Roughly 4,000 first-year students – including award-winning researchers, artists, directors, dancers, writers, community activists and champion athletes – have started classes at UNC.
The University received a record 30,836 applicants, and the 3,960 enrolling students hail from 95 North Carolina counties, 45 states and 20 countries.
The students who joined Carolina this month “are dedicated to excellence both inside and outside the classroom,” says Stephen Farmer, vice provost for enrollment and undergraduate admissions. “But they’re not distinguished just by their academic credentials. As reflected in their accomplishments, collectively these students also demonstrated extraordinary creativity, perseverance, compassion and humility—qualities that will inspire us all.”
Specific accomplishments include:
- Conducting research on the therapeutic potential of glutathione (the body’s most prevalent antioxidant) at the Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.
- Founding the North Carolina Youth Classical Arts for Charity to raise funds (roughly $35,000, so far) for charity
- Founding a Muslim basketball league for young women in the community
- Empowering teens and adults to make lasting changes in their community through a nonprofit organization
- Helping build a nonprofit that grants microloan investments to support impoverished entrepreneurs around the world
Academic Credentials
Among the 72 percent of the class whose schools reported an official rank in class, 43.7 percent ranked within the top 10 students in their high school class, compared to 43.2 percent last year. The percentage of students ranking first or second also increased, from 12.6 percent last year to 13.6 percent this year. The percentage ranking in the top 10 percent declined, from 78.8 percent last year to 78.4 percent this year. Of students reporting a grade-point average on a weighted 4-point scale, 93 percent scored 4.0 or higher.
Enrolling students also presented stronger scores on the SAT reasoning, and although high, ACT scores remained the same. In evaluating candidates, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions uses the highest score presented by each candidate on each part of the SAT reasoning and on each subject area test of the ACT. When a candidate submits results from both the SAT and the ACT, the admissions office uses the test with the stronger results.
(Note: These statistics are preliminary and won’t be final until after Sept. 3, the University’s official enrollment reporting date. A final profile will be available in late September.)
Published August 16, 2013. Updated August 27, 2013.