Chance me please!

I am a rising senior and I was curious about my chances!

UW GPA: 4.00, W GPA: 4.53 (took pretty much all honor and ap classes)
ACT: 33 (one sitting with 11 on essay)
Class rank: 25/787 at a very competitive high school
White, middle class girl from texas
Great recs from my AP stat and AP English teachers

AP’s
WHAP: 5
APUSH:5
English lang: 5
APES: 4
Stat: 3

Will take Euro, English lit, macro, gov, calc ab this may.

Strong writer with strong essay and supplement

EC’s
Event coordinator for Interact Club (with over 200 members)
NHS
Secretary, now VP for Model UN
Treasurer for international food club
Participated in duke tip summer studies three summers (3 weeks each of college classes)
UH business institute camp (very competitive admission, full scholarship)
PALs (peer assistance and leadership): competitive mentor program, where I mentored elementary, middle school, and heavily disabled high schoolers and TAed a middle school class
Volunteered heavily at Health Museum (TA class this summer and floor runner sophomore year)
Worked at the school tutoring service every lunch period senior year

Work experience
worked at education oriented toy store sophomore year
currently working at Kumon (learning center), where I am an early learning teacher

Awards
Commended National Merit Scholar
AP scholar with distinction
entrance into pals
duke tip award
uh award
high school business award
summer scholars program at high school

Generally, the chances for any OOS applicant to UNC-CH are somewhat problematic due to the highly competitive nature of OOS applications there: UNC-CH 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. As a further example of the difficulty for OOS students to be admitted to UNC-CH, the entering Class of 2022 had a 13% acceptance rate for OOS applicants: https://uncnews.unc.edu/2018/08/17/carolina-welcomes-5095-new-undergraduate-students-to-campus/ (29,563 OOS applicants; 3,829 admits).

If you look at the UNC-CH Common Data Set, here, https://oira.unc.edu/files/2018/06/CDS_2017-2018_20180605.pdf , under Part C7 it states that standardized test scores, application essay(s), letter(s) of recommendation, and the 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.

Further, Part C9 of the Common Data Set for UNC-CH gives the median 50% for both SAT and ACT scores, as well as the percentage of the entering first-year class falling within certain ranges of SAT and ACT scores; Part C11 gives the percentage of entering first-year students falling within a range of unweighted GPA on a 4.0 scale, and Part C12 gives the average high school GPA of first-year applicants.

By way of comparison, our OOS high school usually has 8-10 students who apply, and 1-2 students who are admitted, each year to UNC-CH; and, with the exception of legacy students, our admitted students have SAT scores of 1500+, ACT scores of 33+, and weighted GPAs of 4.4+. These successful applicants also were involved in extracurricular activities that showed commitment over time (no “drive-by” ECs), and demonstrated leadership in the school as well as their ECs. Other kids in our city who I know were admitted to UNC-CH recently also had similar academic statistics and non-academic characteristics; and all of these kids were “unhooked” in admissions parlance (i.e., not a recruited D-1 athlete, or a URM, first-generation college student, etc.). If you are an OOS legacy, you may have a slightly easier path.

In my opinion, your test scores and GPA make you competitive for admission within the OOS applicant pool. You will also need, however, high quality essays and LORs. In your essays, I would emphasize the leadership aspects of your ECs, to the extent that you can.

I don’t know whether your high school has Naviance or any similar program that gives information about how students at your high school have done in applying to colleges and universities; if so, you might peruse that data. I would also try to meet with a guidance counselor at your school early in your senior year to discuss application strategies for UNC-CH; if any former students from your school have been admitted to UNC-CH recently, the guidance counselor may be able to give some insight into how and why such student(s) were successful.

Finally, as the OOS acceptance numbers for UNC-CH suggest, you should have a list of match and safety schools that you plan on applying to in addition to UNC-CH. Admissions chances for OOS applicants to UNC-CH are uncertain at best, even for those students with high standardized test scores and GPAs.

Generally, the chances for any OOS applicant to UNC-CH are somewhat problematic due to the highly competitive nature of OOS applications there: UNC-CH 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. As a further example of the difficulty for OOS students to be admitted to UNC-CH, the entering Class of 2022 had a 13% acceptance rate for OOS applicants: https://uncnews.unc.edu/2018/08/17/carolina-welcomes-5095-new-undergraduate-students-to-campus/ (29,563 OOS applicants; 3,829 admits).

If you look at the UNC-CH Common Data Set, here, https://oira.unc.edu/files/2018/06/CDS_2017-2018_20180605.pdf , under Part C7 it states that standardized test scores, application essay(s), letter(s) of recommendation, and the 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.

Further, Part C9 of the Common Data Set for UNC-CH gives the median 50% for both SAT and ACT scores, as well as the percentage of the entering first-year class falling within certain ranges of SAT and ACT scores; Part C11 gives the percentage of entering first-year students falling within a range of unweighted GPA on a 4.0 scale, and Part C12 gives the average high school GPA of first-year applicants.

By way of comparison, our OOS high school usually has 8-10 students who apply, and 1-2 students who are admitted, each year to UNC-CH; and, with the exception of legacy students, our admitted students have SAT scores of 1500+, ACT scores of 33+, and weighted GPAs of 4.4+. These successful applicants also were involved in extracurricular activities that showed commitment over time (no “drive-by” ECs), and demonstrated leadership in the school as well as their ECs. Other kids in our city who I know were admitted to UNC-CH recently also had similar academic statistics and non-academic characteristics; and all of these kids were “unhooked” in admissions parlance (i.e., not a recruited D-1 athlete, or a URM, first-generation college student, etc.). If you are an OOS legacy, you may have a slightly easier path.

In my opinion, your test scores and GPA make you competitive for admission within the OOS applicant pool. You will also need, however, high quality essays and LORs. In your essays, I would emphasize the leadership aspects of your ECs, to the extent that you can.

I don’t know whether your high school has Naviance or any similar program that gives information about how students at your high school have done in applying to colleges and universities; if so, you might peruse that data. I would also try to meet with a guidance counselor at your school early in your senior year to discuss application strategies for UNC-CH; if any former students from your school have been admitted to UNC-CH recently, the guidance counselor may be able to give some insight into how and why such student(s) were successful.

Finally, as the OOS acceptance numbers for UNC-CH suggest, you should have a list of match and safety schools that you plan on applying to in addition to UNC-CH. Admissions chances for OOS applicants to UNC-CH are uncertain at best, even for those students with high standardized test scores and GPAs.