What is the first public university in the United States to open its doors and the only one to graduate students in the 18th century?

What is the first public university in the United States to open its doors and the only one to graduate students in the 18th century?

• A. The University of North Carolina
• B. Harvard University
• C. Duke University
• D. Yale University

Answer: (A)

The key idea here is identifying the institution that was established as a public university in the United States and actually began teaching, and then graduated students, in the 18th century. The University of North Carolina fits this distinction, since it opened as a public university in 1795 and began instruction in Chapel Hill. It is recognized as the first public university in the U.S. to open its doors, and its first graduates appeared by 1798, within the eighteenth century. By contrast, Harvard and Yale are older but private; Duke was founded much later as a private university. So UNC uniquely meets both parts of the question: public status and 18th-century graduation.

The key idea here is identifying the institution that was established as a public university in the United States and actually began teaching, and then graduated students, in the 18th century. The University of North Carolina fits this distinction, since it opened as a public university in 1795 and began instruction in Chapel Hill. It is recognized as the first public university in the U.S. to open its doors, and its first graduates appeared by 1798, within the eighteenth century. By contrast, Harvard and Yale are older but private; Duke was founded much later as a private university. So UNC uniquely meets both parts of the question: public status and 18th-century graduation.