The Mycenaean

Over the past few months I have visited a few universities and taken tours.

The Universities that I have visited so far are: Eastern Carolina University, Wake Forest University, Western Carolina University, and University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

East Carolina University

ECU was the first tour I took, and I think it was my least favorite. I loved all of the opportunities they had, especially because I want to go into physical therapy, which they are a great school for.

They have a big study abroad program, and lots of major/ minor options, so if I wanted to change my course of study, they had everything I could want. 

The campus is pretty close to shopping centers, so you wouldn’t need to drive too far for anything. 

They have club sports if that is important to you. These are sports that aren’t D1 but are more competitive than intramural.

If you are a party animal, then you will be able to find a party any night of the week, but if you prefer to stay in, they have robots that will bring food straight to your dorm.

While the average class size is 26 students, because there are 29,000 students enrolled there, there will probably be some larger classes. 

That might be fine for some people, but I’m looking for a small to midsize university.

Another con is that it is only 1.5 hours from Raleigh, which might be too close for many students. 

The campus is small and walkable, but because of the number of students, the pathways get very crowded during high traffic times. 

One very big problem for me is that there was very little quad space. This may be fine for some people, butI think I would probably get depressed being there for four or more years with very little nature. 

The buildings were very bland and boring, which could also get tedious and depressing.

The dorms were very tiny. All of the dorms had communal bathrooms and there wasn’t even a sink in the room. The closets were also very small.

Wake Forest University

Next, I visited Wake Forest University, which is not actually located in Wake Forest, North Carolina. It is located in Winston Salem.

The more I walked around the campus, the more I fell in love, and the harder my bank account cried. 

This campus is very small, with only 5,500 students and an average of less than 20 people per class. 

Wake Forest also has club sports teams and places to shop near campus.

They have a health science major and a journalism minor, which is perfect for me. However, if I want to change my major I don’t have many backup options.

You can also find a study abroad program for any course of study you choose. 

This campus was the most beautiful one I have seen. Lots of quad space and nature. The buildings were gorgeous and it was a very walkable campus.

The dorms were a good size with decent closets, and there was a sink in the room. All bathrooms were communal though.

As a whole, the people at Wake Forest University are very inclusive and into helping others. There are many club and party options, there are also greek life options.

You can get all of that for the low, low price of $91,266 per year.

Wake Forest is also only 1.5 hours from here, and it wasn’t a super diverse campus, but I think It ranks second overall. 

Western Carolina University

Next, I visited Western Carolina University. This was a very long tour, at three hours, with a little too much information.

This school has around 10,000 students and around 20 students per class, and a 17:1 student to teacher ratio.

There was no health sciences major, but there were many pre-professional courses for people looking at those kinds of careers. 

There are club sports, and many “outdoorsy” activities that the school offers, like: skiing, mountain climbing, mountain biking, even skydiving. 

WCU is around 4.5 hours from home, which I think is a good distance. There is also an adorable town area around five minutes from campus.

The campus is a good size although it is a little spread out. There is plenty of green space and nature, very different from ECU.

There are freshmen dorms that were built in the early 2020’s. They are pretty big, and some have private bathrooms, others have communal. 

The social life is mostly surrounded by sports, but there are lots of other groups you can hang with if sports aren’t your thing. 

This is the least expensive college I have seen, at only $15,000 a year.

While there is a cute surrounding town area, you have to drive around an hour to get to a mall. It is also kinda far from any hospital which might not be a big deal for most people, but I can’t walk down stairs without getting hurt, so it is a consideration for me. 

WCU also has an inexpensive study abroad program and is third out of fourth in my rankings.

University of North Carolina at Wilmington

Lastly I visited UNC Wilmington. This was my favorite campus out of the four I have seen. 

There are 18,000 students here with a 17:1 student-staff ratio, and a 27 person per class average. 

Within the next few years, there will be a physical therapy grad school. For undergrad though, I would take the pre-professional physical therapy track and do a journalism minor. 

You also have the option to train a service dog which will live with you for your junior and senior year. 

This is 2.5 hours from Raleigh and it is about 10 minutes from the beach. 

Although there is no football team, you can spend your Saturdays tanning at the beach instead of tailgating. 

If you need to get your fill of sports, then you can go to the basketball games, which are just as crazy as a normal school’s football games.

There was lots of grass and quad space on this campus, and all of the buildings matched beautifully, which I think was my favorite part. 

It was walkable, but it wasn’t small. The people looked fun — there were bouncy houses on the campus during my tour. I had to control myself, so I didn’t abandon the tour to bounce.

We weren’t able to see a dorm but there were three options, suit style, hall style, and double, which is two rooms connected by a bathroom.

You do unfortunately have to live off campus your junior and senior year. 

My ranking overall from favorite to least favorite would be: UNCW, Wake Forest, WCU, then ECU.