University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

UNC is a public research university founded in 1789 and one of the few American higher education institutions to stay open during the Civil War. The university enrols over 27,000 students from all 50 states, as well as from 47 other countries. But it never forgets the importance of having a local presence - state law requires that the percentage of students from North Carolina in each freshman class meets or exceeds 82 per cent.

Academically, undergraduates receive a broad, liberal arts education for the first two years of their time at UNC, with an obligation to study English, social science, history, a foreign language, mathematics, and natural science. They are then given the chance to specialize within the professional schools of the university or at the College of Arts and Sciences later in their studies. UNC has a strong history in athletics - especially women's soccer and men's basketball - and has contributed many Olympians to US teams.