I graduate in 2019 and really want to attend NC State. I live in North Carolina, got a 29 on my ACT, and 1190 on my SAT (I’m taking it again to get a better score), and have a 3.7 weighted GPA (which translates to about a 3.45 unweighted. My school uses a kind of weird GPA measurement, the highest GPA you can have is a 5.0, and an A in a CP class is a 4.0, in honors is a 4.5, and in AP is a 5.0). What are my chances of making it in?
State usually accepts those in the 30+ range for SAT and they rarely accept anyone with a weighted gpa under 4.4
https://data.emas.ncsu.edu/project/first-year-profile/
The average ACT for incoming freshmen in fall 2017 was 29, so you’re in the ballpark there.
Your GPA is comparatively low.
They do holistic admissions so it’s more than a question of stats.
https://admissions.ncsu.edu/apply/freshmen/application-review/
What major are you thinking of applying under? I was accepted to First Year Life Science 29 ACT, 3.8 wu and 4.6 W (out of 6).
Since you are in NC, try going to Naviance, and see how many kids made it into NCSU these past three years. Say, 50. If your rank in your class is 35 or higher, you’re probably safe, unless there are other red flags. That’s a yardstick that worked for us with UNC and NCSU.
At NCSU, you apply to the college you plan to attend and can apply to multiple to better your chances. Some colleges such as engineering are harder to get into, so apply to your favorite and then maybe a second one which may be easier to get into.
Good Luck.
And to follow up with what @jllmtw said, don’t select an “easier” admitted major just to try to create a back door for applying to the college of engineering later. Admissions is onto that trick.
Effective the class of 2019, NC changed its high school weighting. It went from a 6 point scale to a 5, and a 90 is an A now vs. a 92. So, when you compare GPAs you should likely look at unweighted for past year admissions or go through the tedious task of listing out your grades on a spreadsheet and assigning its weight on the old system and see how you compare.