Nonresident acceptance chances to UNC Chapel Hill

[Newfie]

I am not a resident of NC and was considering applying to UNC-Chapel Hill. From the acceptance stats it looks like nearly an impossible task. I was wondering if there are any nonresident UNC medical students who can share their experiences in applying to the school. Is it worth it to try or are the chances so remote that one might as well apply to Duke?

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[SunnyS81]

You can apply, but there is a good chance you won't even get the secondary (which for non-residents is sent in December I think). If you get the secondary, you automatically get an interview, so all you have to lose is the AAMC fees.

From my experience and others, your chances are pretty slim. After a few discussions with people I have yet to figure out how they select out of staters. The only thing I can think of is that the out of staters are people who did their undergrad at UNC and they show some preference. I know 3 people who applied (myself included) gpa ranged from 3.8-4.0 and mcat from 35-41 and none were accepted (1 got an interview). There is insufficient data to make any meaningful conclusions, so you never know, you may have a shot.

And yes, you probably have a better shot at Duke.

Just my $.02.

 

[Newfie]

Thanks, Sunny. Your .02 was helpful. Oh, I noticed you're starting UofM this fall. I'm a Michigan resident, so maybe things will work out and I'll meet you next fall.

 

[Coalboy]

I'm an out-of stater here at UNC (going to start second year in August). I don't really see any common thread among my fellow non-North Carolinians, and I'm pretty sure we didn't all have 4.0 GPAs and 43-45 MCAT scores. I can't say what exactly they look for, but it's not all the grades and test scores. It sounds a bit cliche, but I think their decision is more of a "big picture" sort of thing. It is difficult to get in, but is definitely worth trying, I would say.

 

[banannie]

hi

i got into UNC out of state this year. my gpa was nowhere near a 3.8, it was 3.35, actually. my mcat was high though, a 40. however, i really think they're looking beyond numbers in out of state students. my guess is that they have specific qualities in mind, and i suppose i fit their profile. i was rejected without an interview to lots of other schools in the same range, like BU, NYU, and Pitt, but strangely UNC liked me.

i wouldn't say their selection process is random, but it's pretty much impossible to know ahead of time whether they'll like you. so go for it! it's only $30 on your AMCAS, and as SunnyS81 mentioned, if you get the secondary, you automatically get an interview. i believe that they interview about 100 out-of staters (our of maybe 2300 out-of-state applicants?) and accept 30-40.

also, i got my secondary very very late, like right before Christmas. i thought for sure i'd been rejected, but then in late december got a big surprise. so if you don't hear from them for a while, it doesn't necessarily mean you're out of the running.

good luck! it's a terriffic school. you can also try pm-ing Coalboy who is currently an out-of-state student at UNC.

 

[ShaylaFinn]

Yeah, if you can stand to part w/ $30 for the chance to get the secondary and if you'd really like to go to UNC, then what the heck, go for it. But it's difficult to get an acceptance from UNC even if you're IN-state, much less out-of state. The difficulty arises from the fact that UNC accepts so few people b/c a VERY high percentage of those accepted matriculate, given the low tuition & high rank.

FYI - if you run a search, you'll find some interesting comments re: UNC. Some folks really like it while others were really turned off by the interview day and the lack of communication from the adcom.

 

[deez4life]

According to MSAR for the c/o 2006:

# of In-state Out-of-state
Applicants 744 2,280
Interviews 435 103
Matriculants 143 17

Needless to say, it's hard as bananas to get in out-of-state to UNC. But in-state, more than half of applicants are interviewed, and chances are much brighter for an accpetance.

 

[KirsteenB]

Hi guys,

I spoke to UNC-CH Admissions a wee while ago regarding their selection process. They told me the following: that they like to see all the "good stuff", e.g., a history of volunteering in the clinical setting; research; work experience. The first items they examine in an application are the MCAT scores and transcripts. They stated that their MCAT range in the past has been 33-35 with an average GPA of 3.8. Interestingly, they also stated that they like to see people who have been out of undergrad for a while, (she even went as far to say that they have a bias towards this).

Cheers,
Kirsteen