Some Tar Heel students have only lived in a world where UNC-Chapel Hill is the nation’s “Best Value” public university.
Dating back to fall of 2005, Carolina has earned this distinction 21 consecutive times from U.S. News & World Report and is also the No. 4 overall public university in this year’s rankings, released Sept. 23.
Sophomore Gracie Elliott from Franklin, North Carolina, a small mountain town about 4.5 hours southwest of Chapel Hill, was born in November of that year.
A first-generation college student and high school valedictorian, she’s studying at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media (seven-time reigning national champions in collegiate journalism) and in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences’ communication department.
As a Carolina Covenant scholar, Elliott has a financial aid package that will allow her to graduate from Carolina debt-free while receiving a network of communal support.
Elliott and her family felt a connection to Carolina from her sister’s cystic fibrosis treatments at UNC Hospitals years prior. But she didn’t see herself becoming a Tar Heel until she received the Covenant, which she called “the best thing that could have happened to me.”
“I knew that I wouldn’t have the funds to go to college,” she said.
Gracie Elliott pictured at Wayah Bald Lookout Tower in Franklin. Hours away from her western North Carolina home, she said she has a “huge support network here at Carolina.” (Johnny Andrews/UNC-Chapel Hill)
Her expenses covered, Elliott is free to focus on her studies at a university with an array of academic opportunities for students, from top-ranked programs in the UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School and the UNC School of Nursing to study abroad and global learning opportunities.
Tar Heels can join nearly 1,000 student organizations and have resources at their disposal like the Carolina Financial Well-Being Center and the UNC Career Center to prepare for their futures. In addition to the Covenant, the University offers a wide range of scholarships and aid programs that make a Carolina education accessible.
Carolina’s four-year graduation rate (84%) is the seventh highest among public universities, and 92% of students graduate within six years.
“When students come to Carolina, we’re going to make sure that they have an outstanding academic and cocurricular experience,” said James Orr, Carolina’s inaugural senior vice provost for student success. “But we also surround them with a community of support so that they can graduate in a timely manner.”
One of the many Tar Heels who have seen that support firsthand is Sarah Peralta ’25. She now works as a Carolina College Advising Corps adviser in neighboring Alamance County, where she displays her Carolina diploma on a wall in her office near a Tar Heel pennant.
Peralta saved money by first earning her associate’s degree. She then took advantage of the Carolina Student Transfer Excellence Program, which gives students from low- and moderate-income backgrounds the opportunity to study at an in-state community college and then transfer to UNC-Chapel Hill to complete their studies.
Sarah Peralta’s time at Carolina proved that students don’t need to be Tar Heels for four years to have a great experience. (Submitted photo)
At Carolina, she dove into her psychology studies and conducted research. Peralta is considering pursuing a master’s degree at the UNC School of Social Work but is currently advising students on college and professional options at Williams High School in Burlington, North Carolina, where she walked the same halls not that long ago.
“I’ve been presenting to different personal finance classes. I always mention that my last semester I lived on campus and only paid $40 that semester,” Peralta said. “I think it’s something that’s hard for them to understand because college is such a big financial stressor for a lot of families.”
James Orr said Tar Heels’ school pride and focus on the University’s statewide impact have stood out to him since arriving in Chapel Hill. (Jeyhoun Allebaugh/University Development)
‘A people’s university’
Orr has only been at Carolina a few months, so he’s had a crash course in being a Tar Heel. In his conversations with students, faculty and staff, alumni and parents, he hears the same recurring theme.
“People love Carolina,” he said, “and they particularly have a passion for Carolina because of the impact that it has on the state of North Carolina.”
Orr’s takeaway is apt for senior Lamin Saidy, a biology and history major from Eden, North Carolina, close to the Virginia border.
The Honors Carolina student plans to attend medical school and is keen on cardiology, a choice influenced by his mother’s open-heart surgery. He’s even shadowed Dr. Anil K. Gehi of the UNC School of Medicine.
“I’d love to stay in North Carolina. If I could, I’d stay at UNC for med school,” said Saidy, a Blue Sky scholar. “I love it here.”
A first-generation college student and Blue Sky scholar, Lamin Saidy is glad to be a part of a program that focuses on students from middle-income families. (Jen Hughey/University Development)
The Blue Sky scholarship, given to exceptionally qualified students from middle-income North Carolina families, simplified Saidy’s college experience. His parents no longer had to worry about how they would pay for college for the oldest of their three children. “It’s very rewarding” for Carolina to think about middle-income students like himself, he said.
“When we’re thinking about affordability, we’re thinking about the spectrum” of family incomes, said Orr.
The University also ranks No. 8 for veterans and offers special support to military-affiliated students. Many students work meaningful Federal Work-Study jobs on campus to lower costs as well.
“Carolina has stayed true to its roots and its mission of being a people’s university. We haven’t lost sight of that,” said Orr when describing why Carolina has consistently maintained its “Best Value” status.
Orr said parents primarily ask three questions when their child is considering a school:
- Is it affordable?
- Will a student receive coordinated, hands-on learning experiences?
- What are the career outcomes?
For Dr. Sanjay and Angela Patel of Conover, the parents of two Tar Heels and leaders on the Carolina Parents Council, each of those questions has been answered perfectly.
The Carolina experience has been fulfilling for everyone in the Patel family (left to right): A.G. Patel ’26, Dr. Sanjay Patel, Angela Patel and Hayden Patel ’24. (Submitted photo)
“We absolutely feel it is worth every penny for the return of everything it’s given to our family,” said Angela Patel.
Their son, Hayden Patel ’24, works as a consultant in Atlanta for Ernst & Young, his career path solidified through his participation in the Student Teams Achieving Results program at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. Their daughter, A.G. Patel ’26, studies at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, where she’s conducted research while also working as an EMT and serving as a nutrition intern with the Carolina football team.
“Carolina has been great for our kids, but it’s been amazing for us, my wife and myself,” Sanjay Patel said. “Carolina has been great for our family.”
Elliott has learned “there’s so much more” to the Covenant than just financial assistance, including becoming close to other scholars and receiving faculty mentorship. In her two years studying at Carolina, Peralta found community through a club for transfer students and the Positive Emotions and Psychophysiology Laboratory she worked at.
Orr believes their positive experiences are proof of why “Best Value” has belonged to Carolina for two decades.
“We’re laser-focused in ensuring that we’re offering an accessible and affordable education for students and families and that is being recognized by us having this No. 1 ranking,” he said. “But we’re not doing it for the rankings. We’re doing it because that’s who we are as an institution.”
