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!

Transfer Deadline Reminder and FAQs

Good morning! The final application deadline for transfer students is right around the corner! Below are some of the questions we've been getting lately; just let us know if there's anything else we can answer.

Which application should I submit?
All transfer applicants, except those wishing to transfer directly into the School of Nursing as juniors, may apply through the Common Application. We also accept transfer applications submitted through the College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC), but please note that certain majors must apply through the Common Application. Click here to find out which application you should use.

What must be submitted by the deadline?

Only your portion of the application, your payment method, and your UNC Supplement (if you’re applying via the Common Application) must be submitted by the deadline. Please note that you don't need to submit the UNC supplement if you're applying through CFNC. Other materials, such as your official transcript and test scores (if applicable), may arrive shortly after the deadline if necessary. 

How do I determine my standing?

To be eligible for transfer admission, you'll need to have graduated high school at least 12 months prior to the semester you wish to enroll. If you have fewer than 15 transferable hours, you'll be classified as a transfer student with first-year advanced standing. Appropriate consideration will be given to your college-level work.

• First-year transfer: Fewer than 15 transferable hours
• Sophomore: 15–50.9 transferable hours
• Junior: 51 or more transferable hours

No more than 75 hours from a four-year school and 64 hours from a two-year school can be transferred to the University and applied toward the hours necessary for graduation.


Do you require essays?
We ask transfer students to submit one essay. Here is the prompt: Please provide a statement of 250 – 500 words that addresses your reasons for transferring and the objectives you hope to achieve.

You'll also have the option to submit an additional statement if you feel there is any other information you'd like to provide that hasn't already been covered in other parts of the application.

Do I need to send a letter of recommendation?
We don't require letters of recommendation for transfer applicants. However, if you'd like to submit one, you can have your teacher/professor email it to us at uncsubmit@admissions.unc.edu.

**If you're applying to one of the professional schools, you'll want to check their application instructions for any additional requirements.**

Check out our website for more information on applying as a transfer student .

The Common Application is Now Available

Hard to believe it's already August, but indeed here we are on August 1 which means the Common Application is now live! If you're planning to apply through the Common Application, you can now create your account on their website and begin getting familiar with the application. Don't stress, though, because our first application deadline, October 15, is still two and a half months away. You have plenty of time.

If you apply through the Common Application, you'll also submit a UNC-Chapel Hill Supplement form. The supplement isn't available yet, but should be up within a couple weeks.

If you're planning to apply through CFNC, that application will be available by mid-September.

And whether you're applying this year or not, we hope you'll go ahead and create a MyCarolina page, which is a portal just for prospective students. Through MyCarolina, you'll get information about Carolina that's specific to your interests. You'll also be able to track the status of your application through MyCarolina and view your admission decision when it's ready. If you're already in our system because we met you at a college fair or you already created an account, you can log in here. You can also reset your password by clicking "Forgot/Reset your password."

Below are some of the most frequently-asked questions we get as students begin their applications, and you can also review the detailed directions for applying as a first-year or transfer applicant.

More questions? Just leave us a comment below.

Should I apply through the Common Application or through the College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC)?
If you're applying as a first-year, you can choose whichever is more convenient for you. The questions and requirements are the same, so it does not matter to us which you choose. You’ll want to find out whether the other colleges you’re planning to apply to accept either of these applications, as that may help you decide which application to complete.

If you’re applying as a transfer, check out our Transfer page to find out which application you should use.

What are the deadlines?
View our deadlines here. Not sure which deadline to choose? Check out this post, where I wrote about the difference between our two deadlines.

How many essays will I need to submit?
You can see this year's essay prompts in this blog post. 

How do I submit my supplemental materials?
When you complete either the Common Application or the CFNC application online, the instructions will give you full details on how to submit your counselor statement, teacher recommendation, and transcript.

If you’re applying through the Common Application, you’ll indicate on the application which teacher(s) and counselor will submit materials on your behalf. You’ll enter their email contact information, and the Common App will send them instructions on how to submit the materials. They’ll submit the information directly to the Common App, so they’ll only have to upload it once no matter how many schools you apply to. You’ll want to touch base with your teacher and counselor to make sure they’ve gotten the email from the Common App, and they are all set to submit the materials.

 If you’re submitting a CFNC application, you’ll need to ask your teacher and counselor to submit these materials directly to us. Your teacher may submit the letter of recommendation by email (uncsubmit@admissions.unc.edu) or by mail. Your counselor may submit your Counselor Statement and official transcript through a secure electronic delivery service (Docufide or Naviance), or through the mail. Talk to your counselor to find out which method he/she prefers.

No matter which application you use, you'll need to have your official SAT or ACT scores sent to us directly from the testing service. We accept scores taken through November for Early Action and through December for Regular Decision. 

How many letters of recommendation should I send?
We only require one letter for first-year applicants and generally find one letter to be sufficient. However, if you’d like to submit additional letters, you’re welcome to do so.

Can I submit additional materials (resume, etc?)
You’re welcome to submit additional materials by sending them directly to us by email (uncsubmit@admissions.unc.edu) or by mail. Keep in mind these materials can’t be returned and we can’t view any multimedia materials submitted by mail (CDs, DVDs, bulky portfolios, etc). If you’d like to share artwork or multimedia work, the best method is to display it online through a website, blog, or online portfolio. You can then include the URL in your application.

Whenever you submit materials to us by mail or email, it’s very helpful if you include your full name and date of birth, so we can easily match it to your application.

A New Year...and Common App FAQs

It’s the first week of classes and campus is bustling. I walked by the Old Well on my way back from lunch yesterday and there was a whole line of students getting ready to take their lucky first sip from the fountain. (It’s a tradition on the first day of classes: drink from the Old Well for good luck all year. I went ahead and took a sip too. It couldn’t hurt, right?)

Here in the admissions office, with our new first-year class settled onto campus, we’re turning our attention toward the prospective students of the class of 2016. If you’re a rising senior getting ready to apply to Carolina, hello! We’re excited to work with you this year and we’re looking forward to receiving your application and learning more about you.

For those of you who are new to the blog, let me introduce myself. I’m Julie Tucker, an Assistant Director here in the Admissions Office. I, with the help of several of my fellow admissions counselors, have the great pleasure of posting what we hope is helpful information here on the blog, and we do our best to respond to all of the questions and comments that you post. I don’t always know the answers to your questions but I have gotten pretty good at scouting them out. This usually involves me pestering my coworkers. Luckily they are quite patient with me.

We’re already getting a number of questions from students who have started working on their applications, so I thought I’d share some FAQs. If you have additional questions, please let us know in the comments. (Please do read through all the FAQs and comments before you post your question though. You can also look for the answer to your question in Ask Admissions. You may well find the answer is already online!)

Should I apply through the Common Application or through the College Foundation of North Carolina (CFNC)?
You can choose whichever is more convenient for you. The questions and requirements are the same, so it does not matter to us which you choose. You’ll want to find out whether the other colleges you’re planning to apply to accept either of these applications, as that may help you decide which application to complete.

(If you’re a transfer applicant, check out our Transfer page to find out which application you should use.)

What are the deadlines?
Our deadlines have changed a bit this year, so view our deadlines here. Not sure which deadline to choose? Check out this post, where I wrote about the difference between our two deadlines.

How do I submit my supplemental materials?
When you complete either the Common Application or the CFNC application online, the instructions will give you full details on how to submit your counselor statement, teacher recommendation, and transcript.

If you’re applying through the Common Application, you’ll indicate on the application which teacher(s) and counselor will submit materials on your behalf. You’ll enter their email contact information, and the Common App will send them instructions on how to submit the materials. They’ll submit the information directly to the Common App, so they’ll only have to upload it once no matter how many schools you apply to. You’ll want to touch base with your teacher and counselor to make sure they’ve gotten the email from the Common App, and they are all set to submit the materials.

If you’re submitting a CFNC application, you’ll need to ask your teacher and counselor to submit these materials directly to us. Your teacher may submit the letter of recommendation by email (uncsubmit@admissions.unc.edu) or by mail. Your counselor may submit your Counselor Statement and official transcript through a secure electronic delivery service (Docufide or Naviance), or they may be mailed to us. Talk to your counselor to find out which method he/she prefers.

How many letters of recommendation should I send?
We only require one letter and generally find one letter to be sufficient. However, if you’d like to submit additional letters, you’re welcome to do so.

Can I submit additional materials (resume, etc?)
You’re welcome to submit additional materials by sending them directly to us by email (uncsubmit@admissions.unc.edu) or by mail. Keep in mind these materials can’t be returned and we can’t view any multimedia materials submitted by mail (CDs, DVDs, bulky portfolios, etc). If you’d like to share artwork or multimedia work, the best method is to display it online through a website, blog, or online portfolio. You can then include the URL in your application.

Whenever you submit materials to us by mail or email, it’s very helpful if you include your full name and date of birth, so we can easily match it to your application.

How many essays are required?
Check out this post for a full listing of our essay prompts. You’ll choose one prompt from the Common App, and one prompt from our supplemental form. (If you are applying through CFNC, all of these prompts are listed on the main CFNC application, and you’ll choose two.)

When will you receive my application?
Whether you apply through the Common App or CFNC, we won’t receive any of your application information until 1-2 weeks after you submit your application online. After we receive your application, we’ll send you an email with instructions on how to set up your MyUNC account. You’ll be able to track the status of your application and, when the time comes, view your decision through MyUNC.

What do I do if I have technical problems as I complete the Common App?
The Common App has a huge online help database called the Knowledge Base. It is full of helpful information. If you don’t find the answer to your question there, you can contact them online for more help.

What other questions do you have? Please let us know!