What are my chances for UNC at Chapell Hill?

Sat: 1340
Gpa: 3.93
Weighted: 4.6
Out of state

Leadership:
Member of a county board
Secretary of NHS
Treasurer of National Span. Honor Society
Editor of Key club
Historian of Key club

Sports:
Figure skating
All forms of dance

Extracurriculars:
6 clubs
Financial advisor for family business
Creator of a website where you can take pledges for various causes
Completion of a county leadership class
Take weekly acting and theatre classes

About me:
Trilingual (English, Polish, Spanish)
Volunteered in Jamaica
Hiked some parts of the inca trail in Machu Picchu

It is a reach. The SAT score is too low for OOS.

If you look at the UNC-CH Common Data Set, 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 you 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; and Part C11 gives you the percentage of entering first-year students falling within a range of unweighted GPA on a 4.0 scale.

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 ACT scores of 34+ and weighted GPAs of 4.5+. 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 GPA is fine; the problem I see is with your SAT score. According to SAT/ACT concordance tables, your 1340 SAT score converts to a 28 ACT. If you are a URM (“under-represented minority”), recruited D-1 athlete, first-generation college student, or OOS legacy, you may be able to get around the low SAT score. Otherwise, I agree with @kjake2000 that your SAT score is probably going to be too low for you to be competitive for admission as an OOS applicant; so to the extent that you can, try to boost your standardized test scores.

Also, the things you have listed under “leadership” seem to be a bit lacking in heft; and your ECs don’t seem to show much in the way of passion or commitment over time. That may be a function of how you have presented them, however.

Apply and talk about your unique experiences. I was admitted out of state with a 28 on the ACT and similar GPA. It’s a random process so apply to other schools that are good fits too.

^ No, it is NOT a random process; it may only appear so to those who are not making the decisions.

I agree that it’s not a random process. Getting accepted with a relatively low test score as an OOS student suggests to me that there is something else in the application that is highly desireable.

Are you an URM (AA, Hispanic?), if you are not, and doesn’t seem to be 1st gen or low income (Questbridge people)… then OOS with this stats is almost impossible. My general rule for UNC OOS is to add 100 SAT pts to the mid-range over CDS… or at 75th percentile, whichever the lower for Whites and Asians w/o specific hooks (national awards. athletes, huge donor legacies etc)… for URM, then take the mean of the CDS range, could skew even lower if combo with 1st gen and low income. UNC OOS is very difficult, do not let the overall high acceptance rate and the mean SATs to fool you./ JMHO

By random, there is no magic formula even in the common data set. Once you pass a threshold of the general average there is no guarantee of admission. I know multiple people with perfect scores or close to that were not accepted. Perhaps subjective rather than random is the correct word but the qualitative aspects matter. My advice as a successful applicant is still to focus on those. Chapel Hill seems to attract students who are bright and passionate let that show in your application beyond your test scores.