University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
- Public
- City
- 20,752 undergrads
- Admit rate
- 15%Source: College Scorecard
- Average net price
- $11,305per year, after grantsSource: College Scorecard
- Graduation rate
- 91%within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $81,09410 years after startingSource: College Scorecard
What's special
Low-income students in the Carolina Covenant can graduate debt-free: their aid comes as grants, scholarships and a work-study job instead of loans. There's no separate application, and more than 1 in 10 undergraduates are in it.
Source: Carolina Covenant
Out-of-state students can make up no more than 18% of each incoming first-year class, under UNC System policy, so admission is far more competitive for applicants from outside North Carolina.
The Morehead-Cain Scholarship pays all expenses for four years and funds four summers of experiences, from an outdoor leadership course to a professional internship. About 70 students a year receive it.
Source: UNC News, 2020
Getting in
- Admit rate
- 15%About 2 in 10 applicants get in.Source: College Scorecard
- Test policy
- Test-optionalScores are considered if you send them, but not required.Source: College Scorecard
- SAT (middle 50%)
- 1390–1530Reading + math, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
- ACT (middle 50%)
- 28–34Composite, enrolled first-years who sent scoresSource: College Scorecard
From University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's own report
These numbers come from the school's Common Data Set for 2025–26, a standard report colleges publish about their applicants and first-year students. Open the report.
97% had a 3.75 or higher. The average was 4.47. Schools count GPA differently (weighted or not), so compare ranges loosely.
- Admit rate in this report
- 17%12,751 admitted of 76,247 first-year applicants
- SAT, middle 50%
- 1400–1530First-years who sent scores
- ACT, middle 50%
- 29–34First-years who sent scores
- Top 10% of their class
- 76%97% were in the top quarter. Based on the 66% whose school ranks.
What the admissions office says it weighs
Very important
- How challenging your classes were
- Essay
- Recommendations
- Activities
- A talent or ability
- Character and personal qualities
- Living in the state
Important
- GPA
- Class rank
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
Considered
- Test scores
- Being first in your family to go to college
- Family who went there (legacy)
Not considered
- Interview
- Where you live
- Religious affiliation
- Showing interest in the school
Where you'd stand
Enter your numbers to see where they'd fall among University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's first-year students. This isn't a prediction: it shows how you compare with students who enrolled, using the sources linked below.
Leave out anything you don't have. Your numbers stay in this browser and fill in on other school pages. See my list
Sources: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Common Data Set 2025–26. Test ranges describe enrolled students who sent scores.
What it really costs
Most families pay less than the sticker price. Net price is what's left after grants and scholarships.
- Average net price
- $11,305full-time first-years who got grant aidSource: College Scorecard
- Total cost of attendance
- $26,949sticker price incl. housing, per yearSource: College Scorecard
- Tuition, in-state
- $9,095Source: College Scorecard
- Tuition, out-of-state
- $45,228Source: College Scorecard
After you enroll
- Graduation rate
- 91%first-time, full-time students finishing within 6 yearsSource: College Scorecard
- Came back for year two
- 97%full-time first-year studentsSource: College Scorecard
- Median earnings
- $81,09410 years after starting, for students who got federal aidSource: College Scorecard
- Median debt at graduation
- $12,086federal loans, students who finishedSource: College Scorecard
Students
- Undergraduates
- 20,752Source: College Scorecard
- Receive Pell grants
- 21%a sign of economic diversitySource: College Scorecard
- First-generation students
- 20%parents didn't go beyond high schoolSource: College Scorecard
Similar schools
Similar, and easier to get into
- North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh, NC — admits 42%
- Appalachian State University Boone, NC — admits 90%
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte Charlotte, NC — admits 80%
- East Carolina University Greenville, NC — admits 89%
Also worth a look
- Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus Atlanta, GA — admits 14%
- University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor, MI — admits 16%
- University of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA — admits 11%
- University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville, VA — admits 17%
- Florida State University Tallahassee, FL — admits 24%
- University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA — admits 9%
Where these numbers come from
Every number on this page comes from the U.S. Department of Education's College Scorecard page for University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which draws on what the school reports to the federal government and on federal student aid and tax records. We last pulled the data on November 4, 2026. Different measures cover different years; here's how each one works.
Spot something wrong? Report a data error.