How to Get Into UNC Chapel Hill: Admission Stats + Tips
What’s Covered:
- How Hard Is It to Get Into UNC Chapel Hill
- Average Academic Profile of Accepted UNC Chapel Hill Students
- What is UNC Chapel Hill Looking For
- How to Improve Your Chances of Getting Into UNC Chapel Hill
- How to Apply to UNC Chapel Hill
UNC Chapel Hill is a powerhouse both academically and athletically. It was the first public university in the country and is commonly listed among a group of schools referred to as “Public Ivies,” a collection of public universities recognized for their academic rigor and prestige. UNC’s basketball team is one of the most well-known and winning teams in the country—it’s taken home six NCAA Championships (the third-most of all time) and its alumni reads like a who’s-who of NBA all-time greats.
UNC is Collegevine’s second-highest ranked public university—it offers 79 bachelor’s degree programs across 14 schools, including the Kenan-Flagler Business School, which is commonly placed among the best undergraduate business schools in the nation.
Thinking about applying to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill? Keep reading to learn what admissions officers look for, the requirements, and everything else you need to know.
How Hard Is It to Get Into UNC Chapel Hill?
UNC is an extremely difficult school to get into. The university admitted just 15% of regular decision applicants during the 2024-25 admissions cycle—accepting 10,209 students from a pool of 66,535. Applications to UNC over the past five years have steadily risen while its acceptance rate has dropped.
Although UNC’s acceptance rate is incredibly low, your personal chances vary depending on the strength of your profile. CollegeVine can add clarity to your odds of admission at Carolina. Our free admissions calculator uses factors like your grades, test scores, and extracurriculars to estimate your odds of acceptance and offer tips to improve your profile!
Average Academic Profile of Accepted UNC Chapel Hill Students
GPA
The average high school GPA for students enrolling at UNC during the 2024-25 academic year was 4.49, and 97% of the class graduated with a 4.0 GPA or better.
SAT/ACT
The middle 50% SAT and ACT scores for students enrolling at UNC Chapel Hill during the 2024-25 academic calendar are 1400-1530 and 28-34.
Class Rank
An impressive 77% of UNC’s Class of 2029 graduated in the top 10% of their high school class (97% of them graduated in the top quarter).
What is UNC Chapel Hill Looking For?
North Carolina residents have an advantage when applying to UNC. During the 2024-25 academic year, UNC admitted 38% of in-state applicants and a meager 7% of out-of-state applicants. UNC’s low out-of-state admissions rate hasn’t deterred out-of-staters from applying, though—UNC received more than 42,000 applications from students outside of North Carolina.
UNC Chapel Hill is looking for more than great grades and outstanding test scores, and those admitted to the Class of 2025 have found ways to stand out from their peers. For example, more than 76% of Carolina’s newest class participated in community service, 61% played sports, 25% served in student government, and 21% engaged in internships.
How UNC Chapel Hill College Evaluates Applications
According to their 2024-25 Common Data Set, Carolina considers just one factor “very important” to admissions decisions: course rigor.
It considers the following factors “important”:
- Class rank
- GPA
- Essay
- Recommendation letters
- Extracurricular activities
- Talent/ability
- Character/personal qualities
- State residence
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
The following factors are “considered”:
- Test scores
- First generation
- Legacy
These factors are “not considered”:
- Interview
- Geographic residence
- Religious affiliation
- Applicant interest
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How to Improve Your Chances of Getting into UNC Chapel Hill
1. Achieve at least a 4.49 GPA while taking the most challenging classes available.
Good grades are a must to get into UNC: the school considers class rank and GPA “important” to admissions decisions. Carolina’s entering Class of 2025 had an average high school GPA of 4.49 and 97% of the class had a GPA of 4.0 or above.
A GPA above 4.0 isn’t accomplished without taking high-level courses, which is something UNC considers “very important” when evaluating your application—79% of its entering 2025 class earned AP or IB credit for at least one course and 62% earned credit for five or more courses.
Top schools that receive large numbers of applicants use a tool known as the Academic Index to expedite admissions decisions. The Academic Index calculates a student’s entire academic performance into a single number, representing their GPA, test scores, and class rank. Meeting a college’s Academic Index cutoff is essential—those who don’t are at risk of not being seen as serious applicants.
If your GPA is low and you’re early in your high school career, there’s still time to increase your GPA. If you’re a junior or senior, it’s more difficult to boost your GPA. The easiest way to increase your Academic Index is to improve your test scores.
2. Aim for a 1530 SAT or 34 ACT.
Test scores are an “ important” part of UNC’s admissions process. The middle 50% SAT and ACT scores during the 2024-25 admissions cycle were 1400-1530 and 28-34. Any score in the middle 50% range is fine, but your odds of admission get better the higher you score in the range. To improve your SAT/ACT score, check out these free CollegeVine resources:
For the 2025-26 academic year, applicants to UNC with a weighted GPA of 2.8 or above are not required to submit standardized test scores. For the 2027-28 academic year and beyond, students with 2.8 GPAs and better still don’t have to submit standardized test scores. However, those with GPAs lower than 2.8 must submit a SAT score of 930 or higher or an ACT score of 17 or above.
During the 2024-25 admissions cycle, 28% of students enrolled submitted SAT scores and 41% submitted ACT scores. We recommend taking the SAT or ACT and submitting your scores if they’re at or above the 25th percentile of accepted students. Generally, students who submit test scores are accepted at higher rates than those who don’t.
You can get recommendations on whether you should apply test-optional using our free chancing engine.
3. Cultivate one or two Tier 1-2 extracurriculars (find your “spike”).
Top schools like UNC Chapel Hill place a great deal of weight on extracurricular activities; Carolina considers them, along with the talent and ability they demonstrate, as “important” in admissions decisions. Having a highly developed interest known as a “spike” and one or two attention-grabbing extracurricular activities is a great way to make yourself memorable to admissions officers.
Not all extracurricular activities are equal—some hold more sway with admissions committees than others. The four tiers of extracurricular activities are a good way to understand how colleges value activities outside of the classroom.
- Tier 1: Demonstrate exceptional achievement and are exceedingly rare. For example, getting selected as a U.S. Presidential Scholar in the Arts, winning the USA Math Olympiad (USAMO), or winning a Gatorade State Player of the Year award.
- Tier 2: Similar to Tier 1 activities in that they demonstrate high levels of achievement, but are more common. For example, winning a regional competition such as a Junior Science and Humanities Symposia (JSHS), holding a high-level leadership position in a well-known club, or being selected to an all-state team.
- Tier 3: Highlight an applicant’s interests, but don’t demonstrate the high levels of achievement or leadership as Tier 1 and Tier 2 activities. Tier 3 extracurriculars include holding a lesser leadership role in a club or captaining the varsity tennis team.
- Tier 4: The most common and least impactful extracurricular activities. These include participating in a club, playing a sport, and doing volunteer work like helping out at the local food bank.
We recommend having one to two Tier 1 or 2 extracurricular activities and a few Tier 3 and 4 extracurriculars to demonstrate a breadth and depth of interests.
4. Write engaging essays.
Almost every applicant to UNC Chapel Hill will have outstanding academic records, so it’s imperative you find areas of your application to set yourself apart from the crowd. Your essays are the place to do so. UNC considers essays (and the character you highlight through them) “important” in admissions decisions. Essays are a great way to call attention to what makes you different from other applicants to UNC and show how you’ll contribute to the university community.
All applicants to Carolina are required to complete one of the Common Application essays, as well as respond to two short-answer questions (between 200 and 250 words). For more information on how to approach your UNC essays, check out our article on How to Write the UNC Chapel Hill Essays 2025-26.
5. Request great letters of recommendation.
UNC Chapel Hill views letters of recommendation as another “important” aspect of the admissions process. Your letter should come from a teacher in a core academic area who knows you well and can speak to your academic potential and positive personal qualities.
Because of the weight UNC puts on the letter of recommendation, your letter must be compelling and from a teacher whom you know well. Following the nine rules for requesting letters of recommendation from teachers is a good way to navigate this aspect of the college admissions process.
Remember, teachers are not compensated for writing letters of recommendation, so make sure that you express your gratitude for doing you this favor.
6. Apply Early Action.
Students who apply early action are generally accepted at a higher rate than those who apply regular decision. UNC Chapel Hill has an early action (EA) admissions process which is non-binding—EA applicants are not committed to attending UNC if admitted and do not need to decide whether or not to attend until May 1st.
If you are interested in UNC Chapel Hill, applying early action is a great way to demonstrate your interest in the school. Also, if you get your application out early enough, it’s one less application to worry about later on!
How to Apply to UNC Chapel Hill
Deadlines
|
Application Timeline |
Deadline |
Notification Date |
|
Early Action |
October 15 |
December 20 (for North Carolina residents) and February 10 for all other applicants |
|
Regular Decision |
January 15 |
March 31 |
Application Requirements
UNC Chapel Hill accepts the Common Application. Other requirements include:
- Essays and short responses
- Teacher recommendation
- High school transcript
- SAT or ACT scores (optional)
Learn More About UNC Chapel Hill
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