D Will apply to several out of state schools as well as Chapel Hill and maybe NCState but everybody needs a safety school.
Does anyone have thoughts on best UNC backup school? Major TBD but won’t be Engineering or Business. Are any of the schools effective springboards to Chapel Hill?
GPA UW - 4.0
Takes max AP allowed at HS
SAT 1200 out of 1600 but will retake - I suspect she can get to 1300 but more is wishful thinking
Essay, recommendations and extracurrics should be fine.
Thank you
I don’t know about “springboards” to UNC; but if your daughter can get her SAT up to 1300/1600, try Elon or Furman; with the current 1200/1600, look at College of Charleston or Wofford (although CoC has a very high percentage of females). This link may give you some ideas: https://www.charlotteagenda.com/50543/north-carolina-private-college-admissions-statistics/.
I wouldn’t describe the schools that I mentioned as true “safeties,” either; perhaps they are better described as “matches” than “safeties.”
Thanks. My thinking is that a 2nd choice school should be financially as well as academically safe. Save the tuition money and spend on terms abroad.
@byadg123: Saving money is never a bad idea. I know several kids who attend Wofford, and their parents tell me that Wofford has been very good about finding money for them.
If you are looking for another NC in-state public school, what about Appalachian State, UNC-Asheville, or UNC-Wilmington? Your daughter falls within the median 50% SAT ranges for those schools (especially if she gets her SAT up to 1300), which are a little more rigorous than ECU or Western Carolina. I don’t know how generous those schools are with aid for in-state students, however.
have the same issue. I feel as though there is a large gap between NCSU and the next closest academically challenging school in state. We are going with UNCW and UNCC.
NCSU: A little easier admission than UNC-CH but entry into their engineering programs is very competitive. Fantastic school for engineering and hard sciences.
Appalachian State - Excellent business school and overall a great regional university.
UNCC - engineering
Overall, there are excellent choices at state supported universities and the choice depends on major selection and other areas of interest. UNCA, Wilmington, ECU, all very good.
Also, don’t let sticker shock discourage you from private schools. They often offer competitive aid packages which bring the cost of attendance in line with public ahools.
We will absolutely be looking at private schools, in and out of state, but backups are never bad. I’d hate to see her apply to 4 and get into 2 that offer rotten aid packages. We’re too close to Charlotte so I don’'t blame her for nixing it.
Has she tried the ACT?
My son did not get into Chapel Hill two years ago. He was very heartbroken. He enrolled at Appalachian in their honors college program. App State has exceeded our expectations. He gets lots of great counseling as an honors student. His classes are much smaller than his friend’s that went to UNC. He’s gotten involved in some activities that I don’t think he would have at UNC. All his classes have been taught by professors not TAs except for one language class taught by a native speaker graduate student. He’s traveled abroad and enjoys the honors seminars and honors class sections. Oh and honors college students are next in priority after seniors in course selections so he’s had no problems getting every class he’s wanted.
He had the GPA to transfer this year and chose not to apply. He was content at Appalachian. I am super proud of my daughter that was accepted into UNC and I am a proud alumnus but it is not the only place for a great education. If you're instate North Carolina has many great affordable options.
I think the UNC system has some great schools besides CH. I wanted to just comment on who teaches the classes- my daughter is finishing up her second year at CH and has never had a TA teach any classes- she has only had professors. Maybe others have had a different experience.
I would try UNC-W in addition to Appalachian. Good luck!
Regarding SAT/ACT - Time is her bugaboo so the SAT suits her better.
It’s good to hear that about App.
A concern with any UNC school, including CH, is that she doesn’t want to be surrounded by current HS classmates. I’ve impressed upon her that all of them are big enough that it won’t be an issue.
Some of my son’s friends who were denied at UNC-CH and NCSU are planning on attending the University of South Carolina next year. I believe the out-of-state scholarships (based on SAT/ACT scores) are comparable to NC in-state college costs.
She wants to go north so anything in NC would be settling. SC is off the table.
App and UNCW are generally thought of to be the next level down from UNC & NCSU and many extremely bright students are at both and do very well. Most instate publics have only a bit merit aid and limited need based aid except for UNC (100% of need) and to a lesser extent NCSU (80% of need) & the rest 60ish% of need. Most merit aid out of state is based on test scores, 1400+ or 30+ range. Schools to the south are much more likely to give aid to NC students. Though VT will often give around 5K in merit to top students. Few give enough to match instate public anymore unless there is financial need and have top numbers at the same time.
At least the top line number for in-state is low so calculated need will be significantly less than out-of-state private. We’ll apply and wait for the aid packages.
@multiplemom - May I ask what your son’s scores were that didn’t get him in to CH?
I would aim for a 1300, that’s roughly the 50th percentile though UNC is less about numbers and more how the whole application package comes together.
D is pretty diligent so she’ll get to 1301 if she decides that she wants it. I’ve heard that there’s a secret unofficial quota by county and acceptance hinges a bit on where you’re from. It wouldn’t impact the sure-things and the sure-nots but for those on the bubble it might come into play.
@byadg123 I suspect your daughter’s scores will go up quite a bit when she retests therefore getting into UNC will probably not be an issue (assuming you are in-state)! My son’s SAT scores went up 200+ points overall with test prep during the summer. The first time he really didn’t do anything to prepare for the test. He took the SAT April, June and then finally early October.
@sffl005 - did he do a course, a private tutor or just diligent homework?