Update on Transfer Decisions

Here are the steps to view your transfer decision when it’s available online. Please note that due to the high volume, you may experience delays when attempting to view your decision online. We apologize for any inconvenience.

1. Log into MyUNC.
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 instructions in the email that will be sent shortly. If you do not receive 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, please note that, if applicable, the pop-up blocker feature on your browser 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 “Pop-ups Blocked” alert at the bottom right-hand corner of the browser tab.
2. Select the pop-up that you'd like to allow.
3. If you'd like, select “Always show pop-ups” from (site).

If you're using Google Chrome Beta for Windows, the site is added to the exceptions list, which you can manage in the Content Settings dialog (go to Tools menu > Options > Under the Hood to open the dialog box).

If you're using Google Chrome Beta for Windows, you can also disable the pop-up blocker completely. Follow these steps:

1. Click the “Tools” menu.
2. Select “Options.”
3. Click the “Under the Hood” tab.
4. Click Content settings in the "Privacy" section.
5. Click the “Pop-ups” tab.
6. Select "Allow all sites to show pop-ups." You can make exceptions for specific websites by clicking Exceptions.
7. Click “Close” to save your setting.

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”

Campus Chatter: Update on Transfer Decisions, Senior Week & More

Yesterday, I spent some time outside over lunch. As I was walking back to Jackson Hall, I heard some rather insistent chirping from one of our nearby trees. I stopped to search for the source and discovered two fledgling mockingbirds starting to stretch their wings -- with Mom and Dad Mockingbird just a few branches away encouraging them along.

We’ve had a lot of chatter in the comments about transfer decisions so I thought it might be helpful to address these here. We experienced a 15% increase in transfer applications for Fall 2012 (for a total of just over 3,000), so it’s taking us a little longer than we had originally planned to review these applications. That being said, we know that the waiting is tough and we are so grateful for your patience as we complete our work. We use the same holistic approach to review our transfer applications as we do our first-year applications, and Julie’s post from earlier this year gives great insight into all the things that have to happen before we can release decisions.

We do not have a specific date or time that transfer decisions will be available yet, but they will be available by the end of April. At this time, we do not anticipate adjusting the enrollment deadline, which for transfer students is still May 16; of course, if that changes, we’ll let you know. Transfer credit evaluations for admitted students should be available at approximately the same time as decisions, so you’ll be able to review this in making your decision.

Lots of people on campus are chattering, too. With only about two weeks to go before the end of the semester, our students are looking ahead to plans for next year while finishing up their coursework for this year. For our seniors, it’s particularly exciting as they make plans for after graduation and this week is Senior Week. Last night, the Morehead Planetarium hosted seniors for a special program; tonight will be the Senior Send Off and Last Lecture; and on Thursday, seniors will get to climb the Bell Tower.

After graduation, our students are taking advantage of an increase in hiring projections and other fabulous opportunities. For example, Elaine Townsend will be spending next year teaching English in South Korea on a Fulbright award.

Here are some of the other stories that we’re chattering about:

2012 Celebration of Undergraduate Research is largest symposium yet

Sofia Gruskin gives the inaugural address in the UNC Health and Human Rights Lecture Series

First-year Decathlete Joe Hutchinson will carry Olympic torch in May

UNC Celebrates Earth Day with two weeks of activities

Please let us know what other questions you have. If you include your name or at least a screen name, that’s great, as we like being able to respond to a specific person!

Water, Water, Everywhere

Over the next few years, you’re going to hear a lot of talk about water at Carolina. 

New research from UNC reports that 1.8 billion people – 28% of the world’s population – use unsafe water and millions of people die annually due to lack of access to clean, potable water for drinking, washing, and other uses. From disease to natural disasters like floods and droughts, water is a critical part of our lives – and one that’s easy to take for granted.

On March 22, Chancellor Thorp led the kickoff of the University-wide theme for the next two years, Water in Our World.  Not only will this be an academic theme on campus, but we’ll also be drawing upon the great work of the UNC Water Institute and our involvement with the US Water Partnership recently announced by Secretary of State Clinton.

You can learn more about these initiatives through the links above; stay up to date by following Water in Our World on Twitter at @UNCWater. Innovate@Carolina also has a wealth of information on the ways Carolina is making an impact on the world’s most pressing issues.   

Action & Empowerment

Hi everybody! It’s been a few weeks since I last posted about TEDxUNC. A lot has happened on campus since then: spring break, first-year decision release, Wristwatch2012. Last time, we talked about access, the compulsion we humans feel to act when we see someone in need of help, and the enduring presence of hope that things can always get better.

I try to write each of these posts with an eye to the post that will follow (leave it to the lit major to have a story arc in mind at all times!). From access, I arrived at the pairing of action and empowerment. Since January and certainly since crafting the last post, I’ve made an effort to be more conscious of the empowering moments I encounter on a daily basis. It’s been a bit like being told “don’t think about a pink elephant” – suddenly all you can think of is a herd of pink pachyderms and since then, I’ve seen the opportunities for action and empowerment around me more and more.

But what exactly does “action” entail? How does one achieve a state of “empowerment” and what does that mean?

Greg Van Kirk talked to us about his five guiding principles of social entrepreneurship, which started with a seemingly simple premise: once you determine your desired outcome, the next step is to set something in motion. “Inspiration comes from action, not the other way around,” he said. I’d previously thought of inspirations and action as a chicken and egg sort of dichotomy, but this new viewpoint makes a lot of sense: it is part of our human nature to want to contribute, but deciding where and how to start can sometimes be really, really overwhelming. Sometimes, we just have to do something and figure out the details later.

Our students at Carolina are definitely active: with over 600 student organizations ranging from academics to athletics to service to culture, there is always something going on around here. One of the things that stands out to me about this is that whatever an organization’s “category,” there’s almost always a service component to its activities. It’s one of many things that illustrate the Carolina Way: a commitment to the greater good that is such a part of our identity as an institution and a community.

Perhaps most of all, it’s those individual connections we make with each other that bring a new level of meaning to our actions. When I talk to students about why they should apply to or enroll at Carolina – or even (scratch that: especially!) about college in general – it’s that personal moment of connecting as one human to another that makes that interaction meaningful and memorable. Kate Otto’s Everyday Ambassador project is a great example of this; if you’re not familiar with EA, I recommend starting with Carolina student Chenxi Yu’s experience in rural India. When I think of campus organizations whose primary focus is on this idea of empowerment through the action and advocacy of individuals, I think of my own experiences with Safe@UNC, whose initiatives provide resources and support for students, faculty, and staff and enable us to become resources for one another. This all brings me back to Greg Van Kirk’s closing charge to us as we sat together that January afternoon: “empower yourself so that you may go and empower others.”

Here at Carolina, we strive to provide an environment that empowers our students to take action in their own lives, both in and out of the classroom. A harsh truth about working in higher education is that if a student is the same person upon graduation that s/he was upon matriculation, we as faculty and staff have not done our jobs. We’ve talked about how it’s both okay and even necessary to fail, and that is certainly true, but in this area, failure is not an option. Your college search is a chance for you to consider those campuses that will empower you to grow – personally, academically, and professionally – and launch yourself towards the person you want to become. Likewise, our holistic review process seeks out the stories behind the transcripts and numerical statistics to learn about the experiences and the potential of each and every applicant. We don’t build our class out of test scores or weighted GPAs; we build it out of people. And it’s the people that make Carolina…well, Carolina!

Wherever your journey takes you, you have the power to act, to empower yourself, and to empower others. So often, we find ourselves discouraged by the size and scale of the issues we confront – what can I do, if I’m just one person? But sometimes one person – one act, one moment, one step – is all that’s needed to set something amazing in motion.

 I’ll leave you with a final thought from Greg Van Kirk complimented by a little Newton’s First Law of Motion: “Social entrepreneurship is a journey. You have to take the first step.” The first step is the hardest part. The laws of physics teach us that objects at rest will remain at rest until an external force acts upon them, but once an object is put into motion, it will remain in motion. It all comes down to inertia and converting potential energy into kinetic energy.

Be your own external force. Do something. Go somewhere. Make things happen. You can do it. And you will.

Melissa Kotačka 
Assistant Director of Admissions 
Follow and/or tweet at me: @makunc 
Watch all of the videos from TEDxUNC 2012 online.

Interview with Professor Jane Danielewicz about ENG 105

Today we are delighted to feature an interview with Dr. Jane Danielewicz, Hiskey Distinguished Professor in Research and Undergraduate Teaching, Associate Professor of English, and Director of the Writing Program. She will discuss the University’s new requirement for ENG 105/105i, which will be required for all entering students in Fall 2012.

Why introduce this new requirement?
We’re excited about this new offering because we believe that one college-level writing course devoted to writing, research, and oral communication can usefully extend students’ prior preparation, help them succeed in college courses, prepare them for collaborative work, and permit them to practice disciplinary ways of thinking and communicating by writing in genres that previously may not have been available to them. This requirement is also consistent with practices at other major universities—Penn State, Stanford, and Michigan, among others.

Can you share more about the curriculum?
The curriculum is designed to give students practice in many of the skills and techniques that professional researchers use to collect, organize, analyze, and present their research findings. Students will have the opportunity to conduct their own research in these fields and to compose their own examples of the genres that professionals use to communicate their research findings. Additionally, students will also be encouraged to submit their work for consideration to an undergraduate research publication or conference.

Furthermore, some sections of ENGL 105 will be designated as “research exposure” courses. Students who are interested in participating in the Carolina Research Scholar Program (sponsored by the Office for Undergraduate Research) can fulfill one (and potentially two) requirements by taking one of these ENGL 105 sections. We anticipate offering 8-10 of these “research exposure” sections.

What is the difference between ENG 105 and 105i? All students may take ENGL 105 or ENGL 105i. However, ENGL 105 is a multidisciplinary course, while ENG 105i focuses on a single disciplinary area, including writing in law, writing in humanities, writing in health and medicine, writing in social sciences, writing in business, and writing in natural sciences. These sections are especially suited for students who already have an idea of their intended major or have well-defined long-term professional goals in a particular field such as medicine or business. These courses will be available in each term during the academic year.

What if I’m in Honors?
Honors students will be offered priority registration (through Honors Carolina) in ENGL 105i courses. While honors students may prefer specialized courses, they are not required to enroll in ENGL 105i; they may be interested in a multidisciplinary approach and enroll in ENGL 105 instead.

When will the course be offered?
Sections of ENGL 105 and 105i will be offered each semester in equal numbers, 50% in fall and 50% in spring. ENGL 105 (but not ENGL 105i) will be offered in the summer term as well. Students are required to complete the ENGL 105/105i requirement during their first year at Carolina. Ideally students should enroll in ENGL 105/105i during their first semester if seats are available. Students may complete the Critical Reading (CR) requirement during the first academic year (not semester) on campus.

Will you still offer ENGL 100?
Yes. ENGL 100 will still be offered in summer and fall semesters (not the spring semester) for those students whose academic records indicate they would benefit from additional literacy instruction. The curriculum for ENGL 100 will be revised to help bridge students to ENGL 105. Students will be expected to enroll in ENGL 105 the semester immediately following completion of ENGL 100. The placement score for ENG 100 is unchanged. Eligible students include those with an SAT writing score of 460 or below, an ACT score of 19 or below, or an AP Language score of 1 or 2.

Will transfer students be expected to fulfill this requirement?
Transfer students from North Carolina community colleges who come to Carolina under the Comprehensive Articulation Agreement will receive credit for ENGL 105, as will transfer students who have taken one comparable three-credit course at another institution, as determined by the transfer tables maintained by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions. Transfer students who are not able to transfer in a comparable course must take ENGL 105.

What about current students or those who enter in the spring?
Currently enrolled students and students admitted in spring 2012 fall under the CR Foundations requirement in place when they entered Carolina; the new CR Foundations requirement does not apply to them. Therefore, students entering prior to fall 2012 must complete ENGL 101/102 (and 100, if their placement scores indicated a need for the course).

Most students entering in fall 2011 (or earlier) should be on track to complete ENGL 102 in spring 2012. Those who placed into ENGL 100 in fall 2011 should take ENGL 101 in spring 2012 and ENGL 105 in fall 2012. ENGL 102/102i will be inactivated, effective with the fall 2012 semester, to avoid confusion.

May I exempt this requirement? I have completed advanced coursework in English language or literature.
No. ENGL 105 is a required course for all incoming students. Since ENGL 105 prepares students to research and communicate in a range of disciplines, including natural and social sciences, having advanced coursework in English language or literature is not adequate or equivalent preparation for success.

However, students who score a 4 or 5 on the AP Language and Composition exam will receive 3 BE (by exam) credits for ENGL 110 English Language and Composition. These will be general credits toward graduation and do not fulfill any specific course requirement for graduation. ENGL 110 does not substitute for the required ENGL 105/105i.

Where may I learn more?
Please visit the Department of English and Comparative Literature’s Writing Program's website.

FAQs for Admitted Students

Good morning! Today I am posting some FAQs for admitted, waitlisted, and denied students. The questions for admitted students are in this post, please scroll down to the next posts for waitlisted and denied FAQs.

I've been admitted! Woo hoo! Now what?
Congratulations! We hope you'll decide to make Carolina your home for the next four years. We might be biased, but we think it's about the best undergraduate experience to be had. We'll do our best over the next few months to help you find out all you can about Carolina, so that you can decide if it's the best place for you. One of the best ways to get to know our community and the opportunities available here is to join us for one of our admitted-student events. An invitation to Explore Carolina was included with your letter of admission, and you can find out more about it here.

Our Admitted Student website has detailed information on Housing, Orientation, and the steps you'll need to take when you're ready to enroll.

Will I receive any merit scholarships?
Applicants who are being considered for a merit-based scholarship have been invited to campus for Scholarship Day. At Scholarship Day, students take part in discussion sessions with faculty members and other scholars. After the event, final scholarship selections are decided. This year, we were able to invite about 250 admitted students to Scholarship Day, and these invitations were mailed and emailed a couple weeks ago. Invited students are also able to view information about Scholarship Day in the Events section of their MyUNC.

Almost all of the merit-based scholarships offered by Carolina are awarded to the students who attend Scholarship Day. A small number of additional scholarships are awarded outside of this event; these scholarships are smaller in amount and for North Carolina residents.

But if you aren't offered a merit-based scholarship in the beginning, please know that at Carolina you will have multiple opportunities to earn a variety of awards once you arrive on campus. Read more about Scholarship Opportunities for Carolina students.

Am I being considered for Honors or any other special opportunities?
Last week, we mailed a letter to select admitted students regarding nine special opportunities that we offer. If you received a letter about these opportunities, be on the lookout for an email being sent out today, March 26. In the email, we'll ask you to indicate which of these opportunities you're most interested in. We'll then use your preferences as part of our final decisions about these programs.

What about financial aid?
All students who applied for financial aid by the priority deadline of March 1 will receive their aid package within the next few weeks. The Student Aid office packages students' aid awards as quickly as they can, but you can help by making sure they have all of the information they need. Check your To-Do List in MyUNC to make sure they haven't requested more information. Also, create your Onyen and UNC email account, as that is how the Student Aid office will communicate with you. More info is available on the Student Aid website.

Want to get advice from current students?
Last year two current students started a Q&A blog for new students called Carolina Advice. If you want opinions and answers directly from current students, it's a great resource to learn more about life here.

Other questions? Please let me know.

FAQs for Waitlisted Students

For those of you we waitlisted, we're sorry to ask you to wait still longer for a final decision. I know how frustrating it can be, particularly for those of you who applied to us early action, and have been waiting patiently for what feels like forever.

If you accept a place on our waiting list, we'll consider you for any spaces that are available in the class after we hear back from our admitted students by the May 1 enrollment deadline. In the early part of May, we'll determine how many spaces are available and we'll review the applications of all of the students who accepted a place on the waiting list. The list is not ranked in any way, so it's impossible to predict any student's chances of admission.

We may begin making offers to waitlisted students by the end of May. We may make several rounds of offers, but we promise to have a final decision to all students by the end of June.

A list of frequently-asked questions was included with your letter, and you can view it here. Please read these carefully as it should answer most of your questions.

Please let me know what other questions you have.