SAT score question IS & OSS

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
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<p>Thank you all for the great advice. My son is VERY interested in UNC and we're totally impressed with the overall academic and social opportunities available at Chapel Hill. </p>

<p>He's also in the running for a couple of Ivies and a couple of top ten privates. It's just that the fit at Chapel Hill seems right. He's an outgoing, goofy, non-competitive, musically talented, and very bright kid who loves the excitement of athletic competition and big school spirit. </p>

<p>Chapel Hill is also the right distance from home for the individuation metamophosis to complete its natural course.</p>

<p>We're keeping our fingers crossed.</p>

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<p>I concur with eadad's statement about demonstrating interest. My d is NMF (2250+ SAT with SAT IIs in mid 700s) from Texas with national level academic/athletic accomplishments. She actually didn't apply to UNC until the very last minute because she just didn't think she would make the oos cut. It was counseling from eadad, jack and others here that convinced me and then her that she should go for it. Her application was turned in ON the RD deadline and her supplemental papers, transcripts and recs were late. She didn't have time to fill out the Robertson supplement or visit the campus. </p>

<p>So she almost immediately received a likely letter, but only a very small scholarship offer. I think they may have thought she would go with another school because of no demonstrated interest and what may have been perceived as a 'back up' plan application.</p>

<p>So two morals...demonstrate interest and 'early bird gets the worm'.</p>

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<p>I think demonstrated interest was one of my biggest assets in getting a likely letter from UNC this year. My grades are nowhere near those of the above-mentioned students (2180 SATs), but I took three official campus tours, participated in online chats, attended an academic day, sent a note to the admissions provost following the academic day, and am now signed up for a day in the life as a Carolina student, and I am OOS. </p>

<p>If I keep up my habit of showing strong interest, could that get me considered, really considered, for admission to the honors program? The only thing better than getting admitted to Carolina would be getting admitted as an honors student.</p>

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<p>Is there a way to get the e-mail of the admissions rep for your region?</p>

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<p>I would ask your school's college counselor first, I am sure they have it and if not, they have the person's name. You can then go to UNC.edu and do a search for that name on their web (intranet), not the internet, and more likely than not come up with an email address.</p>

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<p>I'm not convinced that demonstrated interest is a huge determinant into honors, though I wouldn't rule it out. Even though I did a lot of the events last year, I've met a number of kids in the honors program here who weren't that interested in UNC until they got into the honors program, so that'd lead me to believe that they weren't doing all the visitations, etc.</p>

<p>Anyway, I cannot reiterate enough how much I reiterate (wrap your head around that one! haha) that SAT just isn't that big of a deal with the Carolina Scholars. 1400/2130, which isn't that bad, but most of the kids at my high school had higher numbers but didn't get into honors or scholarships. Whenever I share this information, I hope that people come away from it by feeling hopeful if their scores are low, and not too cheeky if their scores are high. It is the essay, the recs, and the ECs that get you into honors and merit based stuff. It is not the SAT. And listen to eadad!!</p>

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<p>I actually think honors may be little bit of a bait. Think about it...it costs nothing and yet it is an enticement. For scholarship money, I would do whatever it takes to make sure UNC knows you are serious about attending the school. While I don't think demonstrated interest will affect an admissions decision, it may affect those scholarship decisions. </p>

<p>And apply early!</p>

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<p>I could be totally wrong here... but I think the IS SAT scores are slightl lower than OOS (I haven't looked at any posted stats). This, I understand, is because SAT/ACT prep classes are non-existant in foreign country, even at most American or International Schools aborad, and for most IS the SAT is in their foreign language. I think admissions knows these things and takes them into consideration. A couple of low/mid-600's in your foreign language is pretty damn good!</p>

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<p>Wonderful.
So the OOS American scores will need to be over 1300 for sure.
Don't get me wrong, I don't think 1300 for out of state is ridiculously high or anything.
My son's current scores are only 1280.
doesn;t look promising.
sherbear</p>

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<p>OOS numbers for merit scholarships ARE higher. For the class that is now seniors it took a 1500 to qualify for the Davie and either a 1530 or 1550 for Carolina Scholars for OOS students. I had someone on CC challenge me and dispute this but my S's roommate freshman and sophomore years was a Davie and his dad inquired where the cut off was for Carolina Scholars and was told that he had just missed; he had over a 1500, I believe around a 1525.</p>

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<p>Agree with eadad about the high SAT numbers for merit scholarships, specifically Carolina Scholars (and, to a lesser extent, the Davie), but that's true for both in-state and out-of-state students awarded these. I've never known anyone who received either of those scholarships who didn't have <em>at least</em> a 1500, regardless of their residency status. </p>

<p>It's quite possible there are exceptions (as in cloying's case), but also in her case, she has previously stated that she attended an accelerated high school at a nearby college, where (I'm guessing) she also took college classes (?). If so, I imagine that might impact heavily and offset the [relatively] lower score of 1400 (compared to those 1500+ scores). </p>

<p>Neverthless, UNC does state that there is no set SAT cut-off for those scholarships. Under FAQ's, see #3, which states:</p>

<p>
[quote]
What is the typical academic profile of a scholarship recipient at UNC-Chapel Hill?
Since scholarship criteria vary depending on the scholarship, awards are not subject to a minimum SAT score or class rank. Because of the limited number of scholarship awards, and given the selectivity of the University, competition for scholarships is very stiff, and recipients automatically tend to be at the top of their high school classes and have very high SAT scores. For example, the average SAT combined score for Carolina Scholars is 1520.

[/quote]

The</a> Office of Scholarships & Student Aid at UNC-Chapel Hill</p>

<p>Also, this article about the Carolina Scholars, although written in 2001, states that:</p>

<p>
[quote]
The Carolina Scholars Awards, established in 1995, are highly coveted comprehensive academic scholarships. The average SAT score for both in- and out-of-state recipients of these awards is close to 1,550 (out of 1,600). Approximately 30 new Carolina Scholars enter UNC each year. Sixty percent are from North Carolina.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Carolina</a> Connections - Fall 2001</p>

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<p>In a thread posted before, I brought up the actual process of the selection of the Carolina Scholars (I'd search for it). There once was an SAT minimum, but they decided that that was limiting. Remember that Carolina Scholars are actually picked at Scholarship Day. First promising applications (because of extracurriculars, recommendations, and SURE, SAT scores) are set aside, and then a few people like Peter Kaufman read the essays of the applicants. The essays that in some way hit the readers the right way then get the applicant an invite to Scholarship Day.</p>

<p>So here's my point. It just isn't as simple as an SAT minimum. They just don't think about it that way. It's not that they look at an SAT score like a 1400 and think, "well that's not completely satisfying, but let's see if other things make up for it," it's just one characteristic.</p>

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<p>cloying: I agree with you that many other factors come into play (other than SAT scores) with these merit scholarships, and certainly including the quality of the essays. That said, Carolina Scholars is more solely focused on academics than some of the other merit scholarships. I agree, too, that it "isn't as simple as an SAT minimum." I have to believe, though, that if "the average combined score for Carolina Scholars is 1520," as quoted above (or 1550, as quoted from the 2001 article above), then someone whose score is 100 points+ below that "average" would have to have some fairly outstanding qualifications in other areas to offset that-- to make that application stand out. To suggest that a 1400 SAT is typical of a Carolina Scholar <em>might</em> be somewhat misleading here. (I also suspect you are being very modest about your own accomplishments.)</p>

<p>If you know, I'm also curious as to when there was an "SAT minimum," and at what point it was discontinued. That would be interesting to know. That FAQ quote above, stating that there is no SAT minimum for merit scholarships, has been on the website for a number of years now (at least 4, if I'm remembering correctly).</p>

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<p>I'm really not sure. A current senior Carolina Scholar told me that there was once a 1500 SAT minimum when she was applying, and I remember hearing that from someone else, but I've never seen it in writing.</p>

<p>I only know the SATs of a few other Carolina Scholars (it actually came up when we were taking about this), and they were all in the 1400s, but of course, I don't ask people what their SAT scores are because it isn't relevant to any discussion once you get to college. Hah, it's actually a highly avoided subject because everyone hates talking about college admissions once you're here!</p>

<p>During one of our first meetings we went around a circle and were asked to say what we did in high school outside of school, because that was a huge part of why we were there. Most people were at the state or level in something non-academic. Academic rigor and curiosity are definitely the core of the Scholars, but I think they look for that in what you're doing outside of high school as well as what you do within it.</p>

<p>I definitely see where you're coming from, and you don't want anyone to get their hopes up if perhaps their SAT simply is too low to be considered. The SAT is something you want to worry about, for sure, but everything else should be more of a concern for everyone.</p>

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<p>Unrelated to scholarships but here's the link to First Time Freshman Class Profile for 2007</p>

<p>Office</a> of Institutional Research and Assessment - Admissions</p>