What is UNC Chapel Hill Known For?

What’s Covered:

• Overview of UNC Chapel Hill Admissions
• Unique Aspects of UNC Chapel Hill
• What Are Your Chances of Acceptance? 

What is UNC Chapel Hill known for? The school is best known as the first public university in the United States and the only one to award degrees during the 18th century. UNC Chapel Hill also lays claim to the oldest collegiate athletic team in the Carolinas. UNC Chapel Hill is rooted in history—it’s such a foundational institution that many refer to it simply as “Carolina”—but the school faces forward, educating the next generation of great thinkers, creators, and innovators.

Overview of UNC Chapel Hill Admissions

Location: Chapel Hill, NC

Undergraduate Enrollment: 21,075

Acceptance Rate: 15%

Middle 50% SAT: 1400-1530

Middle 50% ACT: 28-34  

Admission to UNC Chapel Hill is competitive, especially for out-of-state students—for example, the acceptance rate for in-state students during the 2024-2035 admissions cycle was 38%, considerably higher than the 7% acceptance rate of out-of-state students. Additionally, 79% of incoming students received test credit for at least one AP or IB course and 62% received credit for at least five courses.   

Because UNC Chapel Hill is highly selective, applicants need a strong academic profile, a well-crafted essay, and thoughtful responses to Carolina’s short-answer prompts to stand out to admissions officials.

Unique Aspects of UNC Chapel Hill

Academics

UNC Chapel undergraduate academics are divided into two divisions that contain 11 colleges: 

Division of Academic Affairs:

• College of Arts and Sciences (General College)
  • School of Civic Life and Leadership 
• Kenan–Flagler Business School
• School of Data Science and Society 
• School of Education
• School of Information and Library Science
• Hussman School of Journalism and Media

Division of Health Affairs:

• Adams School of Dentistry
• School of Medicine and Health Sciences
• School of Nursing
• Eshelman School of Pharmacy
• Gillings School of Global Public Health

All entering first-year students enroll in the College of Arts and Sciences. Carolina offers roughly 80 majors, ranging from American studies to studio art. The most popular majors at UNC Chapel Hill are:

• Biology
• Psychology 
• Media and journalism
• Business administration
• Exercise and sports science

Studying abroad is extremely popular at UNC Chapel Hill, 43% of Carolina undergraduates study in another country before graduating. Carolina offers a variety of study abroad programs, providing students with unique experiences outside the country while challenging them academically.  

UNC Chapel Hill is one of the largest producers of Rhodes Scholars; between 1904 and 2025, Carolina has produced 57 Rhodes Scholars, more than any other public university in the U.S. 

Extracurriculars

What is UNC known for? Basketball. The UNC Tar Heels are one of the most recognizable and successful college basketball programs of all time. The UNC men’s basketball team has won the NCAA Championship six times—the third-most all time, and one more than bitter rival Duke. Furthermore, the list of former Tar Heel basketball players reads like a who’s-who of NBA all-time greats, including:

• Micheal Jordan
• Bob McAdoo
• Vince Carter
• Rasheed Wallace
• James Worthy 
• Brad Daugherty 
• Jerry Stackhouse 

The on-court rivalry between UNC Chapel Hill and Duke University is considered among the best in all sports; the two teams have been squaring off for more than a century. An interesting subplot in the UNC/Duke rivalry is that of a public school taking on the private school just down the road. 

Traditions

The best-known of Carolina traditions is to take a sip from the Old Well. The Old Well sits at the heart of campus and is the iconic visual symbol of the school—UNC uses it as a logo. Tradition dictates that a sip from the well will bring good luck to students and a successful academic year.  

Another fun student tradition at UNC Chapel Hill is to try to trace the origin of the name Tar Heel (Carolina’s nickname). Some date the name back to the Revolutionary War and the state’s production of tar, pitch, and turpentine, while others attribute the nickname to the courage that North Carolina soldiers demonstrated in battle during the Civil War. 

Another tradition at Carolina is participation in the Peace Corps—the university is commonly among the largest producers of Peace Corps volunteers. More than 1,300 UNC Chapel Hill alumni have served with the Peace Corps since the organization’s founding in 1961.

Dorms

First-year students are required to live on UNC Chapel Hill’s campus and about 70% of sophomores reside on campus as well. Overall, approximately 10,000 students live in the university’s 46 on-campus resident halls and apartment buildings. 

The majority of first-year students are assigned living arrangements in a First-Year Experience community, which provides an academically and socially supportive environment for new students.    

UNC Chapel Hill also offers a handful of Residential Learning Programs designed to provide an inclusive learning experience that connects lessons in the classroom with residential life. Carolina is home to six such communities: 

• BLUE: a space and opportunity for innovation, creation, and collaboration
• First Gens: for self-identified, first-generation college students
• Outdoor Pursuits: connects health and well-being with outdoor activities
• Pride Place: focused on the personal wellness and academic success of students of all sexual orientations, gender identities, and gender expressions
• The Civil Discourse Community: empowered students to engage in conversations about complex questions 
• Transfer: provides a place for transfer students to transition to life at UNC

Financial Aid

UNC Chapel Hill is one of the few flagship public universities in the country to practice need-blind admissions—Carolina doesn’t consider an applicant’s financial situation when deciding on admission. The university is also committed to meeting 100% of the demonstrated financial need of accepted students.  

UNC Chapel Hill established the Carolina Covenant in the early 2000s as a way to improve the success of the lowest-income students. Through the Carolina Covenant, students from families with total incomes at or below 200% of the poverty guideline have the opportunity to graduate debt-free. Financial support comes through a combination of grants, scholarships, and work-study, none of which must be repaid. 

Resources

Carolina is one of the top research universities in the United States. In fact, it’s the ninth-largest research university and seventh-largest public research university in the U.S. The school conducts more than $1.5 billion of research annually and over 1,000 undergraduates are employed in labs across campus.  

For those looking to get out of the lab, UNC Chapel Hill is home to the Coker Arboretum. This 5-acre breath of fresh air features peaceful walking paths, several open lawns, trees, shrubs, and a variety of flowers that change with the seasons. The Coker Arboretum is open 365 days a year and is just a short walk from the Old Well.  

The Morehead Planetarium and Science Center has been a fixture on UNC Chapel Hill’s campus since 1949. The planetarium is open to the public and hosts a variety of programs—even for astronauts. Between 1960 and 1970, many astronauts from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab, and Apollo-Soyuz programs trained at Morehead.

Location

Carolina is located in the Research Triangle, sometimes simply called the Triangle, an area anchored by three prominent universities: UNC Chapel Hill, Duke, and North Carolina State University. The Triangle is also a hub of technology and biotech companies, including:

• Cisco Systems
• IBM
• Microsoft
• Apple 
• Lenovo
• Bayer Crop Science 
• Syngenta
• Fidelity Investments

What Are Your Chances of Acceptance at UNC Chapel Hill?

If you’re interested in attending Carolina but aren’t sure of your odds of acceptance, CollegeVine can help. Our free admissions calculator uses your grades, test scores, and extracurriculars to estimate your odds of acceptance at UNC Chapel Hill, along with over 1,600 other colleges and universities. 

In addition to helping you understand your odds of admission, our free admissions calculator can show you how to become a more competitive candidate by highlighting areas to improve your profile.