Carolina joins the Ivy League
Newsweek and Kaplan have named Carolina one of 25 “New Ivies:” colleges whose first-rate academic programs, combined with a population boom in top students, have fueled their rise in stature and favor among the nation’s top students, administrators and faculty—edging them to a status rivaling the Ivy League.
Of Carolina, Newsweek wrote: “If a moviemaker needs an idyllic setting for a film about college life, Chapel Hill might be just the place. Elegant buildings, many in Greek Revival style, dot the lush campus filled with dogwoods and azaleas. For a prestigious public university, the atmosphere is relaxed, many students say. ‘It’s a combination of absolutely first-rate academics and a wonderful sort of collaborative, low-key culture,’ says Stephen Farmer, director of undergraduate admissions. Junior Heath Nettles, an education major, grew up aiming for UNC, his father’s alma mater. ‘I sometimes tell people I had blue blood,’ he says, referring to the school colors. When he hears the James Taylor song ‘Carolina on My Mind,’ he says, ‘my heart skips a beat.’”
Only one other North Carolina school—Davidson College—made the list. Other “New Ivies” include Colby College, Colgate University, Emory University, University of Michigan, New York University, University of Notre Dame, Tufts University, Vanderbilt University and University of Virginia.