University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Top Questions

Most of the classes offered here are fantastic, but students generally dread them. If you try, you can build a close relationship with nearly all of the teachers, but most kids complain that the teachers do not know who they are. As for the English department, every teacher I have had will stop and talk to me when they see me outside of class. I feel that this department is one of the strongest in the country.

Professors knows your name if you make an effort for them to know you. It's all dependent upon what you want. You can definitely remain anonymous for 4 years if you choose, but can also know every professor by first name in your department should you choose. Students definitely study. It is often dependent upon how much they want to study. It seems as though some live in the library, while others rarely even step inside the library. UNC is a very intellectual institution inside and out of the classroom. I believe my department is one of the best in the university. Some of my classes were merely 10 people large, which is extremely rare in a 25,000 person student body. It is competitive and highly specialized. The faculty are extremely involved and care about each student. They encourage work outside of the classroom and I've had plenty of lunches, dinners, and long conversations outside of the classroom with most professors in the department. My major landed me straight into a job where I get to apply everything I learned on a daily basis.

Are awesome!! Ok so some of the classes are hard, but that is true at any University. There are so many incredible academic opportunities at UNC. You can participate in research, first year seminars (which are a must!), and many application classes. These classes allow you to actually use what you learn. This past semester, I took two first year seminars (FYS): Living with Oceans and Atmosphere - a marine science class, and The Geology of Climate Change - a geology class. Both courses were awesome and also incorporated trips to the North Carolina Mountains and two research trip to the NC Coast. My class actually spent the weekend at the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences and took a trip on the UNC research vessel out into the Atlantic Ocean. As a student, I cannot stress the importance of classes such as these. There is no greater academic experience than to get out into the world and apply what you have actually learned in class. My Suggestion to incoming freshman: Take MASC 052 - Oceans and Atmosphere with Prof. John Bane - one word... Incredible!

I had a great academic experience. I was a Bio major with minors in Chemistry, Classics, and Women's Studies. I took classes in all departments ranging from Music to Physics, English to Religion. The professors are extremely approachable, and for the most part the classes are great! I feel very prepared for my post-grad education.

Students are competitive, yet encouraging. The students at UNC live so closely by the "work hard, play hard" mantra. Everyone succeeds, but everyone also knows how to have an unbelievably good time!

UNC academics are second to none. Let's be honest. The professors here at Carolina are writing the text books for students at other public schools. For the most part, the faculty is diverse and interesting and the classes offer a different and enlightened perspective from high school curricula. My AFAM major has opened my eyes to a side of American history that was mostly ignored. Thanks to a professor in the department, Dr. Robert Porter, myself and every other student that has been lucky enough to encounter him have grown intellectually. Very few professors have the opportunity to learn your name, but Porter and some other professors make it a priority. UNC offers the best of both worlds; you can get aninimity if you want it or you can make your best friends in class. Either way, there's no place you'd rather be.

I graduated with a degree in Business Admin. The business school was very challenging/competitive but a wonderful place to grow. The class size is under 60 allowing professors to know the students and form a relationship.

Academics were tough at UNC. I don't regret the classes I took or how I did in most of them, but I do think that I didn't take advantage of getting to know most of my professors in Biology. The classes were pretty large all the time and I was never the kind of student who goes way out of their way to stop in at every office hour. Because of that, I really didn't feel special or known by my biology professors. The best experiences I had within the Biology department were when I went out myself and talked to researchers and got involved in undergraduate research where I had close contact with my PI's and learned about real research and biology. I felt more connected to teachers in my Arabic language classes which were very small and the professors really did all they could to know about you and teach you as much as they could. The Arabic program at UNC is growing and really is phenomenal!

The best thing I can say about UNC's system is that I had the chance to grow as a student and researcher at a comfortable pace. I was given an appropriate amount of space by the bounds set for the curriculum to find myself and figure out what I wanted to do in my life. Once I discovered my passion for ancient history, I was delighted to find a number of professors and fellow students with whom I could share this love. I found work in my field (in the Ancient World Mapping Center) upon graduation and worked directly under my honors thesis adviser, Prof. Richard Talbert. I feel a special connection with many of the faculty here which I believe will last for years.

Academics at UNC are demanding, but not overwhelming. Professors expect a lot out of their students, but almost all of them are willing to give help to any student who seeks it. Professors often don't know the names of all of their students, but if you make an effort to have a relationship with a professor, you certainly can.