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Reply 1
Absinth
Hi, I'm doing a year abroad programme next year, and I have made my destination choices (in order of preference):

1. Carleton (Canada)
2. North Carolina Chapel Hill (US)
3. Georgia (US)

I want to study in Canada ideally, but there was only one choice for Canada. So I would like to ask people of TSR if they know what the life is like in these universities? Or any other information, as my information about these universities are quite limited.

Any information would be great, thanks. :smile:


Why did you choose North Carolina and Georgia? Just wondering x
Reply 2
NC Chapel Hill is terrific on academics. I don't know much on social life.

Which Georgia campus would you be looking at? That matters quite a lot--different cities in Georgia are very different in atmosphere/feel.
Reply 3
UGA in Athens is a student town meaning the city highly caters to a student atmosphere, which I think is a good thing. The campus is very beautiful and the GA bulldogs reign supreme :smile:. Academically, UGA is very good.
Reply 4
What's up with so many UNC applicants? It seems to be the most popular study abroad destination after the UCs. :confused:

I've written a synopsis before:
devil09
I graduated from Duke, but due to the nature of my scholarship/program, I spent a lot of time at UNC and completed a minor over there. Several good friends attend, and I dated a Carolina guy -- so I know the place well.

Chapel Hill may be a relatively small town, but it's one of the best college towns in the US (along with Ann Arbor, Madison, Ithaca, Athens, and a few others).

Chapel Hill is part of the Research Triangle (Durham, Raleigh, Chapel Hill) which contains well over 1.5 million people and is one of the top 10 fastest growing areas in the US. There are plenty of opportunities for clubbing, many of which are just a short walk from campus.

The campus is fairly large, but the main portion is reasonably compact and easily walkable. The campus is very green and has trees, gardens, etc. sprinkled in between buildings. UNC is the oldest public university in the US and has some buildings dating back to the 1700s.

Weather tends to be moderate. It can be fairly hot in the fall, with some temperatures above 90F but usually in the 80s. Winter is cool but not cold, with temperatures in the 30-55F range. Spring is very nice and warm.

The town itself is great. The most popular spot is Franklin Street, which runs parallel to the university and has lots of coffee shops, bars, clubs, stores, etc. A short walk takes you to the town of Carrboro, where a lot of students choose to live. Carrboro is pretty young and lively, and the Cat's Cradle is a music joint that has hosted pretty much every music group that has ever been anybody. Chapel Hill gets especially crazy around Halloween, because over 80,000 people cram onto Franklin Street for a celebration. The bus system for Chapel Hill is free for everyone. The entire Triangle area (Chapel Hill, Durham, Raleigh) is extremely liberal, and staunch conservative Sen. Jesse Helms once remarked that there was no need for a zoo in NC when one could build a fence around Chapel Hill.

Athletics are popular, with basketball of course being the major sport. Carolina pride is INTENSE, and you will definitely see people wearing Carolina blue a lot of the time. See this video for a sense of what it was like on Franklin after UNC won the championship last year:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ttCQwZweHTc

And this video in the library during study period before finals, just to blow off steam:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pE0-BFEermc
Reply 5
Absinth
They seemed like nice places from Wiki, and they were just two random ones that I've heard of.


I go to south carolina a lot, every year for the last 5 years for a month in the summer. Ive been to North Carolina a few times, for the most part its got a small town feel about it. I hope you like red neck boys and big trucks haha x
I have a few friends at UGA in Athens and they absolutely love it! I visited Athens last year and it a really nice town and is really studenty. The surrounding area is also nice and Atlanta isn't far away.
Reply 7
Georgia (UGA) is such a cool university in a town called Athens, just under an hour away from Atlanta.
I spend summer 2008 in Athens and Atlanta and absolutely loved it.
UGA campus is massive! It takes almost half an hour to get from and to theh furthest points by bus, to talk of walking.
Sports facilities are great as well.
UGA is recommended. :wink:
Reply 8
joseph1991
I go to south carolina a lot, every year for the last 5 years for a month in the summer. Ive been to North Carolina a few times, for the most part its got a small town feel about it. I hope you like red neck boys and big trucks hah

Puhleaze. South Carolina is our backwards cousin. And no, I'm not really joking. The Research Triangle has the highest collection of PhDs per capita in the US. South Carolina has...Myrtle Beach? Though Charleston is nice.

NC -- best state in the South, baby! :cool:
(I've spent time in all of them except Louisiana.)

Ma.Cl.
UGA campus is massive! It takes almost half an hour to get from and to theh furthest points by bus, to talk of walking.

UGA's campus is 605 acres, UNC's is 729 acres, and Carleton's is 153 acres (tiny!).
Go to UNC. UGA doesn't even compare to UNC academically and there is nothing you can get at UGA that you can't get an UNC.
Absinth
Hi, I'm doing a year abroad programme next year, and I have made my destination choices (in order of preference):

1. Carleton (Canada)
2. North Carolina Chapel Hill (US)
3. Georgia (US)

I want to study in Canada ideally, but there was only one choice for Canada. So I would like to ask people of TSR if they know what the life is like in these universities? Or any other information, as my information about these universities are quite limited.

Any information would be great, thanks. :smile:


I actually go to carleton lol, what do you want to know specifically?

beware: it is quite cold here, especially this time of the year

also, what's your major?


yea..i wouldn't really recommend Carleton unless there's some really specific that you like about it.
All I know about any of those three is that UGA has a dope football team, and that you'd get to watch the Dirty Birds at the Dome! :biggrin:
genghiz9000
I actually go to carleton lol, what do you want to know specifically?

beware: it is quite cold here, especially this time of the year

also, what's your major?


yea..i wouldn't really recommend Carleton unless there's some really specific that you like about it.


Why did you go there?
Absinth
What's the city like? How small is the campus? Just general information would be helpful. How cold is it around this time?

My major is linguistics. Do you have any ideas as to what that department's like?

Why wouldn't you recommend it?

I picked Carleton because:

1. it's in Canada and my only Canadian option was Carleton. I loved Canada when I went on holiday last year, and this year abroad would be a good chance to experience what it's like to actually live in Canada.
2. reading a student review, apparently everybody gets a single room, and we don't have to be in a shared room in second year (unlike a lot of American unis)
3. it has a small campus. I'm at Lancaster uni at the moment, and I much prefer a small campus feel, rather than a big city campus.
4. Toronto is close by, and I have family there, which makes me feel safer, in case there's an emergency for any reason
5. a student review I read stated that Carleton had a similar atmosphere to Lancaster, which is a plus point for me.



Coldest it gets to is about -20 to -25 Celsius on average(with wind) but if you're living on campus then you don't worry because we have a tunnel system that connects pretty much all of the university.

This is the only university I have been to so I can't compare it to any other uni by size, but you can get from residence to most of your classes in about 10 minutes.

I'm in engineering so I have no idea what the linguistics department is like. You can go on facebook, find their group, and ask a few people.


Where in Canada did you visit last year? Because you cant really compare B.C to Ontario to the maritimes. They are all very different.

anything specific you want to know? lol I dont want to write an essay answering "What's the city like?" You can find basic info on wikipedia..

What sort of activities are you into?
devil09
Puhleaze. South Carolina is our backwards cousin. And no, I'm not really joking. The Research Triangle has the highest collection of PhDs per capita in the US. South Carolina has...Myrtle Beach? Though Charleston is nice.

NC -- best state in the South, baby! :cool:
(I've spent time in all of them except Louisiana.)


UGA's campus is 605 acres, UNC's is 729 acres, and Carleton's is 153 acres (tiny!).


Louisiana is obviously the ****. A close family friend of mine who's the same age turned down a scholarship at NYU to go to Tulane and is loving it, I'm definitely gonna go and visit on the reg if I end up in the US. How high is Georgia on your list?
devil09
Puhleaze. South Carolina is our backwards cousin. And no, I'm not really joking. The Research Triangle has the highest collection of PhDs per capita in the US. South Carolina has...Myrtle Beach? Though Charleston is nice.

NC -- best state in the South, baby! :cool:
(I've spent time in all of them except Louisiana.)


UGA's campus is 605 acres, UNC's is 729 acres, and Carleton's is 153 acres (tiny!).


Saying that NC is the best state in the South is like saying you're the tallest midget.

I don't get why people want to go the South. It is the stereotypical part of America (fat, religious freaks, guns, etc.). Yes, it has sunshine and warmth, but that is about it. I'm sorry but the South is the most ass backwards part of this country. The South lags FAR behind every other part of the country in almost every single quality of life statistic.
Reply 16
Baltimoron
don't get why people want to go the South. It is the stereotypical part of America (fat, religious freaks, guns, etc.). Yes, it has sunshine and warmth, but that is about it. I'm sorry but the South is the most ass backwards part of this country. The South lags FAR behind every other part of the country in almost every single quality of life statistic.

Sadly, I must agree with most of that. :frown: I very firmly believe in the natural beauty of the South, and most people are extraordinarily warm and friendly, but as a whole it is rather conservative.


That said, even as a very liberal gay student, I'd hate to move somewhere else (though admittedly that is in large part due to weather), and this is fairly moot in the context of this thread. NC has turned blue of late, and the Triangle area has long been exceedingly liberal. I'm less familiar with Athens/Georgia, but I would imagine it is at least left of center.
Absinth
Good news, looks like I have a place at Carleton. :smile: Bloody hell, -25 degrees Celcius?? No idea how I'll survive that. :s-smilie: The tunnel system sounds a bit like Lancaster's "Spine" (which is just a roof which connects most of the uni.) Quite handy when it rains a lot. :p:

I went to Toronto last year, and a few years before that, Vancouver.

I'm not really into sports. You don't happen to know if there is a metal society there?

Thanks for the info though, I'll probably try and do some research later online, after my test tomorrow. :sigh:


Ottawa is similar to Toronto, but much smaller; so I think you'll like it.

http://www.cusaonline.com/club_list.html
devil09
Sadly, I must agree with most of that. :frown: I very firmly believe in the natural beauty of the South, and most people are extraordinarily warm and friendly, but as a whole it is rather conservative.


That said, even as a very liberal gay student, I'd hate to move somewhere else (though admittedly that is in large part due to weather), and this is fairly moot in the context of this thread. NC has turned blue of late, and the Triangle area has long been exceedingly liberal. I'm less familiar with Athens/Georgia, but I would imagine it is at least left of center.


American center anyway :p:
devil09
Sadly, I must agree with most of that. :frown: I very firmly believe in the natural beauty of the South, and most people are extraordinarily warm and friendly, but as a whole it is rather conservative.


That said, even as a very liberal gay student, I'd hate to move somewhere else (though admittedly that is in large part due to weather), and this is fairly moot in the context of this thread. NC has turned blue of late, and the Triangle area has long been exceedingly liberal. I'm less familiar with Athens/Georgia, but I would imagine it is at least left of center.



Athens GA/UGA is definitely not liberal. Trust me, I know a gay kid who had to transfer after his first year after basically being beaten by some frat guys. UGA is good if you like drinking every day, obsessively watch football and think you're southern gentry.

NC is not as bad as the rest of the south, I'd almost class it as the North.

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