At a Glance
UNC Charlotte admits 77.8% of applicants.
What You'll Actually Pay
See what families at different income levels actually pay after aid.
What families actually pay, by income level
After grants and scholarships. Before loans. Public school prices shown at in-state rates.
Source: College Scorecard / IPEDS, 2024-25
Where the Sticker Price Goes
Based on average need-based grant. Actual cost varies by family income — see chart above.
Shown at in-state rates.
Debt at Graduation
45.1%
receive need-based grant aid
$25,687
average debt at graduation
UNC Charlotte graduates carry an average of $25,687 in debt.
Merit Aid
1,046
students received merit aid
$5,631
average merit award
Getting In
UNC Charlotte admits 77.8% of applicants.
SAT — Middle 50% of those who submitted · 16% of the class submitted
ACT — Middle 50% of those who submitted · 27% of the class submitted
18.6% were in the top 10% of their high school class.
What They Value
Academic
Nonacademic
University of North Carolina at Charlotte gives essays less weight than many schools — academics drive most admissions decisions here. Demonstrated interest is Considered — showing genuine engagement with this school may help your application.
Student Life
24.3% of UNC Charlotte classes have fewer than 20 students.
Share of undergraduate class sections at each size, from CDS Section I-3. More red = more large lectures.
At UNC Charlotte, 24.3% of your classes will have fewer than 20 students.
Class size data reflects all undergraduate sections including labs, seminars, and lectures. Large research universities often have smaller upper-division and graduate-level sections that improve the overall distribution. First and second-year students typically experience larger classes than these averages suggest.
Source: Common Data Set 2025–26, Section I-3 (class sizes)
20:1
student:faculty ratio
Campus Life
From out of state (freshman class)
10.1%
Live on campus
23.4%
Men in fraternities
6.3%
Women in sororities
8%
Who Attends
Racial and ethnic breakdown of enrolled undergraduates, as reported in each school's Common Data Set. "Unknown / Other" includes students who did not report or selected "other."
UNC Charlotte's student body is 43.3% white.
Popular Majors
Will They Graduate?
UNC Charlotte graduates 50.3% of students in 4 years.
Graduating late means paying for extra semesters. The 6-year rate tells you who eventually finishes — the 4-year rate tells you what it actually costs.
UNC Charlotte graduates 50.3% of students in 4 years.
What finishing late actually costs
Based on each school's published cost of attendance. Public school costs shown at in-state rates.
UNC Charlotte
50.3%
4-yr grad rate
Extra year cost: $23,010*
* In-state cost of attendance. Out-of-state students pay significantly more.
Graduation rate data from Common Data Set 2025–26, Fall 2018 cohort (most recent available). 4-year rate = students completing in 4 years or less. 6-year rate = students completing within 6 years.
68.2%
Overall 6-yr rate
64.3%
Pell recipient rate
There's a 3.9 point gap between overall and Pell Grant graduation rates. Worth asking the school about support resources.
Freshman Retention
85.8%
85.8% of first-year students return for sophomore year.
City & Culture
Beyond the data — what it's actually like to spend four years in Charlotte.
Charlotte is the largest city in the Carolinas and the country's second-biggest banking center after New York, anchored by Bank of America's headquarters and a major Wells Fargo hub. UNC Charlotte's campus itself sits in University City, a wooded, suburban area about 20-30 minutes northeast of uptown, connected to downtown by the LYNX Blue Line light rail rather than sitting inside it.
Notable Alumni
Clay Aiken
Runner-up on the second season of American Idol in 2003; later returned to finish the B.A. in Special Education he'd started at UNC Charlotte, graduating the same year.
Class of 2003
Cedric Maxwell
Led the Charlotte 49ers to the 1977 NCAA Final Four as a First-Team All-American, then won two NBA championships with the Boston Celtics and was named 1981 NBA Finals MVP.
Class of 1977
Benjamin Chavis
Earned a B.A. in Chemistry here in 1969 and went on to serve as Executive Director and CEO of the NAACP from 1993 to 1994.
Class of 1969
Joe Posnanski
Graduated in 1989 and became a New York Times bestselling author and senior writer at Sports Illustrated and The Athletic.
Class of 1989
Alumni selected for name recognition and range of fields. Not from the Common Data Set.
The City
Major city
Charlotte, NC
Best For
Traditions
Norm the Niner
The university's gold-miner mascot, chosen by student vote in 1961 and named for the 49ers nickname, which itself references the Reed Gold Mine nearby — site of the first documented U.S. gold discovery in 1799.
The gold pan penny
A bronze 49er miner statue stands in front of the Reese Administration Building, and student tradition holds that leaving a penny in his gold pan brings good luck.
Greek Village
Thirteen dedicated fraternity and sorority houses opened together in 2007, giving Greek life a physical home on a campus most students otherwise commute to.
Weekend Escapes
Within driving distance from Charlotte
Asheville and the Blue Ridge Mountains
About 2 hoursThe Biltmore Estate and the Blue Ridge Parkway, the standard mountain escape from Charlotte.
Lake Norman
About 30-40 minutesThe region's largest man-made lake, a short drive north of campus.
Charleston, SC
About 3.5 hoursHistoric downtown and Atlantic coast beaches.
Getting There & Game Days
Nearest airport
Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)
About 20-30 minutes from campus
Flies international — you can start a trip abroad from here.
Pro sports nearby
- Carolina Panthers NFLAbout 20 minutes away
- Charlotte Hornets NBAAbout 18 minutes away
- Charlotte FC MLSAbout 20 minutes away
Career Proximity
Charlotte is the second-largest banking center in the United States after New York, and UNC Charlotte students commute into uptown for finance, banking and tech internships without relocating.
Top Industries Nearby
Major Employers
- Bank of America
- Wells Fargo
- Honeywell
- Duke Energy
- Lowe's
- Truist
- Nucor
Uptown Charlotte, about 20-30 minutes from campus
Who Thrives Here
UNC Charlotte admits 77.8% of applicants and is test-optional, with enrolled first-years who submitted scoring 1150-1340 on the SAT. In-state tuition and fees run $7,317 against $23,523 for everyone else, and 87.3% of the entering class comes from North Carolina. The 26,213-undergraduate student body is genuinely diverse — 43.3% white, 19.7% Black, 16.6% Hispanic and 10.5% Asian — and reflects the surrounding city more than a traditional college town. What sets the school apart is where it sits: Charlotte is the country's second-largest banking center after New York, home to Bank of America's headquarters and a major Wells Fargo hub, and students in business and computing — the two largest degree areas at 18.9% and 13.1% of degrees conferred — take real advantage of it. Campus life leans commuter: 23.4% of undergraduates live on campus, and Greek life draws 6.3% of men and 8.0% of women. The trade-offs are the ones that come with scale and access. Teaching runs at 20 students per faculty member and 24.3% of class sections have fewer than 20 students. Only 50.3% graduate in four years and 68.2% within six, aid covers 57.0% of demonstrated need, and graduates who borrow leave owing $25,687.