NCSSM - How great are the chances?

Prep School Admissions Prep School Chances
1

<p>Hello.</p>

<p>I would like to apply to North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics next year.</p>

<p>I am currently a freshie.</p>

<p>Only a semester has past, but I will go with what I have anyway.
Unless indicated with "(So Far)", they are final grades.</p>

<p>1st Semester </p>

<p>Concert Band - A (so far)
Spanish 1 - A (so far)
Honors Biology I - A
SciVis (Class dealing with design in general - standard class) - A
Honors Algebra II - A</p>

<p>Note (Alg2): I got a 92 on the final exam, thus getting me a 92 average the second quarter. However, the final grade was an A. Does NCSSM see this at all? Should I be worried about this?</p>

<p>2nd Semester</p>

<p>Concert Band - A (so far)
Spanish 1 - A (so far)
Health/PE (Required for freshmen) - (no grade yet)
Honors English 1 - (no grade yet)
Honors World History - (no grade yet)</p>

<p>Class Rank : 13</p>

<p>Sophomore Year:</p>

<p>Symphonic Band (honors class)
Spanish II
Honors Chemistry
Honors English II
Honors PreCal
Honors Civics and Economics
AP World History
AP Psychology</p>

<p>As much as I wanted to either take PreCal over the summer and start with calculus, my counselor said they can't put in a grade for PreCal and classes outside of our school will not be put on the transcript. I will also run out of math classes by Senior year, I was told, if I go on to Calculus in my sophomore year.</p>

<p>I am from CD 9 (District 9), which is known to be competitive not only in numbers, but in quality.</p>

<p>Extracurricular: </p>

<p>Clubs I am in include member of Technology Student Association, Photography Club, and IT Club. Are there any other clubs I can and should join next year? I am considering debate and film club.</p>

<p>Outside of school, I am in the Junior Youth Orchestra, which is an orchestra for students that was put together by the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra. I also auditioned and got in All-District band 2 times during the past two years. 25 hours of Community Service each year.</p>

<p>Any other things outside of school that I should do to increase my chances? Any clubs I should join that will make me look better?</p>

<p>I do not have my SAT score - that comes during my sophomore year.
We can safely assume it will be over 1800 but most likely under 2200.</p>

<p>I would just like to know everything I can about getting accepted into NCSSM. My goal is to do something along the lines of computer sciences. I hope to get accepted into MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). </p>

<p>I hope to obtain a perfect score on the SAT's before applying to college and am studying for it.</p>

<p>How hard are the tests on Discovery Day?
What should I include on my essay(s)? Heck, how many essays and about which topics are we supposed to write about? Any advice in doing so?
What grades does NCSSM see? Final test grades? Quarter grades? Final Class grades? </p>

<p>All suggestions are appreciated!</p>

2

<p>WOW! You are really putting a lot of early action into this! I applaud you for you enthusiasm! Now, down to business. </p>

<p>Currently, I am a junior at NCSSM. Your resume (as of now) is quite impressive. Since you won’t be able to apply to NCSSM until your sophomore year, keeping up your grades should obviously be a priority. As far as what grades the school will see, part of the application process is sending in an official transcript through the guidance department at your home high school. (This should only show the final grades that you received in each course). </p>

<p>Your extra-curricular activities are very good. From what I have gathered, most students here are either slightly involved with numerous clubs, or are very dedicated to a few. I don’t want to push you into going out for more clubs, but if there are any other topics that you are interested in, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to check them out. It probably won’t make a difference, but what have you got to lose, right? If you feel that that would be too much on your plate, then I would suggest maybe going out for a leadership position in the clubs that you are a part of, or even in student government. As far as volunteering and community service goes, I would do as much as possible. Giving back is a big part of the NCSSM community. (<em>wink wink</em>, that may or may not be part of one of the essay questions).</p>

<p>SAT score is a factor of the application process, but I feel that I can safely say that it is NOT the most important. I personally know people with all different types of scores. (range is literally 1400 - 2400)</p>

<p>Overall, I feel that if you keep on working hard, then you have a good chance of getting into the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics! That being said, there are no guarantees. Your essays are the make or break point for acceptance. I know some people who had all the right clubs, test scores and grades, but their essays were lacking, and they didn’t get in initially. </p>

<p>Now, about the essays. I’m not actually allowed to tell you what the essay questions are, but I am more than happy to give you some pointers. (<em>cough, cough</em> leadership, giving back, adversity, science awards, math awards, etc.) I would say that the general tone of your essays should be “accomplished”. You don’t want to boast and sound cocky, however, you don’t want to be too humble and insecure. (Think, “I think I should be here, and I want you to think so too.”, in a non-*****y way) As far as format goes, the prompts are pretty broad questions that give you the opportunity to tell the Admissions department about you. One essay that seems to cause quite a bit of trouble is the adversity essay. There are three main approaches. 1.) If you have experienced a tragedy, answer it and explain what an impact the tragedy has had on your life. 2.) If something has "sort of " happened to you, or if life has just dealt you a bad hand of card (racism, divorce, orphan, etc.) answer literally, then deviate a little to explain the impact. 3.) If nothing comes to mind when you try to think about adversity, give them a piece of humble pie. Explain how lucky you are and talk about how thankful you are and what you plan to do with the awesome hand of cards that life has given you.</p>

<p>I hope that this ridiculously long reply helps you in your application process & life in general. Feel free to ask me any more questions that you might have about SMath or the Admissions process.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the response!</p>

<p>How long must the essay be?</p>

<p>Assuming my essay is mediocre, what do you think the chances of me getting in are?</p>

<p>Is knowing up to PreCal enough for the Discovery Day test?</p>

4

<p>Also, I have a feeling I am lacking extracurricular activities.</p>

<p>What events can I join/do right now in order to make my resume better?</p>

<p>Getting into NCSSM is extremely important for me. However, I do not know anyone there to give me advice - a huge weakpoint.</p>

5

<p>Hi, I am currently applying to NCSSM, and discovery day is next sat. I need advice on the tests that will be given. I know there is math (which I heard is really easy), but they previous students had to write an essay. Did you have to write an esssay also?</p>

<p>Finally, can you clarify the status that will be posted? I read that there are several results, including non-finalist, waitlist, and finalist. What exactly are the different results?</p>

6

<p>i want to know how much grades matter for applying, i made a C my freshman year in algebra 2, would that stop me from being eligible for the school? all my other grades are much better, and i have improved in math this year in y pre-calc.</p>

7

Hi ya’ll!
I’m a prospective freshman! I really want to go to NCSSM like really bad! But I have absolutely no idea of my chances. If someone could size me up that would be great. I’m from CD 10 and am a white female.
Prospective SAT(have yet to take it):1900
Classes this semester:
Debate I Honors: 98
Biology Honors: 99
World History Honors: 97
Theater I: 105
Second Semester:
Math III Honors (Algebra 2)
English I Honors
Some sort of scientific 3D modeling class?? (I’ve yet to clarify with counselor, but it is honors)
PE
Classes Next year:
PE again :((
Honors Pre calc
Honor English I
Honors Chem
Chinese I Honors
Civics Honors
Theater II
Something else I have yet to decide on.
Extracurricular:
Prospective internship with NC State climate researcher, Varsity Student Congress (got into most prestigious tournament in the nation), Hebrew tutoring, Sunday school teacher,Gay Straight Alliance, National Math Honor Society, I work with an interfaith peace organization, school play
Achievements:
NJHS President (8th grade), Best in science in my grade (8th grade), 99th percentile on 8th grade science EOC, director of middle school student news

So yeah!
If you could tell me how i’m looking and what I could do to get better that would be lovely! :slight_smile: