The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university with a 729-acre suburban campus. Founded in 1789, the school was the first public university in the United States, as well as the only public college in the country to award degrees during the eighteenth century.
UNC-Chapel Hill is known as a “Public Ivy League” school, meaning that the quality of education and the undergraduate student experience they offer is similar to that of the elite private Ivy League schools.
Today, annual undergraduate enrollment has expanded to 19,399 students as of the fall of 2020. On top of that, the school’s alumni network has grown to include more than 342,000 graduates spread across all 50 states and 149 different countries.
Notable UNC Chapel Hill alumni include NBA all-star Michael Jordan, eleventh US President James K. Polk, and Jason Kilar, former CEO of Hulu and current DreamWorks Animation Studios board of directors member.
The college offers 95 different bachelor’s degree programs, plus 104 master’s programs, 65 doctoral degree programs, and seven professional degree programs.
UNC Chapel Hill’s sports teams, called the “Tar Heels,” compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference of the NCAA’s Division I. The school is best known for its men’s basketball team, but many of their 28 varsity teams are well-known for their greatness.
For example, according to College Factual, the men’s baseball team has been given the #18 spot on the 2021 ranked list of the best colleges for Division I men’s baseball.
Read on to learn about the process for applying to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a transfer student.
UNC-Chapel Hill Transfer Acceptance Rate
The transfer acceptance rate at UNC-Chapel Hill is approximately 20%.
What should be noted is that each year, UNC-Chapel Hill admits around 800 transfer students with 3500 applicants. Transfer students make up only about 5% of the student body, suggesting that it may be more difficult to be accepted to UNC as a transfer student than as a first-year applicant.
To give some frame of reference, UNC’s acceptance rate for regular decision first-year students is 24%. For early decision applicants, the acceptance rate is 30.1%.
This means that admission to the college can be considered moderately to highly selective.
During the fall 2019 admissions cycle, UNC-Chapel Hill received 47,940 applications. The college admitted 820 transfer students, along with 4,182 first-year students.
Application Requirements & GPA for UNC-Chapel Hill
To be considered as a transfer applicant at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, students must earn a GPA of at least 2.0 at their previous college or university.
The UNC Chapel Hill transfer application can be completed online through the Common Application. The application will include a brief personal essay prompt and two short answer questions.
There will be a non-refundable processing fee of $85 due when applying. Fee waivers are available for those for whom the fee poses financial hardship and active-duty military members.
In addition to the Common Application, UNC-Chapel Hill requires one letter of recommendation. The letter should be sent directly to the school by someone who is sufficiently familiar with the student’s academic and personal qualities.
Other required supplemental materials include an official high school transcript or GED certificate and a full list of all courses and grades earned at the student’s previous undergraduate institution.
UNC-Chapel Hill opted to extend its test-optional admissions policy — initially adopted as a response to the difficulties of standardized testing set forth by the COVID-19 pandemic — for all students applying for the fall 2022 admissions cycle.
However, the school has announced that the standardized test score submission requirement waiver will expire after fall 2022. This means that students who apply for fall 2023 or beyond will have to submit their SAT or ACT scores as a part of the application bundle.
Those who are applying to transfer to UNC Chapel Hill as juniors are not required to submit test scores.
UNC Transfer Deadline
The deadline for submitting a transfer application to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is February 15 of each year.
Along with your completed application, the $85 application fee or a fee waiver must also be submitted to the school by this date.
In order to qualify for the much cheaper in-state tuition, North Carolina residents will need to submit proof of residency by this deadline as well.
For out-of-state applicants, there is nothing else that will need to be turned in to the school until March 1, which is the deadline for the required supporting materials and SAT or ACT scores.
March 1 is also the deadline for submitting applications for financial aid, such as need-based scholarships, awards, and grants.
In order to be considered for financial aid awards, students will need to complete both the FAFSA and CSS Profile.
What is the Decision Date for UNC Transfers?
The decision date for transfer students at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is April 15 of each year.
The school will notify transfer applicants regarding whether or not they have been admitted via email.
After receiving notification of their acceptance, admitted transfer students will have until May 15 each year to notify the school about whether or not they have decided to accept the offer for admission and enroll in classes.
The school advises students to check their email accounts regularly, as this is the method they will use to distribute admissions decisions.
Email communication is also UNC’s preferred way of contacting students if they need additional information or if the application is missing any required materials.
Since it is so essential for applicants to make sure they receive and respond to the school’s communication in a timely manner, it is wise to add the UNC admissions email address to the student’s contact list so that important emails will not go to the spam folder.
Deciding Whether You Should Transfer to UNC-Chapel Hill
There are many different things to consider when deciding which undergraduate institution of the thousands there are to choose from has the most to offer you.
No single factor will entirely determine whether or not a given school is right for you, since this depends on your personal preferences, your career goals, and more.
One way of evaluating if a school will be a good fit for you is to find out what percent of students return to the school after their freshman year, as this figure is a widely-accepted measurement of student satisfaction. With a first-year retention rate of 97%, UNC-Chapel Hill is among the best schools in the country to keep freshman students happy.
For students who are interested in conducting undergraduate research, UNC-Chapel Hill is a great school to choose. The school receives the sixth-highest amount of federal funding for the purpose of research and development in all fields of study among research universities in the country.
Additionally, the college has been ranked #12 among schools in the United States for
largest research university in terms of the volume of research they conduct.
If all of the above information about the solid academic offerings UNC-Chapel Hill has is not enough to convince you that it could be the right school for you, there is always the weather.
Although North Carolina has all four seasons, they are mild and gentle, allowing UNC-Chapel Hill students to enjoy outdoor activities.
RECAP: How to Apply As a Transfer Student to UNC-Chapel Hill
To apply to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a transfer student, you will first need to ensure that you are aware of the application deadline, which is February 15 every year.
Then, it is time to complete the Common Application online. After filling out the application information, completing the personal statement, and responding to the two short answer questions, then students must either pay the $85 application fee or submit the fee waiver.
Next, be sure to include all the required supporting documents. SAT or ACT scores must be sent directly from the testing agency to the school.
One letter of recommendation must also be submitted to UNC-Chapel Hill by someone who is well-acquainted with the applicant.
Other required supplements are an official high school transcript or GED certificate and a list of all university coursework completed at previous institutions and all grades earned.
Once all of the above documents have been submitted, then the waiting period begins. If you are a North Carolina resident, you can pass the time by submitting proof of residency by the March 15 deadline.
Out-of-state applicants can just sit back and relax while awaiting their admissions decisions, which will arrive via email no later than April 15.
