UNC is my top choice school so I am constantly searching the internet to see if I have a chance and I can’t find an answer anywhere. I would love some outside opinions on my chances so that I can stop focusing on this and actually focus on my homework. Can’t wait for applications to be over! Thank you so much! Let me know if I missed anything!
-From Texas…OOS
-Old SAT: 1930
-ACT: 32
-Taking lots of AP classes
-Cumulative GPA: 3.50
-have leadership positions
-won a few awards including scholastic awards
-etc.
Is your GPA unweighted out of a 4.0?
UNC takes 18% of its class from out of state. The school will be a reach for you, but it is a reach for most from OOS.
@Another-HS-Senior: Our OOS high school usually has a couple of students admitted each year to UNC-CH; and, with the exception of legacy students, our admitted students have composite ACT scores of 34+, old SAT scores of 1950+, and weighted GPAs of 4.5+. Other kids in our city who I know were admitted to UNC-CH recently have also had similar statistics. All of these kids were “unhooked” in admissions parlance (i.e., not a recruited D-1 athlete, or URM, first-generation college student, etc.).
If you have looked at the UNC-CH common data set, you will see that under Part C7 it states that standardized test scores, application essay, letter(s) of recommendation, and rigor of your high school record are “very important” academic factors considered for freshman admission, whereas GPA is an “important” academic factor considered for freshman admission.
Because your test scores are a little lower than what I have seen UNC admit from my neck of the woods, and because UNC places more emphasis on standardized test scores than GPA (according to the information in its common data set), I suspect that you are likely not going to be as competitive for OOS admission as many will be. If you have really good essays, that will help.
As @twogirls noted above, it’s just tough going for an OOS student.
I would guess that this would be a high reach for you due to being OOS with no hooks. Are you in the top 10 percent of your class which would help?
There actually is quite a bit of information regarding this question - on this site, on UNC’s admissions site and from various other sources.
As you probably know, OOS admissions at UNC is very competitive due to the cap on incoming first year students from out of state. Here are some rough numbers from the current class. Approximately 24K of the 36K who applied were OOS. Of those 24K applicants, approximately 3,600 (15%) were offered admission and about 750 enrolled (21%).
Your SAT score looks to be about in the 50th percentile for all admitted students (including in-state) and while your ACT is better, it still is lower than the 75th percentile of all students (33). 78% of UNC students were in the top 10% of their HS class.
Overall GPA is probably low for OOS but your weighted GPA may make up for it. Weighted, it needs to be over 4.5, You need about 5 AP classes and your AP grades will help indicate preparedness for college level work.
I do not want to discourage you but the 18% cap for OOS students makes it very difficult to get in (Ivy-like stats really) so it comes down to how well you sell your talents on the application. Although my review focused on the statistical, UNC takes a holistic approach to reviewing applications. Your essays will be crucial in showcasing your talents and what you can bring to UNC.
I believe that UNC-CH exceeded the 18% threshold that last 2 classes and was fined by the State. I only mention this because I could see a smaller number offered Admissions from OOS this cycle and more on the waitlist to make sure they don’t go over the 18% limit.
I believe that the OOS admissions rate for the class of 2019 was 19% instead of 18%.
The reference I use on UNC-CH admissions policy is here: http://www.admissions.unc.edu/files/2013/09/Admissions__Policy.pdf. I assume that it is up to date.
The relevant language is this, on Page 2 below the heading “Undergraduate Admissions”: “[N]onresidents may be
admitted in the entering freshman class in numbers likely to result in no more than eighteen percent nonresident enrollment in the entering freshman class.” It sounds like there is some wiggle room based on the “likely to result” language – so the Admissions Office must try to admit 18%; but if projections about acceptance numbers or class size are off, there could actually be more than 18% accepted. Interesting about a financial penalty; I guess the State doesn’t want any “mission creep” to continue to inch up the OOS numbers.
here are 2 relevant articles. The first mentions the possibility of the fine and has more information regarding OOS enrollment and the second confirms that a fine was indeed levied:
http://blog.ecu.edu/sites/dailyclips/blog/2016/01/20/out-of-state-student-numbers-could-cost-unc-the-herald-sun/
http://wfae.org/post/unc-chapel-hill-fined-exceeding-out-state-student-cap
I don’t have any inside information but I am only speculating that Admissions will need to make sure that OOS enrollment does not exceed 18% with this class.
^ So it appears that the freshman Classes of 2018 and 2019 exceeded 18% by 0.8% and 1.5%, respectively; I will be interested to see how the freshman Class of 2020 fared.
And a fine of $1M ought to ensure that the Admissions Office is very careful the next time around; they may need to tweak their algorithms a bit, or maybe get a better crystal ball for their projections.