UNC Offers Admission to 7,571 First-Year Applicants

Posted on April 4, 2012

Carolina has offered admission to 7,571 students chosen from a record 29,486 applicants — an increase of 24 percent over last year and 47 percent over five years ago.

The University expects to enroll 3,960 students this fall — 3,247 from North Carolina and 713 from the around the country and the world.

“We were honored by the increased interest in Carolina and by the strength of the students who applied,” said Stephen Farmer, vice provost for enrollment and undergraduate admissions. “The students we’ve admitted are terrific — accomplished in the classroom and committed to making a difference in the world.”

Applications from out-of-state students increased 35 percent over last year, from 14,324 to 19,381. Applications from North Carolina students increased 7 percent, from 9,429 last year to 10,105 this year. Nearly half of the North Carolinians who applied were offered admission, compared with 14 percent of those from outside the state.

Of the admitted students who reported a rank in class, 83.7 percent are in the top 10 percent of their high school class, compared to 83.5 percent last year. Nearly 20 percent are ranked either first or second, compared to 16 percent last year.

For students reporting a score on the SAT, the average was a combined 2019 (671 Critical Reading, 685 Math and 663 Writing) and the average ACT was 31.3. Last year, the average SAT was a combined 2001 (664 Critical Reading, 679 Math and 658 Writing). The average ACT score was 31.

Admitted students hail from 98 North Carolina counties, 49 U.S. states and 53 countries, including the U.S. Of those students who reported race or ethnicity, more than 36 percent identified themselves as American Indian, African-American, Asian, Hawaiian or Pacific Islander or Hispanic. Fifteen percent will be the first generation of their family to attend college.

“We had some very tough decisions to make this year, and we regret that we have to turn away so many strong students who we know would be successful at Carolina,” Farmer said. “But we wish these students well and trust that they’ll have many good choices. We’re here to help them if they wish to apply for transfer admission or later for graduate school.”

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More online…

• Answering Questions About Admissions and Financial Aid at UNC
  As Carolina has become more attractive, competition at the admissions office continues to increase. The Carolina Alumni Review devotes in-depth coverage each March/April to this subject; features and data dating to 1996 are available. Topics have ranged from what it means to be a legacy applicant, what it takes to compete, how financial aid works – including the creation of the Carolina Covenant, ensuring students from low-income families can graduate without debt – to how Carolina uses student essays to make admission decisions.

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