Senior Sitdown: Journalism



Senior Sitdown: Journalism


Want to know more about majors, study abroad, housing, dining, and a host of other student life aspects here at Carolina? Then our new series, Senior Sitdown, was made just for you! Now that they have nearly four years under their belts, seniors are giving you the inside scoop on all things Carolina that you just won't find anywhere else!

First up in the series is Senior Sitdown: Journalism, where you'll get to hang out with Meghan, Charnelle, Colin, Emma, Moe and Jane – six amazing J-Schoolers representing a variety of concentrations, from Business Journalism to Public Relations. Not only will they discuss why they chose journalism, but they'll also offer some advice and share a bit about the awesome things they do with their summer vacations. So grab a seat, and click here!

Stay tuned to see who we'll sit down with next!

How To View Your Decision When It's Available

Heads-up EA applicants!

To view your decision online when it's ready, please follow the instructions below. Please note that due to the high volume of traffic on our server, you may experience delays. We apologize for any inconvenience.

1. Go to at my.unc.edu. 
2. Under Applicants, click on “ConnectCarolina Student Center.” 
3. Log in with your Guest ID. If you do not have a Guest ID, please follow the email instructions we sent to you. If you do not have these instructions, please email us at unchelp@admissions.unc.edu. 
4. Under Admissions, click on “Click here to view your decision in a new window.” Please make sure popup-blocking software is disabled.

In order to view your decision, the pop-up blocker feature on your browser,  if applicable, must be disabled. Below are instructions for disabling pop-ups in the popular browsers:

Internet Explorer

1. In the menu bar, go to Tools and navigate down to “Pop-up Blocker Settings.”
2. Click on “Turn-Off Pop-up Blocker.” 

Google Toolbar

1. Click the Google Pop-up Blocker toolbar icon. 
2. The Pop-up Blocker icon should read “Popups are okay.” 

Mozilla Firefox

1. In the menu bar, go to Tools and navigate down to Options.
2. Select “Content” tab or icon. 
3. Uncheck box labeled “Block pop-up windows.”

AOL 

1. Click on “Blocking Pop-ups” at the bottom right corner of the AOL window.
2. Uncheck box labeled “Suppress pop-ups from websites I visit.”
3. Click “Save” button.

Yahoo Toolbar

1. Click on the Yahoo Toolbar's popup blocker icon option arrow. This arrow is pointing down beside of the popup blocker icon.
2. Click on “Enable Pop-up Blocker” to uncheck. 

Chrome
To allow blocked pop-ups when you're already on a site, follow these steps:

1. Click the Chrome menu on the browser toolbar
2. Select "Settings"
3. Click "Show Advanced Settings" 
4. In the "Privacy" section, click the Content setting button
5. In the "Pop-ups" section, select "Allow all sites to show pop-ups."

Safari

1. Open the Safari menu and select the “Preferences” option.
2. In the window that displays, click on the “Security” option.
3. Remove the checkmark from the “Block pop-up” windows option.
4. Close the window. 

Or, for an older version of Safari, try

1. Open Safari 
2. Click on the Safari Menu 
3. Uncheck “Block Pop-Up Windows”

7 Reasons to Apply to Carolina

Happy New Year! We hope your 2013 is shaping up to be the best yet. As a reminder, if you haven't already applied for first-year admission to Carolina, our final deadline of January 7, 2013 is just days away. You still have time, so why not make a New Year's resolution to apply to Carolina?

Need another reason? We'll give you seven. Carolina students not only dream big, they possess the initiative to make those dreams a reality. In the early days of this new year, we thought you might enjoy learning about how seven of our current students are taking advantage of the endless opportunities Carolina offers.

1. Alfredo interned at Goldman Sachs in New York.
2. Mallory pays it forward as co-president of Carolina Firsts.
3. Brandon is a tutor for Carolina's Summer Bridge Program.
4. Yu is the founder of Young Scholars International.
5. Madison spent two months in Jordan studying Arabic.
6. Whitney is completing an honors thesis related to mental health in adolescents.
7. Fedor will research biological noise in desensitization.

These are just seven of the countless Carolina students who are making their mark on the world in their own way. Read about more students.

If you applied to Carolina already, we thank you for your application, and we are enjoying getting to know you. Once you do apply, please log into your MyCarolina account to check the status of your application.

We wish you the best as you set your own goals for a happy and prosperous New Year.

What Are You Doing with Your Summer?

Snapped this photo at lunchtime. The pit is still busy, even in the summer! Students, visitors, and new first-year students here for orientation keep campus very lively.

We often get asked by students, "what should I be doing with my summer?" Some students worry that their summers need to include big, impressive-sounding experiences that will build up their resume for their college applications. But I encourage you to think of it the other way around. How can you use this time to make the most of the resources and opportunities around you and how can you continue growing and learning while you're on vacation from school? That might sound a little cheesy, but it's true. You have this time, so use it to do something that will help you figure out who you are and where you want to go.

I would say the most important thing is that you do something. There aren't really any bad options here, short of sitting on the sofa all summer eating cheesy poofs and playing video games. Get a job, volunteer, take an art class, counsel kids at camp, take a class at your local community college, get an internship, travel, go to band camp, start your own business--the list of options is endless.

It's a popular myth that all colleges are looking for well-rounded students--students whose extracurricular activities are made up of, for instance, 25% athletics, 30% academics, 20% community service, and 25% working experience. Believe me, there is no such formula. What a boring place this would be if all of our students brought the same combination of experiences and interests!

So don't worry about being well-rounded. Follow your interests and you can't go wrong--and you'll also have a lot more fun along the way.

Of course, if your summer includes college tours, come visit us! And if you're a rising senior, it's never too early to get a jump-start on your college essays.

So what are YOU doing with your summer? I'd love to hear!

Essay Prompts for Fall 2013 First-Year Applicants

We've finalized the essays prompts for our Fall 2013 First-Year Application. This year, we'll be asking first-year applicants to submit two essays, one on the main part of the Common Application and one on our Supplement form. The rest of the application will be available on August 1, but you can get a jump-start on your essays now. At the bottom of the post, I've also included some helpful advice from the reading team here.


First Essay. Choose one of the following prompts, and respond in an essay of 250-500 words. These are the essays listed on the main part of the Common Application.

1. Evaluate a significant experience, achievement, risk you have taken, or ethical dilemma you have faced and its impact on you. 
2. Discuss some issue of personal, local, national, or international concern and its importance to you.
3. Indicate a person who has had a significant influence on you, and describe that influence.
4. Describe a character in fiction, a historical figure, or a creative work (as in art, music, science, etc) that has had influence on you, and explain that influence.
5. A range of academic interests, personal perspectives, and life experiences adds much to the educational mix. Given your personal background, describe an experience that illustrates what you would bring to the diversity in a college community or an encounter that demonstrated the importance of diversity to you.
6. Topic of your choice. 

Second Essay. Choose one of the following prompts, and respond in an essay of about 500 words. If you're applying via the Common App, these questions will be listed on the UNC-Chapel Hill Supplemental form.

1. You just put a message in a bottle and threw the bottle out to sea. What is the message?
2. If you could design and teach your own course, what topic would you cover? What texts, assignments, projects, field trips, or other resources would you use in teaching this course?
3. What is your comfort food and why?
4. You just made the front page of the New York Times for doing something important that no one before you has ever thought to do. What did you do and why did you do it?
5. Carolina encourages students and faculty to solve problems. What problem are you trying to solve, and why is it important to you?
6. Tell us about a time when you changed your mind about something that mattered to you. What led to that change? 

Please note the recommended word counts for each essay listed above. Every year we get a lot of questions about length. We don't count words and your essay doesn't get cut off if you go over the word limit. However, we really appreciate it if you stay close to the recommended length. We have a lot of essays to read, and a succinct, well-edited essay is going to be much more effective than a rambling one. I know it can be challenging to stay within the word limit, but it's a challenge we think you're up to!

So what do we look for in an essay? Well, here's some advice which comes from the collective wisdom of our readers, each of whom reads thousands of essays each year.

• Show us, don’t tell us. For example, rather than just telling us “I am an adventurous person,” why not show us your adventurous spirit by recounting your latest adventure with colorful details and descriptive language. Showing is always more persuasive and interesting than telling. 
• Focus. Don’t try to tell your entire life story (it’s impossible), but instead think about how you can communicate one little slice of 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? 
• Remember it doesn't have to be all about you. Some of the best essays are about people or ideas outside the writer's own life--these essays can still tell us a lot about the person who did the writing. 
• Be concise. Don’t use 10 words when five will do the trick. 
• Don’t feel strictly tied to the essay prompts. Use them as jumping off places, and feel free to let your creativity take you where it may. We work hard to come up with essay prompts that will inspire students to craft an interesting essay. But if your muse leads you in a slightly different direction, that's perfectly okay. 
• Be yourself. Instead of trying to figure out what we want to hear, ask yourself how you can portray your unique voice and personality. This is your opportunity to show us who you are, and make us want to get to know you better. 

Do you have any good advice for essays? Please feel free to share your opinions, and let us know if you have questions.

Edited to add: I came across this video online by animator Kirsten Lepore today, and I though it might inspire you all to think outside of the box--it's a charming and unique story about messages in bottles. (And no, we don't accept videos in lieu of written essays, but I thought it was a great example of story-telling that you all might enjoy!)


Bottle from Kirsten Lepore on Vimeo.