background: asian american female, suburban ma, well-ranked high school
gpa: 4.1/5, 3.6/4 (mostly b’s in honors classes)
sat: 1500
ec’s: debate captaincy/awards, lots of summer internships, experience teaching in community, nhs, etc
sat 2s: math 2 + us history
ap’s: freshman:chinese(5), junior: polisci, apush, senior:ir, lit, french(?), econ, pysch
unc is my dream school, would it be reasonable to ed there or should i not waste my ed on something like chapel hill
Your stats are about average for UNC. The acceptance average is around 30%. It’s definitely going to be a reach school, so be sure to have some good affordable alternatives.
First, UNC-CH does EA, not ED.
Second, the chances for any OOS applicant to UNC-CH are somewhat problematic due to the highly competitive nature of OOS applications there: UNC-CH admits OOS applicants in numbers that are calculated not to exceed 18% of an entering freshman class. See “Undergraduate Admissions” on Page 2, here: http://www.admissions.unc.edu/files/2013/09/Admissions__Policy.pdf. As a further example of the difficulty for OOS students to be admitted to UNC-CH, the entering Class of 2021 had a 14% acceptance rate for OOS applicants: http://admissions.unc.edu/apply/class-profile-2/.
If you look at the UNC-CH Common Data Set, here, https://oira.unc.edu/files/2017/07/cds_2016_2017_20170411.pdf , under Part C7 it states that standardized test scores, application essay(s), letter(s) of recommendation, and the rigor of your high school record are “very important” academic factors considered for freshman admission, whereas GPA and class rank are “important” academic factors considered for freshman admission. Extracurricular activities, talent, and character/personal qualities are considered as “very important” non-academic factors.
Further, Part C9 of the Common Data Set for UNC-CH gives the median 50% for both SAT and ACT scores, as well as the percentage of the entering first-year class falling within certain ranges of SAT and ACT scores; Part C11 gives the percentage of entering first-year students falling within a range of unweighted GPA on a 4.0 scale, and Part C12 gives the average high school GPA of first-year applicants.
By way of comparison, our OOS high school usually has 8-10 students who apply, and 1-2 students who are admitted, each year to UNC-CH; and, with the exception of legacy students, our admitted students have SAT scores of 1500+, ACT scores of 33+, and weighted GPAs of 4.4+. These successful applicants also were involved in extracurricular activities that showed commitment over time (no “drive-by” ECs), and demonstrated leadership in the school as well as their ECs. Other kids in our city who I know were admitted to UNC-CH recently also had similar academic statistics and non-academic characteristics; and all of these kids were “unhooked” in admissions parlance (i.e., not a recruited D-1 athlete, or a URM, first-generation college student, etc.).
Your SAT score is very good, your GPA is so-so for OOS applicants. If you apply, work to have really good ECs, essays, and LORs inasmuch as those are “very important” admissions factors; whatever leadership positions you have held should be emphasized to the extent possible.
I don’t know whether your high school has Naviance or any similar program that gives information about how students at your high school have done in applying to colleges and universities; if so, you might peruse that data. I would also try to meet with a guidance counselor at your school early in the Fall semester to discuss application strategies for UNC-CH; if any former students from your school have been admitted to UNC-CH recently, the guidance counselor may be able to give some insight into how and why such student(s) were successful.
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Your GPA is average for UNC, but your SAT is impressive. If you whole heartedly believe UNC is the school for you, you should play out non academic factors as much as possible, and work on making your essay AMAZING! I don’t see a reason why you shouldn’t ED at your dream school if you have a solid, confident application.
As others said, acceptance rate for OOS students is low. I doesn’t hurt to try but honestly without a hook it will be tough.
UNC-CH also likes students who are rank in the top 10% of their class. I believe (check the common data set) that 90% of the students were in the top 10%.
I advise you not to get caught up in the dream school concept. Any school that fits your education goals and personality can become a dream school. There are thousands of schools. You should be able to find many that fit your idea of a what you want in a school.
Yes, UNC-CH is a great school and specail in its own way. So are MANY other schools. Focus not on the dream but what you want out of a school then look for schools that have those features.
Good luck, you have a good SAT score but the GPA will hold you back, and UNC’s OOS acceptance rate is comparable to some Ivies.
The Bs will harm your chances for admission–especially so if “honors courses” are not the most rigorous offered at your school (for example, are AP courses offered ?).
You can apply EA but your odds are low.
If you like NC,apply to UNC Asheville, UNC Wilmington, and Appalachian State (and their honors colleges) where you have a better shot as well as Elon and Guilford.