Student Aid Text-Only Menu    |    Student Aid Non-Text-Only Home Page

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

The Office of Scholarships & Student Aid

September 1, 2009

Greetings, and welcome all new and returning students!

The University of North Carolina enters its 214th year of instruction facing the same economic challenges felt nation-wide. In spite of these pressures, the University continues—for the seventh year in a row—to rank first on Kiplinger’s rating of the nation’s “best values” among public universities. This ranking looks not only at overall affordability, but also takes into account the high academic standards and strong tradition of excellence that are distinguishing hallmarks of the University.

Financial aid continues to play a primary role in keeping an education at Carolina affordable. During the last year, over $235 million was awarded in assistance to over half of the student body. This includes grants, scholarships, loans, and work-study jobs. The University also continues to provide students with a laptop grant whose demonstrated need is above and beyond their need-based assistance. Additionally, the University is proud to sponsor the Carolina Covenant®, a program for students from low-income families that makes it possible for them to graduate debt-free, provided that they work 10-12 hours per week in an on-campus work-study job.

We know that the concept of financial aid can be confusing, and therefore we like to keep our policies simple and straightforward. Students who apply for financial aid by the priority deadline of March 1 can expect to have the full amount of their need met with a financial aid package comprised of two-thirds in grants and scholarships (money that does not need to be repaid), and one-third in loans and/or work-study.

Access to affordable education is one of the twin goals of the University; the other is excellence. To this end, we award over 250 merit scholarships to highly qualified new students each year. Many of these renewable awards go beyond a financial benefit, offering enrichment opportunities and faculty mentoring as well. There is no separate application to be considered for these scholarships beyond applying for admission.

We hope that you will find this website useful in learning about ways to finance an education at Carolina. It is our goal to make the process as clear and understandable as possible. We stand by our dual mission of supporting access and excellence, which has been an enduring formula for success at the University.

Sincerely,

Shirley A. Ort,
Associate Provost and
Director of Scholarships and Student Aid

Student Aid Text-Only Menu    |    Student Aid Non-Text-Only Home Page