Students who expect to go to UNC-CH must also take a foreign language, college preparatory math, and three courses in science. Local school boards can go beyond the minimum curriculum set by the state and offer a variety of electives and advanced courses. North Carolina has some innovative educational programs for public school students, including the School of the Arts, the School of Science and Math, and numerous special programs, but the state currently ranks 49th in SAT scores. And although the state ranks 12th in the nation in the amount of money it spends, per capita, on higher education, it is only 40th in per capita funding for elementary and secondary education. Many students also lack experience in academic self-discipline, and most have had their planning imposed upon them.
Many environmental factors can conspire to trap students into academic jeopardy.
For the first time in their lives many of them will face the need to monitor and take responsibility for their own behavior, and they may be overwhelmed by the rich social and recreational life in Chapel Hill. As a university town, Chapel Hill has a cosmopolitan ambiance compared to many of the small towns and cities in which the majority of students grew up, and it affords many potential distractions. UNC's varsity sports program is a major source of entertainment for undergraduates, and sports may preoccupy some of them to such an extent that their studies will suffer. The campus also has a very active fraternity and sorority system, which places additional demands on the attention of a substantial number of students. Finally, many undergraduates are the first members of their families to attend college, and because the experience is unique and UNC is so large, they can feel alienated or lost.