The University of North Carolina - Charlotte

Date: Jul 29 2010
Major: Economics (This Major's Salary over time)
I've been here for over 5 years. Getting into UNCC is quite easy for just about anyone, as the admission standards are rather low. The reason for their low admission standards are so the university can be sure to make money off as many people as it can. Despite UNCC being a state school it's very greedy.

Presently, the university will look for as many ways to nickle and dime you as it can, and don't even think about appealing it - UNCC has no compassion or understanding for it's students. Appeals are rarely granted as I found out the hard way. There's lots of red-tape and silly rules here which are intended to screw the students over and give a greater advantage to the campus. The financial aid office is one of the most poorly run places I've ever had the misfortune of dealing with, as they are slow to process just about everything and care little if they mess up registering for your classes. Read some of the other comments on this website for proof. UNCC will gladly take your money away and give you little-to-nothing in return. The impression I received is undergrads are considered as numbers, not students - you are treated as someone who does not matter. You make the school a profit and that's all that really matters to them.

As for the other students, due to the low admission standards, an uncomfortable number of them are low lives, thugs, and close-minded and just plain bland personalities. I've lived in Witherspoon hall and Greek Village (the frat houses) and in both places I've had people threaten my well-being for the most flimsiest and silliest reasons. One individual even threatened to cut me in half and another time there was a mob of black students standing outside my room door yelling anti-white racial hate speech and death threats. I've had my car keyed and hit many times in different areas on campus. All of this happening when I am polite and friendly to these other individuals. I cannot think of a reason for why they would act so vile and repulsive. The campus police do next-to-nothing to help you and they are downright unpleasant to converse with. I never made a single close friend at this place. The rest of the students who aren't thugs are just banal individuals - do not expect to find highly creative, genius, or original students here - such persons go to more prestigious universities. UNCC students are mostly kids from the local area of Charlotte who did not have the academic merit to go some place else.

My experience with the faculty has been mixed. The campus Honors Program has the most helpful and pleasant professors who really want to get to know their students and help them out for the better. Their style of lecture is excellent and they provide students with plenty of resources for enhancing their on-campus extracurriculars, resume, and college career. Outside the Honors Program is a different story unfortunately. Many of the professors are temporary and are grad students who seem to lack enthusiasm for what they are teaching. You might as well just stay in your room and look at the online notes since that's all they do is read off the notes. Others, especially in the economics department, cannot speak proper English as a result of being from a foreign country. The worst of the lot are the mean-spirited and downright nasty professors who put-down whatever you say to them. I've met with economics professors when I was seeking research and on-campus activities related to economics, and they are typically rude and unkind. They are not eager to work with students, they insult them, and many do not even answer their own emails. I had one professor scream at me for not picking up my test quick enough!! What in the hell is wrong with these people!!?!!

The only good side to UNCC is it's newly built facilities. UNCC is constantly adding new facilities and buildings and they are visually appealing if you are into a modern/contemporary and urban look. The construction is intended to blend in with the surrounding city of Charlotte. There are also little details like engraved UNCC symbols on the railings and chairs which add a nice touch. Then there is an extraneous amount of landscaping and plants. Overall, I think the newer parts of campus are plain beautiful while the older side is "ok" looking. The only problem is with constant constructions comes constant road closings and impediments to getting where you need to get to on campus. Parking here is also atrocious since most students commute. You will probably receive a large number of expensive parking tickets as a result of not being able to find a parking space for students. Parking meters often do not work and you are still given a parking ticket.

Lastly, there is not much school spirit here. Having a football team might help and I think UNCC will be getting one soon and that should improve with the issue of enthusiasm here. UNCC doesn't have much of a reputation like some other colleges and this affects school spirit but mainly it affects the value of a degree. There doesn't seem to be much in the way of campus activities and events compared to places like NC State or UNC Chapel Hill or any university for that matter. In addition, UNCC is a place where you've got to have a car since much of the campus is not laid out like some of the old colleges where you can walk everywhere.

I could write much more about UNCC but I feel I've given you enough information to stay away from this place. I regret going here and I so wish I would have went somewhere else. Words cannot describe my antipathy for this place. For further proof on how bad UNCC is compared to other universities simply look at the overall rating - a D. I can't even find other colleges on StudentReviews.com with a rating that low and look at how many students do not want to come back to UNCC - 76%! I challenge you to find another campus on this website with such a high percentage of students who do not want to go back.