Student Profile
cferriter
- Class: Alum
- Major: English
- Gender: F
- High School: Rocky Mount Senior High
- Transfer Student: N
Big Picture
UNC is an amazing school, period. I wouldn't change a thing about my four years at Carolina, and they were without a doubt some of the happiest in my life. I learned so much, made so many good friends, got involved in organizations I cared about, and really lived life.
Academic Life
Classes you'll take in your first two years (unless you come in with a large amount of credit) will probably tend to be on the bigger side, with up to a couple hundred if you're taking a class like BIOL or CHEM 101. As you progress in your major, classes will become smaller, usually between 15 and 35 students. The smallest class I ever took had four people, but that was third year Hebrew, and I don't think that's something that will interest most people! Depending on your major, class participation may or may not be essential. Some profs base a sizeable portion of your grade on how often you speak up in class (and the quality of what is said), while for others, "participation" on the syllabus means a free 10% for showing up and not missing more than 2 or 3 classes during the semester. Despite the fact that I was an English major (since one might think that English classes would be heavily discussion-oriented), many of my professors preferred to lecture the entire period, with maybe a few questions thrown in to make sure we'd been paying attention. The English department is quite hit and miss in my experience. Out of the ten required courses for the major, half of my professors bored me to tears and the other half were both knowledgeable and engaging. In my overall experience with classes at UNC, I am happy to say that I had more good professors than boring ones. And yes, it doesn't matter what the subject of the class is, the professor WILL make or break it, so sign up for pickaprof or whatever you have to do to find the good professors. Best class I ever took - Elementary Russian (RUSS 101 and 102) with Eleonora Magomedova. If you want to take something other than Spanish, French or the usuals to fulfill the language requirement, or if you just love languages like I do, TAKE HER CLASS! This woman is a phenomenal teacher and an amazing human being, and you will be all the better for knowing her.
Student Body
Since I am both white and female, that puts me in two differnt majorities of UNC students, so I don't feel very qualified to talk about how other races may or may not feel out of place at UNC. However, being Jewish, I can tell you that despite what people's preconceived notions of the South and the Bible Belt might be, I found Jewish life at UNC to be overwhelmingly positive. Yes, you may run across the occasional Campus Crusade for Christ person who wants to convert you, but take comfort in the fact that it isn't personal - they try to convert everyone, even "lazy" Christians. Being a college campus, there is a typical liberal slant in terms of politics, but the conservative minority is quite a vocal one. And even though UNC isn't exactly burgeoning with diversity, considering the diversity in terms of race, religion, and sexual orientation, I think everyone gets along with everyone else for the most part and respects their fellow UNC-er.
The Best Things
everything - the entire extraordinary UNC experience is indescribable, save for those who know it
The Worst Things
you can only stay until you graduate
