The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has set an 11th consecutive record for first-year applications – an increase of 12 percent over last year and the second largest increase within the last 25 years.
As of Jan. 25, Carolina’s 35,748 first-year applicants come from all 100 counties in North Carolina, all 50 states and the District of Columbia and 124 countries outside the United States. At least 11,307 of the applicants are North Carolina residents, which is an increase of 10 percent over last year. Applications from global students total 3,778 and reflect an increase of 19 percent over last year.
“We continue to be grateful that so many terrific students are considering us for the next step in their academic journeys,” said Stephen Farmer, Vice Provost for Enrollment and Undergraduate Admissions. “Their interest in Carolina reinforces our commitment to treating each applicant with the greatest of care and respect.”
Applicants from low-income households, as indicated by their qualification for an application fee waiver, rose from 3,488 to 4,409, an increase of 26 percent. The fee-waiver guidelines roughly parallel the thresholds for the Carolina Covenant, the University’s groundbreaking program that promises a debt-free education to all eligible admitted students who apply for aid on time.
For the past two years, Covenant Scholars comprised 13 percent of the enrolling class. The University also received 5,764 applications from first-generation-college students, which is an increase of 15 percent over last year.
Students who applied in October will receive their decisions by the end of January. Students who applied in January will receive their decisions by the end of March.
The University expects to enroll a first-year class of 4,100.
Published January 28, 2016