University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Top Questions

There is a good mix of different people here. Lower-class individuals might find it hard to fit in.

The UNC student body is diverse, intelligent, and down to earth. That being said, there is no "stereotypical" Carolina student. Its a large enough school that you will find someone that shares your interests. Obviously, most students are from North Carolina and that can be difficult at first for out-of-state students. The campus is pretty liberal, but welcomes new ideas and disagreement.

UNC has a very diverse student body, and everyone has the opportunity to find their place. There are groups for every type of person, and I don't feel like anyone would feel out of place unless they were wearing a Duke shirt. Most UNC students are from NC, because it is a public university. It is definitely a liberal university, politically speaking.

UNC's students are very diverse, but your interaction depends on what groups you choose to involve yourself in. The Greek community is very much white, preppy, affluent, and socializes within itself for the most part. There are also an abundance of religious and ethnic heritage organizations that allow everyone to feel apart of a group. The LGBT community is known for being large in consideration for being in the South and has a strong organization and social network within itself. The majority of students though fit into the generic "college" look with jeans, tshirts, flip flops/tennis shoes for class. They are mostly middle class from suburban backgrounds. But many students break out of their cookie-cutter mold backgrounds through their years here and really change in terms of finding themselves and their passions. Some student stereotypes that one might see are the athlete, sorority/frat-star, generic "college" student, hippy do-gooder, etc. Most students are liberal and are involved in some group of their interest.

We have an extremely diverse student body here. I went to a predominantly white high school and I love UNC's diversity. The real world is diverse and I feel comfortable interacting with people of all backgrounds and places. There is a group of evangelical Christians who come to campus frequently and preach. Although I have a Christian background, I don't agree with most of the things they say. However, the environment is so open here that people stand around and listen to them and argue with them about certain topics. I think that speaks well about our student body that individuals are comfortable enough with their beliefs that they'll confront others in public about theirs and discuss things with them. Most times, the students are more open to hearing what the evangelicals say and then make their arguments although the evangelicals aren't willing to listen to what anyone else has to say. I see students wear all kinds of things to class. Some wear caps, polo shirts and boat shoes. Whereas others wear sweatpants. Most of the time I wear a t-shirt, jeans and flip flops. However, I feel comfortable enough to wear sweats or dress up a little nicer depending on my mood and how much time I have to get ready. I think that different types of students interact. When it comes down to it there will always be cliques, but there are so many individuals with different backgrounds here that it's easy to mingle with people who might be from a completely different background. Out of four tables in the dining hall, one would be athletes, another would be frat guys and sorority girls, and then the other two would just be a mix of people. There are so many different groups that really the only people who stick out are people who are in specific organizations or groups that are labeled, like Greek organizations and athletic teams. However, a lot of times these individuals break these stereotypes. Most UNC students are from NC since it's a state school and has to have a certain amount of in-state students, (I think it's 85{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c}). A lot of them are from the Raleigh and Charlotte areas, since those areas are so populated anyway. I think most students are from the middle class, but there are so many scholarships awarded here that I have several friends who are on scholarships that otherwise wouldn't be able to afford college. Political activity is pretty big here. There are many political groups around campus who go to conventions, protests, and campaign for political candidates. I overhear many conversations over politics. Just a quick flip through the campus newspaper The Daily Tar Heel will prove how politically oriented the student body is. Since UNC has a liberal arts curriculum, it gets a rap for being a congregation of a bunch of liberals. I often hear it called, "Liberal Hill." There are a lot of left-leaning people here, but I think the majority are moderate. There is still a strong presence of right-leaning people on campus though, even though they seem to be overwhelmed by the liberal presence. People definitely joke about how much they'll earn in their future careers, especially since there are business, law, medical, nursing and dental schools here. But I think it's natural for people to talk about that at a university since they are preparing for their careers.

Most students are quite tolerant, although there are close-minded individuals, as on every campus. It's hard to think of a student that would feel out of place at UNC, since the student body is so diverse. An overwhelming majority of students are from North Carolina, but that doesn't mean that out-of-state students don't belong; rather, they blend in and add to student life with their unique perspectives.

Most people here are from NC, and of those, most are from either Charlotte or Raleigh. Although we are generally a fairly liberal campus, some of the conservative and Christian groups are pretty active and gaining a foothold in student life. GLBTSA (gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, straight...) is pretty active and puts on a really well-attended drag show twice a year (much to the ire of the aforementioned right-wingers). Our Young Democrats chapter was named the most active chapter in the country during the 2004 election (and we're trying to do it again). Affirmative action and active minority student recruitment and outreach have allowed for a lot of ethnic diversity, but self-segregation is a big issue on campus. In the dining halls people generally cluster according to race. It's not that there's any real tension or animosity so much as people just not willing to leave their comfort zone. Various groups like student government and the campus Y have tried to put on programs to address the self-segregation issue, and to their credit, it doesn't seem as bad as it did when I got here. As for socioeconomic diversity, the university is doing a lot to bring in low-income students in addition to other underrepresented groups. Carolina Covenant allows disadvantaged students to graduate debt free through grants and work study. I have some friends here who spent their childhood in a trailer park and others who's parents own pro sports teams. We've got homeschoolers and kids who went to elite boarding schools like Philips Exeter and Choate. The only people we don't have a whole lot of are older "non-traditional" students coming back to college later in life. There are a few, but in 3 years I've crossed paths with maybe two.