UNC 2011 Applicants Forum

[GWdawg]

If you don't mind Avon, what "rival" will you be attending?

[Moral_Midgetry]

To all of these UNC apologists... Yes, they do get 4,000 applicants. But guess what?? So do UNC's competitors. And maybe if the admissions committee and Kott spent less time looking over this forum and less time calling admitted students for giving their opinions they may have more time to review applicants. I don't know, just a thought. If you don't want people complaining about you, maybe you should be more effective at your job. And I don't want to hear about this entitlement BS. I am a UNC alum and I was accepted only recently and I WILL NOT BE ATTENDING. I only wanted to get in so I could leverage more money out of a UNC rival. Like I said, I am A UNC ALUM but I cannot let myself attend a school that exhibits such arrogance and disrespect to applicants. The admissions committee is the face of a law school and this committee is essentially exhibiting a nice middle finger to many qualified applicants. I am surprised so many recent admittees are actually considering attending. If Harvard, Duke and Georgetown can respond to applicants in a timely manner, UNC should be able to as well. UNC is not Yale. or Harvard. or even Duke. They can't get away with treating applicants this way. And their rankings provide a stark illustration of this fact. And this is all coming from a UNC alum.

So the fuck what UNC's competitors do? UNC's admissions model is different, deal with it. I was still waiting last year at this time and I didn't bitch and whine on TLS about it.

Also, I like your use of the caps-lock key. It really helps you get your point across.

[DeadLaw]

I'm really glad one of the students pointed out that those of us who "aren't that great" don't DESERVE to know in a decent time frame.

That's actually not what I said or meant. I never said anything about "deserving", actually. Though come to think of it, very few law applicants have ever "deserved" anything in this process. We pay(or paid) our money with our application for their consideration, and that's what we get one way or the other. But that's another argument for a different day. Point is, you're all worried because you're not sure if what you've done has been good enough to get in. If you weren't worried, then you wouldn't be on here stressing all the time and taking out your frustrations on the admissions department at a school which told you up front they'd take a long time. Just relax and be patient, you've all gotten into law schools elsewhere, and you'll all eventually get to be lawyers even if you don't come here. You'll find once you get to law school that where you go to law school matters only for your first job, and then it matters very little (except in basketball season) after that. For those of you that want to wait and aren't irrationally canceling out a good school because they take a little longer to accept you: UNC is worth the wait and a great place to study the law.

As far as this "self-importance" and "entitlement" stuff you guys seem to think runs rampant here, all I can say is that you're flat wrong.

To all of these UNC apologists... Yes, they do get 4,000 applicants. But guess what?? So do UNC's competitors. And maybe if the admissions committee and Kott spent less time looking over this forum and less time calling admitted students for giving their opinions they may have more time to review applicants. I don't know, just a thought. If you don't want people complaining about you, maybe you should be more effective at your job. And I don't want to hear about this entitlement BS. I am a UNC alum and I was accepted only recently and I WILL NOT BE ATTENDING. I only wanted to get in so I could leverage more money out of a UNC rival. Like I said, I am A UNC ALUM but I cannot let myself attend a school that exhibits such arrogance and disrespect to applicants. The admissions committee is the face of a law school and this committee is essentially exhibiting a nice middle finger to many qualified applicants. I am surprised so many recent admittees are actually considering attending. If Harvard, Duke and Georgetown can respond to applicants in a timely manner, UNC should be able to as well. UNC is not Yale. or Harvard. or even Duke. They can't get away with treating applicants this way. And their rankings provide a stark illustration of this fact. And this is all coming from a UNC alum.

Good luck wherever you end up. But if you are only using UNC as leverage then why so angry?

[Stonewall]

Everybody just chill out. Decisions are coming out and it's only a matter of another two weeks (at the most) to be certain of your status.

[gogamecocks]

I can confirm they have started waitlisting people. I'm glad to have some closure. Even if it isn't actually closure.

[avery87]

Also WL'ed yesterday. Fingers crossed for all of us riding it out!

[firecracker]

WL'd yesterday as well. I still love you UNC!

[avonbarksdale]

To all of these UNC apologists... Yes, they do get 4,000 applicants. But guess what?? So do UNC's competitors. And maybe if the admissions committee and Kott spent less time looking over this forum and less time calling admitted students for giving their opinions they may have more time to review applicants. I don't know, just a thought. If you don't want people complaining about you, maybe you should be more effective at your job. And I don't want to hear about this entitlement BS. I am a UNC alum and I was accepted only recently and I WILL NOT BE ATTENDING. I only wanted to get in so I could leverage more money out of a UNC rival. Like I said, I am A UNC ALUM but I cannot let myself attend a school that exhibits such arrogance and disrespect to applicants. The admissions committee is the face of a law school and this committee is essentially exhibiting a nice middle finger to many qualified applicants. I am surprised so many recent admittees are actually considering attending. If Harvard, Duke and Georgetown can respond to applicants in a timely manner, UNC should be able to as well. UNC is not Yale. or Harvard. or even Duke. They can't get away with treating applicants this way. And their rankings provide a stark illustration of this fact. And this is all coming from a UNC alum.

So the fuck what UNC's competitors do? UNC's admissions model is different, deal with it. I was still waiting last year at this time and I didn't bitch and whine on TLS about it.

Also, I like your use of the caps-lock key. It really helps you get your point across.

What a witty retort. Yes, I used some caps, this is an online forum, I was just expressing my thoughts. No need to take it personally and curse at me. You of all people should not be so upset about me wanting to vent a little on a forum. You have posted over 1,000 times. You clearly don't have a life or are a big believer in expressing your thoughts on a forum (more likely both.). And I was not planning on using UNC as leverage from the beginning, I just changed my mind after the admissions process. I was especially put off when I saw some of the numbers of people who had gotten scholarship interviews when other people with LSATs over 165 and similar GPAs had not even been reviewed. The only difference between the applicants was their ethnicity. I have a problem with that. And these are just my thoughts, I know some people disagree. I don't care. You are allowed to disagree. Even if I am wrong, who cares? I'm just one guy and I was just expressing my frustration. Peace

[protein]

Everyone in this thread needs to chill

This will all be over in a couple of weeks. Go do something to take your mind off of it - you'll be 129082130912890 times happier.

[Jeffro]

While I recognize that the people who are pointing out that this will be over soon are correct, I disagree again with saying that everyone should just chill out (several have said these things, so not trying to single out anyone).

As I mentioned before, this thread is designed to let all applicants have a fair and open discussion about the application process at UNC. Despite the frustrations that have been vented on here in the past few weeks, and in particular the past few days, the statements have been accurate. Even if the message is unsettling or annoying to those who have already been accepted to UNC, it doesn't change the fact that there is reality to what is being said. For many of those who believe they have been poorly treated, they are left with a very poor image of UNC Law as a whole now. So what if UNC does this every year or if there are those who would wait until the first day of classes to get an answer? It does not make it acceptable.

All of our posts might come off as bitching and whining, but I don't read it that way. They are justified observations. I myself have called Admissions on several occasions to discuss my concerns with this whole process and have gotten basically "tough shit" responses. Others have alluded to similar experiences on here. We are not just anonymously raging out on TLS because we are so insecure that we have not gotten into UNC, we are just commiserating with others in a similar situation who have already seen that Admissions does not seem to care about our concerns.

In my personal opinion, I am surprised that people would argue that the failure to give so many applicants a decision, whether it be positive or negative, is anything other than unprofessional or at the very least discourteous...which calls into question the organization as a whole.

[Moral_Midgetry]

To all of these UNC apologists... Yes, they do get 4,000 applicants. But guess what?? So do UNC's competitors. And maybe if the admissions committee and Kott spent less time looking over this forum and less time calling admitted students for giving their opinions they may have more time to review applicants. I don't know, just a thought. If you don't want people complaining about you, maybe you should be more effective at your job. And I don't want to hear about this entitlement BS. I am a UNC alum and I was accepted only recently and I WILL NOT BE ATTENDING. I only wanted to get in so I could leverage more money out of a UNC rival. Like I said, I am A UNC ALUM but I cannot let myself attend a school that exhibits such arrogance and disrespect to applicants. The admissions committee is the face of a law school and this committee is essentially exhibiting a nice middle finger to many qualified applicants. I am surprised so many recent admittees are actually considering attending. If Harvard, Duke and Georgetown can respond to applicants in a timely manner, UNC should be able to as well. UNC is not Yale. or Harvard. or even Duke. They can't get away with treating applicants this way. And their rankings provide a stark illustration of this fact. And this is all coming from a UNC alum.

So the fuck what UNC's competitors do? UNC's admissions model is different, deal with it. I was still waiting last year at this time and I didn't bitch and whine on TLS about it.

Also, I like your use of the caps-lock key. It really helps you get your point across.

What a witty retort. Yes, I used some caps, this is an online forum, I was just expressing my thoughts. No need to take it personally and curse at me. You of all people should not be so upset about me wanting to vent a little on a forum. You have posted over 1,000 times. You clearly don't have a life or are a big believer in expressing your thoughts on a forum (more likely both.). And I was not planning on using UNC as leverage from the beginning, I just changed my mind after the admissions process. I was especially put off when I saw some of the numbers of people who had gotten scholarship interviews when other people with LSATs over 165 and similar GPAs had not even been reviewed. The only difference between the applicants was their ethnicity. I have a problem with that. And these are just my thoughts, I know some people disagree. I don't care. You are allowed to disagree. Even if I am wrong, who cares? I'm just one guy and I was just expressing my frustration. Peace

I wasn't really going for wit, but I appreciate that you think my response was witty. I wrote that to get a reaction out of you for entertainment's sake. Mission accomplished.

My 1000+ posts definitely equates to me having no life and to being a big believer in expressing my thoughts on a forum. Got me there. That's faulty logic if I've ever seen it.

For your observation that the only difference between some of the numbers' of people who had scholarship interviews when others with over 165 LSATs and similar GPAs who had not even been reviewed is ethnicity, it may be. However, I've got news for you, UNC is not the only school that gives a URM boost. In fact, the URM boost is pretty much practiced by all schools. It's unfair for you to fault UNC for that as if they were the only school that takes diversity into account.

I'm so sick of people bitching and crying about the time it has taken them to hear back and that UNC isn't courting them like other schools. If your need for approval is that great and you are really turned off by the admissions process at a particular school for reasons similar to those, well, that is really short sighted and pathetic.

[YouDontKnowMe]

In my personal opinion, I am surprised that people would argue that the failure to give so many applicants a decision, whether it be positive or negative, is anything other than unprofessional or at the very least discourteous...which calls into question the organization as a whole.

I think this is the part I have the biggest problem with. I admit, I've been frustrated with admissions too, but I don't know what the deal is there, because I've visited the school several times now and talked to a pretty big handful of students, and no one I've talked to has had anything negative to say about administration beyond the admissions department. Yeah, students complain about parking, and sometimes somebody doesn't like a particular professor, but they've all been happy overall with their experience, and they've all been perfectly friendly, not-self-important-or-whatever-you-guys-like-to-call-them people. I know it's frustrating to wait this long, I agree that this is a crappy situation, but as far as actual rudeness goes, I rather think this is coming mainly from one person. And I'm not going to let this one person or four people, or whoever you want to blame Admissions' problems on, make my law school decision for me.

[Moral_Midgetry]

In my personal opinion, I am surprised that people would argue that the failure to give so many applicants a decision, whether it be positive or negative, is anything other than unprofessional or at the very least discourteous...which calls into question the organization as a whole.

I think this is the part I have the biggest problem with. I admit, I've been frustrated with admissions too, but I don't know what the deal is there, because I've visited the school several times now and talked to a pretty big handful of students, and no one I've talked to has had anything negative to say about administration beyond the admissions department. Yeah, students complain about parking, and sometimes somebody doesn't like a particular professor, but they've all been happy overall with their experience, and they've all been perfectly friendly, not-self-important-or-whatever-you-guys-like-to-call-them people. I know it's frustrating to wait this long, I agree that this is a crappy situation, but as far as actual rudeness goes, I rather think this is coming mainly from one person. And I'm not going to let this one person or four people, or whoever you want to blame Admissions' problems on, make my law school decision for me.

I'll piggy-back on this point which is what I was getting at in an earlier post. Just because you view admissions negatively for whatever reason, making a law school decision with that as a consideration is really short sighted.

[Jeffro]

In my personal opinion, I am surprised that people would argue that the failure to give so many applicants a decision, whether it be positive or negative, is anything other than unprofessional or at the very least discourteous...which calls into question the organization as a whole.

I think this is the part I have the biggest problem with. I admit, I've been frustrated with admissions too, but I don't know what the deal is there, because I've visited the school several times now and talked to a pretty big handful of students, and no one I've talked to has had anything negative to say about administration beyond the admissions department. Yeah, students complain about parking, and sometimes somebody doesn't like a particular professor, but they've all been happy overall with their experience, and they've all been perfectly friendly, not-self-important-or-whatever-you-guys-like-to-call-them people. I know it's frustrating to wait this long, I agree that this is a crappy situation, but as far as actual rudeness goes, I rather think this is coming mainly from one person. And I'm not going to let this one person or four people, or whoever you want to blame Admissions' problems on, make my law school decision for me.

I'll piggy-back on this point which is what I was getting at in an earlier post. Just because you view admissions negatively for whatever reason, making a law school decision with that as a consideration is really short sighted.

Your points are well taken. I can only speak for myself here, but this experience has made me take a more critical look at UNC Law. Without a doubt it would be dumb to let Admissions ruin your entire impression of the school, but it goes to something in my book. I have made other posts on here about other offices at the school and some of the shortcomings I have heard about from UNC Law grads. Not current students, not fellow applicants. These are people who have seen all UNC has had to offer and felt like there were noticeable gaps. I have also truly considered the idea of trying to study in the law library around finals and getting to hear the marching band practice outside all day...not good for me. Maybe others are starting to look harder at their other options, based in large part on Admissions shattering the perfect image UNC once held in their mind. I once had that image, being a NC resident and thinking how much I have always liked UNC undergrad (although I didn't even go there). Frankly, in some ways I thank them for helping me make a more informed decision. I don't feel short sighted at all. Again, that's just me.

[dddhhh]

Waitlisted! Congrats to all those admitted & good luck to those waiting

[skw]

To everyone who is still waiting to hear from UNC, I feel for you. I remember how I felt before I heard I was admitted in late March. Anxious, frustrated, irritated, anxious again...it is a tough situation to be in. To those who have already been admitted and/or have decided to go to other schools, try to remember that those waiting to hear a decision are in a different position that you are currently, and have some empathy -- they could be our future classmates and you just might need empathy from them once 1L is underway.

While I agree that UNC Admissions is slower than Admissions at other schools, I do not believe that this is a reflection (in any way) on the Law Program as a whole. As has been previously stated, students at UNC are overall very satisfied with their legal education and choice to attend Carolina. This cannot be said for many peer schools, so think of it this way: Would you rather be irritated with the Admissions process and satisfied with your 3 years in law school, or over the moon about Admissions, but wishing you'd picked a different program half-way through your first year? Just a thought....

Everybody who hasn't heard, please try to hang in there. At the end of the day, if you are admitted and Carolina is the right spot for you, this memory will fade and you'll have an exciting and challenging 3 years at UNC to look forward to. Once school begins, we'll all be drowning in cases and briefings and legal research, and all this will be a distant memory. After school starts, it doesn't matter if you were admitted in December, or the day before classes begin, everything is erased (including your all important LSAT score) and we all start from scratch!

Best of luck to everyone. My fingers are crossed for you. Try to stay positive (though I know that is extremely tough given the situation). If anyone needs to vent privately (without fear of starting WW3 on this forum), feel free to ping me. I'm happy to listen to you one on one if you need to get some anxiety off your chest.

[richis7]

Waitlisted! Congrats to all those admitted & good luck to those waiting

What form are the wait lists coming in? (Email, Snail Mail, Status Checker, etc)

[SMA22]

Waitlisted via email here yesterday.

[dddhhh]

Waitlisted! Congrats to all those admitted & good luck to those waiting

What form are the wait lists coming in? (Email, Snail Mail, Status Checker, etc)

Email- with a link to accept or decline.

[aae723]

Does anyone know how likely it is to be admitted off of the waitlist?

[SoupIsGoodFood]

Does anyone know how likely it is to be admitted off of the waitlist?

It's never "likely" to get in off the waitlist at any school. FTR got WL'd from UNC today via email.

[DubPoker]

Does anyone know how likely it is to be admitted off of the waitlist?

There is a interview with Dean States on admissiondean

[interviewer] So, once an applicant is on that list, and they have jumped through all the additional hoops you’ve established, what can they do to improve their chances of getting an invitation to attend? Or, is there anything that can be done at that point?

[Dean States]...Aside from that, there really is not anything additional you can do because our wait list is not ranked. As I explained before, the way we decide who to invite off of our wait list is that we look at the class of people who have indicated that they will attend and then use the wait list to try and fill in any spots that would round off the class. So, for example, typically 70% of our incoming class will be residents and 30% will be non-residents -- if we look at the number of seat deposits or commitments that we have and it looks like we are not going to hit those targets, then we will look to the wait list and determine whether anyone on that list can make up the difference.

It sounds like it really depends on who decides not to attend and if you match their profile (URM/non-URM, IS/OOS, GPA/LSAT, Male/Female)

I heard a number that 23 out of 250 were taken off it it a year or two ago (idk remember where I heard that) So ~10% if that holds true year to year.

I would bet that even though they might take lower (gpa/lsat) candidates off the waitlist if their number twins drop out it is better to have a good lsat/gpa because those with higher gpa/lsat's are more likely to go to a higher ranked school.

[YouDontKnowMe]

Your points are well taken. I can only speak for myself here, but this experience has made me take a more critical look at UNC Law. Without a doubt it would be dumb to let Admissions ruin your entire impression of the school, but it goes to something in my book. I have made other posts on here about other offices at the school and some of the shortcomings I have heard about from UNC Law grads. Not current students, not fellow applicants. These are people who have seen all UNC has had to offer and felt like there were noticeable gaps.

You keep saying this but never tell us what these gaps are. We'd all like to know, and it would also give more weight to your argument. Anyway, no program is perfect, and you've also got to take into account other factors that are going to affect your satisfaction over the next three years and beyond. Personally, I'm super-excited at the prospect of living in Chapel Hill and not having to take on massive debt.

I have also truly considered the idea of trying to study in the law library around finals and getting to hear the marching band practice outside all day...not good for me.

Two different people when I went said that this doesn't generally present a problem, as practices don't last long and a lot of people just stick in earplugs. Not to mention that there are lots of parts to the library and plenty of other places in the school to study. So again, a consideration for some people, but still not a game-changer.

[fish tacos]

I was especially put off when I saw some of the numbers of people who had gotten scholarship interviews when other people with LSATs over 165 and similar GPAs had not even been reviewed. The only difference between the applicants was their ethnicity. I have a problem with that. And these are just my thoughts, I know some people disagree. I don't care. You are allowed to disagree. Even if I am wrong, who cares? I'm just one guy and I was just expressing my frustration. Peace

FWIW, the scholarship weekend was surprisingly "vanilla," if you catch my drift. I was shocked... maybe five minorities out of 30. Just some info.

[DeeCee]

I have also truly considered the idea of trying to study in the law library around finals and getting to hear the marching band practice outside all day...not good for me.

Two different people when I went said that this doesn't generally present a problem, as practices don't last long and a lot of people just stick in earplugs. Not to mention that there are lots of parts to the library and plenty of other places in the school to study. So again, a consideration for some people, but still not a game-changer.

This. Actually when I went to ASD I'd have to say this was one of the most disappointing things I learned on the tour. I'm one of those people that get irritated by noises when I study, so I'll probably just go somewhere else to study. Anyway, besides that and parking, I really found no probs with Carolina Law. If things like this are a make it or break it, well, you're right to choose another place because you wouldn't be happy at UNC. I'm hoping that your other comment about "noticeable gaps" is your primary motive, though. Personally, I'll take in-state tuition and studying somewhere else over the 45k a year other schools would charge me.