<p>Agree with SeeTheDawn. We were told that you need to be at least 100points above the average SAT score for the high school you currently attend. If you are in private or a charter school, then it will be that school not your neighborhood/zoned/‘homeschoool’.
As it was further explained, it is a means of seeing whether you are/will be challenged in the pond you are currently in.</p>
<p>Also, regarding more objective comments…
One thing I would suggest is to not worry about all the things being said right now. Work hard, try and get in if it is what you want. You will have visits on campus and time to get a feel for things. Talk to kids who have or are attending beyond just those there for admissions events. As with anything, some will be bitter and express disappointment, some will tell you they loved every bit of NCSSM…and many more will tell you the great, the good, the frustrating and upsetting aspects of their experiences.
T</p>
<p>Thank you for sharing information with us. I want to know the student life at NCSSM.</p>
<p>My son is applying the NCSSM this year. I think he’ll be accepted. (I forgot to mention that the motivation for my son to apply the NCSSM is the freedom to play online video games)
but he addicted to online video games sine last semester. I have a question about the dorm life. will the NCSSM somehow reminder the student to stop playing these online video games? how do they do that? and are these actions effective? (at home, we can stop the router at certain time.) but I learned that NCSSM will stop the wifi after 1AM, is it a little to late in the night?</p>
<p>another question, my son is not motivated at anything but the videogames, are there some game player on campus? I think if no body likes to play games there, he might change.
Thanks,</p>
<p>@mathfan07 Hate to say it, but there is actually a pretty big video game culture here. That being said, most people can manage it with their school work. As they’ll tell those of you who get accepted, NCSSM is about three S’s: Sleeping, Socializing, and Studying. As a good rule of thumb, you can only choose two of the three. If your son wants to play video games, theres not too much here to stop him, as long as he makes his grades, attends class, etc. Most people learn pretty quickly what they have to do to make time for what they want to do, and he will likely do the same. The internet does cut off at 1 am, and some online games are blocked by the school. It probably seems late to anyone not used to the life here, but 1 am is not considered late to most of us. Essentially, I think how he spends his time here will be up to him. If he wants to do nothing but play video games, the school may come down hard on him if he doesn’t make his grades. If he’s able to keep them up, and legitimately wants to play games because they make him happy, that’s what he’ll do. Hope this is helpful</p>
<p>Thank you again. my son is addicted to play online games. he will fail all the classes soon. he was good on all courses before the 10th grade (include very good SAT score and win some contests). but he is falling very fast. I tried to stop him playing video games, since he doesn’t care grade anymore, the only thing he need is the online games, he didn’t go to school for a few days already because he was exhausted by playing. at home I can stop internet, but at NCSSM he will be free to these online games. should there is anybody I can talk to about him? is computer required for every students? or even he can play online game on school computers? Thanks.</p>
<p>I think you should research this condition a little bit. When any activity interrupts your ability to function normally, it is a concern. I agree with NCSSM 2014. There are a lot of gamers at the school, and some students do spend an extraordinary amount of time playing video games. If your son gets any encouragement/support from this group, that probably won’t help him much. Since your son plays on-line, it’s even worse, imo, because he doesn’t need to find someone on hall to play with. NCSSM might be an environment that worsens his preoccupation with gaming. </p>
<p>Maybe you could talk to your son’s school counselor about this for starters. This level of gaming sounds problematic and you should probably worry about it more than getting into NCSSM right now. Self-discipline is a very important trait to have at NCSSM. There are no parents, no bedtimes, plenty of hotspots to keep the internet going all night…it is a risky situation for a student who prefers gaming to schoolwork. I’m sure your son is smart enough to handle the work, but his emotional maturity seems to be the issue. Maybe a more structured home environment would be the best thing for him until he works out a better balance.</p>
<p>Please ask your school counselor for a recommendation. He/she may be able to recommend someone you can talk to. Good luck.</p>
<p>@mathfan07…at NCSSM he will be free to game as much as he desires. And regarding is a computer required for every students? yes, he will have to have a laptop or desktop. </p>
<p>As a parent, I will tell you that I know of other parents who have REALLY struggled with how much their child seems to be gaming at school.
I agree with Shadinar on this. NCSSM requires self discipline. The student has to be able to manage their time with vast amounts of difficult school work, athletics/theater, etc (if they so choose), getting laundry done, personal care, running errands, having social time and…getting enough rest. The school does have ‘punishments’ for students who miss classes or are late to class too frequently (Saturday study halls). In addition, the internet shuts off from 1am-5am (I believe). However, there is only so much the school can do. It is NOT a boarding school to help kids learn structure. It is set up for those who already have some level of maturity and time management.</p>
<p>There are those that can game for hours and still do well academically. However, most cannot. Yet they are tempted to try and the results are not good.</p>
<p>Thank you Shanidar and taben1112 for inside information.
self discipline is what my son lacks. after he played games all night all day for a few month, he started to complain everything around him, the teachers are not good, the students are bad, and the course materials are useless, on and on…, just like taben1112 mentioned, my son thought he can handle the game, study and sport, but he wanted to skip the school and sport events. he changed to a different person. the good thing is that everything is under control now, he is getting better, but I know if I let him go to an environment that need self discipline, specially if he can accesses on-line games,he will be fail again very easily. I worried a lot. I was thinking if he is accepted, I won’t let him have a laptop, but looks like it is required.
I agree with Shanidar, my son shouldn’t go there, since he is not mature enough.</p>
<p>It’s tough to raise a teen in this gaming environment.</p>
<p>Can I ask the help from the NCSSM dorm staff if he were accepted?
I know it’s hard for them, I even had hard time to control him gaming at home.</p>
<p>I attend a school in CD 4 (NOT Enloe or any other magnet school), however I live in CD 13 (that’s what it says under “application status” on my application). So does living in CD 13 rather than CD 4 increase my chances?
Thanks.</p>
<p>does NCSSM have strict policy on student sleeping in the class or not turning in home work assignments? do you happen know what is the hall duty? do they ever block some website for any students?</p>
<p>Does anyone have any suggestions on what to expect on discovery day? So far, I only heard that we need to take the math test, but before, there was also an essay. Is the essay still given out now?</p>
<p>@mathfan07, my son at NCSSM has been one who has had issues with sleeping in and missing classes due to insanely late nights. </p>
<p>I think it’s important to reiterate that there is very little structure when it comes to dorm life. It’s not a boarding school where the kids are under strict supervision. They don’t have the freedom they will have in college, but they are very independent and very much run their own lives. The idea is that the kids are mature enough to manage their time and the adult on hall will NOT step in to ask your son to stop playing and go to bed. His counselor will offer advice (my son’s is particularly wonderful and caring), but no one will parent him. </p>
<p>Although I was nervous about mine playing too much video games, the reality for us, is that he mostly goes to bed too late (i.e. 2am or 3am) because he’s busy with sports, friends and work service during the day and settles down to study too late in the evening. Since he’s intent on still getting good grades, he’ll stay up working until the morning if he needs to. After 3 or 4 days of no sleep, he has been known to sleep right through his morning classes several times, or at the very least be late for his 8am class. </p>
<p>In terms of punishment, he has had to go see the administration where I imagine he got a stern talk about managing his time. In addition, he has gotten umpteen hours of detention (study hall on saturday mornings at 8am) for every time he’s late or misses a class. Past a certain number of absences, he has even had to be on room restriction (he needed to stay in his room after 8pm with no visitors for 5 days I believe the last time he slept until noon :)). Clearly for him, time management has been a struggle but ultimately, I think it was a good experience --he would have done the same thing in college and would have paid the price with his grades. At least here, he had to deal with an immediate consequence and learned to adjust his study habits. In the end, he still absolutely loves the school, he has kept his grades up, and has learned from his (repeated) stumbles with sleeping in. </p>
<p>I believe the kids get study hall for late homework as well.</p>
<p>Thank you for the inside information. I am very worried about my son plays games whole night again. Your information is very helpful, the school policy is strict, and this will be great benefit him.</p>
<p>I’m from CD 12, but the new setup is really weird. Some of my friends who go to my school are in different CD, which is less competition. What about you?</p>