<p>I'd probably get rank 2 out of 350 in my current school. At NCSSM, I would probably make B's... Which one is the better choice?</p>
<p>What are you asking? Whether or not you should attend NCSSM to increase your chances of getting into UNC?</p>
<p>There’s MUCH more to the decision to attend NCSSM than what grades you expect to get, class rank at base school, etc. NCSSM is not for everyone. I know many people who were sure that NCSSM was THE place for them – only to get there and hate it – and not for academic reasons either.</p>
<p>You will be academically challenged there and graduating from there may provide you with opportunities you might not get at your current school. However – socially it can be a difficult environment. Students become “cliquey” based on what hall they’re on, race, etc. </p>
<p>In addition, when you visit the campus prior to enrollment, you see the best they have to offer with regard to facilities, etc. Be aware that once you’re a student there you find out that available resources are not quite that nice. Classrooms are old and ceilings leak and teachers complain that they don’t have nearly the resources they need. You will also discover that all of the research and mentoring opportunities they boast about are very difficult to get.</p>
<p>Make sure you look at NCSSM with your eyes wide open. There’s much more to the experience than academics.</p>
<p>No offense to anyone who went to NCSSM, but you probably have a better shot if you stay at your regular school and rank higher. A family friend of mine actually did this - she goes to high school in a county that’s not too great, but she decided to stay at her regular high school (where she will most likely be valedictorian) instead of going to NCSSM where she would probably be a more average student. I agree that NCSSM is very cliquey. And when you meet NCSSMers at UNC, you can usually tell right off the bat, lol.</p>
<p>Those darn unicorns are everywhere! :-P</p>
<p>It really is up to you. I’m OOS, and I admit that I would have jumped at the chance to go to a school like NCSSM. I don’t know how well I would have done there, and how that might have affected my college admissions, but I would have been challenged academically two years before college, something that would have helped me in college when I started there. </p>
<p>Just my 2 cents.</p>
<p>I’m not sure about other colleges, but the rumors are that UNC accepts somewhere around 80-90% of NCSSM students. However, the incentive becomes a lot less after the class of 2010, since the tuition grant is gone now.</p>
<p>I had the same choice to make- stay at a public school, or go to a much more challenging school. Even if I had stayed at the public school and graduated as valedictorian, the NCSSM kids would have easily surpassed me once we got to Carolina. IMO- You have to “pay your dues” (as my dad puts it) some time or another. You can pay your dues early, get an amazing high school education and (hopefully) sail through college, or you can go to an easier high school and pay your dues your Freshman/Sophomore years in college. It’s up to you.</p>
<p>I don’t know anyone “sailing” through college (NCSSMers included), but freshman year I lived with a girl who was valedictorian of her high school out in the boonies somewhere, and UNC was, and still is, extremely challenging for her. I went to public school and I’m alright! I think it just depends on whether or not you want to spend 4 years in the NCSSM environment.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind that NCSSM offers significant scholarships to their students who attend state universities. NCSSM also usually sends a couple of students to the ivies every year. If I had the chance I would have absolute jumped at the chance to attend NCSSM.</p>
<p>Right, “sailing” probably isn’t the right word, but I don’t think anyone here would dispute the idea that NCSSM’ers will probably have a much easier transition to college than students who weren’t exposed to that level of rigorous academics. But, it’s a personal choice. Not everyone would enjoy that type of environment.</p>
<p>I actually read that NCSSM is getting rid of the “free tuition to people who go to UNC” thing. Not sure when that goes into effect exactly, but it will at some point!</p>
<p>It’s the rising Seniors, I believe:
[NCSSM</a> juniors won?t see free tuition to UNC | dailytarheel.com](<a href=“http://blogs.dailytarheel.com/content/ncssm-juniors-won’t-see-free-tuition-unc]NCSSM”>http://blogs.dailytarheel.com/content/ncssm-juniors-won’t-see-free-tuition-unc)</p>
<p>Thanks! Interesting to know…</p>
<p>The students that just graduated were the last to get the free tuition.</p>
<p>My boyfriend went to NCSSM and then UNC and while he knows a few people from smath that didn’t get into UNC, they’re definitely the exception. Honestly, I’d say you’ve got a really good shot at getting into UNC either way.</p>
<p>What you really want to look at is whether you want the college experience in high school or not. Going to NCSSM helps make the transition to college a lot easier and you already have a built-in community when you arrive. (It’s true, smathers are super cliquey.) My boyfriend regularly says that his hardest classes were all at NCSSM, even after three years of classes at Carolina.</p>
<p>The downside of Science and Math, though, is that a lot of people get burned out later on in college. Picture six years of college instead of four. Although NCSSM isn’t exactly like college there are still a lot of similarities. (Living in dorms, taking college-level classes, going home for breaks, etc.)</p>
<p>It may not be so important, but I will say that I adore my roommate who went NCSSM because she is SO prepared. She saved me money by having tons of stuff for the room already, and having a roommate who can share her experience with dorm life takes away some of the stress of adjusting to a new life.</p>
<p>So…NCSSM and UNC, from what I understand are NOT “friends” so to speak; while we’re getting these articulation agreements (the “answer” to the end of the tuition grant. It gives college credit for some classes w/o taking AP.) with a bunch of other UNC system schools (including NC State), UNC has not joined in. I don’t know if they are going to, but it kind of sets a precedent how the feel about NCSSM, and it’s not a good one. With that long little introduction, I want to let you know that you are definitely not guaranteed admission to UNC from NCSSM. Two of my best friends got rejected. One did pretty good on her SAT (1980 if I recall), was a URM, had some good leadership, DID have a couple C’s I think, but she got rejected. She’s going to George Washington with a huge scholarship so its not really a big deal, just wanted to let you know. My other friend had a similar situation, but I think her test scores were a little lower and she had a couple of C’s as well. So, you are not guaranteed admission, and may be a little more difficult in some aspects.</p>
<p>That being said, NCSSM is great, and A LOT more challenging than your old school probably was (unless you’re from Enloe or something similar). I’ve gained a lot of good work habits that I’m sure will help me dominate in college! Plus, atleast in my particular experience, the students are much better people than the ones at my old school. It’s a great environment and you’re going to be a lot more prepared.</p>
<p>My recommendation is to go to NCSSM and see how you feel for about two weeks. If you don’t like it/feel it’s way to challenging, leave, no harm done. But if you stay past that and then decide to leave (or just stay and continue to struggle), and say you have a C on your transcript now (or continually do bad), you’re going to be at a huge disadvantage on college application.</p>
<p>O and just so you know, NCSSM really isn’t anything like college. The rules can be quite debilitating (ie during the winter, sunset is like 5:00pm. You can’t go off campus after that.), life can become very constrained, and freedoms are definitely diminished. On the weekdays after 12, you’re basically on lock down and can only leave your room to go to the bathroom (NOT take a shower, got yelled at tons for that lol); on the weekends its 2. And this is probably not going to get better because we’re getting an interim chancellor that doesn’t have any residential/academic environment experience. So if you have a ton of freedom back home, realize this is going to change. And the rules (atleast last year) we’re pretty strictly enforced.</p>
<p>lol well i go to enloe… how does it compare in rigor. I’m in 5 AP classes my sophomore year… and it’s pretty challenging (well calc ab and bc together are haha)</p>
<p>I mean I think they should be about the same rigor wise right? or ssm would be easier… that’s what i heard. I just hope i get in, with this whole wcpss losing accreditation buisness.</p>
<p>Hmmm. My DH used to teach at the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and the Arts, which was modeled on NCSSM. (It was the second such school in the country; NCSSM was the first. Now there are a number.)</p>
<p>He had brilliant students, just-above-average students, and students who really shouldn’t have been there. I bet it’s much the same for teachers at NCSSM.</p>
<p>Were there resources the kids couldn’t have had at their home schools? Yes and no. Most of the teachers (including DH) had PhDs in their fields. And the guidance department was pretty amazing. (Today, though, with the Internet, any kid has access to the sort of information once available only at schools with excellent guidance offices.)</p>
<p>OTOH…several of DH’s top students came from Jesuit Prep in New Orleans. And the impression I got from them is that Jesuit Prep was a better school than LSMSA. I don’t mean they they bragged about it or anything like that. But one kid in particular came into my husband’s Latin class already knowing Latin at a pretty advanced level. Those Jesuits don’t fool around. :)</p>
<p>Not sure how much any of this applies to NCSSM. But all I’m saying is that the grass isn’t always greener. A smart, motivated kid from anywhere can take advantage of today’s opportunities to learn, grow, excel, and achieve. Yes, the deck is stacked against some kids. But I’ve known kids from disadvantaged backgrounds who have excelled and achieved – even without attending special “smart-kid” schools. :)</p>
<p>I believe that you will find the rigor at NCSSM very challenging. My son attended NCSSM and now is a physics major at Princeton. Before NCSSM, he attended a Wake County high school (not Enloe), but he did have friends who had attended Enloe. What they told him was that there are intro courses at NCSSM that are easier than Enloe. But since you are already in Calc BC, I am assuming that you are going to take the upper level science and math classes offered. Two of my son’s toughest classes at NCSSM were Multi and Physics C. He ended up taking comparable classes his freshman year at Princeton. He says that the tests for Multi were much harder at NCSSM and the instruction much better (thank you Ms. Hernandez). Physics C at NCSSM was just as hard as Princeton and taught in a way that made you think, not regurgitate information (he actually made a B in this class at NCSSM, but an A at Princeton). At NCSSM he was able to take Astrophysics, Modern Physics and conduct original physics research. Have you looked at the Course Catalog? The amount of upper level math, science and computer science courses offered for the students going in with the necessary prerequisites is very impressive.</p>