<p>@WhiteRabbit98 @pastelblue Maybe I’ll see y’all there</p>
<p>hey guys! this is a question for NCSSM students/alumni/parents. By your best estimates, how important are the reccomendations vs the essays vs the sat vs extracurriculars vs your transcript?</p>
<p>Also-- has anyone done the online program and how is it?</p>
<p>also a ton of kids are getting 2370/2360/2350/2340/2330 on the sats and for the alumni did ncssm used to be this competitive with such smart kids? I feel like our year is a lot more selective</p>
<p>@harvard456 This was what was used in 2006 by the selection committee… I’m not sure if it still holds true or not, but here it is:</p>
<p>Grades: 10
Rigor of Program: 5
SAT Verbal and Math: 3 + 3 (or 4 + 4)
NCSSM Math Test: 3
Essay: 2
3 Teacher Recs: 2
Interest in Sci/Math: 2
Community Involvement: 3
Leadership: 2
_______________________________________</p>
<pre><code> Total: 35 (or 37)
</code></pre>
<p>" Up to 3 points may be awarded for “exceptional circumstances.” Three readers score each applicant independently, and their scores are summed. The maximum score is therefore 105 (or 111)."</p>
<p>@willsister1 Yes, we might see each other then! :)</p>
<p>There is a lot of buzz about aiming 100 points higher on the SATs than your school…I go to a magnet school and the score is around 600 points above my home school (1400 compared to 2000). Which score does NCSSM compare me to? Thanks! </p>
<p>Also how are you guys studying for discovery day tests?</p>
<p>@Carmen Legh There are three bus routes (Charlotte, East and West) that help parents get kids home on Extended Weekends. These buses and private charters and are handled by parent groups, not the school. There is a fee. Extended weekends occur about every 3-5 weeks. The kids are given an extra day or two off and no homework, so they can come home (and get their laundry done!). </p>
<p>And, with respect to drivers ed-----The kids are not allowed to have cars on campus, except for a few special occasions (like prom). A lot of the kids don’t drive as the parents don’t want to pay the insurance during the 9 months of the year they are at school and have no access to a car. I’d take care of as much of the drivers ed as possible at your home school. It’s hard enough to get the 60 hours of permit driving accomplished on extended weekends, etc. while they are away.</p>
<p>@foreignlawyer Honestly most of my studying happens in my mind; I’ve instructed my subconcious to go over old algebra 2 and geometry finals while I text/play video games/read/sleep/etc. I think it’s working quite well. Maybe by Saturday morning I’ll be nervous enough to actually have my conscious mind do some studying… But I’ve heard that most of the stuff on the test is basic math, so we should all be fine.</p>
<p>If anyone who is going to be there Saturday wants to meet up at NCSSM, let me know and I’ll give you my number! (Is that a weird thing to say? Maybe… but I don’t really know anyone who is applying, and we all might be LIVING together next year anyway, so I want to meet people!)</p>
<p>I’m so excited for Discovery Day! But registration for the morning session is so earlyyyy -_-… and I seriously need. To. Study. Unfortunately, it seems like procrastination is my best friend… Best of luck to everyone with the March 1st Discovery Day! </p>
<p>I had Discovery Day this morning. To those who have it within the next few weeks, there’s nothing to worry about. The math test is easy. The questions were straightforward.</p>
<p>Whew! Thanks, @pastelblue! That’s really reassuring.</p>
<p>@pastelblue
how easy were they? like sat math level easy or a bit harder?
Thanks! </p>
<p>@foreignlawyer the discovery day test is easy~easier then sat math.
i had a question about the ncssm course transfer policy and articulation agreement- if i were to take ncssm classes that arent aps- say diffeq and multivar- could i then use those to get credit for the class at an ivy? or would i have to place out? or retake?
thanks</p>
<p>@nlowell2 I’m pretty sure the articulation agreement is only for state schools, but you can still test out in any college. Don’t expect to test out of diffeq in college, as the NCSSM version is not as in-depth as college. If you do well in multi, however, you should have no problem placing out at any college. A current senior told me that after he finished multi last year, the teacher handed out a previous-year’s MIT final exam and he didn’t think it was harder than NCSSM tests.</p>
<p>I’m totally late on this thread (and to College Confidential) Are there any ideas on how to prepare for the Discovery Day Test? Also, would it be worth it for me to go to NCSSM (if I make it)? I am #1 in my class, but my school doesn’t focus on science and math at all. I want more challenging classes and better educational opportunities. I’ve also heard that if I take challenging classes, I won’t have time for extracurriculars, which I need for college.</p>
<p>@songbird13 Hiya! In terms of Discovery Day I’ve just been reviewing Algebra I, II, and Geometry. I’m pretty much in the same boat as you; my school doesn’t really focus on science and math, and I want more challenging classes and more opportunities. However, I’m also indecisive about going to NCSSM. 
The classes and workload are challenging and some students just can’t handle the environment, but all of the stories I’ve heard from my friends are positive. They’ve had plenty of time to do a ton of extracurricular activities too, so don’t worry about that! For me, in terms of whether I should go or not, I’m just going to cross that bridge when I get there! :)</p>
<p>Is cfnc letting you guys submit transcripts?</p>
<p>Also, there really was not any Algebra II and the bare minimum for Geometry on the Discovery Day test. </p>
<p>Excellent! And no, CFNC isn’t letting me submit my transcript! I’m planning on talking to my guidance counselor tomorrow.</p>
<p>@WhiteRabbit98 That sounds good to me! I’m glad you have positive stories from your friends! I don’t know of anyone from my school who applied to residential, let alone gotten in! There’s a few who do the online program, so I’m kind of by myself for this. Yay for extracurriculars! I’ll definitely be in the FIRST program and the theatre department somewhere! Same, why worry about a problem you don’t have (yet)?</p>
<p>@loltired That’s good; I’m in Alg 2 right now, so I wouldn’t know too much of it if there was any! I haven’t tried submitting my transcript because I was planning on already going to my counselor, but with the weather as it is I might just go ahead and do it myself.</p>