Am I on the Right Track???

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
1

<p>Hello everyone,</p>

<p>Let me go ahead and thank you for putting the time fourth to read this, it's really appreciated :).</p>

<p>Okay so here we go, i'm currently a sophomore in high school and I live in the state of North Carolina. I live in a relatively small town with a high school with about 1100 students.
White, Male. </p>

<p>Stats:</p>

<p>Rank: 1/276 (currently in a 7 way tie)
GPA Unweighted: 4.0 (no A+ or A- grading scales at my school)
GPA Weighted: 4.6
PSAT: 196 (translates to 1960 SAT)
Plan on making 2000+ on actual SAT.</p>

<p>EC's:</p>

<p>Played soccer for 11 years, captain of middle school team and JV team.
Track: 3rd in the state last year in the 4x800 meter relay. Regional Champion in this event also. All as a freshman.
Football: Leading scorer as the kicker for the JV team this year
Community Service: 200+ hours. Plan on having 400+ by the time I am a senior.
Co-organized a blood drive that collected 55 units.
Clubs: Envirothon, Quiz Bowl, Spanish Club, National Honors Society, FCA (fellowship of Christian athletes), LEO Club (community service), Math Lab (tutor kids in Algebra 1 and Geometry) and SADD Club (student against destructive decisions)</p>

<p>Junior Year Course Load (hopefully all A's):</p>

<p>AP Biology
AP US History
Honors Biology 2 (mandatory to take AP in spring)
Honors US History (mandatory to take AP in spring)
Honors Spanish 4 (no AP)
Honors Physics (no AP)
Honors English 3
Honors Precalculus/Trigonometry </p>

<p>Note: My School is not known for it's AP's at all, it only offers 5 in a class room setting and 3 online. So I am taking the most difficult courses my school offers. </p>

<p>Awards/Recognition's to date:</p>

<p>Nominated for National Student Medicine Conference at John Hopkins University.
All A's thought middle school and high school so far.
Scholar Athlete Award last year (only male winner)
Best Student Award in Honors Biology 1 with a 99 average.
Best Student Award in Spanish 2 with a 101 average. </p>

<p>Also applying to Summer Ventures in Science and Mathematics this year. Which is 4 week, on a college campus intensive studying, and very selective program for Science and Math driven students in my state. And only accepts 250 students state-wide. I think I will get in. </p>

<p>Will take 2 college courses over the summer if not admitted to the program listed above. This will consist of: Organic/Biochemistry and a Calculus based Algebra or Human Anatomy (can't decide)</p>

<p>So what do you think? Anything I need to work on to make myself a better applicant in the next 2 years?
And thank you!</p>

2

<p>Wow, are you serious? If you’re ranked 1/n in your class I would say you are overshooting for UNC. Seriously man, with those kind of stats (assuming you continue and score 2000+ on the SAT, more ECs, etc…) I would put you as a likely candidate for Duke and/or Ivy’s too. Keep up the good work and you’ll undoubtedly get into UNC, that is unless they really don’t feel like you would be a good fit.</p>

3

<p>Academically you are good for UNC. I disgaree with previous poster - the Ivies or Duke are reaches for you, but you never know.</p>

<p>Most UNC students were ranked 2nd or lower in their HS class so being 1st should really help you.</p>

<p>If you were OOS I’d say you need to work on leadership - most of your ECs seem to be taking part in, rather than running things.</p>

4

<p>@seafood92: Thanks! I plan on applying to Duke as a reach school. I feel that I would be out of place at a Ivy league school, since they are 12 hours away from home. As for Duke and UNC, they are only 4 hours away and it is my dream to go to either one.</p>

<p>@keepittoyourself: Yes, I agree that my leadership skills are presently inadequate. Next year I plan on running for student office and being a founder of a club. I think that Duke is a reach school for me also, but that might not be the case once I get a lot more EC’s and leadership positions under my belt.
That summer program is also supposed to help me a lot. Of the people who attended in 2011, many of them went on to Duke, UNC-CH, NC State, Davidson and there was even 2 or 3 that made it into the Ivies.
One last thing, do you think there is anything else I need to work on?
And thank you for the help!</p>

5

<p>Either way, you’re a great applicant and as long as you continue what you’re doing you’ll have a great shot for admissions.</p>

6

<p>Thank you! I’m glad that my hard work will pay off.
Anyone else have suggestions?</p>

7

<p>Anyone else? Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.</p>

8

<p>You look excellent for UNC right now, especially if you take a leadership position or two and get that 2000+ on the SAT. I think it is admirable that you are actively seeking advice as a sophomore, and as long as you keep doing what you’re doing, I would have a hard time saying they would deny you.</p>

9

<p>@UNCCH94: Thank you so much! It is the school of my dreams. It is very reassuring that people think I am on the right path.</p>

10

<p>Honestly, your academic stats are way above the standard for UNC in-state. Especially if you work on leadership, you should aim higher.</p>

11

<p>Thank you very much! What other schools should I aim for in your opinion?
I was considering Davidson, Duke, and Virginia since they have very strong science programs.</p>

12

<p>I would be cautious about Davidson. It’s a good school, but almost totally unknown outside certain regions and circles. Duke and UVa are both pretty good, obviously.</p>

<p>As a smart NCer it might even be cheaper for you to go to Duke, after aid.</p>

<p>I would at least apply to MIT/Caltech/GA Tech too.</p>

13

<p>Oh okay, thanks for the help!</p>

<p>This is what I have on my list so far:</p>

<p>Ivy League School (reach)
Duke (maybe a reach)
UNC- Chapel Hill
Virginia
Georgia
GA Tech
NC State
ECU (safety)</p>

<p>Does this sound pretty good? And oh yeah, do you know of anything I could do to make myself more appealing for those top schools?</p>

14

<p>This might not be the most helpful advice, but think about doing something that would make you stand out more. Most of the stuff at the moment is “really impressive highschool stuff”. Is there anything you could do that would be really unusual or impressive for a highschool kid to do?</p>

15

<p>I know you said you don’t like to travel, but you might also consider Natural Sciences at Cambridge. They admit on a purely academic basis - no ‘leadership’ type nonsense.</p>

16

<p>That sounds like a good idea. I have been trying to develop something that will be very impressive that no one else will have on their college application. But I am having trouble finding this. I will also look into Cambridge, thank you!</p>

17

<p>Nate,</p>

<p>By a good bit, the most important factor for admissions is the epic academic record: that is encapsulated with your GPA, your class rank, your degree of rigor in high school classes chosen, how well you did in those classes, and all that compared to the school index score that your high school is known for. You have more than enough ECs so I’m going to suggest you shift your focus even more over to the academic side; you will be admitted to Carolina I feel yet you should push that GPA to the right of the median mark, which this year was a 4.5 weighted. Load up on Honors and AP classes and drive that up as high as possible. Standardized tests have a place in admissions but I got the distinct impression that those don’t have near the weight that they used to have! Just continue to push real hard in the classroom and congratulations on your #1 rank!</p>

<p>The kitesurfer.</p>

18

<p>Thank you very much!
I plan on taking 2 AP’s and 6 honors classes next year. Which will boost my GPA from a 4.5 to a 4.75 if I make all A’s.</p>

19

<p>^^^^^^and good luck. Try to pursue a couple other outlets for a few more APs if at all possible and give extra effort to find a couple more of those. Online? Community college? </p>

<p>the kitesurfer.</p>

20

<p>Thanks! I plan on doing 4 AP’s senior year, 2 in a class and 2 online.
Also, if I am not admitted to this prestigious summer program. I will take a Calculus/Trig and a Human Anatomy/Organic Chemistry class (can’t decide) at the local community college.</p>