OOS Chances

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
1

<p>Hey guys, I was just wondering if I have any shot at getting into UNc being from NJ</p>

<p>I plan on doing history.</p>

<p>I go to a very competitive private high school in New Jersey. Widowed parent, income around 40k ish, first generation college student.</p>

<p>I guess I'll just list some stuff and you can let me know if you need anything else to tell me my chances.</p>

<p>white male (double damn)</p>

<p>SAT I: 2020 690 CR, 630 Math, 700 Writing
SAT II: Haven't taken any yet but plan on doing Both histories, lit/math</p>

<p>GPA: 3.8 something UW I did incredibly poor freshmen year and had to work instensely hard to get my grades up. I don't know if they'll see that but the self-improvement was immense</p>

<p>Rank: top 10</p>

<p>Junior year coursework: Honors English, Honors Chem, Honors Alg2/Trig, Ap US History, Honors Spanish 3, Religion (required)</p>

<p>four quarter grades and then year grade</p>

<p>Honors English- 97 97 99 98 98
Alg2 Trig Honors 95 94 96 95 95
AP USH- 99 99 99 99 99
Chemistry Honors 99 99 98 99 98
Spanish 3 Honors 96 97 97 96 95
Religion- 99 99 99 99 99</p>

<p>Senior year: AP Eng, Honors Physics, Ap Art History, Ap US History, Honors Precalc</p>

<p>My school only offers ap classes in English, Art History, US History, and Calc BC, so I'm taking all I am qualified for. I tried starting a US Gov AP and Euro Hist AP but the head of the department turned me down.</p>

<p>Taken 3 courses at a local community college, intro to philosophy (freshmen year- A-), sociology (sophomore year A), looking into another one now.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:</p>

<p>Academic Team- Captain</p>

<p>Robotics Team-builder and participant when we won the 2005 and 2006 state championships for FIRST (possible hook? Idk..)</p>

<p>New Jersey Regional Science Fair-participant</p>

<p>Spanish Honor Society- helped fundraise and tutored students</p>

<p>Model United Nations</p>

<p>NJ American Legion Boys State representative</p>

<p>Intermural Basketball League assistant coach/player</p>

<p>Chess team</p>

<p>Intermural Ultimate Frisbee League- Co-Founder, captain of a team, and player</p>

<p>American Cancer Society Relay for Life-helped organize and set up event, three years</p>

<p>Worked at Afterhours Formalwear</p>

<p>Awards:</p>

<p>· The Elmira College Key Award, 2006
· Excellence in Spanish 2 CP, 2004-2005
· Excellence in English 2 CP, 2004-2005
· Honorable Mention in Eastern Civilization CP, 2004-2005
· Excellence in English 3 Honors, 2005-2006
· Excellence in United History 1 Advanced Placement, 2005-2006
· Honorable Mention in Spanish 3 Honors, 2005-2006
· New Jersey Regional Science Fair Rutgers Student Award, 2005
· National Spanish Examination Certificate of Achievement and Merit¸ 2004-2005 and 2005-2006</p>

2

<p>You are the epitomy of the type of student UNC is looking for!!! Best of luck when you apply, you're the perfect candidate. If you boost up your SAT scores a little bit you'll be better off, however your hardship with the loss of a parent, and the recovery of your poor freshman year grades will shine with the admissions committee. You seem very involved and motivated as well. Goodluck!</p>

3

<p>Thanks for the boost of confidence. :)</p>

4

<p>Being OOS, you stand a relatively good (but not excellent) chance? (as everyone knows, UNC OOS is very very hard to get in...BUT, you have the awesome stats, numerous ECs and awards. Be sure to write stellar essays and emphasize your interest in coming here...PLUS ALL COLLEGES LOVE FIRST GEN. COLLEGE STUDENTS...</p>

<p>Just out of curiosity (NO OFFENCE), you mentioned earlier in your post that you're from a very competitive private high school and you rank top 10, and the lowest grades are 94 (?!?),...Now, I noticed some of your SAT scores...your other stellar academic stats would make one expect your standardized test scores to be superior as well...If not, wouldn't that somewhat reflect severe grade inflation,...? </p>

<p>The reason I mention this, is that most admitted OOS students WILL have stellar standardized test scores to reinforce their stellar academic records/grades....Do you plan on retaking the SAT>?</p>

5

<p>Well, I'm a poor standardized test taker. My classes are extremely difficult. I know many people from other schools, and from my own even that are just good test takers, people with lower grades than me and aren't as smart but can get close to perfect scores on the sat. I don't like how my poor performance on the sat makes people believe my grades are result of severe inflation when I worked so hard for them and they're vastly more difficult to attain than a good sat score.</p>

<p>No offense taken :) I just don't like how people think that low sat scores means that my school grades must have been easy to get.</p>

6

<p>Well, yeah. SAT score doesn't dictate what your HS grades should be like, or that they are severely inflated. The high school grading system in general is inflated... and I personally believe that all classes (AP, Honors, etc) should be on a 4.0 scale. Anyway, my SAT scores did not dictate what I was like as a student... aka, I worked my butt off for the grades that I received... and the SAT I took did not show for it. So... I strongly dislike the SAT because according to them, I'm stupid (well that's an exaggeration but still... AND it doesn't reflect my knowledge and true capabilities whatsoever). Oh, and I was admitted... so much for SAT scores.</p>

7

<p>Well,...my SAT score/standardized test scores were not a reflection of my grades/how smart I am either. And I too despise standardized test scores even though I am a proponent of having a means to differentiate among students who go to easier schools and those that go to tough schools (that grade tough). However, because over ~19,000 students from over 1500-2000 schools apply, adcoms use the SATs to 'weed out' or 'screen out' those with 'unacceptable' scores (who are probably even smarter than those with slightly better scores) to make their jobs easier, an act that I find doesn't sympathize with good students who are just well...bad SAT and ACT takers....These two tests mainly JUST test your reading/comprehension speed and ~reasoning...(just two of many indicators of one's 'intelligence' and real test taking abilities...Bad and Sad. But there's almost nothing we do 'bout it..LOL!)</p>

8

<p>On that note, check this thread out. <a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=211009%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=211009&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

9

<p>Get your SAT to at least 2100 and I'd say you're in.</p>