Early action decisions earlier for N.C. applicants, later for out-of-state

Beginning this fall, North Carolina residents who apply to UNC early will receive their admission decision notifications earlier than previous years, while non-residents will wait longer.

Previously, North Carolina residents and non-residents who applied to UNC by the Oct. 15 early action deadline both received their UNC decisions in late January. But, in July, the University announced that in-state students who apply by Oct. 15 will receive their decisions on Dec. 20, over a month earlier than before. On the other hand, out-of-state students who apply by the same deadline will receive their decisions on Feb. 10, approximately two weeks later than the previous notification date.

“As North Carolina’s flagship public university, UNC-Chapel Hill has a special responsibility to serve students from across the state,” Rachelle Feldman, UNC’s vice provost for enrollment, wrote in a UNC Media Relations statement. “Its mission and state mandate focus on access, affordability and opportunity — and that includes making sure in-state students feel supported, included and celebrated. Shifting the early action timeline is one way the University is putting those values into action and making the process more student-centered.”

Feldman wrote that an earlier deadline would ease the stress of the college application process by offering in-state students more decision-making time.

Addison Stevens, a high school senior from Holly Springs, North Carolina believes this new policy will do just that. She plans to apply early to five colleges in North Carolina and said getting her UNC decision earlier would provide her with clarity in her decision making process.

“I think that would be such a relief,” Stevens said. 

However, not all in-state students think the new admissions deadline was necessary.

Khushi Bhatt is an in-state student who applied to UNC through the early action process. She said that while earlier decisions may be nice for students’ peace of mind, it is an unnecessary policy for North Carolina residents, who she said already have several advantages at UNC.

“I feel like it should be more equitable across the board to get in and be able to access Carolina," Bhatt said.

During the fall 2024 admissions cycle, UNC accepted approximately 38 percent of 16,500 in-state applicants, compared to less than 7 percent of 42,000 out-of-state applicants, according to the University’s 2024-25 Common Data Set.

This difference in acceptance rates reflects the '82/18 rule': a UNC System policy created in 1986 that requires 82 percent of incoming first-year students at constituent institutions to be North Carolina residents, leaving 18 percent to be composed of non-residents.

Sara Mines, a high school senior from Kansas who plans to apply to UNC this fall, said she thinks the new policy is fair given UNC’s status as a state school. While the change won’t affect her decision to apply, she believes it could make UNC seem more discouraging and unwelcoming to out-of-state students. 

Although she thinks the change may inconvenience non-residents, Zoya Barnes, a UNC sophomore from Florida, believes that it will not ultimately dissuade those students from applying to the University.

“I feel like for out-of-state students, a lot of them are, like me, applying to a wide range of schools to see where they can get in, and a lot of those schools don’t come out until March, so I don’t really feel like a two week difference is that different for a student who’s probably already waiting even longer than that to get all of their decisions back,” Barnes said.

Feldman wrote that out-of-state applicants will still be provided with personalized support from the UNC admissions and enrollment team. She wrote that while the new deadline will offer additional support to in-state students, it isn’t expected to harm out-of-state enrollment. 

“It’s still too early to know how this change will impact how many North Carolinians choose to come to Carolina,” Feldman wrote. “But by offering earlier decisions and more time to make plans, the University hopes students and families across the state feel how valued they are here.”

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