Founded in 1947, University of North Carolina Wilmington. is a Public college. Located in North Carolina, which is a city setting in North Carolina, the campus itself is Urban. The campus is home to 13,914 full time undergraduate students, and 1,826 full time graduate students.
The University of North Carolina Wilmington Academic calendar runs on a Semester basis. In the school year the student to faculty ratio was 18:1. There are 618 full time instructional teachers. Degrees awarded at University of North Carolina Wilmington include: Bachelor's Degree, Masters Degree, Post-master's certificate, Doctor's degree.
Quick Facts
Acceptance Rate
71%
Application Deadline
Application Fee
75
SAT Range
1130-1260
ACT Range
22-26
Admissions at UNCW are considered Selective, with ,87% of all applicants being admitted.
In the school year, of the students who applied to the school, only 21 of those who were admitted eventually ended up enrolling.
94% of incoming freshmen are in the top half of their high school class. 65% were in the top quarter, and 26% were in the top tenth. You can apply online.
STUDENT LIFE Reviews
We asked, and students answered these important questions about student life at University of North Carolina Wilmington.
4%
“We”re apathetic”
33%
“We know about current events and vote”
57%
“We participate and encourage others to get involved”
6%
“There”s nothing we won”t protest”
1%
“We save it for the classroom”
20%
“Sometimes, but not often”
69%
“There”s usually intelligent conversation to be found”
10%
“All the time, including weekends”
0%
“I”m always terrified”
1%
“I only go out in groups”
38%
“I usually let someone know where I”m going”
61%
“I feel extremely safe”
49%
“We don”t play sports”
0%
“We play recreationally”
29%
“We bought the gear”
22%
“We live for the big game”
4%
“It”s not really our thing”
12%
“Occasinally we gallery crawl”
67%
“There are a variety of opportunities”
17%
“We”re a very artistic group”
1%
“Haven”t met them”
1%
“Available in class”
61%
“They keep regular office hours”
37%
“They”re always available”
2%
“No greek life, but other groups to join”
25%
“There is some involvement, but not a lot”
69%
“Plenty of people join a sorority or fraternity”
4%
“It”s everything. If you”re not greek, you”re a geek”
0%
“We”re not into drinking at all”
27%
“Maybe a little, but it”s not a big thing”
43%
“We only party on weekends”
30%
“There”s some drinking happening every night”
7%
“Never, we”re here to learn”
56%
“There might be people who do”
35%
“People are known to partake on weekends”
2%
“There”s a huge drug scene”
4%
“We”re apathetic”
33%
“We know about current events and vote”
57%
“We participate and encourage others to get involved”
6%
“There”s nothing we won”t protest”
1%
“We save it for the classroom”
20%
“Sometimes, but not often”
69%
“There”s usually intelligent conversation to be found”
10%
“All the time, including weekends”
0%
“I”m always terrified”
1%
“I only go out in groups”
38%
“I usually let someone know where I”m going”
61%
“I feel extremely safe”
49%
“We don”t play sports”
0%
“We play recreationally”
29%
“We bought the gear”
22%
“We live for the big game”
4%
“It”s not really our thing”
12%
“Occasinally we gallery crawl”
67%
“There are a variety of opportunities”
17%
“We”re a very artistic group”
1%
“Haven”t met them”
1%
“Available in class”
61%
“They keep regular office hours”
37%
“They”re always available”
2%
“No greek life, but other groups to join”
25%
“There is some involvement, but not a lot”
69%
“Plenty of people join a sorority or fraternity”
4%
“It”s everything. If you”re not greek, you”re a geek”
175 Students rated on-campus housing 3.7 stars. 17 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate off-campus housing?
110 Students rated off-campus housing 4 stars. 0 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate campus food?
194 Students rated campus food 3.6 stars. 23 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate campus facilities?
200 Students rated campus facilities 4.4 stars. 53 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate class size?
200 Students rated class size 4.3 stars. 47 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate school activities?
199 Students rated school activities 4.2 stars. 44 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate local services?
200 Students rated local services 4.4 stars. 59 % gave the school a 5.0.
How would you rate academics?
200 Students rated academics 4.3 stars. 49 % gave the school a 5.0.
University of North Carolina Wilmington REVIEWS
What's your overall opinion of University of North Carolina Wilmington?
95 Students rated University of North Carolina Wilmington
Olivia
Prospective04/03/2025
As a Wilmington native, the University of North Carolina Wilmington is deeply ingrained in my background. I grew up in the college town of Wilmington, went to athletic events at UNCW, and grew up with my older siblings going to school at UNCW. Both my older brother Austin and older sister Sierra went to school at UNCW, and my childhood memories are filled with visiting them on campus. UNCW’s Watson College of Education is well-known for its prestige, and has allowed many students to turn into amazing teachers. Teachers who then give students the opportunity to follow professional dreams of their own. The community is so positive and welcoming and I love the location.
Elena
UNCW boasts a pretty, colonial style campus. It is small so everything is walking distance. The proximity to the beach is excellent! There aren't many dining options, but the dining halls are actually very good. What is missing is a football team and more school spirit.
Zoey
I think it’s a great school, full of life, art, sports, and history. There are so many opportunities at this school and it’s a great fit for all they have everything from and amazing film major to a yoga major. It is a very clean school and the ratio from students to administrators is 17:1.
Quierra
I feel like this college is the best college for me I love everything about it and its the perfect choice for what I want to be in life I hope they will accept me when I apply, I also recommend other people that are interested in some of the fields I'm interested in to think about UNCW and they always come back to me and say they love it.
Bianca
UNCW is a good university if you are not looking to be active in a ton of extracurriculars and student life. It's a school in a beach town, so much of the student life is focused on hanging out at the beach and other beach activities. The academics are robust enough, and the professors overall were very helpful. It is also quite affordable compared to other UNC system schools.
Ayeka
It's an amazing school with a great community and beautiful campus. There are so many ways to get involved whether it's sports, clubs, jobs, or volunteering. The campus is always being renovated and the staff find new ways to help improve the facilities as well. The dorms are nice, the food is good, and the distance to the beach is short. I will be attending the school as a student in the fall and I'm very excited to be a Seahawk.
Graham
My opinion of the University of North Carolina Wilmington is quite impeccable! I want to start off by saying that I love this school, the campus is very pretty. We are 15 minutes from the beach and 15 minutes from downtown. The connections here are very usefully going down the road.
Emily
UNCW is a great instiution with great professors but I wish there was more to encourage different backgrounds coming together. The cultural centers are great with making minorities feel a sense of belonging but I feel like there is still a lack of integration among students, causing the campus to feel cliquey.
Would also love to have more administration willing to work one-on-one in regards to issues related to financial aid, scholarships, and just in general. As a first-gen college student, I sometimes feel a lack of support/resources from these departments, having a difficult time navigating college.
Caroline
Beautiful campus and a good school! Wish there was more options and opportunities for dental interest. The area around campus has many shops and the beaches are beautiful I love living here. The classes are good but I feel like some professors could do more to make the tuition feel worth it.
edgar
It is a school located in a great area, Wilmington is a beautiful city and it is near the beach which attracts a lot of students. Academic wise the professors are great and available most of the time, there are free tutoring options as well. Hospitality wise the school has to improve, they have a 2 year rule where the first two years of a student have to be on campus and it can get very expensive, the stay there has not been that great as well. This year freshman student have to stay in overflow room with more than one student which is very weird.
Susan
I think the school is fantastic. The location is amazing, only 15 minutes to the beautiful beach of Wrightsville. There is plenty to do on campus, as well as the surrounding area. There's shopping, dining, entertainment, beach and much more. The freshman dorms are very new and the quad area outside the freshman dorms is amazing. They are building new outdoor recreation to include basketball courts and sand volleyball courts.
Victor
The University of North Carolina Wilmington is a very good college that offers many opportunities to be successful. There are extracurriculars that are available that suits everyone's interests. They offer clubs such as art clubs, surf clubs, and language clubs. The academics offer majors that are suited to everyone and the professors are very engaging and helpful. The housing and food is also good that offers good living and nourishment for all students.
Luna
UNCW is a good school. I attended online for a Master's degree.
Tori
Love the school just wish there was more financial assistance. There are so many opportunities to get involved on campus and the school highly encourages involvement and academics. I love the staff on campus! They are always there for you and willing to have a conversation with students.
Muzala Nelly
A school that builds a sense of global awareness and rises to listen to the voices of the many, different and growing diverse, & multicultural students, faculty, including staff, as well. Overall, it is a school that is one that I would recommend to any Undergraduate, Graduate, and Doctoral student(s) to attend for their studies.
The fall 2020 acceptance rate for University of North Carolina Wilmington is 71%. That means, out of _____ applications received in 2020, _____ students were offered admission.
What should every freshman at your school know before they start?
If I were able to talk to myself a year ago, I would have told myself that I had better learn how to cook and that UNC-W is the school that I should shoot for, not the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. I also would have told myself that I shouldn't be spending my money, but that I should instead be putting it all in the bank and not spending it all by eating off campus everyday, which was unnecessary. I could have kept that money in the bank and I would have been making at least a little bit of interest of off it, which I have learned at this point that any little bit can help a lot. I would have told myself to work hard in school, even though it was senior year, and to work hard at my job to earn all the money I could, and to work hard on my truck, because I've learned that having a vehicle at college would have allowed me to get a job.
What do you consider the worst thing about your school? Why?
I consider the parking and housing to be the worst part of UNCW. The parking is sparse and very limited. There is barely any on-campus housing. I believe only freshman are guaranteed on-campus housing. The school is currently building new housing so that might help.
What's the most frustrating thing about your school?
The most frustrating thing about UNCW is attending the extension site. The extension site students, including myself, often feel like we are forgotten by the university. We do not have access to many services unless we drive over an hour to the main campus. We do not feel included in the main campus activties and social life.
This school is not as ethnically diverse as other schools. Most of the students are caucasion, so someone that is not caucasion would have to be okay with the little diversity that this school has. Also, because this school has a great social environment, but is also very academically established, the student would need to know how to balance his or her academics and social life.
I think the best thing about UNCW is the environment of the University. I have never had a teacher that would not help a student. Everyone is friendly and excited to be here. It makes learning and a college experience so much more meaningful.
Here's your chance: Say anything about your college!
Since we are close to the beach, we offer a variety of clubs that are very eco-friendly and allow the student outdoors recreation opportunites not many other schools can offer. Community and student involvement is a big priority at the school and key to future success. Job fairs allow the students to ineract with career pathways on a one to one basis which bodes well in future career opportunities.
Describe how your school looks to someone who's never seen it.
UNCW is a happy campus. Students enjoy and appreciate the opportunity to study there. We have some brilliant and very interesting professors. Wilmington is a beach community. When not doing school work, the beach is the place to be.
What kind of person should not attend this school?
A person that is not willing to put in the time and effort it takes to succede but instead only came to this school fo the beach. If a person like that were to attend this school, it would negativley affect all the students that my have a class with him or her. Their lack of enthusiasum or drive would take away from all that the other students could lean because it would also affect the teacher. This person's attitude would lead to a negative learning and teaching environment for everyone.
The average class size at UNCW is only 21 students, which allows for students to get tons of one-on-one help from their professors. All classes at UNCW have at least one professor assigned and you will NEVER encounter a class taught primarily by a TA. All the professors in my major not only know my name, but will also approach me with opportunities and ask me about my life outside the classroom. I have never felt like a number at UNCW in any class that I have taken, whether it was a basic studies or a specialized course in my major.
Anyone who visits UNCW will quickly notice that we are not your typical school; we are a community of students and faculty dedicated to not only furthering our educations, but also to furthering the stellar UNCW reputation. Not only is UNCW a tight knit community, but the City of Wilmington embraces the students with abundant internship and job opportunities. UNCW is a public school, but the campus is secluded and gives the feel of a smaller private institution. With Wrightsville Beach 10 minutes in one direction & downtown Wilmington 10 minutes in the other, the location of Wilmington allows for students and faculty to take advantage of both cultures.
Is the stereotype of students at your school accurate?
No! UNCW's curriculum is definitely rigorous & takes a lot of time and commitment. The teaching faculty is dedicated to providing a challenging, but rewarding classroom experience. Also, UNCW's campus offers many extracurricular activities, with over 225 student organizations on campus. Overall, the UNCW experience is much more about the campus identity instead of the beach life.
What are the most popular student activities/groups?
Although UNCW sometimes has the reputation of being a suitcase school, nothing could be further from the truth. The campus does a great job of not shutting down on the weekends and, between the on-campus movie theater and the concerts/comedians that are brought to campus, there's always something to do. We even have organizations that are in charge of putting on events just for the weekends, such as paintball or ice skating trips. We do have a strong Greek life on campus, but choosing to be involved in Greek life, or not be involved, won't determine your social status at UNCW. All groups are completely open to anyone from UNCW campus joining and a lot of group members belong to multiple organizations on campus.
Being a Freshman and taking classes that are fairly random can be frustrating at times. I'm taking two science classes this semester which is pretty difficult. They aren't too hard by themselves but the tests do require studying. I'm also taking Intermediate French because I took it in high school and have found that French at UNCW is surprisingly fun.
What is the stereotype of students at your school? Is this stereotype accurate?
I would definitely agree that most of the people here enjoy the beach and it's the primary reason they chose to attend this school. However no one stays at a school just for the beach. I would also agree that most of people that attend UNCW are attractive but we are far from stupid or lazy. Classes are challenging despite the misleading location.
All students must apply yearly for financial aid. This process starts with the FAFSA.
Though financial aid deadlines vary by school, it is a good idea to apply as soon as possible. For the upcoming school year, you can apply as early as October 1 for the FAFSA. Additional school aid will be dependent on the FAFSA results.
71% of students attending University of North Carolina Wilmington receive some sort of financial aid.
23% were awarded federal grants.51%received federal loans. Many students do also need to apply for additional private student loans.
