What are my chances?

Colleges & Universities A-Z University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill
1

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<p>Here's the lowdown:</p>

<p>I'm from a suburb of Chicago and go to a large high school (3,600 students, with 900 in my grade). I'm strong in all areas but math and science (as my grades and test scores demonstrate). I take honors and AP classes in all subjects but math and science, in which I'm placed in accelerated. My school is very competitive, and it is recognized as one of the best in the state. And I will be a senior this coming year.</p>

<p>I am very interested in journalism and plan to major in that (and possibly double major with either advertising or Spanish). </p>

<p>I don't know if it's worth mentioning but I had some pretty serious health issues through high school, which caused me to miss a fair amount of school (20 days freshman year alone), and I received surgery this past year.</p>

<p>ACT:
-Overall 31 (35 English, 34 Reading, 29 Math, 26 Science)</p>

<p>APs:
-Spanish (4), American Gov't (4), Comparative Gov't (4)
-Next year I'm taking AP English (will take both English tests then), AP Psychology, and AP US History.</p>

<p>Class rank: 63/899 (weighted)
GPA: 3.75 (unweighted)/4.66 (weighted)</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
Youth group (frosh)
JV swim team (frosh--had to quit for health reasons)
Winter swim club (frosh)
Student council (frosh, soph)
Peaceable Schools Initiative (frosh, soph)
Literary magazine prose reader (frosh, soph, jr., sr.)
Guitar lessons (frosh, soph, jr.)
Summer swim team (frosh, soph)
Lifeguarding and teaching swim lessons (frosh, soph, jr.)
Nat'l Spanish Honors Society (soph, jr., sr.)
Nat'l Honors Society (jr., sr.)
My town's youth commission (jr., sr.)</p>

<p>The extracurricular I'm most passionate about is the school newspaper, which you cannot join till junior year. It has received awards at the state and national level. This year I was the copy editor (great for a junior), and next year I'm the news editor. To say it takes up a great deal of time is an understatement. I'm just afraid colleges won't realize how much time it did consume (I would be there until 11 on school nights several times a month).</p>

<p>Thanks--I'm interested to hear your responses.</p>

2

<p>Hmmmm, it's a reach, IMO. I assume you already know about how hard it is for OOS students at UNC. </p>

<p>Your ECs are strange, because other than your literary magazine, you either quit some that you were in, joined some just to put them on your app, etc. Colleges want to see 4 year committment to ECs.</p>

<p>ACT score is low for OOS standards. I know that will shock you, but look at the thread "Early Action", to see the SAT/ACT scores on CC for last years applicants. People with 1470 SAT's (equivalent to 33 ACT) were getting rejected. Your score is low. Colleges also like seeing the SAT rather than the ACT on the app.</p>

<p>Good class rank, but not a great UW GPA. What is your UW Academic GPA on a 4.0 scale? Also, 4's on AP tests aren't great, but won't hurt you or help you.</p>

<p>I'd say UNC is a definite reach for you. They are looking for the cream of the crop when it comes to OOS applicants. They have a 18% quota for OOS applicants, and many of those spots are for athletes. So if you're not 6'9" 250 and have a serious jump shot, I don't see you getting in.</p>

3

<p>My UW GPA on a 4.0 scale is about 3.75</p>

4

<p>From the Carolina Alumni Review, March/April '04:</p>

<p>Profile of Students Entering UNC, Fall 2004
By Residency and Alumni Status
North Carolina Applied Admitted Admit % Enrolled Yield
Non Alumni 6,667 3,744 56.2% 2,352 62.8%
Alumni children 1,314 821 62.5% 579 70.5%
Total 7,981 4,565 57.2% 2,931 64.2% </p>

<p>Out-of-State Applied Admitted Admit % Enrolled Yield
Non Alumni 10,592 1,987 18.8% 576 29.0%
Alumni children 480 184 38.3% 82 44.6%
Total 11,072 2,171 19.6% 658 30.3% </p>

<p>All Applied Admitted Admit % Enrolled Yield
Non Alumni 17,259 5,731 33.2% 2,928 51.1%
Alumni children 1,794 1,005 56.0% 661 65.8%
Total 19,053 6,736 35.4% 3,589 53.3% </p>

<p>As you can see it helps to be an alumni-child.</p>

<p>Some SAT scores:</p>

<p>SAT I Results*
Average<br>
North Carolina 1275
Out of state 1340
All 1287 </p>

<p>Middle 50 percent
North Carolina 1200-1360<br>
Out of state 1270-1450
All 1210-1380
*32 students did not report SAT results </p>

<p>Good luck! Chapel Hill is a great school.</p>

5

<p>ACT Results*<br>
Average<br>
North Carolina 26.4
Out of state 29.5
All 27.2 </p>

<p>Middle 50 percent
North Carolina 24-29
Out of state 28-32
All 25-30<br>
*2,724 students did not report ACT results</p>

6

<p>A2Wolves6 wrote:</p>

<p>"They have a 18% quota for OOS applicants, and many of those spots are for athletes. So if you're not 6'9" 250 and have a serious jump shot, I don't see you getting in."</p>

<p>I've seen posts like this in other threads and posters are both inaccurate and ill-informed. Aside from the reference and insinuation that someone's "spot" is being taken by a basketball player, applicants should realize that there are only 453 male varsity athletes that make up 7% of the undergrad student body (baseball, basketball, cheerleading, cross-country, fencing, football, golf, lacrosse, soccer, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field (indoor), track and field (outdoor), wrestling); and 329 female athletes that make up 4% of the undergrads (basketball, crew, cross-country, fencing, field hockey, golf, gymnastics, lacrosse, soccer, softball, swimming and diving, tennis, track and field (indoor), track and field (outdoor), volleyball).</p>

<p>I'd also bet a paycheck that they all aren't 6'9", 250 with a grreat jump shot either. For example, the baseball team had 10 players from out of state out of 35 on the roster. In addition- there are only 11 basketball players on the roster - and 7 out of state. (Source:<a href="http://tarheelblue.collegesports.com/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://tarheelblue.collegesports.com/&lt;/a&gt;)&lt;/p>

<p>Athletics is a big part of what makes UNC a great school to attend. I'm sure it would be a very boring place if all of the students had identical profiles, test scores, and EC's (like so many I've seen here)</p>

<p>There are over 2800 slots allocated to out of state students - with the vast majority going to NON athletes.</p>

7

<p>I just saw a UNC Chapel Hill representative on Friday, and she said that out of 19000 applicants, about half are from out of state (9500). The school aims for a class of 3700 total, and with 18% allocated to OOS, that's 666 students . . . what an evil number! </p>

<p>However, they offer spots to MORE THAN this number, because they're expecting that many will reject, so about 2,000 OOS people get offers. That's 2000/9500 = 21.1%, better than the Ivy Leagues, to be sure.</p>

<p>I'd say that to ease your fears, you should take the SAT or ACT again and try to get above the 75th percentile, which is 1450 or 32. That should give you much better chances. And prepare to plug your newspaper and your dedication to it with all your might.</p>