University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Top Questions

Dorm life is really open - I met my best friends during the first week of my freshman year in the dorms. I can't count how many times the girls in our suite got together with the guys suite down the hall for movies, late-night pizza, getting ready for basketball games, or just hanging out no matter what time it was. Even though UNC is a pretty large campus, it's surprising how soon you start to recognize a lot of faces as you walk through campus. Towards the end of the year, it's hard to go anywhere without knowing someone!

You meet your core friends by surrounding yourself with people who share your passions. You get involved in a community that is working with something you care about. My sophomore year I tried out for a group of a cappella (voice-only) singers: Psalm 100, and made my best friends. I also got onto the UNC varsity fencing team and had another group of people I got connected with. By finding somewhere where people are doing what you love and diving in, you make your best friends and have people to walk the college path with you. Also... don't leave your dorm room door closed!

bars, frats, houses

Dorm life depends on which dorm you are placed in. The freshmen high-rises (Morrison, Ehringhaus, Craige, and Hinton James) are very social, with suites of 6-8 students. The hall-style dorms vary depending on the people on the hall. I had a hall-style dorm my sophomore year, and I didn't like how quiet it was and the fact that I didn't get to know many people on my hall. However, on one of my best friend's hall, they all went out to dinner all the time and played games together and joined intramural teams together. So it really just depends. It's your job to be proactive about being social. Men's basketball is by far the most popular sport on campus. Getting tickets to games is decided by a student lottery, and more often than not, you'll lose. But a determined student can ALWAYS find a way to go. Most people go to football games, but we aren't very good, so people usually go for the sake of getting drunk on a Saturday afternoon. Dating in college sucks. Some people get lucky and actually develop relationships, but most people I know just have hookups (I use the term loosely - it doesn't have to mean sex) and have people of the other sex that they are associated with but not necessarily in a closed relationship with. I don't blame Carolina for the lack of a real dating scene; to me this seems to be the trend at all colleges. Freshman year, most people's closest friends are the people they live with or the people they hung out with at orientation. For some people, this continues on throughout college, but for most people, new friend groups are formed as they no longer live in the same suite. I had various friends freshman and sophomore year, from dorms, clubs, etc., but my best friends were formed when I joined a co-ed business fraternity on campus. These friendships lasted because I saw those people more often (they were in my classes, etc.), because we had similar interests, and because the social scene changes a lot when you are able to go to bars (either because you are 21 or have a decent ID). As a junior or a senior, if I was awake at 2am on a Tuesday, there was a 100{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} chance it was because I was coming home from the bars. Tuesday is a fun night to go out, with lots of bars having great drink specials. The saying is that Tuesday is the new Thursday. Freshman and sophomore year though, I probably wouldn't have been awake at 2am on a Tuesday night, because I don't like to study late at night. If I had a big test on a Wednesday, I'd get up early that morning to study rather than stay up late the night before. Some annual Carolina events include Homecoming (lots of alumni come back for the football game, and there's usually a concert for students that weekend), Late Night with Roy (begins at midnight on a day in October - it's the first time the basketball team can officially practice and Stuart Scott hosts the event), Halloween (it's HUGE on Franklin St - get your costume ready!), and this year SpringFest, which featured Boyz II Men. Fraternities/sororities are far more important freshman and sophomore year than they are the next two years. Frat parties provide the main real party scene for freshmen, which gets old quickly, but once you are able to go to the bars, or your friends off campus start having house parties, you don't have to worry about that anymore. What can you do on a Saturday night that doesn't involve drinking? Chapel Hill has a great local music scene, so there are always concerts to go to. There's also an independent movie theatre on Franklin St. which shows great films if you don't want to see the blockbusters out at Southpoint. I guess a lot of people who don't drink become friends with others who don't drink, so they create their own fun, but I don't know much about that.

Dorm halls and suites are the basic social unit at UNC. That being said, not all halls or suites are particuarly tight. Franklin Street is the basic gathering place. You'll find bars and restaraunts that suit your and your friend's needs pretty easily. There's also Southpoint Mall in Durham for shopping. The arts scene is great. Please attend plays or concerts, either at school or at Cat's Cradle.

- Carolina Fever, which is the sports club, is extremely popular. - The social scene on campus is always fun. Whether it is big parties, athletic events, concerts, or even comedians there is something to do. - Parties are extremely fun at UNC. We kinda throw down. - The sporting events are a huge deal. Plus if we're playing Duke its even bigger.

Most students there first year live on campus, some live on campus their sohphmore year, but most people move off campus after their freshman year. One of the main activites on campus is UNC basketball. Everyone goes to the games or at least cheers them on from a TV somewhere. The dating scene is rare unfortunatly, most people 'hook-up'. MOstly girls hangout with girls and guys with guys (it kinda sucks). I met my closest friends through sorority and through club sports. People party every tuesday, thursday, friday and saturday night. Most people do go out. Sororities and Fraternities are inportant to those who are involved in them, but not to other people.

Athletic events are sometimes the reason people come to school here. Clubs and activities are in the 500s . Extracurricular activities are constant and always fun. Fraternities and sororities are everywhere and to some people very important. Most night life includes bars. We do have a movie theater and a mall close by. Dorms are chill but private. The dating scene is good, people getting together all the time and most importantly making friends everywhere. People party EVERY night!

There are so many activities at UNC to get involved with at UNC. The best thing to do is to attend Fall Fest before school starts and learn about all the organizations and attend their meetings.

If you can name something you do, there is a club for it at UNC. Dancing, singing, martial arts, sports, school subjects... everything. From traditional irish dances to the society of physics students, UNC literally has it all. There are a host of organizations and UNC does an excellent job of making every single organization known (check out Fall Fest, at the beginning of every school year!) Franklin street has food, movies, bars, shops, etc. There are socials, parties, interest meetings, dorm life (EVERYone should live in a dorm AT LEAST 1 year). 2-3 hours to the NC mountains. 2-3 hours to the NC beachs, athletics rules at UNC (revamped football team. top basketball team, top baseball team, top womens soccer, top womens field hockey... you get the idea)