<p>@nate42: I want to go to WF and UNC too. We are way too similar.</p>
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<p>@evanb1996: Haha, yes we are. If you don’t get accepted to NCSSM (which I highly doubt). Then maybe we will meet up at SVSM. NCSSM would be crazy to not accept you though.</p>
<p>@nate42: Maybe. If I went to SVSM, then I would hope I get selected to go to App State or UNCC. I get too much of ECU and NCCU, since I don’t live that far from either one.</p>
<p>But we will meet eventually. I feel that it will be sometime in the next year or so.</p>
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<p>@Nate & Fantasy: You both bring up good points. Funny thing is, I love both subjects equally in different ways- music is much more fun, while science is much more interesting… It’ll probably wind up being a coin toss decision or something. Thanks for the input :).</p>
<p>@evanb1996: Yes hopefully we will, I would really like to meet you.
Since the Medical research program only has ten spots then maybe we will be sent to ASU for Biology. Haha I am pretty much the opposite. I really would like to get away from home and go to ECU.</p>
<p>@nate42: Where do you get these logistics from? You know all these exact numbers about each of the programs. I’m amazed at your research!</p>
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<p>@evanb1996: Haha, it’s usually what I spend my free time doing, researching the program.
I found someone who attended SVSM last year and was accepted to the Medical Research program. She said that only 10 were accepted, 6 rising seniors and 4 rising juniors. So really there is only 4 open spots for me and you. This is why I am anticipating being sent somewhere else.</p>
<p>@nate42: Haha. You can just hope for the best.</p>
<p>Yepp, when do you receive notifications whether you were accepted to NCSSM or not?</p>
<p>@nate42: Mid-April. I have to go up there Feb. 11 to take tests. So, I will be a bundle of nerves until April. I’m trying to keep myself occupied with activities until then.</p>
<p>The Discovery Day test? And I can completely relate, I don’t think I am going to be able to wait until April on the SVSM notification.</p>
<p>NCSSM sounds so prestigious. Like it deserves a fanfare or something!</p>
<p>But…why would you want to apply to a high school where EVERYONE is an overachiever? Doesn’t that mean competition for scholarships, EC leadership positions, and the like will intensify? Also, with a harder high school, wouldn’t your GPA and class rank drop like a stone?</p>
<p>Obviously, if you are able to do well, then attending said school will really help you out with the college application process…but what if you struggle? Would that make you look bad? </p>
<p>Just wondering :)</p>
<p>^ I had the same sentiments when I was applying to IMSA (IL’s version of NCSSM except you can only apply as an 8th grader/Freshman). I saw it two different ways:</p>
<p>1: IMSA can provide me with an outlet for (arguably) the best science education in the country while also letting me fulfill and solve every curiosity and quibble I had. It was essentially an incubator for my intelligence.</p>
<p>2: IMSA will essentially be prison where I’m bound by the laws of higher academia. I’ll drown in the idiotic workload while stressing over the unnecessary. I could end up miserably failing, which would make me look bad for college admissions and result in me wasting 4 years of my life in a hell hole.</p>
<p>Things didn’t end up going my way, but I was slightly relieved. My meager public high school has a commendable load of resources for the academically-driven, and apparently the latter suspicions I had of IMSA were almost true. The school, as prestigious as it is, has a supposed smuggling ring for study drugs like Ritalin and Adderall. That in itself implies much.</p>
<p>^^ The best science education in the country? Wouldn’t that honor go to TJ?</p>
<p>This is slightly off topic, but unlike many of you, science is not my thing. I’m far more interested in languages and the arts. My question is if, in general, LACs (specifically Midd) will even pay much attn to that portion of my academic journey?</p>
<p>I see NCSSM as a place where there are people who are just like me: those who seek an education and to make a change in the world around them. NCSSM believes in the mission of training today’s learners into leaders that will drive the world of tomorrow. I don’t want to go to just to say I attended a top school in the nation or to be better off in graduate school or whatever. I want to go to increase my awareness of the well being of my state, the nation, and the world, develop my leadership skills, and earn an education that will compliment those things. Plus, I feel that my high school does not have the appropriate resources to help with my goals or dreams. Even though I know that there will be someone who is better at me at something or who will win the scholarship that I put countless hours of research and dedication into completing the application for, I know that I will grow as a person in an environment that will put take out of my comfort zone and make me learn to defend for myself. And that is all that really matters to me.</p>
<p>Even though you are restricted in certain things and may drown in the workload, you end up becoming a new person and more prepared for college.</p>
<p>@catchtwentythree: At NCSSM, everything is not weighted like it is at a traditional public high school. Many colleges around the country, especially the ones on the East Coast, know of the rigor of the courses at NCSSM. It won’t make you look bad, it will just show that you are human and you have struggles academically.</p>
<p>@anaychi
Study drugs are not uncommon at prestigious high schools. Kids there pop pills like they’re gumballs, especially before major exams, like finals, or the SAT. It’s sad that kids feel so pressured into academic success that they have to resort to substance abuse.
An unhealthy environment, if you ask me. </p>
<p>@evan
Lol…it sounds like you’re quoting from the school’s website or something. “Our mission statement: NCSSM believes in the mission of training today’s learners into leaders that will drive the world of tomorrow…” But it’s great that you feel that way. You sound like you really love this school- good luck with your application! </p>
<p>I’ve heard of schools that are feeders for the Ivies…wonder if NCSSM is one of them?</p>
<p>@Studious Note that I did say “arguably.” I’m from Illinois, so a little bit of home state pride influences what I say (everyone’s guilty of that). The two schools are closely ranked, maintaining similar curriculums with equal rigor.</p>
<p>@catchtwentythree: It really does sound that way after I read it LOL. My heart just really poured out when I was writing that. I feel like that I should’ve used that little rant I had in my application. </p>
<p>But, NCSSM isn’t necessarily a feeder for Ivies, but it does send quite a few people each year. Most of the graduates have their sights set on in state schools, like Duke or UNC.</p>
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<p>anaychi: Okay. I will have to look up that school. When you say “arguably,” it doesn’t change the absolute statement of “the best science education…” If you’d said “one of the best,” I wouldn’t have said anything. But TJ is consistently ranked first in the nation and sends more kids to Intel semifinals than any other school (USAMO and USAPhO as well). I believe it has the (or one of the) highest SAT averages in the nation (2200 something). It’s hard for me to ignore a statement that discredits TJ, most arguably the best science education in the country. ;)</p>