CAPS - University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Aug

27

Phone Service Restored UNC Admissions Blog Thanks to everyone for your patience, and best wishes for a good weekend.

Aug

27

Phone Service Interrupted UNC Admissions Blog As of 12:15 pm Eastern time, we're experiencing problems with the phone service in our office. We've notified technical support and hope to have service restored soon.If you're trying to reach us right now, we're sorry. Again, we're working to restore service as quickly as possible.

Aug

10

Nursing Application is Down UNC Admissions Blog We are very sorry, but due to a technical glitch, the nursing application closed prematurely. We hope to have the application back up very soon.To give you ample time to complete your application, we will be extending the deadline until tomorrow, Wednesday, August 11 at 11:59 p.m. We will also email you as soon as the application is up again.If you have already completed and submitted your application, you do not need to do anything else.Again, we apologize for the inconvenience. If we may assist you in any way, please let us know.

Aug

10

First-Year Application is Up! UNC Admissions Blog The online application for Fall 2011 first-year admission is now available through your MyUNC account. (Don't have a MyUNC account yet? Well, now's a great time to create one. You'll be able to complete your application online, and we'll send you important updates throughout the year through your account.)We've recently created a new feature on the website: Five Reasons to Apply to Carolina. Check it out. You'll learn more about our outstanding community of students, the many special opportunities that are available to first-year students, and the value of a Carolina education.Please let us know what questions and comments you have as you begin your application. We're here to help, so just let us know how we can serve you better.--JulieP.S. We're planning to have the transfer application for Fall 2011 up in September, so if you're planning to apply as a transfer, stay tuned. We'll let you know when it's available. Thanks!

Aug

06

Enrolling Students: AP and Other Test Scores UNC Admissions Blog We recently imported all test scores for enrolling first-year and transfer students, and we are working to evaluate and post the credit that students will receive with these scores. The scores are not currently available to view on your MyUNC page, but we hope to have them up soon.If you are an enrolling student and have not yet sent us your scores, please have the testing agency send us an official score report. If you have already sent us your scores, please be patient as we review and post this credit to your account. You can view details on what placement and credit we award for test scores by visiting our Placement Credit page.We plan to have all test score credit evaluated and posted to students’ accounts by August 13.Please let us know if you have any questions.

Jul

28

Update on Missing Items UNC Admissions Blog Yesterday we e-mailed all enrolling students a reminder about missing credentials that are required for enrollment. We followed up with an important clarification regarding immunization records that we'll repeat here. If your To-do list includes immunization-related items, please note that you have until 30 days after the first day of classes (August 24) to submit these forms. If you are able to provide this information prior to this date, please do so. To make sure that your enrollment isn't jeopardized, we need to receive all other admissions credentials as soon as possible and no later than August 2. We regret that if we do not receive these materials by August 2, we will cancel your enrollment. If you already submitted your Community Standards form to our office, please do not submit an additional form at this time. Our staff continues to process these materials and will contact you directly if anything further is needed.If your plans have changed and you no longer wish to enroll, please contact Mr. Michael Hamilton at mhamilton@admissions.unc.edu or (919) 843-9803 as soon as possible.We're looking forward to welcoming you to Carolina in August. In the meantime, if we may be of any help, please don't hesitate to let us know.

Jul

27

Thinking about Essays UNC Admissions Blog In the office lately, we seem to have essays on the brain. A couple weeks ago, we posted this year’s essay questions on the blog and that always prompts interesting discussions with students and among our staff about what makes a good essay. There are, of course, varying opinions on the subject, but I’d say we all agree that the best essays help us get to know the applicant as a person. We don’t get to meet all our applicants face-to-face, so I often think of the application as an interview—it allows me to get a glimpse of the walking, talking, breathing person behind the application.First off, the nuts and bolts of our application essays: We require two essays, one about 500 words and the other about 250 words. We get a lot of questions about essay length—do you penalize for long essays, do you count words, etc. The answer is no, we do not count words, but we do really appreciate it if you’re able to stick close to the recommended word count. We read a lot of essays, and we can tell you that a longer essay is not a better essay. In fact, the best essays are concise, with nary a word to spare.Now, what advice would we offer to students who are sitting down to write an essay for our application? Our director offered three or four hints for the essay in a post we shared a couple years ago, which is a great place to start.I’d add the following tips, which comes from the collective wisdom of our counselors, each of whom reads hundreds or even thousands of applications each year.Show us, don’t tell us. For example, rather than just telling us “I am an adventurous person,” why not show us your adventurous spirit by recounting your latest adventure with colorful details and descriptive language. Showing is always more persuasive and interesting than telling.Focus. Don’t try to tell your entire life story (it’s impossible), but instead think about how you can communicate one little slice of life. Can you tell a story that will illustrate one aspect of your personality? Can you zoom in on an idea that you find compelling? Can you incorporate details that will be memorable to your reader? Remember it doesn't have to be all about you. Some of the best essays are about people or ideas outside the writer's own life--these essays can still tell us a lot about the person who did the writing.Be concise. Don’t use 10 words when five will do the trick.Abandon the thesaurus. I read essays where it is very obvious that the student wrote their essay, then replaced half the words with “smarter” words they found in the thesaurus. Let us hear your voice—speak to us as you would normally speak, and don’t use words that you don’t normally use. Don’t feel tied to the essay prompts. Use them as jumping off places, and feel free to let your creativity and instinct take you where it may. We work hard to come up with essay prompts that will inspire students to craft an interesting essay. But if your muse leads you elsewhere, go for it. Instead of trying to figure out what we want to hear, ask yourself how you can portray your unique voice and personality. This is your opportunity to show us who you are, and make us want to get to know you better. Do you have any good advice for essays? Please feel free to share your opinions, and let us know if you have questions.-Julie

Jul

26

New First Year Wins Jack Kent Cooke Scholarship UNC Admissions Blog We'd like to say welcome to Tyler Crews, who will be joining us this fall on a full, four-year scholarship through the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation. He was chosen from among members of the foundation's Young Scholars program, which supports high-achieving, low-income students through their middle and high school years.Learn more about the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation, and read more about Tyler, who is an aspiring trauma surgeon. We're grateful that wonderful students like Tyler find their way to us, and we're also grateful for organizations like the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation that support students as they realize their dreams of going to college.-Julie

Jul

22

If you're visiting campus today... UNC Admissions Blog Vice President Joe Biden is also visiting campus today, so please note that there will be very limited street parking in front of our office. We encourage you to use the HWY 54 visitors parking lot, which is just a short walk from the office. Vice President Biden is attending a fundraising event at the Carolina Inn this evening.

Jul

13

Fall 2011 Essay Questions UNC Admissions Blog We're still polishing up our Fall 2011 first-year application, which we plan to make available in August, but we thought you might appreciate a sneak peek at the essay questions. So if you have a little extra time this summer, why not spend it by getting a head start on your essays? Since the deadline is still months away, the pressure is off, so try to have a little fun. You might give yourself a daily time limit--perhaps you can spend just 10 minutes each day on this task--and before you know it, you'll have completed first drafts of both essays!We'll ask you to write one long essay (approximately 500 words) and one short essay (approximately 250 words) but it's up to you to choose which essays will be your long and short ones.1. People find many ways to express their inner world. Some write novels; others paint, perform, or debate; still others design elegant solutions to complex mathematical problems. How do you express your inner world, and how does the world around you respond?2. It’s easy to identify with the hero—the literary or historical figure who saves the day. Have you ever identified with a figure who wasn’t a hero—a villain or a scapegoat, a bench-warmer or a bit player? If so, tell us why this figure appealed to you—and if your opinion changed over time, tell us about that, too.3. Carolina students conduct original research and work to solve problems in almost every imaginable field. If you could spend a semester researching a specific topic or problem, what would you choose and why?4. Tell us about a group project in which you had to collaborate with your peers. How did it go?5. What’s the best advice you’ve ever received or given?6. Tell us about a recent dream. What do you think it meant?7. In our history various people have taken stands against injustice, or what they viewed as injustice, often at great personal risk. Have you ever taken a stand against something you considered unjust—or if you haven’t, do you have an idea of what it would take for you to take such a stand? Please explain.8. If you have written an essay for another school’s application that you really like, feel free to use it as your short or long essay for us. Please be sure to tell us (a) what essay you are answering and (b) why you think this essay represents you well (your explanation will not be included in the word count).We look forward to reading your essays and learning more about you. And yes, we do read every essay, one at a time. Because we can't meet you in person, your essays play a vital role in helping us understand who you are, how you think, and what you might contribute to the University community. Your essays will be evaluated not only for admission, but also for possible selection for the Honors Program, merit-based scholarships, and other special opportunities for first-year students.Happy writing!

Jun

22

Online Enrollment Deposit Payments Down from 6/24 - 6/28 UNC Admissions Blog We apologize for the inconvenience, but we wanted to let you know that students will be unable to pay their enrollment deposits online from 5 p.m. on Thursday, June 24 through Monday, June 28 at 8 a.m.This planned outage is necessary to allow us to upgrade this system.Thank you for patience. As always, if you have any questions, please continue to visit this blog or call us at (919) 966-3621.

Jun

16

Update on Final Decisions for First Year Waiting List UNC Admissions Blog Starting today and continuing over the next 2 days, we will be posting the final decisions from our first-year waiting list. Students whose decisions are not posted today should check their MyUNC accounts nightly between 5 - 7 p.m. All decisions should be posted by 7 p.m. on Friday, June 18.To view your decision:Log into MyUNC.Under “AS Bachelor, 2010 Fall," select “View Official Test Scores, Outstanding Items, and Application Status.”Your Student Center will appear. Under Admissions, select “Click here to view your decision.In order to view your decision, please note that, if applicable, the pop-up blocker feature on your computer must be disabled.Internet ExplorerIn the menu bar, go to Tools and navigate down to “Pop-up Blocker Settings.”Click on “Turn-Off Pop-up Blocker.”Google ToolbarClick the Google Pop-up Blocker toolbar icon.The Pop-up Blocker icon should read “Popups are okay.”Mozilla FirefoxIn the menu bar, go to Tools and navigate down to Options.Select “Content” tab or icon.Uncheck box labeled “Block pop-up windows.”AOLClick on “Blocking Pop-ups” at the bottom right corner of the AOL window.Uncheck box labeled “Suppress pop-ups from websites I visit.”Click “Save” button.Yahoo Toolbar Click on the Yahoo Toolbar's popup blocker icon option arrow. This arrow is pointing down beside of the popup blocker icon.Click on “Enable Pop-up Blocker” to uncheck. ChromeTo allow blocked pop-ups when you're already on a site, follow these steps:Click the “Pop-ups Blocked” alert at the bottom right-hand corner of the browser tab.Select the pop-up that you'd like to allow.If you'd like, select “Always show pop-ups” from (site).If you're using Google Chrome Beta for Windows, the site is added to the exceptions list, which you can manage in the Content Settings dialog (go to Tools menu Options Under the Hood to open the dialog box).If you're using Google Chrome Beta for Windows, you can also disable the pop-up blocker completely. Follow these steps:Click the “Tools” menu.Select “Options.”Click the “Under the Hood” tab.Click Content settings in the "Privacy" section.Click the “Pop-ups” tab.Select "Allow all sites to show pop-ups." You can make exceptions for specific websites by clicking Exceptions.Click “Close” to save your setting.SafariOpen the Safari menu and select the “Preferences” option.In the window that displays, click on the “Security” option.Remove the checkmark from the “Block pop-up” windows option.Close the window.Or, for an older version of Safari, tryOpen SafariClick on the Safari MenuUncheck “Block Pop-Up Windows”Thank you for your interest in Carolina. For the latest information from our office, please continue to visit this blog.

May

27

First-year Waiting List Review UNC Admissions Blog Thanks to all of those first-year applicants who have accepted a place on our waiting list. We appreciate your continued interest in Carolina.This afternoon, we posted another round of decisions for our first-year students. We may make several additional admission offers over the coming weeks, so if you did not receive a new decision today, please know that your application is still under consideration and you do not need to take any action. You will remain on the waiting list and will receive full consideration for any additional space we have in the class. All students will have a final decision by June 30 at the latest.If you were admitted from the waiting list, you may enroll and pay your enrollment deposit on your MyUNC. Once you've enrolled, you may apply for campus housing and register for orientation (CTOPS) through your MyUNC. Additionally, if you completed your FAFSA and CSS profile by the March 1, 2010 deadline, you should receive financial aid information by June 4, 2010.Again, we appreciate your patience and continued interest. Please let us know if you have any questions.

May

25

Community Standards Forms for Transfer Students UNC Admissions Blog If you are an enrolling transfer student, please remember that your updated Community Standards form is due by June 15. This form appears on your to-do list in your MyUNC account, and you may download the form here.Please note that when you send the form, it will not immediately disappear from your to-do list. There is no need to re-submit the form; if we need additional information we will contact you.As part of our responsibility to ensure a safe and secure campus community, our staff reviews each Community Standards form carefully in conjunction with each student's original application for admission. This process takes time, which means that there may be some delay between our receiving your form and when it is removed from your to-do list. If any additional information is needed after this review is completed, our office will be in touch. We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience during this time.

May

21

Don't Forget to Sign Up for Orientation by May 28 UNC Admissions Blog On behalf of the Office of New Student and Parent Programs, we'd like to remind all enrolling students to be sure and sign up for Orientation. All new first-year students are required to participate in a two-day New Student Orientation Program to learn about the Carolina curriculum, gain insight on the expectations, responsibilities, and opportunities associated with being a Tar Heel, and register for classes.The May 28 deadline to register is quickly approaching, so if you've haven't already registered, please click here for more information on 2010 Orientation Registration, dates and fees, checklists, FAQs, placement test information, and much more.Beyond attending Summer Orientation, all new students are encouraged to take advantage of additional orientation-related programs designed to help with the transition to Carolina and to facilitate your success on our campus. To learn more about programs and opportunities to help you transition to living and learning in the Carolina community, please read the Orientation and Beyond brochure designed just for you.We look forward to seeing you there. For more information, please contact the Office of New Student and Parent Programs at (919) 962-8304 or by email at orientation@unc.edu.

May

14

MyUNC Maintenance UNC Admissions Blog The University is running a routine maintenance on the MyUNC system this weekend, so students will not be able to create new onyens or UNC guest IDs from noon on Friday, May 14 until midnight on Sunday, May 16. Other MyUNC functions will be working normally.We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Apr

30

First-Year Enrollment Deadline Extension UNC Admissions Blog We have extended the first-year online enrollment deposit deadline to Monday, May 3, 2010 at 9:00 am ET. To secure your enrollment at Carolina, you will need to reply to us through your MyUNC account by this date. If you are mailing your enrollment deposit and reply form, the postmark deadline is Saturday, May 1, 2010. The deadline for applicants admitted from the waiting list is Monday, May 17, 2010.

Apr

30

First-Year Waiting List Review Has Begun UNC Admissions Blog Thanks to all of those first-year applicants who have accepted a place on our waiting list. We know that the waiting is difficult, and we really appreciate your continued interest in Carolina.We have now begun our work of reviewing the waiting list, and this afternoon we posted new decisions for a limited number of first-year students. We may make several additional waves of admission offers over the coming weeks, so if you did not receive a new decision, please know that your application is still under consideration. Students who did not receive a new decision today do not need to take any action at this point; you will remain on the waiting list and receive full consideration for any additional spaces we have in the class. All students will have a final decision by June 30, at the latest.Again, we truly appreciate your patience as we finalize the first-year class. Please let us know what questions you have.

Apr

16

Update on Transfer Decisions UNC Admissions Blog We write to share the steps to view decisions for transfer applicants when they are available.To view your decision:Log into MyUNC.Under “AS Bachelor, 2010 Fall," select “View Official Test Scores, Outstanding Items, and Application Status.”Your Student Center will appear. Under Admissions, select “Click here to view your decision.In order to view your decision, please note that, if applicable, the pop-up blocker feature on your computer must be disabled.Internet ExplorerIn the menu bar, go to Tools and navigate down to “Pop-up Blocker Settings.”Click on “Turn-Off Pop-up Blocker.”Google ToolbarClick the Google Pop-up Blocker toolbar icon.The Pop-up Blocker icon should read “Popups are okay.”Mozilla FirefoxIn the menu bar, go to Tools and navigate down to Options.Select “Content” tab or icon.Uncheck box labeled “Block pop-up windows.”AOLClick on “Blocking Pop-ups” at the bottom right corner of the AOL window.Uncheck box labeled “Suppress pop-ups from websites I visit.”Click “Save” button.Yahoo Toolbar Click on the Yahoo Toolbar's popup blocker icon option arrow. This arrow is pointing down beside of the popup blocker icon.Click on “Enable Pop-up Blocker” to uncheck. ChromeTo allow blocked pop-ups when you're already on a site, follow these steps:Click the “Pop-ups Blocked” alert at the bottom right-hand corner of the browser tab.Select the pop-up that you'd like to allow.If you'd like, select “Always show pop-ups” from (site).If you're using Google Chrome Beta for Windows, the site is added to the exceptions list, which you can manage in the Content Settings dialog (go to Tools menu Options Under the Hood to open the dialog box).If you're using Google Chrome Beta for Windows, you can also disable the pop-up blocker completely. Follow these steps:Click the “Tools” menu.Select “Options.”Click the “Under the Hood” tab.Click Content settings in the "Privacy" section.Click the “Pop-ups” tab.Select "Allow all sites to show pop-ups." You can make exceptions for specific websites by clicking Exceptions.Click “Close” to save your setting.SafariOpen the Safari menu and select the “Preferences” option.In the window that displays, click on the “Security” option.Remove the checkmark from the “Block pop-up” windows option.Close the window.Or, for an older version of Safari, tryOpen SafariClick on the Safari MenuUncheck “Block Pop-Up Windows”Thank you for your interest in Carolina. For the latest information from our office, please continue to visit this blog.

Mar

24

Event Pages Temporarily Down UNC Admissions Blog Please note that the event section of MyUNC is temporarily down, so admitted students do not currently have access to their event invitations. We're working on the issue, and should have it resolved very soon. Thanks for your patience!

Mar

19

Update on Decisions - How to View Your Decision UNC Admissions Blog We write to share the steps to view decisions when they are available.To view your decision:Log into MyUNC.Under “AS Bachelor, 2010 Fall," select “View Official Test Scores, Outstanding Items, and Application Status.”Your Student Center will appear. Under Admissions, select “Click here to view your decision.In order to view your decision, please note that, if applicable, the pop-up blocker feature on your computer must be disabled.Internet ExplorerIn the menu bar, go to Tools and navigate down to “Pop-up Blocker Settings.”Click on “Turn-Off Pop-up Blocker.”Google ToolbarClick the Google Pop-up Blocker toolbar icon.The Pop-up Blocker icon should read “Popups are okay.”Mozilla FirefoxIn the menu bar, go to Tools and navigate down to Options.Select “Content” tab or icon.Uncheck box labeled “Block pop-up windows.”AOLClick on “Blocking Pop-ups” at the bottom right corner of the AOL window.Uncheck box labeled “Suppress pop-ups from websites I visit.”Click “Save” button.Yahoo Toolbar Click on the Yahoo Toolbar's popup blocker icon option arrow. This arrow is pointing down beside of the popup blocker icon.Click on “Enable Pop-up Blocker” to uncheck. ChromeTo allow blocked pop-ups when you're already on a site, follow these steps:Click the “Pop-ups Blocked” alert at the bottom right-hand corner of the browser tab.Select the pop-up that you'd like to allow.If you'd like, select “Always show pop-ups” from (site).If you're using Google Chrome Beta for Windows, the site is added to the exceptions list, which you can manage in the Content Settings dialog (go to Tools menu Options Under the Hood to open the dialog box).If you're using Google Chrome Beta for Windows, you can also disable the pop-up blocker completely. Follow these steps:Click the “Tools” menu.Select “Options.”Click the “Under the Hood” tab.Click Content settings in the "Privacy" section.Click the “Pop-ups” tab.Select "Allow all sites to show pop-ups." You can make exceptions for specific websites by clicking Exceptions.Click “Close” to save your setting.SafariOpen the Safari menu and select the “Preferences” option.In the window that displays, click on the “Security” option.Remove the checkmark from the “Block pop-up” windows option.Close the window.Or, for an older version of Safari, tryOpen SafariClick on the Safari MenuUncheck “Block Pop-Up Windows”Thank you for your interest in Carolina. For the latest information from our office, please continue to visit this blog.

Mar

05

MyUNC is Currently Down UNC Admissions Blog We’re sorry to report that MyUNC is currently down. We apologize for the inconvenience; please know that we are working to restore service as soon as possible.Thank you for your patience. For the latest information, please stay tuned to this blog.

Mar

02

MyUNC Still Experiencing Technical Issues UNC Admissions Blog **Update: We're still working on resolving this issue. While many students should be able to fully access their MyUNC pages, students who log on with their ONYEN may not be able to view their test scores and decision letter. We should have this fixed very soon.-Julie--Wed, 5:42 pm**We're very sorry for the continued inconvenience but we've just learned that MyUNC is still not working properly and some students are not able to access their events, To-Do list, and other information.We're working to address these issues and we hope to have them corrected very soon.Please stay posted for the latest information. We'll post it here first.

Mar

01

MyUNC Technical Issue is Now Fixed UNC Admissions Blog We're glad to report that the technical error on MyUNC is now fixed. After logging in, students should be able to once again view their "To-do" lists, test scores, events and other items in their account.Thank you for your patience. Please continue to check this blog for the latest updates.

Feb

25

Admitted Student Access to MyUNC UNC Admissions Blog Understandably, there has been some confusion among admitted students on how to access MyUNC. We can understand your confusion and we hope that this post will help explain the transition from your Guest ID to your ONYEN.When you applied to Carolina and first created your MyUNC account, you did so with your email address, what became your Guest ID.Now that you are admitted, you need to create your ONYEN (or Only Name You'll Ever Need), which is not only your user name for your UNC computer account but also serves as your unique identifier for access to important UNC services such as financial aid and housing.To create your ONYEN, please visit onyen.unc.edu, and click on “Create An Onyen.” You will then be prompted to enter your last name and your Personal Identification Number (or PID). After entering this information, you will be immediately presented with an ONYEN, and you will be given the opportunity to modify it (if you choose) and to create a confidential password.Please note that your UNC Guest ID (the username you used when applying for admission) will expire after your ONYEN is created. Once you create your ONYEN you will only be able to access MyUNC with your ONYEN.Using your ONYEN and password, you may now log into onyen.unc.edu and manage your UNC email account (create an easy-to-remember alias or change your password, for example). You may access your email by clicking on “Webmail” at this same site or by visiting mail.unc.edu. Check your UNC email account regularly because from this point forward, the University will communicate with you through this new account.If you experience any technical difficulties creating or using your ONYEN, the UNC Help Desk will happily assist you. You may contact them at (919) 962-HELP (4357) or through email at help@unc.edu.And as always, if we can help in any way, please feel free to contact us.