I just started my junior year of high school and I am very interested in attending either UNC Chapel Hill or NC State; however, I understand that both are very challenging schools to be accepted in and I would appreciate it if someone would evaluate my current chances. I am an in-state student. Here is some information about me(please keep in mind that I just started my junior year and that I have not yet taken the SAT/ACT):
-current GPA: 3.8 weighted 3.6 unweighted(This year, I am taking 3 AP classes and one honors so hopefully that will raise my GPA; does anyone have an idea how much it will raise if I maintain mostly A’s and one or two B’s?)
-PSAT: I scored an 850 on the 1600 scale and a 1330 on the 2400 scale. Now, I understand this is an extremely low score; I have a learning disorder called dyscalculia where I have extreme difficulty learning math facts, whereas my reading and writing skills have always been high. Therefore, my reading scores on the PSAT were near perfect, while my math scores were severely low. However, this year I have been working with a tutor to prepare for the math portion of the PSAT and will be relentlessly preparing, so I expect my SAT scores to be significantly higher than my PSAT score.
-Extracurriculars/other: Eagle Scout, Marching Band (four years), Piano (four years), National Spanish Honor Society, most likely will be inducted in National Honor Society (juniors at my school can’t be in that until later in the year), other clubs I plan to join this year and next, I will get a job next summer. Also, my dad went to UNC (if that helps at all; it probably doesn’t).
Please be as honest and give advice on what I would need to do to raise my chances. (Other schools I will apply to are University of South Carolina, Appalachian State, and UNC Wilmington; any ideas there?) How hard difficult would it be/how long would it take to transfer from one of these schools to UNC or NCSU?
I would say that right now unless you can raise your scores and GPA, I would maybe look into Appalachian State or UNCW. You could even probably get into South Carolina. However, I don’t think you are in the criteria for UNC or NCSU just because of how high the scores they require and GPA. Good luck, if I were you I would definitely pick Appalachian State. Beautiful campus. If not, try to get your stats up and it should open up more options.
What major are you considering applying as? If you’re looking to go into the engineering school at NCSU, then that’s a reach. However, if you’re planning on applying as a communications major, then that’s a different story.
I highly doubt that your english scores were “nearly perfect” assuming you got the lowest possible math score (200) then the best you could’ve done on english is a 650 which is 150 points away from perfect. The PSAT may only be out of 760 on each section, but CB makes it clear that there is no conversion and a 650 PSAT = 650 SAT.
Depending on how many classes you took freshman and sophomore year, you can average all of your grades together with your projected grades this year to estimate your end-of-jr-year GPA. However, unless you get straight A’s this year, I don’t think your grades will change significantly.
But, I hate to say this, none of that will really matter unless you pull your SAT score up to about 2000/2400 or 1370/1600 (more or less) for both UNC and NC State. Also think about bulking up your extracurriculars a little bit. Have you registered for extra time on the SAT/ACT? I know NC kids have to take the ACT in the spring, so now would be a good time to check with your counselor about that.
I wouldn’t tell the universities you have that learning disorder in your essays. I know it’s unfair, but it looks pretty bad when they’re trying to find students who will excel academically
I would still apply to these schools, even though everyone is saying they’re reaches. Someone mentioned App State, and that is a gorgeous school. Maybe try taking the act, you might do better at it, especially since the scores from each category are averaged. Good luck!