<p>I live in California and no one from our community even bothers to apply to UNC anymore reportedly because NO ONE ever gets in. It is such an awesome school and there used to be alot of interest but in the last six years, one person from our highly regarded public high school has gotten in. Many of the students from here go on to the Ivies, Stanford etc. So I guess I am looking to confirm this information about UNC as I have a rising senior who may wish to apply. I know that UNC takes a disproportionate in state students but I would like to get some inside information rather than looking at the stats. No better place to do that than on CC! Is there anything that they look for in their applicants that is unique?</p>
<p>By state law, 82% of UNC’s accepted students are in-state. That accounts for the incredibly low % of OOS students accepted. I don’t think they look for anything specific that is unique from all the other competitive schools with low % accept rates.</p>
<p>^hits the nail on the head… there is no specific qualification that can help OOS students get in… since the distribution of OOS and IS applicants are not the same as the distribution of OOS and IS students, the OOS acceptance rate is much lower (around 20%, I think… IS is around 40%). Its been shown that OOS students have higher grades and test scores overall. Its like this at almost all elite state universities, but its even more dramatic at UNC.</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback!</p>
<p>I agree. I got in from OOS this year but my grades and SATs were NOT the highest in the piles. I know some people got higher grades and SAT scores who didn’t get in. I was the only in my school and one of two in my county</p>
<p>So what do you think put you over the edge to get in?</p>
<p>An OOS candidate needs to have near Ivy/Stanford like stats to be competitive. After that VERY strong essays and LORs. Being from California can have advantages from a geographic diversity perspective but the application overall really needs to be top notch.</p>
<p>Please feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions.</p>
<p>well, I had english as my second language and had been to the US for three years. so, I guess considering that, they thought my scores were pretty good</p>