Hello! I’m a student from Florida and I’ll be attending UNC in the fall! I’ve been talking with some of my friends who did/did not get into UNC so I thought I could maybe help you a tad.
First of all, yes, the the OOS acceptance is low, so it is a challenge, and even then you may be just as good a candidate as your neighbor and they might get in and you might not. Apply to other colleges that you would also be very happy to attend and don’t be too hard on yourself!!
My GPA at the end of senior year was 4.0 UW but 5.09 W because I passed 8 AP exams and 7 IB exams, and I was ranked 9th in my class. Looking at some of my other friends, I think Carolina really looks at the difficulty of classes the student takes, so those AP classes are a good idea.
With regard to your ECs, I’d recommend not spreading yourself too thin. 9 clubs and are great and all, but club membership is rather inconsequential. You could honestly cut back to 4/5 and use your time more valuably. Sports are a great opportunity to show dedication, so it’d be great if you could continue 1 or 2 of those till senior year.
Also, “so many volunteer hours” is so great! I think volunteer work is really important to them. If you could, try an build an independent service project your junior and senior year, so you can show leadership and organization. If you can devote 75 hours to a project you created and headed, it would be really impressive and could make for a great essay.
Make sure you get really strong recommendations from teachers who know you well. Also, with the recs, maybe politelty ask them to not say the generic stuff like “so and so always pays attention/does well/participates” but to tell a personal account “one time so and so asked 50 questions in one period/stayed after to better understand, etc.”
With regard to your essays, make them original. Shy away from mission trips/listing classes/listing ECs/listing leadership roles unless you can put a new spin on them. Write with your own voice!! Make it humorous or sarcastic or however you feel best conveys you as a unique individual.
Good luck!
