Hi! I heard that you are a part of the Robertson Scholarship program and I am very eager to get this full ride scholarship because I love everything it has to offer for it’s students! However, I am well aware of how competitive the scholarship is and I was just curious as to what else you did in highschool besides academics, or what would you say made you stand out from all the other students and get the scholarship? Thank you.
Hi I’m a student in Massachusetts and I know University of North Carolina is so hard to get into for out of state students, do you have any tips. I’m so worried because I’m not at the top of my class, probably the top quarter but I don’t know if that’s good enough. Anything would help, any stats about you or other people you know who got in.
Does anyone know the rumored early action decision notification date??
@bella99: Here is what I usually post in regard to OOS students applying to UNC-CH:
"Our OOS high school usually has a couple of students admitted each year to UNC-CH; and, with the exception of legacy students, our admitted students have SAT scores of 1350+, ACT scores of 34+, and weighted GPAs of 4.5+. Other kids in our city who I know were admitted to UNC-CH recently have also had similar statistics; and all of these kids were “unhooked” in admissions parlance (i.e., not a recruited D-1 athlete, or URM, first-generation college student, etc.).
If you look at the UNC-CH common data set, under Part C7 it states that standardized test scores, application essay, letter(s) of recommendation, and rigor of your high school record are “very important” academic factors considered for freshman admission, whereas GPA and class rank are “important” academic factors considered for freshman admission. Extracurricular activities, talent, and character/personal qualities are considered as “very important” non-academic factors.
As you may know, admission of OOS students is very competitive; and UNC admits OOS applicants in numbers that are calculated not to exceed 18% of an entering freshman class. See “Undergraduate Admissions” on Page 2, here: http://www.admissions.unc.edu/files/2013/09/Admissions__Policy.pdf. Last year’s entering freshman class had a 15% acceptance rate for UNC-CH: http://admissions.unc.edu/apply/class-profile-2/."
If you are URM, recruited D-1 athlete, first-generation college student, or OOS legacy, you may have a slightly easier path. Otherwise, focus on getting high standardized test scores, boost your GPA to the extent you can, and work to have really good essays and LORs.
@inecaroline I’m so happy that you have looked into the Robertson! It is an absolutely phenomenal program and I love talking to prospective students about it. As one of my friends at UNC says, all of the Robertsons have a “thing”: something that they are passionate about and have done something about in high school. So for me, I was/am very interested in health equity and trying to see how we can expand the healthcare system so that everyone has access to the care that they need. In high school, I was focused more on a grassroots approach, so I worked with a primary care physician that I knew to start a free clinic for a homeless shelter in my community. The Robertson is all about leadership and serving/advocating for others, so a large part of their admissions criteria is focused on that. The Robertson is extremely competitive, but let me tell you, it’s like no other program. In high school, I had a competitive GPA and my SAT score was ok, but it wasn’t high enough to get me into the Ivies or schools like that, so I was very worried that I would automatically be counted out for the Robertson. However, while academics are considered initially, this program is looking more for students who have the potential to become leaders in their fields and who ultimately will go on to serve others. So really, the best advice I can give you is to be 100% yourself if you move on to the semifinalist/finalist rounds. They want sincere people who truly care about others. Sorry for the long post, but feel free to DM me if you have more questions!!
@Bella99 I was also OOS, as I previously mentioned. I graduated 2nd in my class of approx. 450 students from a small school in FL and my GPA was around 4.7 (W out of 5) and 3.98 (UW out of 4), but I knew a girl in my year who was ranked somewhere around 15 and she also go in. I don’t remember my exact SAT score, but it was somewhere around 2260 I believe. Try not to worry about it too much! UNC is tough to get into for OOS and I remember being in your position last year, but just trust that everything will work out for the best! Lmk if you have any more questions!
@danyycohen So I remember being in your position last year, trying to figure out when those darn decisions were going to come out and it was super frustrating for UNC because they gave out literally no information. But, the way it has worked for the past several years is that you will receive an email giving you directions on where to find your decision and then the actual decision will come out within 48 hours of that email being sent. So keep checking your email and look out for that email because that will be just about the only indicator of when the decisions will come. And don’t listen to the rumors!! Those drove me insane because people kept saying they were going to come out the entire month of January and I didn’t get my decision until the end of the month.
My son is in-state and wants to apply in the fall (he’s currently a junior). He has taken APHG, APUSH, and APES, and is planning on AP World and AP English next year. The big decision for him is should he take AP Spanish or an Honors Marketing class next year? He’s concerned about the workload, but I pointed out that UNC would prefer the AP class. I believe his chance of getting right now are 50/50. I am concerned taking an Honors over an AP would drop those chances considerably. Thoughts?
Hi, I am an international transfer applicant from Japan,I am currently an exchange student at Carolina and want to transfer to UNC-Chapel Hill.
GPA in Japan; 3.85
1 Semester in Carolina; projected 3.15 (Took an incomplete due to harassment)
CEO of a financial trade company, Executive Director for a non-profit organization, member of ACLU and NAACP on campus, Participated in a Japanese national model united nations contest & debate contest, did a presentation with Japanese congressmen at the national congress, internship at the governor’s office, volunteer at the UNESCO, doctors without borders, Red Cross, UNHCR, member of the Fabian Society, was on the top 0.8% at the undergrad program in Japan, fluent in Japanese, English, French, German, Latin, Chinese, and understand Arabic, Gaelic, Hebrew and Greek.
I don’t have to submit SAT.
What do you think my chances are? Thanks
@chb088 I don’t know too much about in-state acceptance to UNC, but I think it all depends on how much he thinks he can handle. I give the same advice to my younger brother, who is also currently a junior in high school. In my opinion, it is much better to take an honors class that he is interested in and do really well in it than to take a hard AP class and pull off a mediocre grade. If he is already concerned about the workload, I think it would be wise to think realistically about how confident he is that he can pull it all off (AP classes are no joke, especially AP Spanish). Also remember that he will have a ton of college applications on top of all his classes during senior year. That being said, I’m sure your son is a bright kid and will do well with whatever he decides. Good luck!
@caroatarHeel1 I really don’t know anything about the transfer student process, but it sounds like you have a pretty impressive resume! I’m sorry I can’t be of more help, but I don’t want to give you wrong information or advice on a topic I know very little about. I would suggest maybe looking at one of the transfer threads?
@panther2016 thank you. I think he has settled on a different AP class (one that is in English should be a little less workload)
Hi, what advice would you give in terms of preparing for a Robertson scholar interview? Thank you so much!!
Hello! Thank you for starting this helpful thread!
I’m interested in studying something related to biomedical engineering or maybe pre-med. Is UNC a good school for these areas of study?
Also, I was thinking of visiting during spring break- do you have any tips on things I should pay attention to (ex. are good research opportunities for undergrads, what professors there are in my field of interest, etc.) and what tours to go on or what classes to visit?
@whist20 I’m so sorry I know that semifinalist interviews are over, but if you continue on to Finalist Weekend, the main piece of advice that I can give you is to just be yourself. As I have said before, the Robertson cares a lot about what kind of person you are and your desire to help others.
@bluebird1234 UNC is definitely great for premed (I am premed, so I can definitely speak for that!) and from what I hear, the BME program is pretty good too. We have a very highly ranked Med School on the same campus and, for me, that is a great advantage because it provides amazing opportunities for research, volunteering, and shadowing.
Definitely come to visit! I fell in love with UNC when I visited in high school, so I would highly recommend coming! I took the main admissions tour that most high school students take. That was great because I could ask my student tour guide questions and I got to see most of the campus. I can tell you right now that UNC has more research opportunities than you can possibly hope for. I got into a lab at the Med School my second week of my first semester here and I absolutely love the work we do. No matter what you are interested in, there is something here for you. My lab focuses on molecular biology, but I have friends who are doing research in environmental health, psychology, european history, etc. To be completely honest, I didn’t look into any professors when I visited. I didn’t know exactly what major I wanted to do at that time, so it was more important for my college to have a good med school nearby. But if you know that you want to do BME, by all means look into professors! Also, when is your spring break? Because if it is during our spring break, there won’t be any professors on campus or classes for you to sit in on.
@panther2016 thank you for the detailed response- it’s so good to hear that your experience at UNC has been great; now I’m even more pumped to visit! My spring break is from March 17-25.
(Also, quick side question- do you have any advice on how to participate in biology research as a high schooler? I don’t have any experience in doing research, and I feel like most professors would likely turn me down because of this)
@bluebird1234 Our spring break is March 11-19, so that’s perfect! In terms of getting involved in research, I am not sure where you are from or what opportunities you have around there, but my best advice for anyone wanting to get involved in research is to email, email, email. I worked in an epidemiology lab 1 summer in high school, a neurobiology lab the summer before college started, and am working in a molecular bio lab now and I got into all three labs by emailing the PIs (heads of the lab) to see if they would be willing to take me. That being said, I have many friends who did not have any experience with research coming into UNC and had no problem finding a lab. It definitely helps to have some experience under your belt, but it is by no means necessary.
@panther2016 so I just checked UNC’s website for tours/info sessions, and unfortunately, they’re all booked. I still really want to visit, so I’m wondering what other things I can do at UNC to explore and get to know the school better? I’m not very good at carrying out self-guided tours. I was thinking of visiting a specific class but I couldn’t find that option on their site.
I think I’m going to give the email method a shot- hopefully I’ll get lucky and find a research opportunity 
Email admissions and ask if somebody can give you an individual tour.