<p>My daughter's first choice for college is UNC - Chapel Hill. Her stats are very good:</p>
<p>2250 SAT
33 ACT
2 AP classes Junior Year with 5 scores
4 AP classes Senior Year
4.0 unweighted GPA, 4.8 weighted GPA
22/466 in her class - top 5%
only EC is 3 years XC, Indoor and Outdoor track - captain of XC team this year
minimal community service (~50 hours)
North Carolina resident</p>
<p>Seems like she should be a shoo-in...but are these good enough to think of Chapel Hill as a "safety school"...and have it be the only college she applies to? Or should we look for an even safer school.</p>
<p>She looks good to me for UNCCH, but these days you never know. It shouldn’t be any big deal for her to throw in another UNC as a true safety, would it? Ask her high school counselor as s(he) would be the best source for that info. I’ve found that for state schools they are very knowledgeable in terms of who is likely to get in from their high schools.</p>
<p>Make sure that app gets in early. With state schools, the date the app is received can make a big difference. I know a top student with top scores declined by his state flagship because the engineering spots were filled by the time he applied. That can be an issue with any school if a student is applying to a specific program that is far more competitive than the school in general.</p>
<p>Nope. Although certainly your odds are better in state than out. I know a few kids who were out of state and applied only to get rejected but accepted at wake forest.</p>
<p>UNC cannot be considered a safety school for anyone these days, even in state students with great stats. The fact that she is a female would add support to my previous statement since the F/M ratio is about 60/40. UNC’s admission process is not all about stats; essays and LORs are very important, especially the essays so make sure she really puts in the time and effort necessary to have essays that will stand out.</p>
<p>Her lack of ECs might hurt her since UNC is one of those schools that annually ranks high on the community involvement scale and tends to attract lots of very socially conscious and involved kids who have a passion for something. </p>
<p>The current economic downturn led to record numbers of both instate and OOS applicants to UNC this past year. Though still not as high as it is for OOS students, the bar has been raised for in state students as a result of the increased number of applicants. </p>
<p>I think she has a very good chance for admissions but nothing is guaranteed when looking at Chapel Hill. Admission to UNC is very unpredictable; I’ve seen kids get accepted to Duke and numerous Ivies only to be waitlisted or flat out rejected at UNC. </p>
<p>My son is an '08 UNC grad. Feel free to PM me with any more specific questions.</p>
<p>About ten years ago, my friend’s D was not accepted to UNCCH as an instate applicant. She had a 1360 SAT and a 3.8 average with all honors and AP courses. It was a surprise to the mom that the D was not accepted, but apparently a number of kids from that high school with such stats were not. I don’t know what the timing of the app was or what major was involved. </p>
<p>This past year, I was surprised at some of the kids who were not accepted by SUNY Binghamton, given they were accepted my comparable and maybe even slightly more competitive schools. Kind of scary. </p>
<p>As a result, anytime the school of choice is selective, it is a good idea to throw in a safety. Another state school app would not be difficult to complete. Also, you never know if some dumb glitch does not occur during the process. I have seen that happen. Though it may well be resolved, it is possible for a denial in admissions to occur simply because they run out of space. My son had a problem with our state system in that his SSN was confused with another student’s with the same name and similar SSN. It was resolved and he was accepted, but I wouldn’t have bet a cent that the outcome could have been affected seeing how mixed up these things can get. Also my other son was not officially in the system as having applied to a state school, though the department to which he applied accepted him and had the records right there. He had to reapply at the end of the year to get accepted officially to the university, and believe me, I was chewing my nails. If they had run out of space or some other bureaucratic snaffu, I could easily see a denial. Sometimes things do get messed up in the process. That’s why unless it is an ED/EA/rolling app that leaves enough time for other apps to be sent out after the word comes from admissions, I would not just apply to one school. Even then, you have to have those other apps ready to go, as the timing is right before the holidays. </p>
<p>So, though I think the OP’s D is likely to be accepted, I would still throw in another app to a safety school.</p>
<p>If you are going to put all of your eggs in one basket, I think you’d better have an easier school to get into than UNC Chapel Hill…just in case.</p>
<p>The problem with a “safety school” is sometimes you could get turned down because they know it’s your safety school.</p>
<p>My daughter’s safety school actually called her up on the notification day to ask her what was her level of interest in their school. As she was turned down by her top 5 schools in matter of minutes, she told them that they were on top of her list. They then told her that she was accepted and the merit money.</p>
<p>There is certainly a very high probability that your D would be accepted – but it is NOT 100% guaranteed. </p>
<p>To avoid a potential disaster, be sure that she applies to at least two or three other schools – schools that are true “safety” schools for her. They should be schools that she would be happy to attend (very important!), where she ranks in the top 25% of applicants (and the school has an acceptance rate of 50% or more), and that you can afford. </p>
<p>We sincerely hope that she will get her first choice and be able to attend UNC – but it’s always best to have some sort of Plan B, just in case.</p>
<p>awayfromitall, We’re in a large NC school district that sends literally hundreds of apps. to UNC-CH. Every year there are kids with great stats who are disappointed that they didn’t get in. Your D has great stats and probably has a good chance of getting in but it would be a mistake to apply to only one school. Have her visit a couple of others that she might be interested in and then apply to one she likes that is a “sure” safety. </p>
<p>Also some kids change their mind over the course of their senior year. The school they love in Sept. might not be the one they want in April. It’s nice to have a couple of choices even if there is a clear favorite.</p>
<p>I don’t know what UNC’s app looks like since it’s not on my DD’s list, but most state school apps are pretty quick and dirty, with apps for honors programs and scholarships done separately. I would say get that app in ASAP for the reasons listed above and see what their response is like. </p>
<p>My DD has her two apps for her safeties in already, with an acceptance already from one, and notification from the other that her application is complete and that they will notify her when admissions has processed it. </p>
<p>I think this is one of those years when students can’t take the chance of taking their in-state schools for granted.</p>
<p>I know plenty of students who applied to only one school, but they were either early decision or early action (and the student was accepted), or rolling admission (and the application was filed early and the student was accepted early), or in some cases essentially open admissions. None of those applies here. I think UNC has early action, but it’s pretty unhelpful because it isn’t early enough to eliminate the need to apply elsewhere.</p>
<p>Deadline is Nov 2 for notification by January 30.</p>
<p>If the answer is a “no”, and she doesn’t put in applications anywhere else, her only options will be schools that accept applications after Jan 30. Will that be OK with her?</p>
<p>Does your high school keep admissions stats? Can you ask a counselor if there has been anyone with similar stats who has been rejected in the past couple of years?</p>
<p>If there have been no rejections from your HS of kids with similar stats (as long as they didn’t have other hooks)…as others have posted…she’s likely to get in. She is above the mid level/average on all scores and test…but…UNC-CH is usually not considered a safety for anyone.</p>
<p>There are not too many schools who do not have a much earlier deadline than the end of January. I think most were like 12/31 or something like that when son applied. All I know is he had applied ED to one school and then spent the two weeks from 12.15 until he submitted the rest of the applications somewhat like a chicken with his head in the vice (not quite cut off).</p>
