I am currently a Junior with SAT score of 1450. GPA is 3.94 out of 4.0. I will have 8 AP classes by end of Junior, including AP Chem, AP Calc-AB. And robust extra curricular activities. I am in Wake county.
For UNC CH business major, how much effort should I put in to get higher SAT score? Is a 1500+ better? I know my score is on higher side of the 25-75 percentile range. Also, it is test optional for this year but I think will go back to required for next year when I will submit my applications. So should I continue to grind in to better my current SAT score or should I focus on EC and other parts of the application?
My current KFBS student was lower than that SAT, but higher ACT. As you noted your score is already on high end, so I would say EC and what makes you stand out. There are applicants multiple times over with great “stats” so figure out what would make you a little different than others in same stat pool.
One thing to be aware of in case you are not is that KFBS only admits 40 incoming Freshman direct. The rest are admitted to UNC as pre-business and have to apply after Freshman year. Just over half are admitted. KFBS is trying to expand to increase the admitted % some because currently they are having to decline some students they would take if they could. A student can reapply. Those not accepted tend to end up Econ majors.
I know for KFBS application they want strong GPA Freshman year at UNC and demonstrated business interest/involvement (business clubs, internships etc) + there is an interview.
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Are you instate or OOS?
Personally, I think it will still be TO next year. It has given AO’s the ability to admit students that otherwise they could not have admitted as they would have been punished in their rankings.
Thank you GetCollege19 and yearstogo.
I am instate, in Wake county in RTP region in NC. An asian female.
Below is more info on my high school ECs. Looking in to next calendar year, I am trying to figure out where to put in the energy - if to continue for higher SAT score and give ACT. Or focus on ECs? What other activities would you suggest while in high school? Or which below should I put in more effort?
I am aware that KFBS does not have direct admission and need to apply during sophomore year. So does declaring business major while applying to UNC and highlighting below ECs matter?
- Vice President of FBLA club in school
- Participated in FBLA competitions for last 2 years, state winner for one of the events and participated at national level
- Won a Techno-Business challenge at the RTP district level and represented the district at a national event
- One of the 200 semi-finalists world wide for a Techno-Business challenge
- Continued to develop the the Technology product after the challenge to bring it to the market
- Currently working to establish the NC chapter, create awareness and scale the Techno-Business challenge in the region
- Speaker at a large conference
Well you definitely have strong business interest ECs, which should set you on a good KFBS applicant path (i.e. good resume for obtaining internship summer after first year, opportunities for first year business involvement). I would guess even a shot at direct admit. Assuming you are accepted to UNC you would want to continue with similar involvement first year as KFBS will care more about college than HS.
I am not sure how much general university AOs weigh business ECs vs non-business ECs (mine had little business but heavy non-business). Do you have “make the (non-business) world a better place” ECs (i.e. community service)? I think universities appreciate applicants who genuinely want to serve the broader community (and not just to meet a HS graduation requirement or check a box on an application). I think work experience is another good EC.
Also, essays matter not only in how you write, but who you come across as being as a person. So, my advice would be to put some time and thought into that and what will your recommendations say about you as a person. “Soft skills” matter, being well-rounded matters, so demonstrate that.
Research has found that HS GPA is a stronger indicator of college success than test scores, so keep your GPA up as colleges will weigh that very heavily even if they are not TO next year.
Do you have a sense of whether you are stronger at SAT than ACT? Some students ACT is significantly higher than SAT (ACT score converted to SAT is much higher than actual SAT score) while others are stronger at SAT.
You are a solid applicant, but as you know there are no guarantees with UNC acceptance no matter how high your test scores or impressive your ECs. I have seen kids with top quantitative stats not get accepted to UNC and same for KFBS app (including 4.0 GPA at UNC).
The competition coming from Wake is high so it’s hard to stand out. My advice would be to also research a couple strong back up options to apply to where you will thrive just in case.
For mine it came down to rolling the dice with KFBS vs direct admitted to Darla Moore at UofSC + SC Honors College + in-state tuition scholarship. BTW if you have interest in International Business (mine didn’t at the time), Darla Moore is #1 ranked IB program in US (had no idea until we visited with my student).
Good luck!
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How many kids from your school were accepted to UNC these past three years, and what is your class rank? We’ve found that to be a better way to predict if you’ll be admitted. For example: around 50 students were accepted each of the past three years. You’re almost definitely in if your class rank is 30 or better. Anything outside that, is anyone’s guess. You’ll notice that the number of students accepted to UNC to State from any given high school doest vary excessively, year to year.
Thanks @Essel. I am in a new high school since sophomore year and mine will be the first batch graduating! I checked with counselor and they don’t have Naviance account. My rank is 60/400 students, based on grades till end of sophomore year. Given the APs that I am taking, it should go up. But given everyone is taking APs, don’t think it is going to get in to 30s.
I have straight A grades. So not sure why rank is lower? One reason could be that I took some non-honors courses in 9th grade, those that I really wanted to take like Principals of Business & Finance as opposed to others who took whichever honor courses were available. I wish and hope colleges look at all that.