‘I felt like I had to cuss way less’: A Michigan girl’s honest review of UNC

Last weekend, my identical twin sister named Tess visited Chapel Hill for the first time during her spring break. My goal was to give her the ultimate Carolina experience. From Thursday to Sunday, we managed to go to a sorority mixer and cocktail, walk what seemed like every inch of campus, experience frats on a Saturday night, eat at my favorite restaurants, use the buses, see a movie at Varsity Theatre and watch a UNC women’s lacrosse game.

Tess goes to the University of Michigan. Actually, I’m the only kid in my family who chose not to go to Michigan. We’re originally from Phoenix, Arizona, so this was the first time Tess really experienced the South.

Although we’re identical twins, we have very different personalities. She’s a lot more blunt than I am, and had a lot to say about Chapel Hill. So before she left, I decided to get her take on all things Carolina.

What do you think makes UNC stand out?

I think you can clearly see the pride in the school, just walking around. Everyone is in Carolina Blue. When you walk around Michigan, people look a little down, which probably has to do with the weather. But when you walk around campus here, everyone looks happy.

What did you think about the people?

They’re super nice. You can tell they really want you to enjoy UNC and make you feel welcome. They also weren’t competitive like I thought they would be. When I told people I go to Michigan, no one was ever like, “Oh, UNC is so much better than Michigan.” It was more like, “Michigan is a great school!” They’re humble.

The boys are way more attractive than I thought they would be. You could probably walk around campus and see an attractive boy every minute. I would love to be able to walk around campus like, “Goddamn, my college.” Boys are much taller here than they are at Michigan. And the girls are beautiful. Think there’s some song about Carolina girls?

The campus?

People probably say this all the time, but the campus is amazing. It’s gorgeous. It’s the kind of campus your grandma would be proud of. I don’t think I saw one building that wasn’t pretty. Except that one science building that looked like it would be Dexter’s laboratory (she’s talking about Morehead Lab).

The frats and sororities were unbelievably pretty. I also loved how all the buildings were brick. You would think that would be boring, but it makes the school stand out. The campus also felt huge to me.

The food?

The food is great. There’s a lot of diverse restaurants, but you still have the college classics like Chipotle and Noodles and Co. We have dining halls and restaurants at Michigan for on-campus dining options, but it’s not quite like UNC. I mean, we ate freaking chicken tikka masala here (we went to Sitar). There’s a lot of choices. I think our only problem was eating too much.

Greek Life?

There’s actually pretty big differences in Greek Life. First off, the fact that you need wristbands to get into parties. That’s a little absurd. It’s definitely more of a “Who do you know here?” aspect. I told you the frats and sorority houses are unbelievable. They’re smaller, but so nice.

I guess events aren’t that different, but you guys don’t have as many scheduled mixers planned for the week, so I feel like it’s huge when something is going on. Like they’re much more hype because there are fewer of them. Whereas at Michigan, we always get a social schedule sent out at the beginning of the week for events on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The town of Chapel Hill?

It’s cute. It’s got the whole main street vibe with Franklin. It feels like a really put-together neighborhood. One where you picture the houses coming out of Southern Living magazine or something.

It’s how you would expect the south to be, except a little toned down. The people that live here are also super friendly.

I like how Chapel Hill is centered around the college. Even walking around, you see people from the town at the sports games. The community rallies around the school. There’s nothing like seeing local young girls at the women’s lacrosse game with posters to sign. Makes you smile.

How does the partying here compare to Michigan?

Michigan is a lot more exclusive, so you’re going to see the same people all the time. I am familiar with everyone I see when I go out. I felt like when we went out, you didn’t know a lot of the boys. That also might be because you’re a pretty low-key person.

But from what I experienced, the party scene is very similar to Michigan. Obviously Michigan gets hyped up for its party scene, but you guys still go hard, and I appreciate it.

People still sing along to songs and dance. Maybe UNC is a little less crazy? Girls cover up way more here when you go out. It’s almost like they have to show their dad what they’re wearing before they head to the frats or bars.

What are your thoughts about shagging?

Oh my gosh, I love it. I don’t know why we don’t have it at Michigan. It’s fun to have an excuse to get to know someone. Cause if a boy asks you to dance, you aren’t just going to assume it’s grinding. You’re actually dancing together as a pair. Also, shout-out to those boys for sticking with me and attempting to teach me even when I didn’t know what I was doing at all.

It’s also a clear indicator if you have rhythm. You can’t tell at Michigan if a boy has rhythm because they’re mostly jumping up and down on elevated surfaces. It’s fun being swung around. But it does sound really dirty – I don’t know why you guys call it shagging. But anyway, huge fan.

So, what’s your opinion of the South now?

People are really welcoming. They’re put-together. I felt like I had to cuss way less. The boys are also a little more gentlemanly.

Were there any dislikes?

Girls need to wear sorority shirts everywhere. We get it, you’re in a sorority. Cars aren’t really nice about stopping. Also, it tastes like your water has been tampered with. It might have just been that one water fountain, though, so I shouldn’t be too quick to judge.

The buses. You guys have like two. Also, you have to shout to the bus driver to get off? They can be strict, too. He didn’t even let the girl with the ice cream on. Poor girl could’ve just finished her ice cream on the bus.

People need to stop telling me about how cold Michigan is. Like, I get it, it’s freezing. You have better weather than me, awesome.

Also, everyone wears running shoes here like they’re always ready to hit the gym. Just wear your running shoes when you’re actually going to run. At Michigan, you see a girl in Nikes and assume she just got done working out. Here, it’s like, who knows.

And the food here. They’re trying to make you fat. Biscuits everywhere. Not the healthiest options for you guys to eat. Even though those biscuits are fantastic, don’t get me wrong.

The school is lacking in diversity. The most diversity you have is your restaurants. And your WiFi – get guest WiFi for your guests. Can’t wait for mom to get on me about how much data I racked up that weekend.

Would you want to go to school here?

Yeah, I think I’d have a great experience. Just as good of an experience as at Michigan. There are some very big similarities to Michigan that I love: big public school, big sports, big pride. Thank you, UNC, for showing me how unreal your school is. Oh, and GTHD.