<p>I'm a freshman in CD 1 and I'm planning on applying to NC School of Science and Math next year. I've taken Honors World History, Honors Biology, Career Management Health, and Visual Arts 1 (all A's and highest course averages for school).
I'm currently taking Honors English 1, Honors Algebra 2, PE/Health, and Digital Communications (had no lower than 96 for first grading period of this semester).
Next year, I'm planning on taking Honors Precalc, Honors Civics and Economics, Honors English 2, Honors Chemistry, Honors Physics, Spanish 1 and 2, and Health Science 1.
I got a 160 on my PSAT (1600 on SAT) first time. My GPA is 4.5 weighted, 4.0 unweighted.
I'm in Student Government (Freshman Class Pres. and Homeroom Rep), Marching Band (1st year, 3rd out of 6th chair trumpet), and HOSA (Youngest President in school's history).
I play Rec Baseball (outfield) and planning to play school golf or tennis next year.
I'm very active in my church (choir, usher, and occasional Sunday School teacher) and my community (intern at NASA SEMAA, tutor).
I also do a few summer programs (Labs4Learning at NCSSM, NASA SEMAA, planning to do UNC LEAD in pharmacy).
I also was a Black History Quiz Bowl Team Captain and nominated for awards for Respect and Responsibility.
What are my chances and what are things that I could maybe improve on?</p>
<p>A good thing to do would be to have a look at the application to NCSSM. How well can you answer the questions they ask? Any place you answer weakly is automatically an area you need to work on. How you look on paper is critical. </p>
<p>The thing you have to remember is that NCSSM is a political entity that exists at the pleasure of our legislature. NCSSM is in a constant struggle to prove it’s worth the funding it receives. Students are it’s stock in trade. </p>
<p>So what makes you a great piece of stock? What are you going to bring to the school that will enhance it? On paper, you look like a very solid, all around student. But what is unique about you? What is something you are likely to continue to excel in that will reflect well on NCSSM as you move into your junior and senior years? Good publicity is the life blood of NCSSM. What can you do to keep NCSSM in the public eye? Your sports experience appears more recreational than competitive, so that’s probably not going to be your strong suit. You need to put a little more work into your SAT score. NCSSM needs to keep its SAT average at the top of North Carolina high schools so that the legislature doesn’t question why it’s funding a school that doesn’t do as well on academic indicators as other schools, so try not to be below their school average when you apply. Your music is nice, but not exceptional. I don’t think the school cares one way or the other about your service to your church. It’s wonderful on a personal and community level, but unless you can show how NCSSM can get some media attention out of it, it won’t be a big factor. </p>
<p>Where you appear to be most appealing is your quiz bowl record and your summer learning. There is some potential there for you to shape yourself during your sophomore year. Does your school have a Science Olympiad team? An Oceans Science team? Any kind of competitive engineering team? A traveling quiz bowl team? If yes, join them. In not, start a team. Most academic competitions have excellent web sites. You can get some help there. Approach a teacher before your school gets out for the summer and get him/her to sponsor the team. Spend the summer organizing. Show NCSSM that you can take the initiative. </p>
<p>One of the questions on the application is demonstrating how you’ve shown a distinct desire to do more in an area, I think specifically math and science. You need to rock this question. </p>
<p>NCSSM needs people who will be successful during their junior and senior years and who will do well in college and beyond. The school takes credit for individual successes wherever and whenever it can and looks for students who will reflect well upon them. If you understand what the school desperately needs, you can better shape yourself to appeal to them. Tell them you are tremendously ambitious. Don’t be shy about tooting your own horn. Show them how aggressive you are in regard to your learning by spending your sophomore year building on the very good start you’ve already made. </p>
<p>Remember, their jobs are on the line. They aren’t looking for potential, they’re looking for accomplishments. Package yourself as an asset to them.</p>
<p>My school does not offer many extracurricular science/math/engineering clubs because of resources and the passing rate of many classes is ~55-65%. Right now, I believe that you have just rained on my parade, as many people from CD 1 who GET ACCEPTED TO NCSSM are seen as specks of dirt to people from schools like Enloe and Wakefield. Only 3 APs are offered at my school, along with only about 6 clubs that accomplish something in the community (I’m in three of them). CD 1 isn’t as competitive as CD 3 and boasts one of the highest poverty rates in the state, so many students don’t even think about going to college or getting a master’s degree. Two of my friends just got accepted and they only had SAT scores of 1360 and 1420, respectively, and still got accepted to one of the most elite high schools in the nation. So, do research before responding to any person’s post and think of encouraging words instead of making them feel like they will never reach their goals.</p>
<p>I’m sorry, Evan. I thought you were looking for ways to increase your chances of getting into NCSSM. You asked what you could improve on and I suggested you create an angle for yourself, a way of packaging yourself, that was independent of what your poor school could offer.</p>
<p>I did not suggest you take more AP classes, because I am aware that not all high schools offer extensive course lists. NCSSM doesn’t look at how many AP’s you take anyway. It looks at whether you’re taking the most challenging courses available at your base school. </p>
<p>I suggested you increase your SAT score, which is totally dependent upon you, not upon the poverty rate of your CD. If you are satisfied that your PSAT reflects what your SAT will likely be and you feel you can rest on that since 1600 is higher than the scores of previously admitted students, then rest on it. Sorry to suggest you nail it. </p>
<p>Your school not having strong clubs and your attitude about it is a problem. There are so many clubs that have been started by enterprising kids, that using this as an excuse will not win you any points when it comes time to apply at NCSSM. Interest clubs require very little start-up money (maybe nothing) and there are professional societies, especially engineering societies, that specifically seek out under-represented and low income schools and kids to assist. If you took the initiative, if you tried to start a club under the harsh conditions in your CD, if you wrote to a professional organization and asked for sponsorship money or competition money, even if you failed, it would say so much more about your creativity and determination than complaining about a lack of clubs ever could. </p>
<p>As far as Enloe or Wakefield people treating other NCSSM students poorly, I’ve only heard once of a student being talked down to and everyone thought it was classless. </p>
<p>If you want me to simply encourage you and reassure you that your freshman record guarantees you a seat at NCSSM, I guess I could do that. But you specifically asked how to improve your chances of getting into NCSSM, which is a different thing entirely. </p>
<p>Either way, best of luck. And consider getting those sponsorships.</p>
<p>I just had never heard that quite of criticism before because many people from my area don’t have the resources to do as well as I am doing, extracurricular and academic wise. I was also tired and cranky (but I’m a very funny and nice person all-around) at the time. My school is very strict on money and really aren’t trying to spend more money on clubs (though they can spend $2000 on revamping an unsuccessful Freshman Academy). So, I just felt that you didn’t my EXACT situation. </p>
<p>But, the toughest classes at my school are AP Calc AB, AP Stat, and AP Eng Lit. It’s super hard to get a teacher to teach AP Eng Lit and AP Calc AB and AP Stat are only offered online. If you want my classes for next year, here they are:</p>
<p>Honors Precalculus (yearlong double-credit)
Honors English 2
Honors Civics and Economics
Honors Chemistry
Honors Physics
Spanish 1
Allied Health Science 1</p>
<p>I will stay in my three current organizations (HOSA, SGA, and marching band) and may start an Envirothon team. Plus, I don’t remember all the numerous awards I won since 7th grade. I have somewhere between 75-100 awards and recognitions since 7th grade. </p>
<p>I am taking the SAT again soon and I am sure it will go up ~100-300 points. Most seniors at my school don’t hit above 1400 mark.</p>
<p>No worries, Evan. </p>
<p>I agree that your SAT score will go up and good that your goal is to continuously improve it, not just for NCSSM, but for college. I don’t know if you are a minority, but a strong PSAT score will help you win scholarship money as a National Hispanic Scholar or as a National Achievement Scholar, so it’s worth it to focus on it. You’ll probably start getting hit with postcards and phonecalls from expensive SAT tutoring services soon, but I know kids who’ve done those tutorials and I know kids who’ve used the Princeton Review guide by checking it out from the library along with the on-line guides from the College Board (for free), and I assure you that you CAN make gains without a huge cash outlay. Be sure to read the testing strategies at the front of the book and the answer explanations in the back. Prepositionals idioms are killers. 
</p>
<p>It’s a shame that a kid can’t always look to their school for the right type of academic support. I think most schools concentrate their efforts around the 30-80th percentiles, leaving kids at the bottom and the top to fend for themselves. This is what you are going to have to do-fend for yourself. As unfair as it is to expect this from a 14 year old, you are going to have to go out and get what you want, maybe even without an administrator lifting a finger to help you. But the good thing, the amazing thing is, that once you see the difference you can make in your situation for yourself, you’ll be unstoppable. I’m not saying you can go out and hire the teachers your school can’t, but in the areas you can affect, you must seize control. If you hear of or see something you’d like to have or do at your school or have for yourself - go up and say to someone - “How can I get that?”</p>
<p>Most people don’t realize until they are seniors that there are kids at their school who know things - who maybe have had older brothers or sisters who’ve shown them how things are done. You’ll be at graduation and suddenly the principal will start talking about some kid next to you who has done research or been to Europe to study or done some crazy, unbelieveable thing, and you’ll ask, “How can this be? No one ever told me about these opportunities!!!” It really is like a top secret - I didn’t understand it because I thought I was maximizing my opportunities, too, but there are layers of opportunity out there. Start peeling them back and see what you can find. Start with the guidance counselor at your school, then at your local community college. Pay attention to that student achievement section in your local paper. That’s how I found out about a scholarship opportunity. </p>
<p>You’re doing the right thing with your coursework and grades. Keep that up. You are doing well with your extra-curriculars and awards - You are definitely a strong candidate for NCSSM right this very minute, but just try to imagine how AWESOME it would look on your NCSSM application when it asks you what you’ve done that shows an extended interest in a subject and you say, “I wanted an environmental club at my school, there wasn’t one, so I made it happen, not only for myself, but for the other kids in my community.”</p>
<p>You’ll show NCSSM, and colleges, too, that you aren’t going to let obstacles stand in your way. When everyone else is content to just sit back and let things continue the way they always have, you have the grit to say, “That isn’t enough for me. I want to do more.” </p>
<p>Wow! That’s someone they’ll definitely want at their schools. </p>
<p>You are doing very well with what you’ve been given and I don’t want to minimize that, but if the goal is to get you out of your current high school, to absolutely get you a seat at NCSSM, then don’t be satisfied with competing against just the kids in your school. There may be kids from private schools in that area in your applicant pool next year. You want to look better than them, too.</p>
<p>Good Luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for the encouragement and what I can improve on. Many people are like “You’ll get in” but they don’t know the hard work that is put in to go somewhere of your dreams. I came here to find out what other people in the world will say so I can toughen up my stats and make sure I WILL get in. </p>
<p>Thanks again!</p>
<p>So…did you get in?! The suspense is killing me. But that’s okay because I’m a cat.</p>