Applications Are Up for 14th Straight Year

Posted on Jan. 28, 2019

For the 14th consecutive year, the University received a record number of first-year applications. The 44,784 applications for fall 2019 reflect a 3 percent increase over applicants for fall 2018.

“Each year, we’re humbled by the motivated, engaged and talented students who apply to Carolina,” said Stephen Farmer, vice provost for enrollment and undergraduate admissions. “As we individually read each student’s application, we see what a vital force they are in their families, schools and communities.”

Applicants for the freshman class who applied by Oct. 15 will receive their decisions by the end of January; those who applied by Jan. 15 will receive theirs by the end of March. While freshman application deadlines for fall 2019 have passed, the University accepts transfer applications from students currently enrolled at other institutions through Feb. 15.

UNC expects to enroll a first-year class of 4,200 students and an additional 800 transfer students.

Carolina is one of the few public flagship universities to maintain need-blind admissions; it meets 100 percent of the documented need of undergraduates qualifying for need-based aid who apply on time. Carolina meets more than two-thirds of that need with grants and scholarships. The average debt of graduating students is 22 percent below the national average. Fourteen percent of the class of 2022 qualified for the Carolina Covenant, the University’s commitment to debt-free financial aid for its neediest students. More than 700 students are designated as Covenant Scholars each year.