UNCG

[PaperChaser]

Is anyone here considering going to the University of North Carolina-Greensboro?

[mrj85]

This is my only acceptance so far (MA/PhD program). I sent an email asking about funding but haven't gotten a reply.

[deelite]

No...I got an acceptance yesterday, but no funding info, no tuition waver, and would have to pay out-of-state tuition. No thanks.

[PaperChaser]

This is my only acceptance so far (MA/PhD program). I sent an email asking about funding but haven't gotten a reply.

I got a letter saying I'd been admitted but it didn't mention funding or...anything else. I would anticipate that the English Dept will send out something more specific. I'm aware that the school is having funding issues, but unless you've gotten something SAYING you aren't getting funding, I wouldn't assume you're not yet. I'll try emailing too...but I suspect UNCG is on spring break or just returning. (I live in NC.)

[Medievalmaniac]

They're on my short list for next year.

[cosmic dancer]

if you're classified as "out of state," does this necessarily mean that there is no tuition waiver? for some reason i didn't make that assumption. this is hella irritating...

[deelite]

if you're classified as "out of state," does this necessarily mean that there is no tuition waiver? for some reason i didn't make that assumption. this is hella irritating...

That's what I was wondering. Why would they make that designation (out-of-state) only to then pay for it? What else would "out of state" signify other than tuition rates? I figured that being classified OOS meant "we want you, but just for your money." As you can see, this process has made me rather cynical.

[PaperChaser]

That's what I was wondering. Why would they make that designation (out-of-state) only to then pay for it? What else would "out of state" signify other than tuition rates? I figured that being classified OOS meant "we want you, but just for your money." As you can see, this process has made me rather cynical.

This is my LAST pseudo-defense of UNCG (and mainly because the new buildings on campus are really, really, really nice) since the administrative assistant has not answered my email either. Apparently this (or last?) week was spring break-I assume this week since they sent out letters last week and are hiding from pissed off applicants this week-so MAYBE they're all gone. I will give them the benefit of the doubt, but the campus is 3 miles from my house, and if I see lights on in the English building, I'm "dropping by" tomorrow.

I really do think the letter from the DGS stating you're admitted and are in or out of state is just to serve as a place-keeper since April 15th is looming. I assume "funding decisions are being made" and we'll get letters from the English Dept regarding TA-ships or whatever in a week or two. If you're seriously considering UNCG and aren't familiar with Greensboro, feel free to message me...I've already made ALL the housing mistakes!

[deelite]

This is my LAST pseudo-defense of UNCG (and mainly because the new buildings on campus are really, really, really nice) since the administrative assistant has not answered my email either. Apparently this (or last?) week was spring break-I assume this week since they sent out letters last week and are hiding from pissed off applicants this week-so MAYBE they're all gone. I will give them the benefit of the doubt, but the campus is 3 miles from my house, and if I see lights on in the English building, I'm "dropping by" tomorrow.

I really do think the letter from the DGS stating you're admitted and are in or out of state is just to serve as a place-keeper since April 15th is looming. I assume "funding decisions are being made" and we'll get letters from the English Dept regarding TA-ships or whatever in a week or two. If you're seriously considering UNCG and aren't familiar with Greensboro, feel free to message me...I've already made ALL the housing mistakes!

Thanks for your thoughts...if I decide to go that route, I'll take you up on your kind offer to help me avoid the housing nightmare!

[PaperChaser]

Well, confirmed that spring break was LAST week. Apparently this week is the last few days for drop/add (uh, it's mid-MARCH!), so.....ok, the lack of response is highly annoying. I'm not even seeking funding from them (cheaper to pay in-state and keep my job) but it would really fry my ass if I were and hadn't heard. There's such a huge discrepancy between how well some of the schools I applied to have treated me (Louisville, though not a "match" for me, really goes out of its way to make you want to go there! Highly recommend that for Rhet/Comp people who have significant interest in WPA. VA Tech's DGS talked to me on the phone for an hour even though HE advised me not to take an unfunded offer, which was pretty nice of him.)....and how some of the other schools (South Carolina, UNCG) have been minimally professional and borderline rude in their late or non-existent responses to what were VERY basic and necessary questions. I think it's a bad sales pitch for those programs, but I guess PhD deals can afford to be picky and rude since we're all waiting in tortured agony! I just don't want to be treated that way as a student.

FWIW, one of my recommenders (who is closest in personality type to me of anyone I've met in academia) said UNCG is a good fit for "laidback, not necessarily traditional people." She's apparently still friends with the DGS (she got her PhD there) and said that UNCG plans to accept about the same number of students it usually does but (unlike previous years) will not be able to fund all of them. Her guesstimate was accept 8-10 and fund 4-5. Sure would be nice to know....

[deelite]

There's such a huge discrepancy between how well some of the schools I applied to have treated me (Louisville, though not a "match" for me, really goes out of its way to make you want to go there! Highly recommend that for Rhet/Comp people who have significant interest in WPA. VA Tech's DGS talked to me on the phone for an hour even though HE advised me not to take an unfunded offer, which was pretty nice of him.)....and how some of the other schools (South Carolina, UNCG) have been minimally professional and borderline rude in their late or non-existent responses to what were VERY basic and necessary questions. I think it's a bad sales pitch for those programs, but I guess PhD deals can afford to be picky and rude since we're all waiting in tortured agony! I just don't want to be treated that way as a student.

I couldn't agree with you more on the discrepancy between the way you're treated amongst different schools. After the invasive, tortuous, protracted application process in which we are asked to bare our souls and empty our wallets, the least they could do is answer some basic questions with even just a modicum of enthusiasm and/or return calls or e-mails within a reasonable timeframe. At this point, I'm still waiting on a few schools to notify me of my status (!) but I am heavily leaning toward going to a program without a big name behind it because the DGS has spent a total of 2.5 hours on the phone with me over the course of 3 calls and gushed enthusiastically about my future in their program in specific ways, among other reasons (great faculty, decent fellowship, and seemingly good pedagogy going on there). As you said, it's a good sales pitch for how the program operates and how you will be treated as a student. If we're going to spend the next 5+ years of our lives somewhere, it matters.

Thanks for the 411 on UNCG. I have pretty much scratched it off my list due to other factors anyway.

[mrj85]

Just got an email from the Admin. Asst. letting me know that those accepted to the MA/PhD program are treated, in terms of funding, the same as those accepted to the straight MA - that is, they are completely unfunded. She recommended I try to get an on-campus assistantship. I'm in-state, but it seems like such a waste to pay. I applied to this school as a safety, and if it is the only place I get into, I am still considering declining and trying again next year. I guess the bottom line is that I don't think this degree will get me where I want to go.

[Medievalmaniac]

Why the HELL didn't anyone suggest UNCG to me this past application year???

I just checked their website and looked at the past course lists going back for two years.

EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEIR DOCTORAL LEVEL COURSES IN ENGLISH IS OFFERED AT NIGHT. EVERY SINGLE ONE. EVERY SINGLE TERM.

Most of the programs I looked at, while outstanding and highly respected, pretty much give parents the middle finger schedule-wise. What's the good of getting into a top ten program if you have a family to support and raise, and their scheduling is totally incompatible with that? It's something I struggled with in terms of applying; Catholic at least offers a few night classes. The others I applied to in this area - UNC CH and UVA, offer one or two, but not usually in my field of study. UNCG - ALL of them are evening classes.

This program is made for working parents! It's a freaking working parent's dream come true! Why didn't anyone tell me that?!?!?!?!

They are going to the top of my list next year. The top. I'm going to petition like mad. If Catholic doesn't give me money in the next go-round, then UNCG is definitely my top top choice.

FWIW - I emailed the director of graduate studies to inquire concerning feasibility of an application's getting consideration with a weak undergrad GPA but stellar stats since (having learned my lesson not even to bother if they wouldn't overlook that this season...). The website had him listed wrong...so, my email went to the Dean of Arts and Sciences (ooooops! lol). The Dean forwarded it to the DGS with a note addressed to me letting me know it wasn't his decision, but he was sending it to someone who could answer the question, but if it were his choice he'd take me (joke...? lol) . The DGS said the same thing, and that if I had any other questions about applying, to please feel free to email him at any time. I'm emailing folks from the department later today; hopefully they will be equally accommodating. I have so far encountered only lovely, prompt, kind answers, in contrast to others on the board...maybe they're less stressed out now that the admit season is winding down and they've had spring break.

Edited March 22, 2010 by Medievalmaniac

[thetruthsnake]

Why the HELL didn't anyone suggest UNCG to me this past application year???

I just checked their website and looked at the past course lists going back for two years.

EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEIR DOCTORAL LEVEL COURSES IN ENGLISH IS OFFERED AT NIGHT. EVERY SINGLE ONE. EVERY SINGLE TERM.

Most of the programs I looked at, while outstanding and highly respected, pretty much give parents the middle finger schedule-wise. What's the good of getting into a top ten program if you have a family to support and raise, and their scheduling is totally incompatible with that? It's something I struggled with in terms of applying; Catholic at least offers a few night classes. The others I applied to in this area - UNC CH and UVA, offer one or two, but not usually in my field of study. UNCG - ALL of them are evening classes.

This program is made for working parents! It's a freaking working parent's dream come true! Why didn't anyone tell me that?!?!?!?!

They are going to the top of my list next year. The top. I'm going to petition like mad. If Catholic doesn't give me money in the next go-round, then UNCG is definitely my top top choice.

FWIW - I emailed the director of graduate studies to inquire concerning feasibility of an application's getting consideration with a weak undergrad GPA but stellar stats since (having learned my lesson not even to bother if they wouldn't overlook that this season...). The website had him listed wrong...so, my email went to the Dean of Arts and Sciences (ooooops! lol). The Dean forwarded it to the DGS with a note addressed to me letting me know it wasn't his decision, but he was sending it to someone who could answer the question, but if it were his choice he'd take me (joke...? lol) . The DGS said the same thing, and that if I had any other questions about applying, to please feel free to email him at any time. I'm emailing folks from the department later today; hopefully they will be equally accommodating. I have so far encountered only lovely, prompt, kind answers, in contrast to others on the board...maybe they're less stressed out now that the admit season is winding down and they've had spring break.

Dear MM,

I am glad that you've discovered a program that will accommodate your schedule. I'd like to offer two salty cents -- one a criticism, and one some friendly advice -- from one wise old (ahem, mature) lady to another.

First: your seeming victimhood. Ever since you first began posting on the Grad Cafe, you've been blaming everyone else for your problems. Now, you may not actually blame others in real life, but you certainly do in your posts here. I think from the start, when others had been accepted to programs and you hadn't, you complained that those others must be LYING to you and trying to make you and others feel bad. Then when you didn't get into the departments you wanted, it was because the admissions committees were total jerks who wouldn't overlook your spotty past record to see your very stellar improvements. It was THEIR fault, and not yours in the least. Then, when you decided that you couldn't make graduate school work this year, it was your husband's fault. Now, you shout:

Why the HELL didn't anyone suggest UNCG to me this past application year???

...

Most of the programs I looked at, while outstanding and highly respected, pretty much give parents the middle finger schedule-wise.

...

This program is made for working parents! It's a freaking working parent's dream come true! Why didn't anyone tell me that?!?!?!?!

You suggest that it's not YOUR fault that YOU didn't do your research as the rest of us did. It's the fault of others who didn't know in advance to suggest programs that would accommodate your personal schedule and lifestyle. It's the fault of the departments who don't accommodate your personal schedule, who "give [people like you] the middle finger schedule-wise," which suggests that they hold parents back on purpose, just to be jerks. You know, I seem to remember a post of yours -- one of the ones about how no one can hold you down, which generally are quite admirable -- in which you said that so many things have been done TO YOU to keep you from pursuing your dreams. So many things have been out of YOUR control that have held you back. This is what I, personally, have to say: oh, PLEASE. Perhaps it's just me, but I'm pretty sick and tired of hearing about how your problems regarding graduate school are all everyone else's fault. You, my friend, are not a victim. Take some ownership of your life! You have made the choices that have put you were you are today, and you will continue to make choices. Yes, sometimes you may have had very, very undesirable options. Sometimes, they didn't seem like fair choices. Too bad! They were still choices, and you still decided. You are a strong, intelligent, and powerful person who has carved a life for herself. OWN IT. Stop complaining that it's been done to you.

This is just a quick side note about programs "giving parents the middle finger." Look, I'm a parent, too. Sometimes, our schedules are very unfortunate. However, I would never, ever expect a graduate program, especially a top graduate program such as Virginia or Carolina, to accommodate MY schedule. Heck, I'll jump through hoops for them. I don't expect it to be the other way around! Also, graduate school is a JOB. It's not something you do in your spare time for fun. Complaining that a department's schedule is inconvenient for you for any reason -- even as a parent -- is ridiculous. It's like saying, "Goodness, I really want to be an elementary school teacher but the school district just gives parents the middle finger schedule-wise! They never hold school in the evenings when it is convenient for me!" Don't tell me that is a facile analogy, because it's not. Graduate school IS A JOB. Get used to it, sister, or find a new goal.

My second point -- hopefully this one won't come across as quite so harsh -- is regarding your applications and how to make them stronger for next year. I've noticed that in many posts you speak of getting a doctorate as if the diploma itself is your goal because you already are a great scholar and you just need the credentials to prove it. Graduate admissions committees despise this attitude. As a candidate who applied to PhD programs with a masters in hand, I can tell you that despite what many MAs think, it really is more difficult to get into English PhD programs if you already have a masters in English BECAUSE professors hate having to deal with know-it-all graduate students. Those already holding masters degrees tend to be more knowledgeable, yes, because they've had more schooling. They also tend to be a bit more confident. They ALSO tend to be the students who walk around as if they don't need any instruction or faculty advising. In short, they're difficult to teach because they act as if they don't need it. Before the masters-carrying applicants out there get very angry with me, let me say that this depiction represents only what faculty dislike the most, and NOT all of the MA-in-hand students out there.

Clearly, MM, you can handle your scholarship. This is a plus. Presenting it as if you're already a well-established scholar who doesn't need no stinkin' school -- and who only wants the diploma to prove it -- will be, and possibly was for you this round, hugely detrimental to your applications. You must spin your experience in such a way that it won't make admissions committees suspect that you'll be an unteachable jerk. Teachability is one of the traits that admissions committees prize most in applicants. When it comes to your applications, help yourself to a healthy portion of humble pie. You've published, you've presented, you've taught. These are wonderful things, but they'll actually work against you if you present them in an arrogant way. It's possible that you were very humble in your statement of purpose -- I would have no way of knowing. However, at least in your posts on the Grad Cafe, you're incredibly arrogant. You rail against students who get into graduate school as twentieth centuryists but don't know everything there is to know about the twentieth century! You complain that medievalists are admitted when they only know a fraction about medieval literature and criticism that you do! Horrors of horrors, are these applicants who are attempting to go to graduate school to LEARN about areas they are not already experts in? Excuse me, MM, but this is WHY students go to graduate school. TO LEARN about things. Not because they already know everything. Admissions committees don't want know-it-all experts. They want humble, teachable students who have the potential to be great scholars but who still need SCHOOL. They don't want someone who presumes to be a peer to the greatest faculty out there already! Goodness, no.

I fear that this post may come across as rather cruel. I do not mean to to be. However, it's been months of the same posts, the same reactions, the same anger and cynicism from you, MM. Take it down a notch, please. Empower yourself, take ownership of the choices you have made, and have a little grace and humility.

Thank you,

Your Friendly Neighborhood Truth Snake

[Medievalmaniac]

Dear Truth Snake,

Thanks so much for your honest evaluation of me as an individual and a scholar. I shall take what you have said into account.

For my part, I'm sorry you have deliberately misread everything I have posted. I don't blame anyone for my life choices. They're mine. I don't blame programs for not admitting me. I do think it is unfair in terms of the reasons I was given for being denied - but so does everyone who hasn't gotten into their top choices. I have a course of action in place for handling my current situation, and I am going to continue to invest in my future, my hopes, and my dreams. I am also going to continue to post what I think and my ideas and opinions in the forum, because I am, like everyone else here, participating in a larger conversation, and I hope my examples and stories and my opinions will be of use to someone (clearly, not to you...but maybe someone else would read my stories as cautionary and/or uplifting tales, which they are meant to be, rather than the victim stories you have analyzed them as being. I am NO victim). In the end, the departments will make their decisions and we will make ours and we will all live with our choices. I take full accountability for everything I post, think, say and do, and I'm proud of myself.

Unlike, let's say, other folks in the forum, who rather than owning their words choose to create a brand-new account simply for the delightful chance to attack me with impunity.

Pot, Kettle, Black.

Also- Game, Set, Match.

Have a lovely day attacking others with your newfound anonymity! I'm off to teach the classes I have created from scratch, tutor my student for the AP Art History exam, and go about the daily business of being the best I can be on this day.

P.S. - in case anyone else misread all the exclamation marks and question marks in my first post in this thread about UNCG - I was being complimentary of the program. These marks are meant to underscore my admiration for a program that allows for people to have both a life and a doctoral education. They are not in any way intended to denigrate or otherwise take away from any other doctoral program. I admire many programs for many reasons. I was just delighted to have found such a wonderful reason to admire a program I had previously not known anything about, and felt the need to underscore that enthusiasm with enthusiastic punctuation. Please take this as a positive commentary intended in a positive fashion to highlight a positive attribute of UNCG's English program.

Edited March 22, 2010 by Medievalmaniac

[Pamphilia]

Dear MM...................................

Thank you,

Your Friendly Neighborhood Truth Snake

Er...que? Sheesh, let UNC Greensboro have their own thread!

Also- Game, Set, Match.

Verily, checkmate!

[cosmic dancer]

wow. i don't check this thread at all over the weekend, but then I log in this morning only to find a bunch of hatin'. apparently stress levels are high around this time of the application season -- who knew?

so, anyone else heard about funding? because i have not. i'm pretty sure it will take my letter a bit longer to reach me, since i'm several states away.

[deelite]

wow. i don't check this thread at all over the weekend, but then I log in this morning only to find a bunch of hatin'. apparently stress levels are high around this time of the application season -- who knew?

so, anyone else heard about funding? because i have not. i'm pretty sure it will take my letter a bit longer to reach me, since i'm several states away.

No, I haven't heard anything about funding yet, either. I am also several states away, and I'm ready to clear up this nonsense about out-of-state tuition rates. Since it sounds like you're an out-of-stater, too, did your acceptance letter also say that you'd be coded as an out-of-state resident for tuition purposes?

[cosmic dancer]

No, I haven't heard anything about funding yet, either. I am also several states away, and I'm ready to clear up this nonsense about out-of-state tuition rates. Since it sounds like you're an out-of-stater, too, did your acceptance letter also say that you'd be coded as an out-of-state resident for tuition purposes?

it sure did. sounds like Dr. Myers will call if we are eligible for funding. if not, we should receive a letter sometime this week. s i g h . . . you're right; it's all "nonsense."

[Medievalmaniac]

From what I can tell according to the graduate studies webpage, anyone who does not qualify for in-state tuition is classified as out of state. There are very specific guidelines posted as to what to do to get to in-state status. I think the idea is, if you are funded, you are told outright; if you are not funded automatically, you are supposed to seek out a TA, RA or GA ship on your own through the graduate studies department, or to pay out of state tuition for the first year, live in Greensboro, and then shift to in-state rates after twelve months. That's according to what I can construe from the website - which is actually a little better organized than some I have looked at!!

Ultimately, though, you might want to call the DrEGS and ask outright; she seems really nice via email, and certainly would be able to answer your questions about funding.

[deelite]

From what I can tell according to the graduate studies webpage, anyone who does not qualify for in-state tuition is classified as out of state. There are very specific guidelines posted as to what to do to get to in-state status. I think the idea is, if you are funded, you are told outright; if you are not funded automatically, you are supposed to seek out a TA, RA or GA ship on your own through the graduate studies department, or to pay out of state tuition for the first year, live in Greensboro, and then shift to in-state rates after twelve months. That's according to what I can construe from the website - which is actually a little better organized than some I have looked at!!

Suspicions confirmed...I just received a follow-up letter telling me that they have no assistantships or tuition waivers to offer me. As MM suggested, the alternative is to apply for administrative graduate assistantships or pay OOS. Hey, at least now I know.

[Medievalmaniac]

Suspicions confirmed...I just received a follow-up letter telling me that they have no assistantships or tuition waivers to offer me. As MM suggested, the alternative is to apply for administrative graduate assistantships or pay OOS. Hey, at least now I know.

I'm sorry to hear that. Was this your only offer, or do you have funding at another school? If not, will you attend UNCG anyway?

[deelite]

I'm sorry to hear that. Was this your only offer, or do you have funding at another school? If not, will you attend UNCG anyway?

Thanks for your concern, but no worries...I have full funding at two other schools, wait-listed with full funding at two additional schools, and still have yet to hear back from one. Without funding and tuition waiver, it's too much of a gamble whether or not I would get an assistantship at UNCG, and plus I think teaching experience is incredibly important and don't want to waste a full year or more doing admin work (no offense to anyone for whom this applies!).

[PaperChaser]

Dear Truth Snake,

Thanks so much for your honest evaluation of me as an individual and a scholar. I shall take what you have said into account.

For my part, I'm sorry you have deliberately misread everything I have posted. I don't blame anyone for my life choices. They're mine. I don't blame programs for not admitting me. I do think it is unfair in terms of the reasons I was given for being denied - but so does everyone who hasn't gotten into their top choices. I have a course of action in place for handling my current situation, and I am going to continue to invest in my future, my hopes, and my dreams. I am also going to continue to post what I think and my ideas and opinions in the forum, because I am, like everyone else here, participating in a larger conversation, and I hope my examples and stories and my opinions will be of use to someone (clearly, not to you...but maybe someone else would read my stories as cautionary and/or uplifting tales, which they are meant to be, rather than the victim stories you have analyzed them as being. I am NO victim). In the end, the departments will make their decisions and we will make ours and we will all live with our choices. I take full accountability for everything I post, think, say and do, and I'm proud of myself.

Unlike, let's say, other folks in the forum, who rather than owning their words choose to create a brand-new account simply for the delightful chance to attack me with impunity.

Pot, Kettle, Black.

Also- Game, Set, Match.

Have a lovely day attacking others with your newfound anonymity! I'm off to teach the classes I have created from scratch, tutor my student for the AP Art History exam, and go about the daily business of being the best I can be on this day.

P.S. - in case anyone else misread all the exclamation marks and question marks in my first post in this thread about UNCG - I was being complimentary of the program. These marks are meant to underscore my admiration for a program that allows for people to have both a life and a doctoral education. They are not in any way intended to denigrate or otherwise take away from any other doctoral program. I admire many programs for many reasons. I was just delighted to have found such a wonderful reason to admire a program I had previously not known anything about, and felt the need to underscore that enthusiasm with enthusiastic punctuation. Please take this as a positive commentary intended in a positive fashion to highlight a positive attribute of UNCG's English program.

FWIW, MM, I'd love to have you as a classmate.

[PaperChaser]

Suspicions confirmed...I just received a follow-up letter telling me that they have no assistantships or tuition waivers to offer me. As MM suggested, the alternative is to apply for administrative graduate assistantships or pay OOS. Hey, at least now I know.

Are you applying for the MA or PhD? Or the direct-entry PhD? I'll tell ya what I've found out, lest it change your mind.

1. Because of funding issues I've mentioned before, only PhD candidates (who already have MA's) are being considered for funding. If you already have a MA and did not receive PhD funding, you can apply to teach as a adjunct (NOT a TA-ship)---the grad school didn't tell me that, past grads did. Apparently you can apply for admin work too.

2. I got an email saying I'm an "alternate" for a TA-ship. Because I'm in-state, the tuition is SO cheap that it's smarter (much, much, much smarter) for me to keep my job---as MM wisely noted almost all of UNCG's grad classes are at night---and go to school 6 hours a semester. That way, I keep my decent job, get in-school deferment on my student loans, only have to use Stafford subsidized loans (I had no loans except law school), and make progress towards the degree while having the stability of "well, if I lose my job, I have school; if I screw school up, I have my job." I was having a really hard time choosing between accepting a good job offer at a local law firm (while people far smarter than I can't even get interviews) and accepting a PhD deal that didn't GUARANTEE me employment after 4-5 years of work. So if I can have both, I'll take both. I haven't gotten the official "ok" from UNCG on this, but their Graduate Bulletin doesn't suggest that one not on school funding can't go part-time so long as the degree is completed within the time frame (7 years).

3. That said, if I can't go part-time, I'll probably defer...just haven't figured out which school yet.

4. The beauty of UNCG is that you have access to the UNC system without the cost of living in Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Asheville, or Wilmington. It's a GOOD school for Rhet/Comp, and the campus has been VASTLY improved (I obviously live in Greensboro). It's a NICE campus, and the English building is the nicest one I've been in...ever.

5. It's easy to get in-state tuition, but I wouldn't go if you had to pay out of state. Anyone who's seriously considering UNCG should keep in mind the funding shortage and not bank on getting funded if you're accepted; however, there are a lot of community colleges and smaller colleges (Bennett, Guilford, A&T, Elon, etc) that hire adjuncts and lecturers, so if you got in, you could defer a year to work and establish in-state residency.

6. I don't LOVE the city, but the cost of living in Greensboro (esp around UNCG) is fairly low generally and considerably lower than the aforementioned NC cities. I'm not going to promise anyone that they could live on the $14-16.5k stipend from UNCG, but if you're willing to tutor part-time or have a side gig (or don't have pets/kids/surprise expenses), you can get by. The one HUGE surprise I got hit with-which is probably LESS than those of you from north of the Mason-Dixon are used to-are the LOCAL taxes. Guilford County has ridiculously high taxes compared to most other NC counties.

Anyway, I think it's worth considering. It's a solid program with good placement rates, opportunities to teach outside Comp, decent place to live, relatively diverse, etc.