NCSSM Class of 2018 - Future Applicants

@Uniqueleaf 2310 is more than enough even for the most competitive districts.

True^

Hey y’all! Can you tell me a bit about what I should focus on in the next few weeks? Kinda swamped because end of the quarter and procrastination.
CD 4, so pretty competitive. Not gonna go into super details bc I will likely be fairly identifiable.

Right now there are a few things I can spend time on: essays, school grades, SAT scores, and teacher evaluations.

~Essays for the app are not in good shape right now, but I have a ton of people willing to look over them. Heard they are not as important as grades, but am skeptical.

~School grades were all A’s first quarter, compared to pretty bad ones last year (few B’s, one C, few A’s). This quarter, could get all A’s if I work hard, if not could have a B or two. Missing work in English and Civics that can be turned in still. (I don’t know if it’s “A’s” or “As” or something else but I’m gonna roll with it)

~SAT scores: 800 CR, 750 Math, 700 Writing. Is this good for CD 4? I heard writing doesn’t matter that much (I think it does though, the admissions guy said all sections were equal), but all my errors in writing were on one type of problem, so I think improving them could be pretty awesome for my overall score. Essay was a 10, so that could also be improved. Don’t wanna spend a lot of time on math because there’s no way I’m making higher than that without a lot of work. Maybe I should though, because CD 4 and all. Registered for January test date already, but don’t know how much time I should be spending on this.

~Teacher evaluations: some of my teachers don’t like me. Gotta fix that soon. The ones that do like me won’t be writing evals.

So, what should I spend my time on? SAT scores, essays, or school grades? (I mean obvi I’ll spend time on all of them but which ones are the most important?)

Thanks everyone and good luck!

@smellslikelemons I think school grades should be top priority for you. Essays are very important, but I don’t think a stellar essay can make up for a mediocre GPA. That’s just my opinion. :slight_smile:
Also, your SAT score looks very strong. Your writing score is the easiest to bring up so focus on that. Work hard and I’m confident you’ll come away with a 2350 super in January. I wouldn’t worry too much about the essay- I got an 800 on the Writing section in November with a 9 essay, as I couldn’t finish. Thank God it was one of the tougher iterations of the test!

Good luck!

@Gandhiswag Thanks! Gonna go work on that now. Congrats on the 800 writing!!

Hi everyone,

I’m kind of in a difficult situation, as I just moved to 2 different states in 2 years. For 9th grade, I lived in Va, and I maintained straight As, however I was unable to take AP; as my counselor refused to tell me for some odd reason. Basically I was in most clubs, and spent the whole year volunteering in terms of involvement.

This is where it kind of all fell apart. I moved to a different state (NC) this year in the summer, and chose to request a transfer to a different school, because of the opportunities that are greater in the transferred school. I got in, but the Competitiveness was on a different level, and I was not use to the NC system at all. In. Addition, All the AP classes were FULL, because I was late of course. However, my drive kept me going, and my 2 BS from this quarter will hopefully come up!

In addition, SAT practice has been placed on the bandwagon, because of my moving; and so, it’s no suprise my score wasn’t even close to the average student at NCSSM (1900-2100). Therefore I am just wondering,

Should I apply, and hope for a miracle?

Or Save myself the time, and hope?

Thanks

I think you should definitely apply! @schoolgirl18 From what I heard at open house, they just want to see that your SAT score for each section is 100-150 points above what your school’s graduating seniors are scoring. For example, if your school’s average SAT math score is a 500, you should be clear if you have a 600-650. 2015 average SAT scores for every school in NC can be found on the NCDPI website. You should be fine if you’re not part of the competitive districts like 4 or 12. Plus, I wasn’t allowed to take APs freshman year either. If you didn’t have an academic opportunity available to you, there’s a place to say so on the app! If you’re still on the fence about applying, I’d talk to your counselor.
Good luck with your application!

@smathstress Weddington has an average score of 560 for Math, 540 for CR, and 520 for writing. You’d want around a 1900 for NCSSM… you have a 2100. You will be fine.

if you guys need any help i currently attend NCSSM and can answer any questions :slight_smile:

@hh1d33 What district? What would you call the most important part of the application?

I’m from District 9. And really most of the application is weighed together so the things that you may not be so good you can make up for in another section.

@hh1d33 I’m also from District 9. Any tips for discovery day?

@smather2018, I’ve heard both that the math test doesn’t matter too much and that it matters a ton. I think it determines your placement in classes there, but I don’t know how much it impacts your chances of getting in.

However, as to the content of the test, I know it is calculator inactive and involves a lot of algebra and quick calculations. A lot of people don’t finish in time, apparently. My advice would be to circle questions you don’t understand and come back to them later. I know you have heard this a lot for tests, but this time it really counts. In the meantime, do as much of your math as you can without a calculator. Good luck!

Ok so I have a little bit of an issue with my application; I don’t have alot of STEM related activities but I do have quite a bit of stuff in the humanities like I started my own charity, I own a photography business, and I’m the editor in chief of a literary magazine; I know they’re all pretty good extracurriculars but they don’t relate to STEM in any way so would NCSSM put much weight in them? Most of my essays are about them and I barely elaborated on my measly amount of stem activities - should I talk more about those or just keep it like it is and focus on my strengths?

im c/o 2017 if u have any questions

About the essays… I’m new to this whole process and have no English teacher to ask. So we get 1500 characters or about 300 words to write an essay. How do we structure them? Thesis statement? How does this work? Is it more like an FRQ on an AP Test where we just answer the question and ignore trying to fit a guideline? I imagine we can’t discuss the actual essay questions here, but being honest, the questions don’t seem like they are trying to invoke a Pulitzer Prize winning answer.

@jswani I would say answer them directly, like You are being interviewed. I spent the entirety of Winter Break writing garbage that I decided to scrap and I’m currently writing them all in the last few days that they are due. Don’t structure it like a formal “school” type essay just answer directly and honestly and don’t include useless fluff. Don’t try to answer them like real college essays either, if you have seen those. Those have too much flair and are meant to show off writing skills a bit more, but these are literally only asking for what you do. That’s why there are so many questions and only 1500 characters to answer.

@Uniqueleaf Ok thank you for the help. That seems to be what it’s looking for, and considering it’s a school for Science and Math, other aspects of the application probably matter more.

Anybody from the Iredell County School District applying? I only know one other person.