East Carolina University (ECU)

The Miller School of Entrepreneurship (MSOE) is a dedicated school within ECU's College of Business. Established in 2015, it is the first named school of entrepreneurship in North Carolina, made possible by a $5 million gift by J. Fielding Miller and Kim Grice Miller. The Miller School of Entrepreneurship serves as a regional hub for preparing students to take an entrepreneurial mindset and skillset into their communities.

The Miller School of Entrepreneurship has seen rapid growth, with enrollment increasing nearly 300 percent in recent years.

Students are engaged in a wide range of entrepreneurial activities and groups. These include the Gene T. Aman Pirate Challenge (formerly the Pirate Entrepreneurship Challenge), RISE29, Accelerate Rural NC, and the Summer Innovation Academy. MSOE is also home to the CEO Club (Collegiate Entrepreneurs' Organization), which connects students with peers, mentors, and entrepreneurial leaders while fostering innovation, networking, and professional development.

This "very diverse and unique group of students" primarily hails from North Carolina, and despite the large number of students, "it is a very small and family-oriented campus that does not make you feel small." Extracurriculars help build that community on campus, with many taking part in "at least one extracurricular group or activity, and they wear the shirt to prove it." As one East Carolina Pirate puts it, "the library's group study rooms are always full," because "most students try very hard." That said, there is definitely a range "from the typical hardworking motivated student to the atypical Greek life individual who flunks out after a year or two." Overall, these are "great people," and "there is a crowd for whatever type of experience you are looking for."

ECU students are physically active: some "will go to the gym and play basketball after class," and "the rec center provides plenty of things to do in terms of working out and swimming." In all, the "Pirate Nation loves to hang out and support ECU athletics." After, they'll quite often "spend time at home with roommates" or find "a comedy night or karaoke night at some of the restaurants, bars or breweries downtown." There are plenty of on-campus activities too, like talent shows and game nights. In all, students "like to turn up and party," and as a result "pack their class schedule to be in the middle of the day" so they have "time to sleep in not too late but [don't have] to get to those dreadful eight or nine a.m. classes." The campus itself is "sprawling but well-organized" in terms of the main academic buildings and dorms, and "everything is close together." Plus, Greenville is "really a college town" where "you feel like you are with people who are in the same mindset."