NCSSM Class of 2021

Hello everybody! I am making this so we can all get a sense of our chances, talk about our extra curricular’s, meet some people, relax ourselves and answer any burning questions in our minds. I know for me personally I have already been stressing over this for a year so I think this might help. I want to know how competitive my district is, CD 11, and does the application committee like to see band on your transcript? If it helps I was an all state qualifier (not to brag, I just didn’t know if that made a difference). I am not going to bore you with a list of my classes and EC because that would be obnoxious but, the only thing I will say about that is; 1. Band takes up so much of my time I can’t join as many other clubs as other kids and 2. My school is relatively small and they only offer 1 STEM based club. Will these two things put me at a significant disadvantage? Thank you for reading this and I hope you have a great day!

Hey, I’m applying to NCSSM with the class of 2021 too, from CD 4 (the toughest one). Don’t worry I have been stressing a lot too

All of the districts are competitive but some are worse than others. CD 11 should not be too bad compared to the one that include Wake or Mecklenburg. I think ultimately it will come down to how your SAT and GPA compares to others at your school and then your LORs and ECs.

Obviously your ECs should show that you have a strong interest in STEM, if not, NCSSM is not the right place for you anyway.

Good luck!!! My son will be applying this year too…he has been wanting to get into NCSSM for several years so this will be a stressful year for sure…

PS - no idea about band but it should be a good EC, just be sure you have some STEM ECs too

I’m from the class of 2021 too. I’m in CD6. Is that very competitive? I have a pretty good SAT score and have a 4.3 GPA. For ECs have done volunteer service, piano, have lead a science day festival in greensboro, and will be doing DECA next year. I have all As and have taken English I Honors, Math III Honors, Precalculus Honors, English II Honors, French I, PE, Civics and Economics, Beginners Chorus, and Biology Honors. Next year I plan on taking AP Bio (full year), AP Chem (full year), AP Physics (full year), AP Calculus BC (full year), Honors Chorus (full year). I am also taking french II over this summer.

@STEMGuy2021 I think you would be competitive in any CD. Perhaps you can find out some info on students from your high school that made it into NCSSM recently and get an idea of their stats and even try to reach out to them?

That might be a bit much to try and take AP Chem and AP Bio in the same year. Not so much the difficulty but I have understood that the lab requirements are quite time consuming. Which AP Physics are you planning to take?

How did you do on the SAT? You know you will need to take it again as NCSSM does not recognize it if taken before 10th grade. Good luck!

@yearstogo AP Physics 1
Also, I’m naturally very good at chemistry and biology. I’ve already studied most of AP Chemistry on my own time with a test prep book and with online textbooks. I just need to study some AP Biology. I plan on spending most of my vacation studying.

It is the opposite with me

I am pretty good in the AP biology content, but I am going to spend the summer studying AP Chemistry material

My school is also with 4x 1:30 Classes per semester with two semesters.

My understanding is that it is not so much the difficulty with the material but the lab requirements are very time-consuming so it makes it tough to get everything done timely. Good luck, just be careful and not set yourself up for failure as you have a strong application and it would be a shame to blow it by biting off too much,

Greetings!! I’m applying from congressional discrict 3 and I’m super stressed caused I haven’t taken the sat yet lol

Also I’m wondering does ncssm look at the AP classes offered at our schools? Cause my school offers VERY FEW AP classes

@tedavion you will be evaluated in the context of your school so if they offer very few APs it will not matter as no one else could have taken many APs either,

re the SAT, even if you had taken it beforehand it would not count towards NCSSM admissions purposes. The first one they accept is August 2018 and I think the latest you could take it is in December, not sure exactly but it is on their website.

@yearstogo thanks!! I was really wondered about that lol

Does anyone have tips on the essay writing section of the application though?

I know this is class of 2021 (rising sophomores), but I’m in the class of 2022
Do you guys have any tips for high school?

Hey guys, class of 2021 here haha. I’m planning on applying and I was wondering if there were any tips? Also I was wondering if anyone knew about the acceptance rate in CD7? Thanks for everybody’s help and time (:

Hi, @Sushiroll36 I have a very important tip for high school. Follow your heart and don’t take classes that aren’t needed for your dream career.

Hey guys just curious but what classes are y’all taking this year? Here’s mine
Semester 1: health science honors, chemistry honors, AP Lang and pre-cal honors
Semester 2: computer programming honors, civics/economics honors, AP stat and AP computer science.
Btw my school doesn’t offer a lot of AP classes (sadly) but hopefully ncssm doesn’t hold that against me lol.

I am taking AP Physics 1, AP Chem, AP Calc AB/BC, honors Latin 3, honors English 2, honors civics and econ, gym, and health.

Hi everyone! I’m currently a freshman at Weddington High School (in CD 9) hoping to apply to NCSSM in my sophomore year. I know this forum is for the class of 2021, but I am in the class of 2022 and I am really hoping to get some input from some applicants or current NCSSM students. Here are my classes, test scores, and ECs:

Previously Earned Credits (middle school):
Math I
Math II
English I
Spanish I
Biology (CDM)
Earth and Environmental Science (CDM)
World History (CDM)

9th Grade Classes
1st Semester:
Health and Physical Education (required)
Math III Honors
Civics and Economics Honors
English II Honors

2nd Semester:
AP Computer Science Principles
Precalculus Honors
Chemistry I Honors
AP World History

9th Grade ECs (Plan to do):
DECA
HOSA
FBLA
Interact
Engineering (Robotics)
Battle of the Books
WHOS (World Health Occupation Society)
WHAT (Weddington High Academic Team)
Science Olympiad (if offered)

10th Grade Classes (Plan to take)
1st Semester:
Advanced Calculus Topics AB Honors
Advanced Biology Topics Honors
English III Honors-AP Companion (Honors)
American History 1 Honors (AP U.S. History Companion)

2nd Semester:
AP Calculus AB
AP Biology
AP English Language and Composition
AP U.S. History

10th Grade ECs (Plan to do):
DECA
HOSA
FBLA
Interact
Engineering (Robotics)
Battle of the Books
WHOS (World Health Occupation Society)
WHAT (Weddington High Academic Team)
Science Olympiad (if offered)
Mu Alpha Theta

Test Scores:

PSAT 8/9: 1330/1440
Practice SAT: 1490/1600

Sorry for writing so much. I would really appreciate any tips or comments.