Looking to go in as Bio major, in-state, African American (my parents are from overseas but i was born here), I’m also Muslim, homeschooled as well
SAT: 1330 and 16 essay (didn’t want to take it but parents forced me)
GPA: 3.68
I’m taught by 3 teachers, one of which has an Ed.D, I also take classes at a local college. Had a rough time sophomore year when I first started but since then I’ve been getting A’s and B’s and I’m on track for an A in the class that i am currently taking (5 classes in total).
Letters of Rec: one from my bio prof whose class i got an A in and then another from a community leader that I’ve known for basically my whole life. Also had my teacher with the Ed.D write a counselor statement vouching for me
ECs: Horseback riding for all 4 years, Competitive basketball with a local team during sophomore and junior year, studied a form of martial arts from freshman until junior, volunteering at a clinic that provides free health care for all 4 years, volunteering at my local religious Sunday school (senior),volunteered at a hospital last summer, studied Arabic for the past 7-8 years (can read and write), going to present a research paper in Jan at a local university ,started a charity foundation with my brother where we send over clothes and other supplies biyearly to our parents home country of Sierra Leone.
Essays: very confident that they are good, had alot of people look over them, wrote about how i took a trip to my parents home country and how seeing the poverty changed me and the steps im taking/took to help alleviate it both here and overseas
My brother is also an alumni from UNC which makes me a sibling legacy. My father also works as a doctor and occasionally lets students from UNC’s med school work with him.
There is no such thing as “a sibling legacy” for admissions purposes at UNC-CH; further, legacy consideration only involves “nonresident applicants who are children of alumni of the institution.” Also, what your father does with UNC-CH medical students is not going to have any bearing on admissions decisions, either.
The SAT is a little low, and if the GPA is unweighted, then that might be a bit low as well (UNC reports on its common data set that most accepted students have 3.75+ GPAs).
@gandalf78 as an in state Alum, I got a letter last year stating that legacy status did matter to them regarding my child. Didn’t say how much, but I would not be telling people that in state legacy means nothing.
@chb088: It has been my understanding that legacy status for in-state residents is not really a factor, due to the fact that there are so many Carolina alums living in North Carolina; at least, that’s what I was told a couple of years ago by an AO. Certainly, the published Admissions policy, here, http://www.admissions.unc.edu/files/2013/09/Admissions__Policy.pdf, only mentions legacy consideration in the context of OOS undergraduate admissions.
As a practical matter, in-state legacy status is not really going to get you anywhere.
Chance me! Im OOS, biology major/pre-med track, caucasian, single-parent family and first generation college student,
ACT: 31 science: 29 english: 35 reading: 31 math: 30
GPA: 3.97 unweighted (school doesn’t do weighted but pretty sure its around 4.2) all A’s since second semester of freshmen year
AP: US History (5) Environmental Science (5) Biology (4) and currently taking Psychology, Chemistry, and European History
Letters of rec: both from teachers who know me very well (ap environmental science and ap biology) plus I am a teachers assistant for my ap biology teacher this year
EC: work in a nursing home, volunteer in nursing home and urgent care clinic, student council, HOSA, teachers assistant, ap biology tutor,
Essays: wrote about my extra curricular (how volunteering in nursing home helped me decide to go pre-med) because that’s a weak part of my application
@Jordynklongland Your first gen status may help but your ACT, classes, and EC’s are all rather average for what is a fiercely competitve and selective OOS pool, especially for Caucasian students. I’d consider UNC a rather high reach for you. It’ll probably take exceptional essays, statements, and recommendations to move the needle a bit.
@gandalf78 I believe a conversation you may have had with an AO years ago has no bearing on today’s applicants. My letter (in writing rather than verbal hearsay) is more recent and relevant. OP, this person does not work for the school. There is no such thing as sibling legacy, but parent and grandparent legacy may give you a slight edge if all other things between 2 students are equal. At this point, it is in the hands of Admissions. Best of luck.
"Because we maintain close ties with our alumni and value their commitment to the University, we do ask about alumni ties on our application. For non-resident children of alumni (those whose mother, father, step-father, or step-mother attended Carolina), family ties to the University may be used in our final admission decision. Please note that legacy status cannot be derived from siblings, grandparents, or other extended family.
There is no formal preference for resident applicants who are children or step-children of alumni. In the course of evaluating such an applicant, depending on the whole of the student’s circumstance, we may see this family connection as one part of the student’s larger story. But resident children of alumni tend to fare well in admission to Carolina because they’re generally well prepared to thrive in college."
It certainly reads as though legacy in-state is not really the bump that it is for oos applicants.
That would make sense. They aren’t discounting it entirely for in state, but never said it was significant. It was my understanding it was more of a tie breaker.
@chb088 Was your letter similar to the one my parents just got?
My parents just rec’d a letter as they are alumni. It says “the children of alumni have continued to compete effectively” with a 48 percent in state and 40 percent out of state acceptance rate.
The letter goes on to say how grateful they are to have such great students applying including “insert my name.”
But the last paragraph is about how they hope that “regardless of the decision” my parents remain loyal to the university.
Sounds like a let down for us and I will be in the 52 percent of alumni in state that do not get admitted.
@Tuxrd2 similar I think. But it put numbers to how legacy kids fared compared to non legacy. And yes, every alum with a child applying gets the letter. Hang in there, you don’t have any decision yet.