The University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill

Date: Mar 20 2009
Major: Economics (This Major's Salary over time)
I learned quite a bit of mathematics at UNC and felt that I was better prepared in my P. hD. program than even the MIT/Cal Tech grads.

I always felt that UNC was a fairly low pressure place. The lack of grade inflation-which no one seems to talk about here-in my mind helps things. To get an A you don't need to be smarter than everyone (although it helps) you just need to learn the material incredibly well. If you just get a handle on the material, you will get the average UNC 2.7—which curiously seems to be viewed as acceptable. Many folks are just happy to be at UNC-again an attitude that I found puzzling. But as an out of state student I never felt that Chapel Hill was the center of the world like the in-staters did.

My niece goes to University of Michigan (I fund it), my twin brother went to Duke, and I taught at University of Virginia. The level of competition and intensity at these schools is far greater than UNC, especially at Michigan. The pressure cooker attitude just doesn't exist at UNC. Despite a lot of complaints I have read here about UNC, I think a student needs to ask himself or herself how much stress and intensity they need.

I always wonder if I would have pushed myself more if I went to a Duke or Princeton (my first choice, got in but Dad didn't want to pay). Based on what my twin brother did at Duke, I am not sure whether things would have been different.

One last thing. Since I had a bad family life and was far from home, I wouldn't have made it through without the help of 4 or 5 friends and yes, caring faculty! Despite its size, I found people who cared about me and other young people. My niece has had some boyfriend/emotional issues at Michigan and she also found some help. The point is at these huge places you have to seek out relationships-thye just don't come to you.