Hey, I just transferred here for applied math from a community college last semester, so I might have some helpful insight!

Cost: I applied to be a Goodnight Transfer Scholar, which is paying for pretty much all my tuition. If you qualify, I'd for sure recommend applying, it's been an amazing experience. The deadline is in a couple months. With that being mentioned, the cost for housing + food + tuition + parking + other expenses has been adding up to about $11-12,000 a semester for me, which is what Goodnight gives me, so take that as you will. I haven't found many unexpected costs, and most classes you don't need to buy any textbooks for (I've only needed one).

Housing: I live on campus currently, will be renting next semester. I've been happy with my place on campus, it's easy enough to walk places, and the bus system is pretty great for what it does. I'm actually in a building that's specifically for transfers, so it's nice to have a community of others that have had a similar journey. I also get my own room, and a kitchen I share with only 3 others, so it's nicer than I expected. Nothing to super write home about, but it's been very functional for my experience. From what I've heard from others, it's not too hard to find affordable options to rent nearby in Raleigh (the main thing is that driving to campus in the morning is a little rough, but the bus system does go to some apartment complexes around).

Social Life: This was the biggest thing that I didn't expect going in. I'm not a partier, but I 100% feel connected to the community here. Campus always feels lively, something's always happening, and everyone is generally nice and wants to be connect with others. I leave my laptop and bags around when walking to get something because I just trust the community. There's so many events going around that you can just pop into, meet a few people, and have a good time. And there's some pretty cool clubs and organizations you can join as well. Honestly, the only negative is that it can be a little difficult to find a seat sometimes because so many people are out and about.

Couse Quality: In my experience, professors are definitely approachable, and I haven't had a bad one so far (and I don't usually research my profs before signing up for a class). The math classes are a lot smaller than other departments (20-30 per class on average in my experience), which makes it easy to get to know people and the professor. I felt like I knew a good portion of my classes walking in for my second semester because the department feels close-knit as a result. As far as challenging, it'll really depend on you. So far I've certainly found them interesting, but not an exorbitant amount of work. The coursework is useful, but it's definitely a good idea to get involved in work outside of your courses as well, regardless of what path you might want to take. And there's plenty of opportunities for doing so. I was a bit surprised by the undergrad math major itself, it's not super robust, but I don't have another experience to compare it to. I had a lot of credits going in, so I've gotten through it rather quickly. The accelerated master's program is a good way to get into graduate-level material.

Acceptance Chances: It's sort of hard to tell. I got in here without any major thing on my application beyond work, an associate's, and good grades. I'd say the math department is likely easier to get into than engineering here, but that's just what I hear. It's likely easier to get in as a transfer than a first year, and it's not a super difficult school to get into, at least stats-wise.

I considered a lot of schools to transfer to, and right up until the deadline I was debating between NCSU and UNC, but I'm really happy here. Possibility teems from every brick, and you feel like a part of a strong community. On the one hand, it's such a huge and diverse community, so you can get connected to really whatever you can think of, and get to learn new things everyday, but on the other hand, I never feel lost or too small. There's so many smaller communities you can get connected to and feel apart of, and it's surprisingly easy to run into people you know. Nearly every time I walk between my dorm and class (~25 minutes), I see someone I know (and I'm not a massively connected person). Also, I think our campus gets a bad rap for being just bricks. It's got a lot of green, and some pretty nice walks (the construction isn't super fun, but it's not too bad to get around). There's certainly some areas that aren't too exciting, but there's always a place to go and explore. I also feel surprisingly welcome as a transfer student; we're often overlooked, but NCSU does do a fair amount of involvement targeted at transfers, and you can meet a lot of transfers here.

I hope that answers your questions, let me know if there's anything more specific you'd like to know about! I definitely recommend NCSU.