Carolina First

Student Support

Attracting the best students—and ensuring access to a Carolina-caliber education—rank among our highest priorities.

In light of the current economic downturn, we especially need expendable gifts we can use to ensure that scholarships cover our commitment to students in the near-term.

But donors who’d prefer to create an endowment are welcome to do so.

Click the links below to learn how you can help.

Merit-Based Scholarships for Undergraduate Students

Need-Based Scholarships for Undergraduate Students

The University’s need-based financial aid program currently is fully funded. We ask that donors wishing to assist students with financial need consider supporting Undergraduate Merit Scholarships for Middle-Income Students (see link above).

Donors wishing to support only students who qualify for financial aid based on federal (FAFSA) regulations may contribute to:

Unrestricted Scholarship Support for Undergraduate Students

Support for Graduate and Professional Students

 

 

Undergraduate Merit Scholarships for Middle-Income Students

Our Challenge

outsideAlthough a Carolina education is still a good value, it remains a financial stretch for many high-achieving students from families with modest incomes. They don’t qualify for need-based aid under federal standards and therefore are ineligible to receive need-based scholarships or grants from the government.

That leaves many of these hard-working families to pay the entire annual cost of their children’s Carolina education, even though they have little in savings and college costs are rising at a rate that far outstrips the growth in family incomes. As a result, students from these families often borrow more, graduate in greater debt and work more hours while attending school than their classmates.

Students from higher-income families can manage these costs well, and students from lower-income families receive assistance that permits them to manage or avoid both work and indebtedness. Those in the middle feel the squeeze.

middle income graphicOur Response

To ease that pressure, we’ve created Advantage Scholarships to help targeted high-achieving middle-income students obtain an undergraduate education at the University with fewer financial worries.

Initially, Advantage Scholarships will be targeted to those students who have just missed qualifying for federal need-based aid. The family income of Advantage Scholars today will range from about $50,000 - $80,000.

Over time, after more Advantage Scholarships have been established, the program will begin to assist deserving students in higher-income tiers.

Gift Opportunities

Establish an Advantage Scholarship

In-state: an annual scholarship of a minimum of $5,000, renewable for four years.

Out-of-state: an annual scholarship of a minimum of $10,000, renewable for four years.

Contribute to the General Advantage Scholarship Fund

Not in a position to endow an Advantage Scholarship or cover four years with an expendable gift but want to do what you can to help an outstanding middle-income student attend Carolina? Then contributing to the General Advantage Scholarship Fund could be a perfect fit for you.

Gifts of any size may be made to the fund, and your donation will be expendable, so we can use it immediately. That means your generosity will join others' to add up to make a significant difference for an Advantage Scholar.

Ready to Make Your Gift?

For an Advantage endowment or four-year expendable gift, contact Elizabeth Dunn at the e-mail address/phone number listed below.

You may make an expendable gift to the General Advantage Scholarship Fund online at giving.unc.edu/gift—after choosing a giving option, select "Scholarships and Student Aid" in the University Designation and then, in the "Other Instructions" box, enter "General Advantage 6886."

You may also mail a general fund gift to the following address (please make the check payable to UNC-Chapel Hill and note "General Advantage 6886" in the memo line):

General Advantage Scholarship Fund
UNC-Chapel Hill
PO Box 309
Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Questions About Making a Gift?

Please feel free to contact:

Elizabeth Dunn
Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Development
edunn@unc.edu
(919) 962-3292

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Undergraduate Merit Scholarships for Students Regardless of Financial Status

merit bigAsk the nation’s most outstanding students why they come to Carolina and the list of answers is endless: a world-class faculty, undergraduate research opportunities, Tar Heel athletics, and a beautiful campus in the perfect college town.

Ask the nation’s most outstanding students why they did NOT come to Carolina, and the most frequent answer is: “Carolina did not offer me a merit scholarship.”

Our Challenge

The small number of undergraduate merit scholarships that Carolina has to offer entering students, once a problem, is now emerging as a threat.

Merit scholarships are our most powerful tool for recruiting talented, high-achieving students to the University. But because we have so few merit scholarships, Carolina is losing top young people to schools in other states. Many of these students are North Carolina residents: a 2008 study found that 58 percent of top in-state students who declined Carolina’s offer of admission went to out-of-state institutions. Even the Universities of Georgia and Florida are using their merit-based scholarships to take superior students away from our University and our state. And a scholarship isn’t even needed at many elite schools — they now offer university grants to close the affordability gap for families.

We’re also losing students to schools closer to home, such as Wake Forest and Duke.

merit enrollment graphicOur Response

Carolina’s goal is to create a robust merit scholarship program for undergraduates that will keep us competitive in recruiting top students to Chapel Hill. As a first step toward achieving this vision, the University would like to provide more merit-based scholarships for members of each entering freshman class.

Gift Opportunities

A portion of the annual income from merit scholarship endowments will be used to fund academically enriching programming for merit scholarship recipients. Programming might include faculty mentoring, activities with fellow merit scholars, or a stipend to support an undergraduate project or study-abroad opportunity.

Establish a Founders Scholarship

In-state only: covers half the cost of tuition and fees, renewable for four years.

Establish an Old Well Scholarship

In-state only: covers the full cost of tuition and fees, renewable for four years.

Establish a Carolina Scholarship

In-state, out-of-state, international: covers the full cost of tuition, fees, room, and board, renewable for four years. Donors may state a preference for the state or country of the recipient student.

Contribute to the General Merit Scholarship Fund

Not in a position to endow a merit scholarship or cover four years with an expendable gift but want to do what you can to help an outstanding student attend Carolina? Then consider making an expendable gift to the General Merit Scholarship Fund.

Gifts of any size may be made to the fund and, because your donation will be expendable, we can use it immediately. That means your generosity will join others' to add up to make a significant difference right now for a merit scholar.

Ready to Make Your Gift?

For a Founders, Old Well, or Carolina Scholars endowment or four-year expendable gift, contact Elizabeth Dunn at the e-mail address/phone number listed below.

You may make an expendable gift to the General Merit Scholarship Fund online at giving.unc.edu/gift—after choosing a giving option, select "Scholarships and Student Aid" in the University Designation and then, in the "Other Instructions" box, enter "General Merit 6250."

You may also mail a general fund gift to the following address (please make the check payable to UNC-Chapel Hill and note "General Merit 6250" in the memo line):

General Merit Scholarship Fund
UNC-Chapel Hill
PO Box 309
Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Questions About Making a Gift?

Please feel free to contact:

Elizabeth Dunn
Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Development
edunn@unc.edu
(919) 962-3292

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Special Opportunity: Eve Marie Carson Memorial Junior-Year Merit Scholarship

eve carsonEve Carson died in March 2008. She was our student body president, trustee, wonderful person and great friend, who embodied Carolina’s best and captured Carolina’s spirit in her own words: “excellence with a heart.”

The Eve Marie Carson Memorial Junior-Year Merit Scholarship was established to celebrate and remember Eve’s love for the University and its students. Eve envisioned this one-year merit scholarship as a way to recognize individuals who began to realize their potential as leaders while attending Carolina.

Gift Opportunity

Contribute to the Eve Carson Scholarship Fund

Gifts of any size may be made to the Eve Carson Scholarship Fund, and yours will join others' to add up to make a significant difference for a Carolina student who has shown the same leadership qualities that Eve epitomized.

Ready to Make Your Gift?

To make an online gift, please visit giving.unc.edu/gift, choose one of the giving options, select “Scholarships and Student Aid” under University Designation, and select “Eve Carson Scholarship 8087” under University Fund.

To mail a gift, please make the check payable to UNC-Chapel Hill, write “Eve Carson Scholarship 8087” in the memo line and send the gift to:

Eve Carson Scholarship Fund
UNC-Chapel Hill
PO Box 309
Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Questions About Making a Gift?

Please feel free to contact:

Elizabeth Dunn
Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Development
edunn@unc.edu
(919) 962-3292

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Carolina Covenant

covenant big“College should be possible for everyone who can make the grade, regardless of family income. A covenant is a promise. With the Carolina Covenant, we are telling students that, despite what they may see in the news, college is affordable, no matter how limited their financial resources.”
—James Moeser, UNC chancellor when Covenant launched

What is the Carolina Covenant?

Announced in October 2003, the Carolina Covenant is a groundbreaking initiative that gives the children of low-income families an opportunity to attend Carolina—without borrowing a penny. The Carolina Covenant enables low-income students to come to Carolina and graduate debt-free if they work on campus 10 to 12 hours a week in Federal Work-Study jobs during their four years here. Carolina is the first public university in America to launch such an initiative.

The Carolina Covenant is more than the promise of debt-free attendance at the University through an exceptional financial aid package. It is also a commitment to student success, through a comprehensive infrastructure of support systems. Every effort is made to ensure that Carolina Covenant Scholars have the opportunity to successfully complete their baccalaureate education.

Who are the Covenant Scholars?

Students who qualify for the Carolina Covenant program are first admitted to the University solely on the basis of their academic qualifications. The average SAT of Covenant Scholars is over 1220, and their average high school GPA exceeds 4.0. Only after they are admitted to the University is their financial need assessed. The family income of a Carolina Covenant Scholar is less than 200 percent of the federal poverty guidelines, and the average family income of Covenant Scholars is approximately $20,500.

Most of the Carolina Covenant Scholars—nearly 90 percent—are North Carolina natives. More than half of them are first-generation college attendees, and approximately 60 percent of them are students of color.

Our Goal

Private support has been critical to the Carolina Covenant's success. Between 2004 and 2007, generous donors contributed $10 million to support its launch and early implementation. Carolina men's basketball coach Roy Williams and his wife Wanda served as honorary chairs of this initial fund-raising drive.

Now, we seek to raise an additional $10 million to assure full support for Covenant students far into the future. We want to be ready in the upcoming decades to keep our promise of a debt-free Carolina education to these low-income students. Because we are planning for the longer-term, this additional $10 million drive has a special focus on planned gifts. With a bequest or other planned gift, donors can assure that future generations of Covenant scholars will receive all the assistance they need.

Gift Opportunities

Establish a Carolina Covenant Endowment Fund

Donors who wish to create and name an endowment to support the Carolina Covenant may do so with a minimum gift of $100,000. Income from the endowment will be used for Covenant Scholars and the Covenant program.

Contribute to the General Carolina Covenant Fund

Not in a position to endow a fund supporting the Covenant? Then contributing to the General Carolina Covenant Fund could be a perfect fit for you.

Gifts of any size may be made to the fund, and your donation will be expendable, so we can use it immediately. That means your generosity will join others' to add up to make a significant difference right now for a Covenant Scholar. Because this is a general fund, it also gives our Office of Scholarships and Student Aid the flexibility to use your gift later if that would be of most help to a student.

Ready to Make Your Gift?

For an endowment fund, contact Elizabeth Dunn at the e-mail address/phone number listed below.

You may make a gift to the General Carolina Covenant Fund online at giving.unc.edu/gift—after choosing a giving option, select "Scholarships and Student Aid" in the University Designation and then, in the "Other Instructions" box, enter "General Carolina Covenant 6253."

You may also mail a general fund gift to the following address (please make the check payable to UNC-Chapel Hill and note "General Carolina Covenant 6253" in the memo line):

General Carolina Covenant Fund
UNC-Chapel Hill
PO Box 309
Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Questions About Making a Gift?

Please feel free to contact:

Elizabeth Dunn
Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Development
edunn@unc.edu
(919) 962-3292

Learn more about the Carolina Covenant at www.unc.edu/carolinacovenant.

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General Need-Based Scholarships

To give us—and yourself—maximum flexibility in helping low-income students, you can support our General Need-Based Scholarship Fund with an expendable gift.

Gifts of any size may be made to the fund and, because your donation will be expendable, we can use it immediately. That means your generosity will join others' to add up to make a significant difference right now for a student who otherwise couldn't afford to attend Carolina. Because this is a general fund, it also gives our Office of Scholarships and Student Aid the flexibility to use your gift later if that would be of most help to a student.

Ready to Make Your Gift?

You may make an expendable gift to the General Need-Based Scholarship Fund online at giving.unc.edu/gift—after choosing a giving option, select "Scholarships and Student Aid" in the University Designation and then, in the "Other Instructions" box, enter "General Need Based 6501."

You may also mail a general fund gift to the following address (please make the check payable to UNC-Chapel Hill and note "General Need Based 6501" in the memo line):

General Need-Based Scholarship Fund
UNC-Chapel Hill
PO Box 309
Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Questions About Making a Gift?

Please feel free to contact:

Elizabeth Dunn
Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Development
edunn@unc.edu
(919) 962-3292

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Special Opportunity: Carolina Family Scholarship

jane and chelseaLaunched in 2005, the Carolina Family Scholarship provides need-based tuition scholarships to the children of qualifying Carolina employees who wish to attend any of the 16 UNC campuses or community colleges in the State of North Carolina.

The scholarships are awarded by a committee of faculty and staff, assisted by the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid. The Carolina parents of students who’ve received awards so far include office and program assistants, a campus security guard, a construction estimator, a social research assistant and a dental assistant.

Our Goal

We aim to increase the Carolina Family Scholarship program’s current funding level to $1 million by the end of fiscal year 2011.

If we are able to reach this goal, the program should enjoy an average of $45,000 - $50,000 in annual income to distribute as scholarships to children of Carolina faculty and staff. At the current scholarship level of $2,000 per student, more than 20 students at any one time could be supported throughout their college educations. The larger endowment might also allow the scholarship committee to distribute larger awards to a smaller number of students.

Gift Opportunity

Contribute to the Carolina Family Scholarship Fund

Gifts of any size may be made to the fund, and your donation will be expendable, so we can use it immediately. That means your generosity will join others' to add up to make a significant difference right now for Carolina employees and their children.

Ready to Make Your Gift?

You may make a gift to the Carolina Family Scholarship Fund online at giving.unc.edu/gift - after choosing a giving option, select "Scholarships and Student Aid" under University Designation and "Carolina Family Scholarship Fund 6797" under University Fund.

You may also mail a general fund gift to the following address (please make the check payable to UNC-Chapel Hill and note "Carolina Family Scholarship Fund 6797" in the memo line):

Carolina Family Scholarship Fund
UNC-Chapel Hill
PO Box 309
Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Questions About Making a Gift?

Please feel free to contact:

Elizabeth Dunn
Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Development
edunn@unc.edu
(919) 962-3292

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Unrestricted Scholarship Support for Undergraduate Students

To give us—and yourself—maximum flexibility in helping students, you can support our Unrestricted Scholarship Fund with an expendable gift.

Gifts of any size may be made to the fund and, because your donation will be expendable, we can use it immediately. That means your generosity will join others' to add up to make a significant difference right now for deserving and outstanding students who want to attend Carolina—and whom we want on our campus.

These gifts could go to need- or merit-based awards. Because this is a general fund, it gives our Office of Scholarships and Student Aid the flexibility to use your generosity in the way that's most needed at any given time. This is particularly critical to meeting emerging demands and opportunities that can't be predicted in typical long-range planning.

Ready to Make Your Gift?

You may make an expendable gift to the Unrestricted Scholarship Fund online at giving.unc.edu/gift—after choosing a giving option, select "Scholarships and Student Aid" as the University Designation and enter "Unrestricted Scholarship 6870" under University Fund.

You may also mail a general fund gift to the following address (please make the check payable to UNC-Chapel Hill and note "Unrestricted Scholarship 6870" in the memo line):

Unrestricted Scholarship Fund
UNC-Chapel Hill
PO Box 309
Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Questions About Making a Gift?

Please feel free to contact:

Elizabeth Dunn
Senior Associate Vice Chancellor for Development
edunn@unc.edu
(919) 962-3292

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Support for Graduate and Professional Students

roshawnSince the 19th century, Carolina has offered distinguished graduate and professional programs. Today, nearly 40 percent of Carolina’s total student enrollment consists of graduate and professional school students. These students are pursuing master’s, doctoral and professional degree programs in subject areas critical to North Carolina’s and the nation’s future: business, the sciences, education, arts and humanities, law, journalism, medicine, nursing, and social work, among others.

Our Challenge

Carolina strives continually to maintain its role as a leading Research I university by successfully expanding the research enterprise at a level competitive with top public peers. Graduate and professional school students play a crucial role in this endeavor.

grad stipendsUnfortunately, Carolina has not been able to provide competitive financial support packages to prospective advanced-degree students. Most graduate and professional students work on their degrees while simultaneously juggling the demands of their own classes, exams and research projects. Their stipends, when available, are often low, and long-term commitments of support throughout their graduate and professional training are rare. The extra work that these students often take on also lengthens their time to degree.

Against this backdrop, graduate and professional school applicants understandably seek out the best financial support as they consider programs around the country. And that support often comes from Carolina’s competitors, hurting our ability to recruit the top graduate and professional school students in the nation and world.

Our Response

Carolina’s goal is to make Carolina’s graduate and professional student financial support packages competitive with our peer institutions. This means scholarships, fellowships and other types of privately funded awards that will provide support for tuition, fees, health insurance and a variety of stipends—teaching assistantship, research assistantship, graduate assistantship, fellowship and traineeship.

Plus, private funding that supports out-of-state graduate student tuition and health insurance can be matched with University funds that reduce the cost of tuition to the in-state level.

Gift Opportunities

Support packages for graduate and professional students vary from school to school. Click here to get contact information for the Advancement Office in the area you're interested in supporting.

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