Semifinalist announcements come out on December 19th, so I thought I’d make a thread.
Discuss
Hey! I’ve been looking for a thread like this. Where are you from? I attend a public high school in Johnston County, NC.
@cler1010 I’m from Birmingham, AL.
I wasn’t even considering NC State before I heard about the Park Scholarship, but I did an online tour and read a lot about the school, and it seems like a great fit for me.
Nice! Any stats you’d like to share?
@cler1010 I guess lol. I copied and pasted this from somewhere else, so it may be more info than you wanted.
Academics:
ACT Composite: 35 (Scored 35 on every section except writing)
Class rank: 2/273
GPA: 4.00/4.00 (Weighted 4.40/5.00)
Coursework: I took 6 AP courses in Junior and Sophomore year, and I am currently taking 6 (By the end of high school, I will have taken 13 AP Exams). I have received five 5’s and one 4 on my AP Exams. I have also taken 5 “PreAP” Courses
Awards:
National Merit Semifinalist, Eagle Scout, Alabama Governor’s School Student, 2nd Place at Alabama Statewide Math Tournament, Alabama School of Fine Arts Young Writers’ Literary Awards 3rd Place Winner, National Honor Society Member
Extracurriculars:
BEST Robotics Team: Programmer (Sophomore and Junior year); Team Leader (Senior Year); Was programmer when team went to regional semifinals
Marching Band: Section leader in state’s largest marching band (Junior and Senior year)
Samford Music Academy: Piano performer for 10 years; Member of Samford’s Honor Ensemble which plays for retirement homes/hospitals
Concert Band: Member of the top concert band for all of high school; received top scores at Music Performance Assessment in 2014 and 2015
Boy Scouts: Senior Patrol Leader (2015); Eagle Scout
Beta Club (service club): Secretary (Sophomore, Junior, and Senior year)
Key Club (service club): Received an award for exemplary service in 2015
Jazz Band: 1st Chair Trombone
Homewood Math Team Member: received top 10 awards at 9 competitions from 2013-2016
I think my essays were kind of bad, so at this point I think I’m not gonna make semifinalist
Semifinalist!!! Anyone know how many finalists there are?
@jruesmith7 I got Semifinalist as well!!! I think they’re are like 70-100 finalists
So I assume this means we have been accepted to NC State as well? I mean it would make sense considering we are semifinalists in a scholarship, but I haven’t received anything from NC State admissions so… are the processes tied or separate?
Wait, how do you guys already know? I thought they came out the 19th? @jruesmith7 @lijrobert Where are you guys from ??
I’m from Georgia. I got an email with my acceptance attached to a link (like I clicked on the link and it had the letter) @cler1010
Maryland!!
Ugh, finalist weekend on the 17th and 18th, but I have my sister’s wedding on the 18th that I definitely can’t miss. Anyone have any suggestions about what I could do? loll
I’m from Alabama.
@jruesmith7 it sounds like you can’t miss finalist weekend for any reason, but I wouldn’t worry about it until after the semifinalist interview.
Current Junior Park Scholar here,
About finalist weekend: non-negotiable, you have to be there. I had to miss my high school State Swim Meet (where I was favored to win top-3 in all my events).
About all the interviews:
Just relax and know your stuff. They will likely ask questions about Scholarship, Leadership, Service, and Character. Expect to talk about potential successes, or what you might have done differently in certain situations, with respect to the 4 pillars. Expect to talk about a time you may not have succeeded in one of these areas, and how you learned from it. If you have any questions, please let me know!
Out of state: Likely going to be a phone interview for semifinalist interview.
If you guys have any questions, please ask me!
@jbare Thank you so much for this information. It’s really helpful to hear from someone who’s made it through the process
@jbare Thanks for the advice! I’ll pass it along to my D. (You need more posts so I can PM you 
)
How many posts is required for PMs? I just made this so I could help you guys out! 
10, I believe.
@jbare Son is a finalist. We’ll be heading to NCSU Thursday evening for Finalist Weekend.
Any tips for navigating the various events?
Generally, he’s just dong the same prep he did for Semi-finalist interview: Know/talk to the four pillars, review essay responses and be ready to amplify, be conversant on your resume, really just focus in on being clear about who you are and what your aspirations are.
Any insights would be appreciated!
@Phupdu Congrats to your S! My D did not advance.
Headed down for finalist weekend tomorrow! On Saturday I’m participating in the evening activities, any advice on what to wear for that?