University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Top Questions

What are the most popular student activities/groups?

Alex

Popular campus organizations - the Daily Tar Heel, student government, Young Democrats, College Republicans, BSM (Black Student Movement), Campus Crusade, Intervarsity, Pauper Players, LAB theatre, dozens of a cappella groups and much, much more. Every year before the first day of classes is Fall Fest on South Road, where nearly every student group is represented. Lots of fun, free stuff, free food, and entertainment, and a great place to meet people and find out about orgs you might be interested in joining. Halloween on Franklin Street is always really big. You should go out at least once if for nothing else than to see people's costumes. Sports are a really big deal at UNC, in case you were unaware. If you are a UNC student who doesn't care about sports, either find a group of friends that also doesn't care about sports, or just don't vocalize that apathy too much. I think sports are dumb, but I was still always happy to see UNC beat Duke.

Jessica

At UNC, people work hard and play hard. I met all of my closest friends in my student housing and then at my off campus apartment complex. Greek life seems to be the way that people make the most friends. Basketball games are the most important events that go on at chapel hill, not to mention the most fun. There are tons and tons of speakers and performances for students, usually free or very inexpensive.

joe

i guarantee you will never be bored here unless you lock yourself in your dorm, and even then you will most likely be invited by your ra/suitmates for a pickup game of something on the quad. i would guess maybe 40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} are greek, but, minus the occasional seersucker suit, most of the guys are pretty lowprofile. however it seems that sorority girls only own tshirts from various functions and they stand out a lot more. on the weekends there is a plethora of activities ranging from pickup basketball on various outdoor courts, a huge athletic complex, collegiate athletics, lunch on the quad, franklin street, bars, frat parties, or (i would guess the biggest) partying in dormrooms. if you dont want to drink there also 2 movies every fri and sat night in the union for free, not to mention a paying theater on franklin. i have many friends who dont drink and the religious groups on campus usually have alternative activities.

Daniel

I'm currently a member of the UNC Mens Rugby club. It was one of the smartest things i've done coming to UNC. The members are all really close and very welcoming to freshman. I also am a photographer for the Daily Tar Heel, even though i don't own my own camera, i still was able to join and use their equipment. The biggest assignment i had my freshman year was when they sent me to Maryland to photograph the UNC field hockey team winning the NCAA tournament.

Gene

Again, this was covered somewhat in previous sections, but I'll hit some high points. I think I read a statistic that once said that at any one time, 13{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student population of UNC has had something to drink. I don't know if that's true or if I even remember it correctly, but nonetheless, drinking predominates the social scene at Carolina, even though we are supposedly a 'dry campus'. But, be wary because pretty much all of my friends received drinking citations during their freshman or sophomore year. But, if drinking isn't really your scene, there are plenty of other things to become involved in. A lot of science majors become involved in some type of research with faculty or with people at the medical and dental schools. There are a ton of religious, cultural, or political groups that are highly active on campus. And, most students at UNC are healthy and like to stay active, whether it be an IM basketball game or just taking a run around campus. Either way, there are definitely options from which to choose if you are looking for something to devote your time to, although, you may not have much left after you finish studying.

Kai

I don't participate in UNC social activities.

trevor

football and basketball season = pregame party, craziness at the game, party afterward. unc is definitely a drinking school, as many students drink at least once a week at parties. u can find a party to go to basically every week thurs - sat. there are many bars in the area, and a few clubs. players is the most popular, but if u are a female don't go alone unless u want to get hit on by thirty year old townies. halloween is always crazy with a giant impromptu parade of costumes every year on franklin street. I'm heavily involved in student television, which is public television that is student produced for the local area. if u have an interest there is a student group for it. unc is all about the extracurriculars.

Angela

As a freshman, you will probably want to live on South Campus (with the dorms of Morrison, Hinton James, Craige, and Ehringhaus). These dorms are almost exclusively filled with freshmen and sophomores, so it's nice to always be surrounded by your friends and people with whom you'll have your classes with (at least initially). Most people are involved in some sort of club or activity, and there are HUNDREDS of things to choose from to be involved with on campus. The list is almost endless, and it's likely that everyone is able to find at least one thing to join that they're interested in if they want to. But at the same time, it's still fine not to join anything, and still have a good time. I wasn't really a part of any clubs, but I did take part in my religious faith and go the gym, which was enough for me. There really is something for everyone here. The Greek scene is big here, but it's not all-encompassing. About half of my friends joined a frat/sorority, and about half of them didn't. Either way it didn't matter--there's not any kind of rivalry or anything between people who are Greek and people who aren't, it's just a different style of living. But as someone under 21, most people will go to frat parties on the weekends (especially if you're a girl), or will have parties in their dorms. If that's not what you're into, there are plenty of coffee shops around Franklin Street to go hang out at, and people would hang out in each other's dorm rooms just to talk, watch movies, play games, etc. There are also movie theaters and performance theaters around, and sometimes just walking around campus at night can be really fun. Almost every night of the week some club will be giving a lecture, performance, party, or event that you can attend (and it usually supports a good cause of some sort). The gym (SRC) is open late as well, and a lot of people would work out at night because it was less busy then. I will say that if you come to UNC knowing absolutely no one, be prepared to have to try harder to make friends. A lot of the people that come here are in-state and usually know at least a few people beforehand, so it's a little less intimidating. All of my close friends in college I met through a few mutual friends that I had known previously.

matt

There are pretty much activities for any kind of person at UNC. The university is pretty much like a little society, because there are so many different kinds of people, I don't think there's one category you could put a large group of people (though there do exist superficial categories like frat-boy, sorostitute, and jock).

Alecia

Campus activities can suit your every need. It just depends on what your looking for. The most popular groups are somewhat politically related. Fraternities and Sororities are a large community, but they do not have an overwhelming influence on the campus. There are plenty of games and activities to do that are clean and fun on a Saturday night. There is an activity center in the Union, game night in dorms and various other activities.