Hey folks,
I'm an incoming MS1 to UNC (wow, so proud to write that!) I'm an OOSer, and I had literally zero ties to UNC, or Chapel Hill, or North Carolina. Literally, none at all! If I had to say why I got in, I'll venture to say that it was:
a) An extraordinary amount of luck -- OOSers get screened hard, but post-interview, you've got a great chance of getting in!
b) Good essays that reflect my acknowledgement that I don't know everything, but that I'm willing to learn, and that I truly love helping the people around me. Folks at UNC, on the whole, are some of the friendliest, most helpful people I've ever met. Even on the facebook page for our class, they will jump to help you, and if you're that sort of person, I think you'll be a great fit for the school
c) The fact that I really jived with the school during the interview. If you're an OOSer and you feel like this school is the right place for you, be ready to explain that in your secondary essay and during your interview! They don't take very many OOSers, so they really want people who truly want to be at UNC and will thrive in Chapel Hill.
Good luck you guys! If you're an OOSer and are interested in the school, please don't hesitate to apply! It's an awesome school in a very lovely part of the US. Don't let statistics deter you!
I wish you all the best!
PS - Someone asked about scholarships... I don't know very much, but I can tell that the state funding was limited this year, and so the scholarship money wasn't as abundant as past years. Who knows how it will be for you guys? But OOSers can claim in-state residency after a year, so it's all good!