NCSSM Class of 2022

I’m opening this discussion for current freshmen across NC that are interested in NCSSM:)

Hi! I am a freshman in cd 8 and I would like to know my chances of getting into either NCSSMO or residential (I am open to both options). Any advice is also appreciated!

Classes:
Freshman year:
Marketing
NC Math 3 Honors
Python Programming I Honors
Health and PE
Biology Honors
Spanish III Honors (I have requested a schedule change to take PreCalc Honors, if it is not granted I will take it over the summer)
English I Honors
Civics Honors

I currently have high A’s in all of these classes.
I plan to take Honors Chemistry over the summer through NCVPS.

Sophomore year (plan to take):
English II Honors
AP World History
AP Chemistry
AP AB Calculus
AP Stats (or AP BC Calculus)
Python Programming II Honors
Marketing Applications Honors (subject to change based on performance in DECA)

I have not taken the SAT yet, but I am taking a prep course in March and will take it afterwards.

Extracurriculars/Achievements:

7th-8th (I didn’t do much…whoops):
SSEP Student Researcher (Experiment sent aboard the ISS)/ Presented at the Smithsonian and Kennedy Space Center
County Impact Through Education Award Recipient
National Junior Honor Society and Beta Club member
State qualifier for VEX EDR robotics (team)

Current:
DECA (first place overall in PMK at district and highest test score)
HOSA Competitive and Community
Science Olympiad (JV)
(The above have regional/state competitions in March)
Girls Who Code

I’m feeling pretty incompetent regarding my extracurriculars. Any thoughts?

Agh I typed out a long reply and thought it was posted but I suppose not. Anyways, I wanted to know if anyone knows how competitive cd 8 is.

Also, I know everyone does research at some point, so how does that work? What are some resources and opportunities for research?

1.Sry for late response (I havent been online in a while)
2. Glad to know that there are other freshman interested in Ncssm ?
3. PathwaysToScience.com is a good resource when looking research opportunities

I am a 9th grade student in CD 12 (Charlotte area) and know my courses for next year. What are my chances of getting in?

9th Grade Courseload:

  • Honors English 1 IB MYP
  • Spanish 2 IB MYP
  • Honors World History IB MYP
  • Honors Biology IB MYP
  • Honors Earth and Enviromental Science IB MYP
  • Honors Math 3 IB MYP
  • Orchestra
  • Health & PE

10 grade Courseload:

  • Honors English 2 IB MYP
  • Spanish 3 IB MYP
  • Honors Civics and Economics IB MYP
  • Honors Physics IB MYP
  • Honors Chemistry IB MYP
  • IB Mathematics SL 1
  • Orchestra
  • AP Statistics

Extra-curricular:

  • Programming - ~6 Hours per week
  • Speech and Debate - ~10 Hours per week
  • Orchestra - ~2 Hours per week

Honors:

  • 8th Grade - CMS All County Orchestra
  • 8th Grade - Junior Western Regional Orchestra
  • 8th Grade - 3rd Place, Future Cities
  • 8th Grade - Section leader, school orchestra
  • 9th Grade - NSDA Degree of Honor

If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.

Hey guys! I am a freshman at Marvin Ridge High School! I want to know what chances I have of getting in

9th Grade Courseload
AP World History
Honors English 1
Honors Band
Health and PE
Spanish II
Honors Math 2
Honors Computer Programming 1
Honors Earth

Summer Courseload
Math 3
Honors Biology

Planned 10th grade courseload
AP Computer Science
AP HuGe
Honors Chemistry
Civics
Honors English 2
Honors Pre Calc
Band???
Spanish 3

ECs
Science Olympiad
Game Design Club
Computing Olympiad
FPSPI

Achievements
3rd Place in Battery Buggy at Science Olympiad Nationals
A+B Honor Roll in middle school
NJHS in 8th Grade
Did FLL in 8th Grade, went to states

Hobbies:
Learning about technology
researching history
Collecting Transformers
Playing Overwatch (LUL)

Here is the template for anyone who wants to use it:

GENERAL INFO
Congressional District:
Ethnicity:
School Size (number of students):
Size of Your Grade (number of students):
Your Rank (if any):
How would you describe the academic opportunities at your school?

TESTING
SAT (breakdown):
ACT (breakdown):
PSAT (breakdown):
PSAT 8/9 (breakdown):
AP (with scores):
Other:
School’s Average Test Score (any):

COURSES/TRANSCRIPT/GPA
Courses from Middle School (if any):
Unweighted GPA (include scale and how GPA is calculated at your school):
Weighted GPA (include scale and how GPA is calculated at your school):
9th Grade Courses:
10th Grade Courses:

AWARDS/HONORS
List below and state level of recognition (district, state, national, international)

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
List below (Clubs, volunteering, leadership roles, sports/martial arts, etc.):

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
Use this section to explain anything from your “resume” that needs to be addressed and/or anything not included in this “resume”:

@percipienttree Your grades and extracurriculars are looking good to me. I would recommend preparing for the SAT and trying to earn about 200 points higher than your school’s average. Make sure you have strong relationships with at least two of your current teachers and you should have a pretty good shot. You seem to be a competitive applicant. Good luck!

@muchanem Looking good so far. I recommend participating in some more extracurriculars (but don’t spread yourself too thin) and trying to hold some leadership positions in your sophomore year. Maintain positive relationships with your teachers so you get good letters of recommendation. Prepare for the SAT/ACT and try and score significantly higher than your school’s average. Also, I recommend doing some volunteering over the summer or something that can show involvement outside of school. Good luck!

@MegatronusPrime Nice to see someone from UCPS! I’m from Weddington. I strongly recommend keeping all A’s (maybe a B here or there) in your classes if you aren’t already. Your course load looks good to me and your extracurriculars convey that you like technology and science. I recommend continuing to develop this personal narrative and maybe doing some summer camps that show your interests. I strongly recommend preparing for the SAT/ACT, and based on Marvin Ridge’s reputation, earning a 1450+ on the SAT or a 33+ on the ACT. Don’t forget to develop and maintain strong relationships with your teachers so that they can advocate for you in letters of recommendation. Doing this gives you a competitive application. Good luck!

Hi, I’m from cd 2 or 4 (I think 2). Does anyone know the competitiveness of both districts? Thanks!

Hi, Im from CD 8. Ethnicity: Indian

I would like to know my chances of getting into NCSSM.

7th Grade: Math 1

8th Grade: Math 2 Honors

9th Grade: Math 3 Honors, Earth Environmental Science Honors, English 1 Honors, World History Honors, PE, Art 1, Spanish 2. I had to take Art and PE Freshman year.

10th Grade: Pre Calc Honors, Biology Honors, Chemistry Honors, English 2 Honors, AP Human Geography, AP Statistics, Spanish 3 Honors.
Hope to get all A’s in these classes.

Extracarriculars: NJHS in 8th Grade. Competitive Math Club/Team from 7th-10th Grade. School Tennis Team 7th and 9th Grade, as well as 10th. Competitive tennis (USTA). SNHS and MNHS. Pre-Med Club. Programming Club 7th and 8th Grade.

Honors/Awards: Top 30 tennis player in the state 7th & 8th Grade. Top 40 tennis player in the state 8th grade (would have been 30 but injuries). Ist Seed in Varsity School Tennis Team 7th & 9th Grade. All Conference Team 9th Grade. Conference 3rd Place in Tennis. Regional 4th Place in Tennis. Qualified for State Championships in School Tennis. Lead my school to 2nd place finish at Chapter in Mathcounts (7th Grade). Top 30 finish individually in math counts chapter (7th Grade). Top 40 Finish at states in Mathcounts (8th Grade). AMC 8 School First (8th Grade). Regional Math 1 Competition 4th place at Appalachian State University (7th Grade). Regional Math 2 Competition 7th Place at Western Carolina University. (8th Grade). Regional Math 3 Competition 4th Place at Western Carolina University (9th Grade). MathCon national qualificant (top 1% in the nation) in 8th Grade and 9th Grade. History Bowl Regional JV Winner 2019 (9th Grade).

SAT: 1430 (700 Math & 730 Reading). First attempt and is not good, but I am taking it again and want to do a lot better in math.

This is just off the top of my head. Please let me know, thx.

Our resumes are really similar. I’m applying this year too. So ok here’s mine I’m so nervous my lack of math and stem stuff will make me not be accepted.

Middle school:
3 years of band (that’s literally it)
Sewed a pillow in home ec idk

Freshman year:
Math 1
English 1
World History 1
ROTC 1
Latin 1
Physical education
Environmental Science

Extra curriculars:
Over 15 hours of community service
Varsity Drill competitor
Color guard member
Latin club member
Raider team

Sophomore year:
Math 2
English 2 honors
Biology honors
ROTC 2
Latin 2
Latin 2 honors
Civics honors

Extra curriculars:
Environmental Club
FOR club
Campus clean up
Over 20 hours community service
Competed in essay contest
Latin club
Color guard
Varsity drill
Raider team
Swim team member

Kid is from Charlotte too. Does Marvin Ridge put these summer
(your summer workload) online courses on high school transcript?

Hi! I’m a sophomore applying to NCSSM Residential and wondering about my chances of getting in.

GENERAL INFO
Congressional District: 10
Ethnicity: White/Caucasian
School Size (number of students): 280 (Private School)
Size of Your Grade (number of students): 68 (so close to…)
Your Rank (if any): #1 /68
How would you describe the academic opportunities at your school?
Pretty good, we have around 20 AP classes although you’re discouraged from taking them until your junior year (it’s very hard to get into them as a sophomore), not many STEM classes are offered which kinda sucks

TESTING
SAT (breakdown): 1480- 700 ebrw and 780 math (December math curve sucked)
ACT (breakdown): n/a
PSAT (breakdown): 1380 - 650 ebrw and 730 math
PSAT 8/9 (breakdown): 1280- 590 ebrw 690 math (took in 9th grade)
AP (with scores): n/a bc my stupid school didn’t let me take human geo
School’s Average Test Score (any): average sat- 1300

COURSES/TRANSCRIPT/GPA
Courses from Middle School (if any): n/a
Unweighted GPA (include scale and how GPA is calculated at your school):
4.23- max is 4.33
Weighted GPA (include scale and how GPA is calculated at your school):
4.83- max is 5.41
we have A+ and A- that change our gpa system, both adding or subtracting around .3 from the regular A (4 for regular, 4.5 for honors, 5.0 for AP) A+ range is 97.5 and above, while the A range is 92.5-97.5

9th Grade Courses:
Honors Algebra II (A+)
Honors Biology (A+)
Honors English 1 (A+)
Honors World History (A)
Honors Interdisciplinary Studies (A+)
Spanish 1 (A+)

10th Grade Courses: all grades are expected and have been earned for this semester
AP Computer Science: Principles (A+)
AP United States History (A)
AP English Language and Composition (A)
Honors Pre-Cal (A+)
Honors Chemistry (A+)
Honors Spanish 2 (A)

AWARDS/HONORS
List below and state level of recognition (district, state, national, international)
8th grade: 2nd place regional (WNC) science fair for engineering regional and went to the state science fair
rip not a lot, I go to a private school there’s not a lot of public recognition

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Medical Interest Club- 9th and 10th grade
Literary and Arts Magazine- 9th and 10th grade, on the board of editors
Book Club- 9th and 10th grade
PYC (presbyterian youth council for wnc)- leads retreats for kids
Service hours- normal-ish for a high school student but nothing special

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
my school doesn’t allow doubling up on classes in a year due to every class being year-round (PRIVATE SCHOOLS LOWKEY SUCK WITH SCHEDULING)

Hi everyone, does anyone have a general idea of what factors are most important in admissions decisions? I remember that the webinars have stressed the importance of the essays. Would you say class rank or test scores are more important, specifically, because I’m behind the people I’m competing with in class rank (due to extra opportunities they had in middle school), but my ACT score is better than theirs. Thank you for any help!

Do I have a chance, even potentially with the appeals process?

GENERAL INFO
Congressional District: 1
Ethnicity: white
School Size (number of students): 1711
Size of Your Grade (number of students): 297
Your Rank (if any): 4
How would you describe the academic opportunities at your school?
There are many AP classes, but people are urged to not take many until junior year. It’s a public arts school, so there’s not a lot of STEM extracurriculars and obviously the math and science class selection is nothing close to what it is at NCSSM.

TESTING
SAT (breakdown): 1450 (750 reading, 700 math. I know, I was pretty disappointed too).
ACT (breakdown): 35 (36 reading, 36 writing, 33 math, 35 science).
PSAT (breakdown): n/a
PSAT 8/9 (breakdown): n/a
AP (with scores): AP World History (5), currently taking APUSH
Other: PreACT (taken in 10th grade at school) 33
School’s Average Test Score (any): 1190 SAT, 27 ACT

COURSES/TRANSCRIPT/GPA
Courses from Middle School: Math 1, Spanish 1 and 2
Unweighted GPA : 4.000 (4.0 scale, honors classes add 0.5 and APs add 1, I think)
Weighted GPA : 4.4348
9th Grade Courses:

AP World History
Biology Honors
English 1 Honors
Concert Chorus
NC Math 2 Honors
Spanish III Honors
Creative Writing

10th Grade Courses:

Health /PE
NC Math 3 (CDM over summer)
AP United States History
Chemistry Honors
English II Honors
Pre-Calculus Honors
Spanish IV Honors
Chorus Honors
Creative Writing Honors

I ended with, or currently have, a 97 or above in all courses.

AWARDS/HONORS
National Spanish Exam Gold
AMC 8 First Place in school
Gold Recognition at Duke TIP for 90th percentile or above SAT score as 7th grader
Rayburn Prize (8th grade creative writing award)

EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
Swim team (school, summer, 2 years of year-round). Attended states in 10th grade
Math Honors Society
Spanish Honors Society
FEMMES Capstone, FEMMES Connect, FEMMESHACKS

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS
In seventh grade, I went to space camp in Houston with a group from my middle school. We were the first middle school group ever to have this opportunity.

That’s all I can think of now, but this is probably all the relevant info!

Hi, I’m currently a freshman in CD4, and I want to know my chances of getting into NCSSM
Race: Chinese
School size: about 800 because it’s only freshmen and sophomores this year, will grow by one year next year

I’m attending a new school (this is it’s first year operating).

8th Grade PSAT Score: 1410

—————————————————————————-

9th Grade:
Biology honors
AP Human Geography
Health Science I Honors
Band

Math 3 Honors
Band honors (took 2 semesters)
English I Honors
PE Honors

Got/has A’s in everything
PSAT Score: 1400

Extracurriculars:
Marching Band and HOSA
I’m also taking an AP Chinese class outside of school and I’ve taken about 8 years worth of Chinese courses outside of school.

———————————————————————————-

What I plan to take in 10th Grade:
Chem Honors
AP Chemistry
Precalculus
English II
French I
Band
AP Computer Science or AP Statistics (if given the chance)

Extracurriculars:
Marching band, HOSA, Key Club, NHS, will change based on clubs offered next year

——————————————————————————————-

Since this is our first year operating, we lack a lot of opportunities that other schools have, like the chance of doubling up is very low, and we don’t (or plan to) offer summer school or online courses. A lot of courses aren’t offered here either.

Do I have a chance at getting into NCSSM?

@aileneymt

Hi, I’m a current junior at NCSSM (also from CD4)

Unfortunately, CD4 is said to be the most competitive district – grades and standardized test scores alone won’t be enough to secure admission. I would say that you do have a chance, but not an extremely strong one, so don’t be too disappointed if you don’t end up getting in.

Your coursework looks good, especially if those are the most rigorous options that your school currently offers. Aim for a 1500+ SAT to be safe, but I have heard that generally, if your score is at least 100 points above your school’s average, it’ll be fine (not entirely sure if this is true).

NCSSM will look for demonstrated interest and ability in STEM. This is where you likely will need to work on most in order to stand out. You’ll want various significant STEM related extracurriculars, awards and leadership positions for a competitive application. You’re in HOSA, but make sure you can justify the level/extent of your participation. Next year, consider founding your own clubs if your school doesn’t have many options. Just for some anecdotal evidence (not saying you have to do this to get in), a lot of the people who were accepted from my home high school were heavily involved in Science Olympiad and/or contest math.

You’ll also want to have other extracurricular interests and a strong community service involvement. It’s a good idea to continue with marching band and join volunteering clubs such as such as Key Club/NHS.

Overall, you need to show that you will be an asset to the NCSSM community through having tangible accomplishments and taking initiative to better yourself and your surroundings. Your essays and recommendations will hopefully also reflect this.

I’m in CD 9 too, but class of 2023, I was wondering if you got in? @skompella9892

@gabby1200 Yep, I did. I applied for online first preference, so I got into the online program. Let me know if you have any questions about the application process; I’d be happy to try and answer them!