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Will I get into UNC in State
10wysakeeper
2 replies2 threads New Member
Hello, Im a senior at a small school in Wilson North Carolina that doesn’t report class rank. I have a 3.64 unweighted and a 4.64 weighted gpa along with a 1260 sat. I have taken 12 AP classes and 10 Honors courses throughout high school. I have tons of extracurriculars including NHS, SGA, Chick-fil-a Leader Academy- raised 26,000 dollars for chew in 2018, Youth and Government, Tennis, and Shotgun Shooting- NC National Team member. I worked at the after school program at my school for a year and have helped a retired teacher at his house for the past 2 months. I have already applied early action to NC and hope to get in. What are my chances?
17 replies
Replies to: Will I get into UNC in State
Certainly apply, but make sure to have a list that includes target schools and at least one affordable highly likely/safety school.
Good luck.
If you're certain you're going to a public NC university, go ahead and apply early action to two or three more at the same time. You'll have a better change (but no guarantee) at NCSU. You should get into just about all the rest. Choose three besides UNC, find out early which ones you get into, and then you can start really planning where you go next year.
With that said, admission for you will be very difficult. Try to get your test score improved. You never know, things work out for the best. Best of luck!!!!
I was told directly by a former admissions committee member of a VA state school that if they took the best qualified students every year 90+ % of the instate class would come from Northern Virginia, Richmond and Virginia Beach. And that the state legislature would simply not stand for that. Every year they turned down better qualified students from those areas in favor of less qualified students from less populous areas.
I can say that when compared to students from a high ranking Charlotte high school my son has a punchers chance of admission. Compared to all admitted students he should have a very good chance of admissions. All this is from Naviance. So at least regarding my son's school - clearly there are students denied admission with statistics higher than the average. I would assume Wake and perhaps to a lesser degree Guilford/Forsyth county students face the same dilemma.
Having said that - any student still has to qualify regardless of geography but by any indication being a student from Mecklenburg or Wake means you need to be above or well above the average to stand a chance.
Different times for sure - I applied to UNC out of state early decision and never really thought that I wouldn't get in. I don't know that I'd stand a chance today.
Seems like a lot focus on the comments here are around your unweighted GPA and standardized test scores. With the rigor of your course load, your weighted GPA is definitely in range. Your first reported SAT scores are probably in the 20th percentile and the second set moves you into the range of the current class of 2023 (1310-1460). See for https://admissions.unc.edu/files/2019/10/Class-Profile_FINAL.pdf for the current class profile.
Your ECs are impressive at a glance and if you have taken leadership roles you have a good story to tell. I want to encourage you but getting in to Carolina is still a challenge. Much depends on how you come across to the reader of the application. Are you a good fit? Do your essays reflect what you can bring to the school?
As for test scores and rural counties: A few years back, my daughter applied with SAT scores in the 25th percentile but with good ECs, a 4.6+ weighted GPA and a high class rank (top 2%). We are located in western NC in a small county without the opportunities offered by the schools in Wake, Mecklenburg and other counties. I was concerned that if she got in she might be swallowed up by the competition and pressures of Carolina. Turns out I was completely wrong. She graduated with "Distinction" and went on to get a Master's degree at UNC. Several others from her high school class also got in and had great success. So good, solid and well prepared students can thrive at Chapel Hill. Best of luck to you wherever you end up and make the most of the opportunities presented.
I'm not sure I would get into any of them - in or out of state - these days. But no one seemed that worried back then. Maybe the relative lack of information made us blissfully naive.
Your daughter and her classmates are good examples that success isn't measured by your high school or where you grew up. Unfortunately there are in any given year more deserving kids than spots so hard decisions have to be made - I don't think anyone who does get in doesn't deserve a spot. As a parent, of course, it is hard to know he has a stiffer road because of where he went to school, on the flip side he has had a really broad, rich and challenging high school experience with a lot of opportunities others have not had because of where he went to school. His high school is also a pressure cooker as well with an incredibly competitive student body. There is, as the saying goes, no free lunch.