Why Carolina?

There are so many different people to meet and so many different activities—I’m not convinced that these same opportunities exist at smaller schools

At the end of my senior year, I had five great schools to choose from and a huge decision to make. My choice consisted of four relatively small schools and then Carolina. When the acceptance letters came, all of the schools were basically equal in my eyes, and there was one complicating factor; both of my parents had gone to Carolina. I was definitely raised a Tar Heel-my mom makes “beat Duke cookies” for the Carolina/Duke basketball games!! But they were very respectful of the fact that I needed to be able to make a college decision that was not based on family pressure. This actually ended up being a blessing and a curse because they were so nervous about appearing biased toward Carolina that they offered surprisingly little advice on the college subject in general.

After I heard from all of the colleges I had applied to, I decided that I was going to dig back into the literature that I had collected from the schools, spend some more time navigating their websites, and go back and visit them again. While I continued to narrow in on a final decision, none of these things was as beneficial as actually talking with students who were at those colleges or had recently graduated. Lunch with a family friend who graduated from Carolina the year before I got here ended up being the deciding factor. She said, “Rosemary, I am so jealous of you, and I wish that I could trade places with you and have four more years at Carolina. If you are willing to keep taking, Carolina is a school that will keep giving for four years.” That was EXACTLY what I wanted to hear!!

Size was what distinguished Carolina from the other schools I was considering. Initially I had considered Carolina’s size to be extremely daunting and a definite downside to the university. But that comment made me realize that size was precisely the reason that I should choose Carolina. A university of this size has so much to offer. I needed to be at a school where I could enjoy an acapella performance on Friday, the football team, the marching band, post-game barbeques on Saturday afternoon, and study sessions on Sunday. There are so many different people to meet here and so many different activities to become involved in, and I’m not convinced that those same opportunities exist at smaller schools.

I strongly believe that Carolina will never get old. So far, this year is even better than last year, and judging from what I’ve heard from other people, I’m optimistic that over the next two years, things will continue to get even better!

The decision was so intimidating at the time. And to be completely honest, I worried about it all summer, but looking back now, I know I made the right one. I couldn’t be happier, and I truly start to panic when I think about what things would be like if I hadn’t decided to come here! Just as an added bonus—my parents are thrilled. I never even realized how much Carolina meant to my father until I decided to come here, and to me, there is nothing more fun than when they come to visit because I am even more excited to share my experience with them than they are to tell me about how much fun they had while they were here!!