University releases admissions statistics

The class of 2018 is already breaking records.

UNC admitted 28 percent of an unprecedented 31,321 first-year applications received, and hopes to have 3,990 admitted applicants enroll for the fall.

Regular decisions were released Friday, and 2,655 out of the 15,817 students that applied were offered admission. As of Tuesday, 1,800 of the total admitted applicants already enrolled.

Ashley Memory, associate admissions director, said UNC is glad to already welcome 1,800 future Tar Heels.

“This is something we are definitely celebrating, we’re very happy they already made their mind on coming to Carolina,” she said.

According to a press release Monday, 52 percent of North Carolinians that applied were accepted and 17 percent of out-of-staters were accepted.

Of the admitted students, 83 percent were in the top 10 percent of their class and 14 percent were first generation college students. There were 1,704 underrepresented students admitted – reporting either African American, Latino/a, American Indian or multiple ethnicities.

Admissions looks at what classes the students are taking, how they’re challenging themselves and how they perform in those classes, then the department looks at testing. Memory said the test scores were very close to last year’s admitted students.

“The middle half of the class scored between 1270 and 1500 on the Critical Reading and Math portion of the SAT and between 29 and 34 on the ACT,” according to the press release.

“We’re very proud of our holistic review which takes into account academic factors,” she said.

But Memory said class rank and test scores are not the only factors in the decision-making process.

“No student is admitted or denied on class rank or based on test scores,” she said.

Memory said they also look at students’ essays, recommendation letters and how they spend time outside of the classroom.

“Our students are doing amazing things from starting recycling programs in their schools to raising funds to help families in Ethiopia,” she said. “All of these factors help us understand how a student might contribute to the Carolina community.”

Eliza Wireback, a Greensboro native, was originally deferred for the early action application, but was recently accepted during the regular admissions round.

Memory said a lot of top students apply to five or six schools and are still deciding where to go.

Wireback is now one of those students and said she is weighing her options based on her potential major.

“I really want to go to a school that provides a really good journalism foundation,” she said.

Since July, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions has welcomed about 30,000 students for visits. Since June, admissions representatives have visited about 200 in-state high schools and more than 100 out-of-state high schools to show students what UNC has to offer, Memory said.

“We’re thrilled to do it,” she said. “It gives us a great amount of joy to get to know students in the community.”

Memory said she believes interest in UNC will continue to grow based on the school’s academics, affordability, tours and the University’s compassionate students.

“Our students are a huge selling point for us,” she said.

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