<p>Can someone answer my question please? Thanks, I’m kind of worried.</p>
<p>@NCSSMFreak
I’ve heard that the outer banks are rather noncompetitive, and I believe they are included in CD3. However, that may have just been in comparison to other districts. I don’t think that getting into NCSSM from any district is easy, but the outer banks and the mountains are said to be some of the less competitive districts</p>
<p>lol, you answered randomcitizen’s question, not mine. It is a few posts above his.</p>
<p>My mistake. I want to begin with a disclaimer: You’re in CD4. No one in CD4 has a chance of getting in. <- A bit of an exaggeration, but not much of one.
You blew away Wakefield High’s average M+CR Score of 1029, so you’re covered on the SAT. You don’t get higher than a 4.0 unweighted GPA, so that’s going to be good, but those A+'s always look better than A’s. That’s a good class rank, especially for the size. I don’t know enough about your school and classes to comment on that. It’s illegal to take ethnicity into account during admissions in North Carolina. That question was for statistics/demographics only. Male/Female depends on the number of each gender who apply; they only have so much room for males and so much room for females.
NCSSM loves ECs. That should be great. Same with community service and leadership.</p>
<p>Now, the honor violation, which is what you really asked about: they aren’t going to like that, plain and simple. In CD4, it might be enough to get you knocked off the roster, but it happened once. As long as you explained it, it was a mistake you made once, and you’re suffering for it. I can’t tell you what they’ll do; I don’t think anyone on this forum can. It’s up to them. But I wouldn’t worry about it. There’s nothing you can do to undo it. Leave it to the admissions people and your explanation.</p>
<p>They do take ethnicity into account. The school is supposed to strive to represent the demographics of North Carolina. </p>
<p>However, they can not enact a quota/restrictive policy pertaining to ethnicity.</p>
<p>lol. “frequently contributes to Wikipedia”</p>
<p>@StanfordOneDay
Do you know how they take ethnicity into account without a quota or restrictive policy?</p>
<p>Oh, wow. Food and homework? That’s what I warned you about? </p>
<p>For the record. NCSSM is not what you make of it. It’s how you deal with it. </p>
<p>And it is my opinion, after being out of the school for a semester, after having time to hear what happened to my classmates and to learn the fallout from their attendance at the school, that the school should be closed, or at least limited to the top 20-30 students in the state. That’s all who genuinely benefit. Everyone else, to some degree, is harmed. Not saying I’m not tougher or stronger, but I lost more than I gained. As do most. </p>
<p>Good luck. Especially to the people who think I spent my time warning you about the food.</p>
<p>@Shanidar
I read many of your posts. You warned about a lot more than food and homework. You warned about more than would appropriately fit in this one post. But generally, I don’t hear those warnings. I hear warnings about food and homework.
You dedicated your time and energy to delivering those warnings to us, and I really appreciate it. I thank you for it.
I assume you’re referring to the warnings that can be found in this thread:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1124137-ncssm-applicants-2011-class-2013-results-10.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1124137-ncssm-applicants-2011-class-2013-results-10.html</a>
I read the entire thing before. And I will read it again, if I’m accepted, when I decide whether or not to go.
Again, I want to thank you for your in-depth warnings.</p>
<p>I encourage everyone to read all of Shanidar and RobotUnicorn’s posts on that thread, but for those who don’t have the time, Shanidar’s posts (Please correct me if I’m wrong, Shanidar) sum up to say that NCSSM cares exclusively about making itself look good, and is detrimental to just about all who attend for academic reasons. I didn’t do Shanidar’s presentation, details, and more subtle warnings justice, so please read the thread to get a more comprehensive and in-detail description. (S)he dedicated a lot of time to delivering these warnings properly, which I didn’t properly do in this single, short post.</p>
<p>Just please look at the school objectively and stop believing that, because it is NCSSM, it has to be better. </p>
<p>Good, hardworking, really high-achieving people were hurt there this past year. Hands down, they would have been better off, for both competitive and learning reasons, to have stayed at their base schools. If it’s a decent base school, you’ll learn just as much with far less stress, earn more AP credits (and believe me, I’m wishing now I had what my sibling earned from our base school), and on average, be around a higher caliber of teacher/administrator. I came from a very small high school and my math teacher could have run circles around all but one of my NCSSM math teachers. The two year program combined with trimesters creates a very poisoned, zero accountability environment for teachers. </p>
<p>I’m NOT saying the teachers at NCSSM don’t look great on paper. They do. The course catalog looks like a dream come true. The execution is a nightmare. </p>
<p>The main thing is, if you decide to go there, protect your GPA with your life. Stand out by doing something flashy (Forget substance. Save the learning for college), suck up, don’t stick your neck out, don’t express disappointment, don’t stray from the herd, don’t think independently. Get out if it isn’t what you want. My class lost a lot of students. Don’t be frightened into believing it will destroy you. One of them who left went Ivy. Don’t be made to feel bad because “a lot of students would have liked your spot.” Bologna. You did them a favor by keeping them out. </p>
<p>Be smart. Protect yourself so that when those college acceptance letters come out, you aren’t standing there asking: What just happened?</p>
<p>@shanidar
Not to question your opinion or anything, but isn’t everything you said the reason that someone would want to go to NCSSM? You said that if you are at a decent base school, then you can earn just as much AP credits without the stress. Isn’t that one of the reasons why someone would want to go to NCSSM? I could be wrong. I want to go to NCSSM because of the extremely hard classes and the extreme amounts of stress. After all, is that not what their motto says? “Accept the greater challenge.” If someone wishes to go there, isn’t the reason because someone wants to accept the greater challenge? The challenges of stress, homework, food, etc. Also, I have another question. Why did you want to go to NCSSM when you saw that you were accepted?</p>
<p>@yers52</p>
<p>Oh yeah. I bit that “Accept the greater challenge line” hard. Nobody took a harder schedule than I did. Maybe equivalent, but not harder. An extremely stupid mistake because universities are not looking for kids who REALLY push themselves out of their comfort zone. They are looking for kids who maintain their G.P.A’s. while establishing the pretense of pushing themselves, and if you don’t believe that, I know four or five people who can run circles around the average kid at MIT who did not make it into that school - kids who pushed themselves to take the very hardest classes at the school - kids who got screwed by NCSSM, really for a good part of the rest of their lives, kids who “accepted the greater challenge”. They won’t get to say, “Yeah, I graduated from XXX,” when they were the first people who honestly DESERVED the opportunity and who probably would have gotten in if they’d stayed at their base schools or if they’d played it safe. You can call it sour grapes if it helps you sleep at night, or makes your decision easier, but I’m just telling you what you should look out for because what it looks like when you challenge yourself too hard (without the support of great teachers) is: you got to NCSSM and you could not hack it. Therefore you will not be able to hack college XXX. </p>
<p>So PLAY IT SAFE. Take SELECTIVELY hard classes. Get an internship. Get a research position. Be number one at something there. Look at the app. NOW for the colleges you want to apply for. Look and learn. </p>
<p>I was not highly accomplished before I came to NCSSM, but I was from a highly competitive district if that helps you form a picture of me. 800 math 780 reading. 4.0 unweighted. I wanted NCSSM to mold me into a top school candidate. I wanted to do everything. But guess what? You have to compete for a slot on Science Olympiad. They don’t take everyone like they did at my old school. You have to submit a fairly extensive proposal. I was so slammed with teaching myself math (actually, getting Sal Khan to teach me) and just about every other class, I didn’t have time to build a mock-up of anything mechanical. Maybe if someone had told me in advance, I could have been prepared, but everything is a huge secret at NCSSM. Why? Because there are more kids than there are slots. Because teachers play favorites. Because teachers don’t care. Because teachers pick winners. </p>
<p>I’m just saying, I would be shocked out of my mind if there was very much improvement at all between the SAT scores of applicants and the SAT scores of NCSSM graduates. A kid this year proposed a project for mini-term where student would analyze the courses students took at the school, and I imagine correlate them to university acceptances. Genius, right? Student’s proposal was rejected. Too controversial. Actually, I think it was too much accountability. And I’ll bet you ANYTHING. That student is now perceived as a threat by the school. </p>
<p>I was no different from you or from anyone else reading these pages when I got accepted. Thrilled out of my mind. Ready to suck everything I could out of genius teachers. Blah, blah, blah. Lies, lies, lies. The kids who do the best at NCSSM are already the highest possibly achieving students with parents who are savvy enough to carefully guide them. You need to underline that sentence. These students fill all the top slots. A kid in my class had to BEG, BEG (I’d write that 1000 times if I could) to be allowed to do research. Student went very high in the competition all by student’s lonesome, because the teachers never believed in student. </p>
<p>I’m sick just thinking about it. It’s so disgusting how NCSSM underperforms with the students they skim from top schools. It’s absolutely sickening. </p>
<p>So, I didn’t stay very cool in this little note. Sorry. It’s a little bit rambling, too. Sorry again. Gotta hurry here. </p>
<p>I’ll end it by saying that I DID NOT learn more at NCSSM than I would have at my base school. The AP program is not supported well by the school - because that’s an accountability measure as well. It would be nice to know how many students score a passing grade on AP physics in certain teachers’ classes. But no one will ever know that, I’m sure.</p>
<p>I met some great people though. I got tougher and much less tolerant of liars and bullies and spineless cowards. My goals were not shattered by NCSSM. The oppression there made me stronger, (but by the last trimester, I was biting my tongue till it bled.) That’s not true of everyone though. Some kids really do get destroyed there. But every two years there’s a new crop, so who remembers? Who cares? </p>
<p>Just ask questions. PLEASE. Don’t rely on me. I wouldn’t have believed anyone like me anyway. I would have thought they were weak, or just overestimated themselves. I can’t do anything about that. But if this starts you asking questions, that’s something.</p>
<p>And someone should ask tough questions. How many kids drop out a year? How much improvement is there in the avg. SAT in Reading/math/writing??? Most of the kids go to UNC or NCSU. So why did they bother leaving home when the net result is the same and in truth, there is no greater “academic” challenge, just greater challenges in general? </p>
<p>Your note sounds so sweet and innocent. Come back in two years and write about your experiences at the school. Best of luck. Ask questions. Good-bye. Good luck.</p>
<p>“Maybe if someone had told me in advance, I could have been prepared…”</p>
<p>That statement, I think, is key. It IS important to read about and talk to people about the negatives. LutherS posted some things on here for years that gave some insight into why one should consider not going to NCSSM AND what to do to make it a better experience if you DO go (also advocated for the online program). Those things are helpful.
The advice we were given?
- Find a way to shine outside of NCSSM academics in case you cannot shine in that way. Hard to do when you are living there, but some students do continue with a musical interest or sports talent and shine in that way. Some leverage the NCSSM name into great opportunities in the summer. Some find being in a leadership position such as RLA (resident life advisor) or even PCC (peer college counselor) is an opportunity they never would have had a home and jump on it and dig in. One way or another, if you get in you are a strong student but may not appear as strong once you are in that pond. Make a way for yourself.
- Academically, take some classes that will really push you…but not every single one.Don’t kill yourself. Be reasonable and don’t feel ‘less than’ if you are not taking every upper level class the kid next door is.
- ENJOY the kids that are there. There are some great ones and friendships you will maintain for life
- Don’t go in expecting to be a superstar. There are just too many there. If it happens, great. But odds are, you will be one of many very bright kids. Period.
- If you need help academically, seek it out early and often. Don’t just go to tutorials, set up appointments with teachers.
- Be DEAD CLEAR on why you want to go and realistic on whether or not those goals can be achieved. If you are going to have the experience of living away from home, getting a few interesting a tough classes you can’t get at home and being in a high school with a diverse, talented student body…that goal can be met. If you are going to get into MIT, show that you can shine in the most competitive pond and increase your college stock…well that goal may or may not be met.</p>
<p>Know the above and be realistic. NO situation is utopia.
From Shanidar I would ask this: What did you LIKE about NCSSM? What things did you enjoy there?</p>
<p>T</p>
<p>@taben</p>
<p>I get tired of hearing people say: If you go to NCSSM, you’ll learn independence. Most people who graduate from high school somehow manage to learn independence without ever attending NCSSM. That’s such an empty fallback position, but people are desperate to come up with something to justify the school and their decision to attend. DESPERATE. In fact, I’m learning all about it in my marketing classes. Cognitive dissonance. </p>
<p>Oh! I started my own club there!</p>
<p>Ditto above comment. People across the world start clubs all the time without NCSSM’s assistance.</p>
<p>I made lifelong friends!</p>
<p>Yes, you can make amazing friends there - not everyone does - but luckily, I did. When you fight the same fight others are fighting, you become teammates. When you encounter the same stupidity, ignorance and prejudice, you form a unique relationship. When you can laugh together at a teacher who knows NOTHING about the subject, it does build a special relationship. </p>
<p>I didn’t go to the school though to find friends. I’m incredibly grateful for my friends there, but that is also another of the “consolations” spoken of at NCSSM - oh, you’ll make friends for life. Well, I’d like that, but it’s only been a year, so who knows? I didn’t go because I hated my parents or wanted to experiment with my sexuality or drugs.</p>
<p>I went there for ONE REASON. To learn from fabulous teachers. I wanted exposure to the classes and ideas I was SO CERTAIN I could not get at my old school. I wanted to fulfill my potential, work, study all night for LEGITIMATE reasons, and grow. I wanted to be a better student at the end of two years than I was when I arrived. I wanted to have learned more. I wanted to be an amazing scholar and discuss incredible ideas with others like me. </p>
<p>Instead, every bureaucrat there wants to stamp their agenda across your forehead. Learning is not even secondary. It’s so far down the list of the things that school wants to accomplish, it’s a joke. They do nothing to insure that great teachers are in those classrooms. They monitor the “anonymous” student evaluations and when they get a negative comment, target the student rather than the teachers. We were supposed to write letters to the new chancellor, but there was a list of twenty or so things we couldn’t talk about “because we want the new chancellor to be excited about his job.” Please.</p>
<p>In my collede English class I edited a paper about great schools - I can’t remember the third thing, but the first two things were 1) great teachers and 2) critical evaluations. NCSSM has and does neither. </p>
<p>Maintaining the illusion - that’s what it wants - at any cost. No matter how many kids they have to chew up to do it. They KNOW they will hurt a certain number of kids, but they do not care.</p>
<p>To answer your question: What I liked about the school itself was one math teacher and one college counselor, and of course, graduation. I will never go back there.</p>
<p>@shanidar
I still do not understand what you hate about the school. For example, what was so bad about the teachers. At my current school, I have had some very difficult teachers. Including one who made us turn in assignments before class even started and did other random crazy things. I do admit that it was hard to get used to this type of learning, but in the end, it was the first time I admit that I learned something. So, in my opinion, I do not think that there is such thing as a bad teacher. There are different teachers. My question: What do you think was so bad about the teachers?</p>
<p>Oh yeah,</p>
<p>That’s another thing people make excuses for at NCSSM - the teachers. It’s ALWAYS the students’ fault when there is a problem in the class. These are the brightest kids in the state, who’ve been in school for 11 years previously, who’ve had the same range of weird, quirky, tough teachers you’ve had, who are incredibly motivated, and yet, when they come to NCSSM, their grades drop? They bomb tests? They party too much? They have trouble “adjusting”?</p>
<p>Right. </p>
<p>Nearly everyone I knew said the QUALITY of their teachers at NCSSM was inferior to the quality of the teachers at their base schools. When I say quality - that doesn’t mean toughness or weirdness or timetables or bad breath, it means familiarity with the material and that teacher’s ability to convey it. Let me just tell you, you can have a Ph.D. in a subject and not have the faintest idea how to transfer that knowledge to another person.</p>
<p>Then people will say, “Oh, well at NCSSM they don’t teach to the test!” I don’t need or want that, but I do want to at least be told the category of material I will be tested on so that I can prepare. </p>
<p>Then they’ll come up with the line “At NCSSM, we want our students to be independent learners.” Then why go to class? Why ever even leave home if the teachers cannot offer that additional level of insight? </p>
<p>When you are sitting in class, KNOWING that you are wasting your time as the teacher fumbles around, you know you have a problem. When you have to get on website after website to teach yourself what is not being taught in class, you wonder why bother even going to class. When kids are laughing at the teacher as they solve the problem incorrectly, I’d call that a reason to feel less confident in the staff. </p>
<p>When you have to constantly go to tutorials or hunt someone down in your hall because you and 99% of the rest of the class can’t get what the teachers is talking about, you do get angry when you must have to miss other classes or meals or club meetings or athletic events or work service.</p>
<p>It’s extraordinarily easy, you’d think, for a science school to formulate a measure of teacher competence - effectiveness might be a good place to start - but first you must have the desire to improve. That desire does not exist at NCSSM, so somehow, teachers are hired, and regardless of their ability to teach, stick around. </p>
<p>So what do you do if you are determined to attend the school? You must count on yourself. Remember that. It’s you versus more stupidity than you can imagine coming at you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for two years. Be tough.</p>
<p>Forgot my most important advice.</p>
<p>When you get a B+ instead of an A- in class where you’ve outscored the A- but haven’t sucked up to the teacher - that’s also annoying, hence my advice to suck up.</p>
<p>You do live with these people. When you hear them laughing at or making fun of the teacher on hall, then see them the next day sucking for all they’re worth in class, it can get to you.</p>
<p>So, suck up and be tough.</p>
<p>That’s all I feel I have to contribute to this conversation, for all it’s worth.</p>
<p>No one could have stopped me from attending NCSSM. I wanted so badly to get away from my high school. I was so sick of the whole scene. In the end, I merely exchanged one less than ideal situation for another. And college wise, I would have done better staying at my old school. Take that advice or leave it, but do suck up!!</p>
<p>Wait, I did not understand what you said there. “When you get a B+ instead of an A- in class where you’ve outscored the A- …” What do you mean by “outscoring the A-”?</p>
<p>It means you’ve outscored another student on quizzes and tests, but received a lower grade for failing to appear appropriately enthusiastic about the material and the teacher. You can call it class participation if you want, but when you happen to know the other student is faking it, it smells like something else.</p>