East Carolina University Admission
East Carolina University Undergraduate Program
East Carolina University Application

The Facts

East Carolina University is a moderately sized, public, state-supported institution located in the town of Greenville, North Carolina (there is no East Carolina, just in case you were wondering...) and is home to over 15,500 undergraduate students and approximately 1,700 graduate and part-time professional students. The school is perhaps best known for its nursing and pre-medicine programs, its fine arts and music programs, and its education for the emotionally handicapped program. The university is actually divided up into several smaller undergraduate and graduate colleges, including schools of arts and science, business, education, fine arts and communication, health and human performance, human ecology, technology and computer science, medicine, allied health sciences, nursing, engineering and environmental design, as well as the social sciences. Some of the most popular majors include allied health, art, music, geology, elementary education, nursing, and fine/studio arts.

Admission to East Carolina University is quite competitive numerically, albeit not quite as competitive when it comes to its admissions standards. Last year, more than 11,000 students applied for admission to the school, and approximately 8,400 of those students were admitted; of those, about 3,500 matriculated. The admitted students had an average combined SAT score ranging from 1050 to 1120, and an average comprehensive ACT score ranging from 20 to 25. Additionally, more than 75% of the admitted students were ranked in the top 25% of their high school graduating class with an average high school GPA of about a 3.65.

East Carolina University has a very manageable student to faculty ratio of about 19:1, which is surprisingly intimate for a school of ECU’s size. Like most state schools, the required core curriculum classes tend to be quite a bit larger, and are held in big lecture halls. However, the more advanced-level classes are significantly smaller; in fact, it is rare to find a class with more than 25 students. Students also give their professors high marks in terms of accessibility, noting that their office hours are quite long, and that they are always willing to answer questions.

The Social Scene

The town of Greenville itself is quite small, and doesn’t really offer students much in the way of entertainment, however, the larger city of Raleigh is only about 90 minutes away by car, and is a popular weekend road trip option for many students. However, the two major social players at ECU are sports and Greek life. There are many national fraternities and sororities on campus, and one of the most popular things to do on the weekend is hit up one of the many Greek parties. The school also has a very popular football team that plays in a 43,000 seat stadium, and the games draw not only students, but residents of Greenville as well.

The dating scene is a very active, vibrant one. There are plenty of pickings for both guys and girls, and we hear they ain’t too bad to look at either...

What’s Good

“There is a wonderful sense of school spirit here. People are really proud to go to ECU, and aren’t afraid to wear their pride on their sleeve.”

“Even though the school is quite large, the classes manage to be pretty intimate. You can actually have a discussion without chaos.”

“The professors always have their doors open and you know you can talk to most of them about anything.”

What’s Bad

“The dorms are really cramped, and there are always problems with getting everyone assigned to the right place.”

“If you don’t have a car, you’re stranded. It’s hard to hitch rides, because people can be pretty possessive about their vehicles...”

“There are a lot of people here who are here just to party, not to work. It’s annoying for those of us who actually care about our classes.”

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