NCSSM Class of 2018 - Future Applicants

Prep School Admissions
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Hello everyone! Are any of you considering applying to NCSSM next year (Class of 2018)? I know this is early in the process but it is never too early to begin talking about stats, the application process and getting to know each other as applicants :slight_smile: If you are a future or former applicant/alumni, please post! You are welcome to post your stats/chances, CD, questions, concerns, and your reasons for applying or whatever else you want (as much or as little).

It would be great if past applicants could post to shed some light on the app process and provide tips. It would be AWESOME if alumni/current students would post to give info about NCSSM.
Go Class of 2018! :wink:

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Also, check out these threads from the previous years. Many NCSSM applicants were discussing here throughout the application process and it seems to have really helped a lot of people! Iā€™m hoping this can be a great thread!

Class of 2015: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1359561-ncssm-class-of-2015-future-applicants-p1.html
Class of 2016: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1503219-ncssm-class-of-2016-future-applicants-p1.html
Class of 2017: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/prep-school-admissions/1710226-ncssm-class-of-2017-future-applicants-p1.html

Good luck Class of 2018!!!

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Hey there! I plan on applying to NCSSM and Exeter. I am not sure which I would go to if accepted to both, though I hope I can get into NCSSM. Good luck on your application.

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Thanks and good luck to you too! I have wanted to apply to NCSSM since I was 10 years old and I hope I get in. Iā€™m trying to get things ready for the application process. It seems overwhelming but I hope CC can help a bit. I hope more people start posting to the thread so we can get a good support system going :slight_smile:

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Yea application time is always stressful as you have so many things to do and turn in. And I would also like to see some more people join this thread.

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Iā€™m currently in 8th grade (13 yo) but I took a lot of high school classes during middle school and will be placed in 10th grade this year (NCSSM considers that skipping 9th grade). So I HAVE to apply. I was hoping I would get one more year so I would be more competitive but oh well. I know that CD 3 is not that competitive so maybe I will have a chance!

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Accepted to class of 2017 here. Feel free to ask me any questions.

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@thatasiankid Congratsā€¦Congratsā€¦Congrats!!! You are my idol now :slight_smile: I know it must feel great to be an official Unicorn. I hope I can get there one day! Iā€™m just worried that I will not be competitive enough since I technically skipped a grade and will not have as many maths as some people. I do have strengths but Iā€™m not sure if they outweigh my weaknesses. I will post my stats soon and if you could give them a look, I would be super appreciativeā€¦Thanks!

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Iā€™m currently in the 8th grade but I will technically be in the 10th grade this fall so I MUST apply to NCSSM. I earned 7 H.S. credits in middle school (I was not allowed to take honors until this year). A NCSSM counselor said that these will only count as pass/fail since they were taken in M.S. for HS credit (skipped a grade). Iā€™m in CD 3 (not too competitive).

The sophomore classes I plan on taking include the following. May change during the summer:

1st Semester
ā€¢ Chemistry Honors
ā€¢ AP Psychology
ā€¢ Math II Honors
ā€¢ Symphonic Band Honors
ā€¢ AP Human Geography

2nd Semester
ā€¢ English II Honors
ā€¢ AP Environmental Science
ā€¢ Math III Honors
ā€¢ Biomedical Technology II Honors
ā€¢ AP Human Geography

I hope my schedule is competitive!?!?

Awards/Honors: Semifinalist in 2 national science competitions, 1st place in multiple local, regional, and state science competitions (state fair/NCSAS), 1st place Science Olympiad finishes, NC SMT Education Center honoree and award recipient (science), Biofuels Academy scholarship recipient, honorary, and guest speaker, ethanol consultant for ECO Shell team, local university Sustainability Committee honorary guest speaker, Space Grant recipient, Water/environmental award recipient, Published research abstracts, All-District Honors Band (1st chair), Regional Jazz Honors Band (1st chair), Allāˆ’State Honors Band (3rd chair), All-County Band (1st chair), Bush Gardens outstanding soloist award, Presidentā€™s Volunteer Service Award (Silver/Gold), my cityā€™s Community Service Youth Award (youngest ever), book contributor, Teen Court awards, honor roll, many school awards, and a few more awardsā€¦I have already listed TOO MANY!

Volunteer work: I volunteer at a handful of organizations. Some are science and health related. I have over 150 hours this year and about 300 overall. I actually do love volunteering :slight_smile:

Internships: Iā€™m one of the youngest interns at a local university in the Biology lab, where I do scientific research (year-round). I started when I was 12 yo but was offered something more permanent last yearā€¦yay! This will be my second year doing a pre-medical internship at a podiatrist office. I start interning this summer as a website administrator/administrative assistant.

Extracurricular: camps, Jr. Beta Club, BOB, band, jazz band, pep band, a community band, drawing anime, martial arts, Chinese school, health careers academy, saxophone, piano, and clarinet lessons. Freelance musician (paid), recreational basketball, baseball, and tennisā€¦.lots of RESEARCH!

Leadership: SGA (Secretary/Treasurer). I want to start my own business

This summer I got into some competitive national engineering/science summer programs. When I get to high school, I plan on joining the science, math, and music related clubs/honor societies; in addition to FBLA/chess club. Iā€™ll apply to the local leadership institute and youth city council. I take the SAT in Oct. but I have been getting 1800 to 2000 on multiple practice tests (study tips/suggestions are welcome!). I hope to have a 4.0 UW/5.25 W GPA after 1 st semester (fingers crossed).

As you can see Iā€™m really into volunteering, science, research, and music! What are my chances? What can I improve on? What are your stats? #support #encoruagement

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@babyshuf2 Looking at your past opportunities, I believe you have a really great chance at being accepted into NCSSM. They love applicants with a lot of volunteer experience, and you have over 300 hours! Iā€™m also planning to apply to the school, but unfortunately I discovered the school this past year, and seeing as you wanted to apply since 10 years of age is very impressive. Best of luck to you.(:

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@babyshuf2 Sorry for the long wait didnā€™t know you responded. You seem to be a well qualified applicant although keep in mind many of the other applicants are as well. I would say that your essays and recommendations will make or break you. Just keep your grades up and do well on the SAT. If youā€™re curious my stats were just:

1970 SAT
4.0 UW 4.7 W
Took one AP (World History), rest honors except for freshman year where I took some useless classes.
ECs: A lot of band/piano related awards. Some community service. Several math and science related clubs and teams. Member of a few music ensembles outside of school. Nothing super impressive honestly. I think what got me in was the character that I demonstrated in my essays and how my teachers who wrote recommendations perceived me.

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@thatasiankid You have no idea how relieved I am after reading your stats. Mine is similar to yours. At least I now know I have a chance at being accepted into NCSSM, considering the stats of other applicants. Whew!

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Iā€™m really nervous about applying xD
Iā€™m male (since that matters apparently depending on the year) and Iā€™m in CD 6, the really competitive Charlotte-Mecklenburg one >_>
Since everyone is throwing out stats here I go,
-Iā€™ve had straight Aā€™s and I plan to continue that streak, also currently I have a 4.0 UW GPA and a 5.25 W GPA.
-Just took the June 6th SAT (Ugh) and I donā€™t get scores for another 14 days but I assume I got a 1900+ based on practice tests, also I have time to study for when I take it in the fall.

Classes Freshman Year:
-AP World History (6 W)
-AP Environmental Science
-Honors Biology (5 W)
-Honors Math II
-Honors Math III
-Honors Introduction to Engineering Design (6 W)
-Honors English I
-Physical Education (4 W)
-Chemistry (Self-study, I still have to take the class due to ā€œrulesā€ >_>)
-Pre-calculus/Calculus (Self-study)

Summer (not sure if this would fall under freshman or sophomore classes)
-Honors Precalculus
-Honors Civics and Economics
-Calculus (Self-study)
-AP Physics C Mech/EM (Self-Study)

Sophomore Year (planned)
-AP Physics 1
-AP Calculus BC
-AP Statistics
-AP Psychology
-Honors Chemistry
-Honors English II
-Honors Principles of Engineering Design
-AP Chemistry (Self-Study)
-AP Physics C Mech/EM (Self-Study)
-Multi-Variable Calculus and Calculus Analysis (Self-Study - Not really for a test just for the fun of it :P)

(My probable GPA by the end of sophomore year should be 4.0 UW and 5.4 W)

Achievements/Extracurricular/Stuff

  • 8th grade MathCounts team member
    -6th/7th/8th Junior National Honors Society member
    -3rd - Present Competitive Swimming (more of a hobby really, Iā€™m no Micheal Phelps xD)
    -4th - Present - Violinist (Also more of a hobby)
    -8th grade Regional ISEF 1st Place in Junior Physics
    -8th grade Participation in ISEF state fair
    -9th grade - Conceptual study of particle physics and quantum mechanics topics (without the math)
    -9th grade -Self study of Single Variable Calculus
    -9th/10th grade - Math honors society
    -10th grade - President of competitive mathematics club
    -9th/10th grade - Precalc Tutor (The precalc teacher at my school sends people to me ._.)
    -50 hours of volunteer work mostly involving environment cleanup and stuff of that nature (I plan to work on some more this summer, hopefully another 50 more but doubtful)

I have a strong interest in mathematics and physics and I get a mental boner (idk) when I see all the math courses on NCSSMā€™s course list xD.

@babyshuf2 I skipped 4th grade :P, Iā€™m glad to see there will be people of the same generation as me xD Also your stats look amazing I would be shocked if you were not to make it in, but keep working at it as will I!

@thatasiankid What CD were you in? Also what was the essay topic about and what did you expect them to look for?

Sorry for the super long post xD. I wish everyone good luck on your application process and have a good summer!

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Hey guys,
I was wondering with the redistricting and all recently, do any of you know the competitiveness of the CDā€™s?

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@Gandhiswag No idea, but what Iā€™ve heard is if you live in Raleigh, Cary, Charlotte, or any very large city/district, itā€™s much more competitive than the smaller districts, such as in Asheville. Ah well, hope this kind of helped you

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@Gandhiswag Do you know if theyā€™re splitting up districts into smaller sections orā€¦?

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@treepanda Thanks! Yeah, I guessed thatā€™s how it would be. I live in CD 2 (Cary) but looking at the map I noticed that the Cary/Raleigh/Durham/Morrisville area was divided into CDs 2, 4, and 13 so that might affect competitivenessā€¦?
@Pheeziks Oh, I didnā€™t know they were redistricting again this year. I know they did last year, so I am guessing that the competitiveness must have changed. I think this is the current North Carolina CD map:
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/NC

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@Gandhiswag Oh sorry for confusing you, I didnā€™t even know they redistricted last year my bad. Thanks for the map though!

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Iā€™ve been planning on applying to NCSSM since I was in the 7th grade, Iā€™m from CD7 which is not very competitive.
At my school we donā€™t get to pick all of our classes.
9th grade year:
Honors English 1
Honors World History
Foundations of Math 1
Math 1
Honors Environmental/Earth Science
Advanced Marching Band (Honors)
Advanced Concert Band (Honors)
Health/PE
10th grade year:
Math 2 Honors
Math 3 Honors
English 2 Honors
SAT Prep (or either AP Government)
Biology Honors
Civics and Economics Honors
ACA 115 ( Itā€™s a class that is required to pass the 10th grade)
Introduction to Anthropology and General Sociology (Online College courses offered to my school from ECU)
Summer Classes
Honors Precalculus
AP Calculus AB 1
Extracurricular: Jr. and National Beta club member, SGA (Freshman secretary), Marching Band (Tuba Section Leader), Concert Band, Pep Band, Science Olympiad, Literature Club, History Club, and Varsity Club. Attending a Leadership Conference for the National Beta Club in September.
Volunteer Work: Worked 2 hours for the local Nursing home, Helped the past two years set up and helped with the Bladen County Relay For Life. (36 hours) And have to work more for the National Beta Club.

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Hi @DesmondLesesne,
I think depending on your school and how much it offers to students, you have a great chance. Just make sure you get good SAT scores and good grades!