State is Great

Introduction
State is a great school. It may not be as selective as its elitist sister in Chapel Hill, but is a very tough school to get into. Most of the students have a 1200 or better SAT score, and rank at the top of their high school class. Besides being a tough school to get into, I have come to the conclusion (based on my experience with my friends that go to Carolina and Duke) that State is actually the tougher one to stay in. So if you want to go to a party school, and do not want a lot of work then you might want to look elsewhere. I chose to go to State because of its strong academics in the science fields. I am about to graduate with two degrees in Microbiology and Biochemistry, and a minor in Genetics. It was very tough, but State definitely prepared me for the future. There are a lot of oppurtunities at State and the student body is very diverse.

Campus Life and Social Life
Many students at State are diehard fans of the schools teams. In the fall it seems as if everyone is waiting for the weekend to start so that they can go to the football games. Carter-Finley Stadium sits about 2 miles west of the main academic campus, so all of the students must drive or catch the Wolfline buses to the game. This is actually a plus though, because students are introduced to tailgating early, and by the time they are seniors you would have thought that they had been doing it all of their life. Tailgating is huge at State. There is ample parking all around the stadium so it feels like a mini-city of around 60,000 people tailgating in a one square mile area.

Also basketball is big as well, with State having two national titles. The 19,722 seat RBC Center is one of the largest basketball arenas in the NCAA and recently set the decibel record for an indoor arena at 133-decibels when the Hurricanes were in the playoffs. I've seen the noise meter that they show on the big screen go into the 120 decibel range many times during basketball games. After games many people go to parties or to the bars on Hillsborough St. and Glenwood South.

In terms of clubs, if you can think it State probably has a club for it. Parts of the campus are very nice like the Court of Carolinas, which has a tree from one of each 100 counties in North Carolina, but there are other parts that are lacking. Advertisement
Academics
State's academics are top notch and some of the best in the nation. Princeton Review recently ranked State as the 2nd best school in terms of value. You get a world class education for a very affordable price. The science and engineering programs are some of the toughest to get into and stay in. State also prides itself on its textiles and agriculture programs as well. The toughest department to get into seems to be the design school. Those students have to come in for interviews and present to the faculty some of their previous work. State also has great programs in pretty much anything you can think of. The only program that I can think of that we do not have is a music major. Nearly all of the professors have doctorate degrees. Most of the professors are very personable, and willing to help you out. The workload is usually a lot for most of the programs, especially if you plan on trying to get out in four years.

Student Body
Most of the students are from North Carolina and the states bordering North Carolina. I have met people all the way from Alaska though. My roommate is from New York, so there seems to be no typical student at State. It's a very diverse student body with a very wide demographic range. There are 30,000 students so you are bound to find someone that is into the same things you like.

In Closing...
State is big, but that is part of what makes it great. I shall now leave you with the words of State's Red and White song:

We're the Red and White from State,
And we know we are the best,
With a hand behind our back we can take on on the rest,
GO TO HELL CAROLINA!
Devils and Deacs stand in line,
The Red and White from NC State,
GO STATE!