Not even Hurricane Helene could stop me from my scheduled college tour of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC). What started out as a normal day with just concerns of high winds and heavy rain due to a tropical storm, quickly turned into hurricane conditions. As conditions grew worse by the hour, my family and I pushed through fallen trees and branches, overflowing sewer pipelines and low visibility. While enroute, we received an email from the college informing us that the exterior part of the tour was cancelled. Meaning we would not get a guided tour experience of the campus. Nevertheless we made it.
By the time we arrived, the sun was out, and the sky was tuning blue. There were large branches down at UNC but everyone was safe and we saw students navigating the campus to their classes. I was immediately impressed by the classic college campus look and feel. University of North Carolina boast more than 725 acres with lots of historic looking buildings and some modern construction surrounded by green spaces and trees. The college is home to more than 32,000 students across both undergraduate and graduate programs.
College Ranking
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is ranked the No. 5 public university in the country and is tied for No. 27 overall in the 2025 U.S. News & World Report Best College rankings released Tuesday. Carolina is No. 1 for best value among public universities for the 20th time.
Hussman School of Journalism and Media
We started with a typical information session that covers the admission process and everything the college has to offer. Since the exterior part of the tour was cancelled due to Hurricane Helen, we moved on to the scheduled tour of the Hussman School of Journalism and Media.
UNC has an impressive collection of journalism and media awards such as the Hearst Award. They have also rebuilt a study in the newly renovated communications building in memory of Chares Kuralt, a college alumni. The room is filled with all the original belongings from Chares Kuralt’s home library.
The state-of-the-art media building and equipment are even more impressive. Students learn on industry level equipment and media rooms, creating shows collaboratively with TV/Video production students work with broadcast communications students.
The University of North Carolina provided me with every tool I needed to rise to the top of my profession.
Rick Dees
Get prepared for your next college tour by checking out the blog post What to Expect on a College Tour.