Generally, 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 âUndergraduate Admissionsâ 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 2022 had a 13% acceptance rate for OOS applicants: https://uncnews.unc.edu/2018/08/17/carolina-welcomes-5095-new-undergraduate-students-to-campus/ (29,563 OOS applicants; 3,829 admits).
If you look at the UNC-CH Common Data Set, here, https://oira.unc.edu/files/2018/06/CDS_2017-2018_20180605.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 âvery importantâ academic factors considered for freshman admission, whereas GPA and class rank are âimportantâ academic factors considered for freshman admission. Extracurricular activities, talent, and character/personal qualities are considered as âvery importantâ 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 âdrive-byâ 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 âunhookedâ in admissions parlance (i.e., not a recruited D-1 athlete, or a URM, first-generation college student, etc.).
I donât 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.
Having stated all of the above, your SAT score and GPA should make you competitive for admission as an OOS applicant, although the quality of your LORs and application essay(s) will have a definite impact as well. Donât expect any merit aid from UNC-CH based on your SAT/GPA; and while your ECs might interest the Robertson people, that is a very, very competitive award, so temper your expectations in that regard.
- 4 honors (2 soph year, 2 junior), 6 aps ( 2 junior year, 2 senior year, aplac, calc bc, ap french, ap statistics, ap physics C, and ap gov (second semester senior year)), and 2 communicy college courses (general psych and macroecon). I come from a highly competitive school, many students take 7-8 APs, with 3-4 junior year- I only took 2 junior year (calc bc & aplac) but got 5âs in both