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My niece was turned down for UNC Chapel Hill (and it was my alma mater). I am really shocked that she was turned down. She is a strong athlete, plays numerous sports, acts in school plays, has great grades, great GPA and solid SATs. Of course she is in National Honor Society and many other clubs. She has a job too. She is really the total package. She is certainly Carolina material. (And I was hoping she would be a legacy at my sorority, Sigma Sigma Sigma).
If anyone out there works in admissions at UNC-CH, can you give us some tips to use on her appeal letter?
Was everything you mentioned readily apparent in her application package? Sometimes stand-out students forget that the staff at the college has never heard of them. The students "assume" the college will know of them just as all Staff in their High School knew their reputation while they were still in Middle School.
Was she denied admission to the University, or her desired program of study? Some programs have incredibly competitive admissions, and a different Department/School within the University with a nearly equivalent program will readily offer admission.
Two "Real Life" stories:
Twelve years ago our oldest son received a similar letter. He had applied to the Music Engineering Program at the University of Miami, an extremely competitive program that accepted less than 24 students per year. The School of Music at Miami denied his application into their MUE program but admitted him to their Music Business program - his second choice on the application but which really had no allure to him. The University also offered an Acoustical Engineering Program through their School of Engineering and the students in this program enrolled in many of the same classes as the School of Music's Music Engineering students. The engineering dept was very interested in having our son enroll in their program but the scholarships were significantly less. He and I toured the Campus, made an appointment to talk to the Director of the Music Engineering Program and had a very nice conversation. I asked about a number of options; wait listing, transfer into the program after one semester, etc. None had ever been done before but the Professor was very polite and receptive. My son was left with a choice; enroll in the School of Music and hope for a transfer into his desired program after a semester or two, or enroll in the very similar School of Engineering program. He rolled the dice, accepted the School of Music offer, and within a month received a letter from the Director informing him he was now a Music Engineering Student. He graduated in four years, *** Laude, with three minors in addition to his major, and is now an Intellectual Property Attorney specializing in electronics and sound reproduction patents.
The boy who grew up across the street from us applied to the Mechanical Engineering program at the University of Michigan and was wait listed. His mother called the admissions department daily for two months until his enrollment status was changed to accepted. He graduated from UofM with honors and has since earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering.
Admissions Counselors don't have a set of perfect tools when faced with deciding which High School students will succeed in their programs and which students may not. Don't let your niece give up. Make her prove they made the wrong decision!
Best of luck to your Niece. I know letters like this can be devastating to a high school student.
In 2010 the statistics show that the University accepts only 32 percent of applicants. It is a tough university to get into! I have had friends who have gone a different route, either going to a smaller school then transferring junior year, OR, taking classes through the continuing education program. If you can go part time and take classes, often you will be able to apply as a transfer student............
Thanks everyone. She was actually turned down to the university itself, not a particular school within the university. I understand that it is VERY competitive, but she is top quality.
Yeah, it is very tough. I was a good student too, and I was turned down. They said that it was because there was not enough room. Students all over the country (and some international) apply there, so it is understandable. They said I could transfer in, but I decided to just keep on going through my undergrad at another state school. I may go there for graduate school or something in the future. Yeah, she may be "top quality", but so are the other kids who applied.
You may find your answers there, but if she's really top notch, then the answer is probably in the statistics they don't mention - how many valedictorians and salutatorians were turned down? How many National Merit Finalists were turned down? I know the numbers at Duke are eye-popping. Also, since UNC is the flagship university for North Carolina, admissions officers look at candidates from across the state, recognizing that not all school systems are equal and not all students are going to compare equally across the board. You may find a top notch student from one of NC's poorer counties admitted ahead of the 100th student from Enloe or Green Hope or Chapel Hill High, although scores are lower and class load less challenging.
I wish your niece all the best in her appeal!
Last edited by NoneOfThis; 03-21-2011 at 06:25 PM..
Reason: adding/clarifying/correcting :)
it also depends on what county she is coming from -- I have heard wake, durham, chatham and orange counties are all very competitive -- because we all live here and it is just a skosh more competitive from the sheer number of applicants.
I have heard of folks transferring in their soph or jr years - so don't despair. She could still get there. Just do freshman year elsewhere and apply for a transfer.
I'm sorry to hear about her being turned down. If your appeal doesn't work and if she really wants to attend Chapel Hill, she could go somewhere else for one year and transfer as a sophomore. That's what I did. There weren't too many of us sophomore transfers, but I was still able to join a sorority (Tri-Sigma as well!) and have the UNC experience in three years.
If she doesn't make it in to Carolina on appeal, she is going to NC State. Maybe she can transfer to UNC later. NC State was not her first choice, but it is also a great school so she will be fine either way. She was born and has always lived in Union County NC (Monroe).
I'm sorry to hear about her being turned down. If your appeal doesn't work and if she really wants to attend Chapel Hill, she could go somewhere else for one year and transfer as a sophomore. That's what I did. There weren't too many of us sophomore transfers, but I was still able to join a sorority (Tri-Sigma as well!) and have the UNC experience in three years.
2nd this. I know a few people who transfered and had no issues. In fact one person who got in had bad grades in HS and a very low SAT score but was able to improve her grades at a CC so UNC accepted her then.
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From a Parent, but not UNC
