out what you love to talk about and well... talk about it. Ask yourself how you can portray your unique voice and let this lead you in the direction of your writing. Don’t forget that this is your only opportunity to show us who you are aside from the facts and figures of your transcript, so make sure it’s full of life and personality. Don’t make the mistake of guessing what we want to see in your essay; wow us with your passions and what interests you the most!

Thursday, July 11, 2013

Essay Writing Tip #4: Don’t feel strictly tied to prompts.

Even though we work hard to create our essay prompts, they merely serve as jumping off points. If you feel so inspired, allow your creativity and frenzied fingers to take you where they may. At the end of the day, we want to read an interesting essay and if it strays in a slightly different direction from the rest of them, that’s perfectly fine with us. In fact, we love to see diversity.

However, while we want to know that you can take something and make it your own, we also want to know that you can stay on topic without rambling. It’s one thing to be creative and add your own flavor to a prompt, but it’s another to write entirely off-topic. Find a happy medium! If we’re talking poetry here... follow Robert Frost’s advice and take the road less traveled.




We’re still looking for more awesome essay advice, so please Tweet at us with the hashtag #UNCessays with your best!

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Essay Writing Tip #3: Just because you're the writer, doesn't mean you have to be the topic of your essay!

While your college essays are meant for the admissions committee to get to know you better, that doesn’t necessarily mean that they have to be all about you. In fact, some of the best essays can be about people, things, or ideas outside of your own life. In a sense, removing yourself from the prompt can make it easier to write objectively and with a stronger focus than getting caught up in recounting each and every detail of an event you’ve experienced. Even if you’re not the center of the essay you write, your words can still show us a lot about your personality and you as an individual.


We’re still looking for great advice, so keep it coming! Share with us on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #UNCessays - we’d love to hear from you!


Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Essay Writing Tip #2: Be concise. Focus!

While you may want to show off your biggest and baddest SAT vocab words, you shouldn’t just use them because you know them. It’s important to be concise and clear, so if you can use five words instead of 10, you should. We want to read a nicely worded, well thought out essay with a clear focus and organized structure.

Don’t try to tell your entire life story (because let’s face it... one essay isn’t enough for 17 or 18 years), but instead think about how you can communicate one little slice of your life. Can you tell a story that will illustrate one aspect of your personality? Can you zoom in on an idea that you find compelling? Can you incorporate details that will be memorable to your reader? These are the aspects we’re looking for in your writing.

Do you have more good advice for essay writing? Share with us on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #UNCessays - we’d love to hear from you! 


Monday, July 8, 2013

Essay Writing Tip #1: Show, Don't Tell!

While show-and-tell may have been the highlight of your kindergarten and elementary school days, our admissions staff isn’t looking for you to tell them about yourself. They want you to show them. We read a ton of essays each year (if you do the math, 2 essays times almost 30,000 applicants... that’s a lot of essays), so you want yours to stand out among the rest. Gone are the days of boring and predictable - show us a side of you that your application doesn’t!


We get that this may be easier said than done, but to help get you started, here are a couple of tips on how to show us that you’re Carolina potential.


1. Think about what makes you different. Make a list of what you’re passionate about, your quirks and your personality traits rather than a list of your academic accomplishments. Your application shows us how great of a student you are, so this is the time to let your personality shine. Maybe it’s your creative side, your passion for music, your love of travel, or your family traditions -- whatever is important and applies to you!


2. Tell us a story. Once you’ve narrowed down your list to your top pick, think about a story that highlights this aspect about you. The ultimate goal of your essay should be to engage your reader and make yourself stand out, so telling a story is a great way to do just that. Some of the most seemingly boring events can make the best essays, simply because it was important to the applicant. Make sure to include vivid details and descriptive language, write your thoughts clearly, and above all, connect the theme and tone of the essay to your dreams and who you are as an individual.


Do you have good advice for essay writing? Share with us on Facebook and Twitter using the hashtag #UNCessays - we’d love to hear from you! Stay tuned all week for more tips from us on how to write your best college essays.



Source: http://www.getintocollegeblog.com/2009/08/college-essay-show-not-tell.html

Friday, July 5, 2013

The Arts at UNC - Student Spotlight: D.J. Lester

The arts community at Carolina is well-established and far-reaching, and taking part in it is a yet another great way to get involved at UNC. Music has always been a huge part of senior D.J. Lester’s life, so his decision to pursue it at the college level was a no-brainer.

D.J. comes from a family with a history in the arts - they’ve got singers, dancers and musicians throughout every generation. He discovered his musical talent at the young age of six when he started singing in his church’s youth choir. He went on to learn how to play the piano and then the trumpet and the French horn, all by the seventh grade. During high school, he played for the Marching Band and the Concert Band and eventually worked his way to Drum Major by his senior year.

As soon as he got accepted to UNC, he knew the first thing he wanted join was the Marching Tar Heels. A good friend and fellow band member, Alex Bradsher, was influential in his decision to join as he saw her as a role model and mentor. This past spring, D.J. was chosen as a senior Drum Major for the Marching Tar Heels. At the year-end banquet, Alex presented D.J. with his new whistle and he swears that will be a moment he will never forget.

The band isn’t D.J.’s only outlet for the arts - he also picked up a minor in Music to further supplement his passion and musical background. He’s made tons of friends through the band and feels so blessed to get to interact with such great musicians. He also doesn’t hate that the band plays for all UNC athletic events.

“I’ve developed an even greater appreciation for sports that my high school didn’t offer, like field hockey or lacrosse. Even when I don’t have to play in the pep band for these events, I still like to go and watch because I now see the hard work these teams put into what they are doing. It’s part of the reason why we are UNC: the University of National Champions.”

Just as an athlete knows how amazing it feels when he or she is part of a team that shares the same passion, UNC’s band knows the same feeling and why they are all there together. While D.J. may not know all 300 students in the Marching Band, he knows that they are there to make music and help the team to victory. Just as every student on campus is connected by the love they have for Carolina, the band is connected by their love for music and creating it. Some people don’t know that UNC’s marching band is also known as The Pride of the ACC. However, it’s only once you’ve seen them marching to the stadium or on the field, that you will understand why nobody else is fit for that title.


Do you have this same passion for music and the arts? Think about joining a music ensemble, any of UNC’s a cappella or performing groups, or even studying a music-related major or minor! Click through the links below for more information.


Music Department - http://music.unc.edu/

D.J. is a Sociology major and Music and Entrepreneurship minor at UNC.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Getting Ready to Apply to College? Here's How.

Senior journalism student Deseré shares her tips below for getting ready to apply to college. And over on Tar Heel Blog, she shares more details about her own experiences--click here for more.