NCSSM admissions opinion from an alumnus

NCSSMalum · May 23, 2013, 1:13am

I have mixed feelings about having attended NCSSM. Though I was extremely happy to leave, I have realized two years later that I could not be who I am today without having attended this school. I certainly a more confident and outgoing person because I went to this school, and I certainly have a great work ethic. However, these benefits have only come from enduring what I can safely say were the worst two years of my life.

I do not expect to be more unhappy for such an extended period of time ever again. Largely because of the rules and restrictions on daily student life, but also because of the insane amounts of homework (I get much less at the top 15 university I go to now), discouraging academic environment, and awkward social scene, my two years spent at this school were absolutely horrific. Because of the stress of homework and the drama of being a young adult in high school I consistently had night terrors while I slept. During the 3-6 hours of sleep I managed between classes and homework, I would have gruesome, terrible dreams that I only realized were not normal when I stopped having them 3 months after graduating. I would return home during breaks tensed and extremely irritable, fighting often with my parents. There is not room to list here the countless other psychological effects of my stay at this school.

All of this stress and hardship had little academic payoff. Because I was not a straight-A student (few people are at that school), I was blocked out of many of the programs and research opportunities that initially attracted me to NCSSM. My attempts to create my own research opportunities and clubs were only met with unenthusiastic “help” from administrators and teachers who did not email me back or showed little interest in my success. Today, I am proud to say that I enjoy a great amount of success within my college, but NCSSM is the ONLY place I have ever been where my ABSOLUTE BEST effort was met with discouragement and failure.

Even after all of this, I still do not know if I REGRET going to NCSSM. I am much happier now and have been able to achieve all of my academic, social and extracurricular goals, and I know that I would not be the person I am now without having attended this school. However, for the perspective student: do yourself a favor and STEER CLEAR of this school.

Skrunch · May 23, 2013, 1:52am

I have a kid slated to attend for the fall. There are a couple of folks on the boards who have a similar view of the school. It makes me nervous. If you are willing, I would appreciate some more info:

1) School starts 8/10. Could a kid go, try it out for 3-4 weeks and get a reasonable feel for any of the problems you imply?—as the kid could then go back to his/her home school and essentially get a “do over” and need never reference NCSSM on his resume.

2) Do you believe a substantial amount of your class mates felt this way?

3) Does this view permeate kids who come from certain districts (i.e., rural vs. CD9)?

4) You were accepted into a T15 school. Do you think your time at NCSSM had a role in this? Or, were the “Bs” suffered on your transcript more of a detriment vs. the “As” at the home school.

5) Any recommendations re classes/teachers/advice for those coming after you.

NCSSMalum · May 23, 2013, 5:15pm

Thanks for the reply. Here is my opinion on each of your questions:

1) I can only speak for myself on the first part of this. I was very excited to go to NCSSM at the beginning and happy there for the first 2-3 months. After this point, however, my experience became more and more like the one I described above. As far as leaving the school, I know a few people who have done this. The first left after one month, never thought about it again, and also ended up at a top 15 college. The second left after one year and later went to the state school he wanted. During my year, there were quite a few (I am not sure of the exact number but probably about 5-10) people who were kicked out of the school because of marijuana possession. This happened at the beginning of senior year. As far as I am aware, most of these students ended up at state schools. I have heard this type of substance abuse problem has happened since I have been gone and happened before I came. The only reason I did not leave was because I felt that it would be too hard to fulfill my old school’s course requirements after being at NCSSM. NCSSM does not follow the same course requirements as the rest of NC’s public schools. You may want to compare your schools requirements and compare them the NCSSM’s. I was also afraid that it would look bad on my transcript (however, this does not seem to be true in light of my friends who left NCSSM and got in to the college they wanted).

2) There are certainly a lot of students who go to NCSSM and have a completely different experience than I did. However, I believe that there are a significant number of students that had an awful experience at this school. Within my close friend group, I know that all of them (about 5-6) felt similar to me. The prevailing feeling among the other students I interacted with was that they did not like the school because of the amount of work and strict rules.

3) The students who I feel had the most negative experiences at NCSSM primarily came from the more urban areas of NC (Triangle, Triad, and Charlotte). NCSSM’s best quality seems to be that they provide a sort of safe haven for kids who feel strongly that they do not fit in at their rural high school. Many of these students have great experiences at the school.

4) To be blunt, NCSSM destroyed my academic career in high school. At my old high school I was highly ranked, had straight A’s, and was seemingly on track to go to a very prestigious school. This changed at NCSSM. I received a mix of both A’s and B’s (a few more B’s than A’s). What killed me, however, was that I was blocked out of many of the best extracurricular activities because of grades. I was not able to participate in the research and mentorship opportunities I had hoped would build my transcript. In the end, I did end up getting into a very prestigious university, but this success cannot be attributed to NCSSM. My friends who stayed at my original high school and were of a similar class rank ended up also going to top colleges with much less effort and struggle than me. They were able to participate in more clubs and other extracurricular because they had more free time and a more encouraging environment. I am very proud to be where I am now, but I believe I could have been accepted to a greater number of very selective schools had I stayed at my original high school.

5) If your child does decide to go, it is important to do well on the placement tests for classes. I had to take classes over again that I took during sophomore year, even though I received A’s in these classes. This means that I was a year behind some students at NCSSM and almost all competitive students who did not go to NCSSM. This did not help my transcript. It is also important to try and start a club or participate in extracurricular. It seems excessively hard to do this at NCSSM sometimes, but it is important that you do these things.

Hope this helps and sorry this is so long. These are all of the things I wish someone had told me when I was a prospective student. At the very least I would have known what to expect from the school.

hsgrad · May 27, 2013, 1:06pm

RE: “received a mix of both A’s and B’s (a few more B’s than A’s)…If your child does decide to go, it is important to do well on the placement tests for classes. I had to take classes over again that I took during sophomore year, even though I received A’s in these classes.” Just curious as to why/how you think the work was so hard when you were repeating some classes? Is the work that different? Was the repeat helpful academically or a waste?

And: “What killed me, however, was that I was blocked out of many of the best extracurricular activities because of grades. I was not able to participate in the research and mentorship opportunities I had hoped would build my transcript…”. So many kids seem to LOVE the classes like engineering and immunology. Did you get those options? Did you like that part? 2 friends who are there and did not get research or mentorship loved it still because of the classes they got to take. One is headed to MIT, the other to NC State. Both are glad they went in spite of missing the research boat. Is that how others feel or are these two rare to feel that way.

"…but I believe I could have been accepted to a greater number of very selective schools had I stayed at my original high school." Why did you choose to stay at NCSSM (not being critical, but curious as to why you did not transfer back to your home school)?

Finally, plenty of kids get into several top schools coming from NCSSM. What allows that group that level of success? 2013 saw record numbers admitted to Brown (4, which is high for the school), HYP and of course MIT and Stanford; schools that few if any at our homeschool get into. Also, the kids I know who went and are there LOVE IT socially…that is a huge draw. Many are going back for the summer to volunteer at campus and do research. How happy were you socially and did that make a difference overall? Kids around here who went generally say it is GREAT. BUT they also caution as you do…be prepared to be a small fish in a big pond. You might not be as smart as you think you are (compared to the ‘stars’ of NCSSM) and you might just end up at NC State anyway after killing yourself for 2 years.

Your post is honest and helpful. Thanks.
HSG

suncoast · May 28, 2013, 11:13am

I think my child must have been in your class Malum and shared a very similar, if not exact, experience. Shocking is too light a word for the degree of disinterest the administration and staff exhibited. If I may, I’d like to give you my view of your questions, hs grad.

Many people did do well in the graduating class this year, but I am in agreement with posts on this topics from other grads of the school: The students who went to top schools would have gone there without NCSSM. NCSSM just happened to be clever enough to scoop them up, maintain them, and then take credit for every accomplishment that child ever achieved. Does the school take kids and polish them? Absolutely not. There is no need to do that when the school sucks in highly polished kids from highly polished, high achieving families. They get enough high quality, highly motivated, very savvy kids to not have to put any more work into them.

You asked why the work was so hard when the class had been repeated? Because 1) the teachers are terrible. 2) Little instruction is provided. 3) There are dozens of obstacles and burdens added to a student’s life 4) The climate of the school is not one of support but of survival. 5) NCSSM doesn’t want students to stretch. They’d rather put you in safe classes where you will make a B rather than a C, even if it means you must repeat a class, even if you are bored out of your mind. Kids make bad grades at the school NOT necessarily because the material is harder, but because it comes with all the baggage of a poorly run school. The average student would be better off staying on track at their base school if that school has a decent AP program. FAR BETTER OFF.

WHICH KIDS LOVE ENGINEERING? WHO? My student hated the courses, learned nothing, and was bitterly disappointed because the opportunity for outside the box courses was why we decided the school would be ideal. The engineering teacher did not know the material. Every student in the “very amazing” engineering class my child took was disgusted by the experience.

I’d like to know more about that MIT bound friend of yours who did not do research. What were his/her extra-curriculars or background? I feel like you have omitted some important details there. Just going to NCSSM and having a good time will not get you into MIT.

Why stay at NCSSM? Many students feel trapped because they will be a year behind their base school classmates if they switch back. You are competing for slots against the kids in your high school for slots in top colleges and as your peers advance due to solid instruction and learning opportunities, merging back into a program where kids have stayed on track is hard. But it is doable. A kid who got mixed up in a major marijuana expulsion in junior year ended up going Ivy league. But that student arrived at NCSSM as the Number 1 student from a major high school and was expelled in the first trimester. Apparently, the student, the family and base high school were able to save the kid.

Something like 125 kids are going to UNC from NCSSM out of this class. Some number in the 60’s are going to State. There is a decent showing at top schools, but not more than you would expect from the caliber of students who arrive at NCSSM.

My student still bears the scars of the NCSSM experience. Reaching, overloading, striving: do not do this at NCSSM. You will be all alone at the end of a very thin limb. My child would have been far better off to have stayed at our base school, maintain straight A’s and take the 2350 SAT to the bank. I wish we would have had the courage to leave the school after that first horrible trimester. The small fish in the big pond cliche’ puts the blame for a student’s failure on the student. That is incorrect. But it is correct to say that you will probably kill yourself for two years, endure emotional torture and physical discomfort, and make absolutely no difference in where you end up attending college. In some cases, more than you’d think, students lose ground and go to lesser colleges than they would have if they’d stayed put. Some are so traumatized by NCSSM, they’re lucky to get into college at all.

I agree with Malum. Don’t believe the hype. Steer clear of NCSSM.

hsgrad · May 28, 2013, 1:54pm

Interesting stuff. The two I know who loved 'SMATH" and are headed to MIT and NC State told some other kids going (we all went out this weekend) this…

The one going to NC State wants to do engineering and based all his classes around the NC State articulation agreement. He has a lot of transfer credits going in with him and lots of friends going to State with him. He would have gotten there without NCSSM and had AP to transfer him. But he is glad he went to NCSSM because he liked the residential part, liked the type of kids there and liked his classes. In his opinion, the worst parts of it are some work service hours kid have to do each week. He said teachers others thought were bad he was fine with and when he went for extra help he got it. He thinks it was worth escaping his preppy, sports heavy high school.
The MIT kid had stellar SATs. He moved in the highest math circle of classes and played sports (never could have at our home school since sports are so competitive). He did some math competitions but that was all he could handle. Loved the kids at NCSSM and will miss that most about the place.

Both said the place is NOT helpful in general to a lost soul. You have to go get help. They will help you, but you have to seek it out. Both found other students most helpful (some amerStud humanities class about killed one of them but another student did book discussions with him to help him get it…in turn he carried that kid through pretty basic math). They say kids coming in NOT knowing the negatives or NOT having a total game plan are the ones who tend to hate it. Most who plan right, know the system and find their group socially tend to still hate the work load, but like the place.
Still, good to hear this stuff too.
HSG

suncoast · May 28, 2013, 3:15pm

" 1) School starts 8/10. Could a kid go, try it out for 3-4 weeks and get a reasonable feel for any of the problems you imply?—as the kid could then go back to his/her home school and essentially get a “do over” and need never reference NCSSM on his resume."

I recommend this. Perhaps clear it with your base high school principal first. If you have the gut feeling something is wrong, even if you can’t put your finger on it, believe your gut. Each year, the composition of the class is a little different. Your child may get a great year group or not.

" 2) Do you believe a substantial amount of your class mates felt this way?"

I would say 60% are disappointed in what the school contributes to them academically. Some people are just so happy to be away from home, they could be slapped in the face everyday and not care.

3) Does this view permeate kids who come from certain districts (i.e., rural vs. CD9)?
Yes, the kids who come from good schools (as mine did) and who are on good tracks lose so much more by going to NSSM. It’s tragic. I know of so many kids who were truly cheated out of better colleges by NCSSM.

4) You were accepted into a T15 school. Do you think your time at NCSSM had a role in this? Or, were the “Bs” suffered on your transcript more of a detriment vs. the “As” at the home school.

when a student goes from straight A’s to some B’s at NCSSM it looks like ONE THING to top colleges: YOU CAN’T HANDLE RIGOROUS WORK. So, as I said. Do not stretch. Even if you take frisbee tossing, don’t be tempted to take reach classes unless you have a roommate or close friend who can walk you through it.

5) Any recommendations re classes/teachers/advice for those coming after you.
Don’t take the “harder” classes. They aren’t better, just harder.

suncoast · May 28, 2013, 3:18pm

If that MIT bound student’s name starts with a Consonant, let’s not undersell what that student was when that student got to NCSSM. “Some” math competitions or the most elite math competitions?

Skrunch · May 28, 2013, 3:55pm

My worries relate to suncoast’s comment about “not stretching” yourself. I don’t want to lose 2 years with my kid if it’s not “worth it.” My kid took APs (chem/physB/calc) as sophomore and tested well at Welcome Day. My kid will be put in some of the stretch classes (Physics C, Orgo, Multivariable) just b/c it’s the next step up (assuming AP scores are good–and kid felt good about them). I’ve told kid that he/she cannot go if it means repeating an AP science class. It will look screwy on the transcript. But, assuming she/he doesn’t have to repeat a class, I’m worried about the workload. Kid can probably handle the classes with mucho effort—but probably won’t have the type of ECs kid would have at home b/c of time constraints. Colleges get so many kids with good stats and scores—you have to set yourself apart w/ ECs or “your passion.” I just think kid’s head will be down studying entire Jr. year—the big year for college apps. Here are my questions:

<ol>
<li> How are research/mentorship opps assigned? I get it’s competitive–but based on grades, clicking during interview, etc.</li>
<li> Are there “paths”—focusing on one subject/must take classes—that result in tracking to favored clubs?</li>
<li> Is there any real help/strategizing with college planning by GCs at NCSSM?</li>
<li> Would your advice be the same if you felt your kid’s class options at their home HS (large, urban public) are limited. My kid can’t get the classes NCSSM offers at home HS. It’s NCSSM or start taking a bunch of AP history classes to fill time until senior year. It makes it a tougher call.</li>
</ol>

I appreciate your frankness, as it lets us go into the process with eyes open.

hsgrad · May 28, 2013, 4:07pm

The game plan is what you said: don’t take crazy hard classes. Take what you need to and what you like. That’s what these guys said. The MIT kid took crazy hard math classes…but that is why he went there. He was tapped out at math here in town. He could handle it and wanted to with a fuller life of sports and interesting kids. He got it…exactly what he went there for. He did not go for mentorship. The NC State kid took basic stuff and engineering stuff. Anything hard he took was to transfer to State and he met with teachers all the time to get a B, so the classes would transfer. They HAD a game plan. I can’t see why anyone would pick up and go to that school without one.

Between kids from your homeschool, alum and this board…how do people NOT have a game plan to survive the place? That would be like heading to Exeter or Andover (top NE boarding schools) just because they are good schools and you got in and got a scholarship. You don’t GO just because you get in and don’t have to pay. That makes no sense. You have to have a plan for while attending and for where the school will get you (or keep you from)…a realistic plan.

Both said stay home if you are #1 in your glass and want HYP or if you are top 10% and want UNC. Otherwise, it is a cool place IF you go in with a plan. The ‘plan’ is what they were helping two buddies heading there next year map out. I did two years at another bs but came home because of some family illness issues my parents needed help with. I did not apply to NCSSM residential. Had I not gone away already I would have considered it…but my parents would have made me do what I did with another school; compare and contrast, pros and cons, research with alums, etc. Do people not do this?
Heck, I am doing it now with and for my relative who wants to apply next year! That is that is why these threads are great…but there are SO many more ways to find out the bad AND good of the school. I don’t get how people don’t investigate and plan. If the school website and dog and pony show all folks believe? Just like kids who hated it…do you think their experience is all you should consider? Of course not, it is a totality of things and even then, as my parents said, your experience can never mirror exactly anyone else’s.
HSG

p.s. I don’t know enough about math competitions to know how stellar this kid is, but he said they were opportunities he worked his tail off for, never had before getting to NCSSM and about did him into stay afloat while doing them…and he loved every minute of working with the others and traveling to them (2, I think).

Waiting4acall · May 28, 2013, 6:23pm

Interesting conversation…my child is waitlisted and reading this makes me wonder if that is a good or bad thing.

The home school offers only 4 AP classes: 1 math(Stats), 1 History and 2 English. There is no Physics, no Engineering, no math beyond Calculus, and not even Foreign Language 3. It’s a low income school with few options unless you consider things like Carpentry, Dance and Sports and Entertainment Marketing a viable option.

What’s “typical” for AP offerings at other schools?

Skrunch · May 28, 2013, 9:21pm

The number of AP classes differs by school. Our school offers about 15 AP Classes in a variety of subjects. Your child could access other AP Classes via NC Virtual Public High School through his/her existing public school. AP are valuable at public universities who often provide course credit if scores are high. AP are much less valuable at private universities–who seem to use them for course placement but don’t offer as much credit for the classes taken. Further, I have had adcoms dissuade my kid from using AP credit for “in major” courses. Just b/c you aced AP Chem in 11th grade, doesn’t mean you are going to do well if you go straight into the next level of Chem. two years later at the college level.

NCSSMalum · May 30, 2013, 12:27pm

After reading all of the comments since I last posted, here’s my opinion:

1) Sorry HSgrad I tried to respond to your original post. I spend 30 minutes writing it, but the forum was having server problems and deleted my work. Don’t have time to rewrite that. I agree with a lot of what Suncost said in response. Except for the teacher thing. I liked most of my teachers. Though I dont think any of them would hesitate to absolutely destroy your grades if you weren’t doing well, I built some pretty good relationships with some of my teachers and most were pretty helpful. I think the most important point that we are both trying to make is that NCSSM doesn’t make good students. Good students go to NCSSM and get to about the same place as a normal high school student of the same level, but having done double or triple the work and with probably twice the emotional baggage.

2) HSGrad, I would like to know how your friends knew so much about the school before going there. I never met anyone who was not shocked by the workload, not even my friends with straight A’s and mentorship opportunities. I have several close connections who went to NCSSM before me, so I felt that I knew what to expect. When I got there, I realized I knew nothing about the place and that the admissions officers who enticed me told me almost nothing but lies and exaggerations. This is one of the things that made me so upset while at NCSSM. I felt that the NCSSM admissions officers and administrators had lied to me so that I could be used for the school’s purposes (mainly college placement statistics). The only game plan you can have there is to work. A lot and all the time.

3) Skrunch, obviously, my views are biased. I try to be objective but its really not possible because I only have my own experiences at the school plus some conversations with other students. But one thing stood out to me in your last post: “I don’t want to lose 2 years with my kid if it’s not ‘worth it.’” Though this was not a huge concern of mine at the time, my biggest regret, now that I am older, about going to NCSSM is that I lost 2 years with my family without even get anything out of the school (in fact I received negative value). I could have been at home watching my younger siblings grow up, but instead I was at school. I have come to regret (more than any other single thing) not being able to spend time with them during some of their most important years.

4) Skrunch, there is an application process for the mentorship and research programs. However, you cannot apply if you do not have above a certain (very high) GPA. There are enough courses that your child should be able to bring a decent amount of focus to her studies. I was able to take 2 classes related to my current major. For STEM related majors, this number is, of course, a lot higher. The guidance counselors are always available if you child reaches out to them. They are sometimes helpful, but are pretty reluctant to give students any hard and fast advice. I don’t think my opinions would change if my course options had been limiting. I have friends from my hometown that actually went to two separate schools to take all of the classes they needed. This was a pain for him, but it certainly beat going to NCSSM. Also, it seems to me that college admissions officers compare the student to people in similar situations more than anything else (you should probably fact check this if possible). So if you do very well compared to everyone else, it doesn’t matter as much what your actually courses were. If your child is valedictorian at his/her high school I certainly WOULD NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES leave.

5) Skrunch, my first year of college, I wished almost every day that I had received credit for my AP class and been able to skip the first course of my major. It depends on your major, but the first few courses of popular majors are often weed-out courses. These types of courses are designed to get people to QUIT that major (and it often works). Weed-out courses have definitely hurt my major GPA significantly and my overall GPA some too. This might be specific to my major, but I have heard this happening in to others as well.

PS: Sorry for the crappy writing. Don’t have much free time.

suncoast · June 2, 2013, 4:59pm

" I think the most important point that we are both trying to make is that NCSSM doesn’t make good students. Good students go to NCSSM and get to about the same place as a normal high school student of the same level, but having done double or triple the work and with probably twice the emotional baggage."

IF you don’t believe anything else on this forum, believe this.

Skrunch · June 2, 2013, 8:32pm

But, doesn’t the result of this “extra work” and “allowed independence” mean you are more ready to take on college. I would think college would seem like a piece of cake.

NCSSMalum · June 4, 2013, 9:43am

Skrunch, I keep trying to reply and college confidential keeps logging me out and deleting my messages. So I will just say this. Yes, I learned to be more independent and I was better prepared for college. But I only learned the hard way. I was not a bad kid and before NCSSM I had never gotten in trouble at school. But with all the rules at Science and Math it is VERY easy to break them either because you forgot or did not know there was a rule for something. The administrators and student life staff enforced them strictly and were unprofessional and often rude. By the time I left NCSSM I had spent about 15 hours in detention for breaking minor rules such as forgetting such as being 10 minutes late to check-ins, forgetting to sign out, or missing class (I only missed 3-4 throughout the 2 years but received the most detention time for this. About 10 hours). By the time I left NCSSM, I was burnt out from all dealing with all of these rules and doing all of the work, and you could see it in my Freshman year grades. I did well my first year of college, but I feel I could have done better if I hadn’t been so tired of working. There are plenty of students who had this same experience, but also plenty who did not.

I hope this has helped. Good luck in whatever you decide.

suncoast · June 4, 2013, 2:52pm

“But, doesn’t the result of this “extra work” and “allowed independence” mean you are more ready to take on college. I would think college would seem like a piece of cake”

This is an NCSSM marketing ploy. Million of kids go to college without the high school boarding school experience. Most 18 year olds can handle independence, even long distance/cross country independence quite will coming out of regular high schools.

My child was also burned out after NCSSM and ticked that more ap courses were not taken rather than the “high caliber” engineering courses that “would appeal” to top colleges.

If my student had stayed at base high school, the entire freshman college year would have been taken care of through AP coursework and testing(higher quality teaching than at NCSSM). It’s a huge setback for a student to be in freshman level college courses and bored out of their minds. We should have convinced our student to just try to take more AP tests, but our student had ZERO faith that enough had been learned in two years at NCSSM and in fact, felt like ground had been lost.

But people don’t want to believe anything negative about the school. Like us, we believed what we wanted to believe and our student suffered for it.

Concur with Malum on the rules. Our child got one detention for “missing class” when the teacher just messed up on the headcount. Stupid. I honestly believe some of the staff at NCSSM despises children.

hsgrad · June 4, 2013, 6:50pm

To answer the questions posted, my friends knew about NCSSM the same way our two buddies going know what to expect…research in talking to folks who have been there and done that and will be HONEST about it, and reading stuff on the internet. They got it…the picture of the lack of perfection.
For the person I am helping research whether NCSSM will be worth it, I am doing the same. We have found that some folks are BITTER beyond belief, especially about losing the chance to have a mountain of AP credit. Some folks hated their roommates and work service. Some kids hated their dorm parent (I think you all call them SLIs or SLSs or something).
But, I am also finding those that loved the experience. Even the bitter ones tend to say that they liked the kids their. ALL say that it helped, without question, to have an ACTIVE parent…one who showed up for events, become a hall parent or team mom, drove in to meet their counselor a few times junior year, etc. Maybe those kids were less likely to get detention for stupid things or fail to get opportunities. We are 3 hours away, give or take, and the guys who just graduated said their parents came around now and then and made sure the administration knew them…PTO (or whatever the = is to that) and those things they went to, for instance.
Is that fair to kids whose parents can’t get there or don’t know to? No…but that too is part of this game. If you go, make sure mom and dad know the dark side of this and are ready to have your back.
The lack of transferable credits is the biggest complaint I hear from most sources (except those that lived by an articulation agreement and based courses around it), second would be the work load. Girls tend to not complain much about the rules being enforced unfairly and say getting a good dorm parent is key. Again, research and pick the dorm with a good one rather than letting the school pick for you if you can.
Again, I think this board is great. For those that keep posting negative things I would like to ask what positive, if any, did you come away with? Off board people have told me the friendships (I hear this again and again…and watched the livestream of NCSSM Ariband with friends the other day and can see why–I don’t know of another high school in NC where kids universally would support that stuff!), research/mentorship (some say do it ONLY in the summer as it is too hard to keep it up during the year), the academic competitions and mini term things available, learning how to survive and knowing that college can throw at you anything from a horrible roommate to a killer course load and you won’t bat an eye. Anything else that is a rather universal ‘plus’? Oh, another mentioned here and there is getting to do things like be a TA (teaching assistance) or RA (Resident Advisor) as a high school student…but this experience also depended upon whom you worked with.
Most said the idea that you get very little sleep and are often stressed is in fact true.
HSG

Baba2015 · June 4, 2013, 8:01pm

I strongly believe it. Good students are on the waitlist. They will do fine either in NCSSM or in their home school. My son is on the waitlist. It’s fine with me if he gets in or remain in his home school. Reading all postings on collegeconfidential making me dizzy, waiting to see the NCSSM admission process is over.

suncoast · June 5, 2013, 9:43am

It’s quite typical of people who have not been to NCSSM to tout its virtures.

And since some posters would like to criticize people who comment negatively and HONESTLY about NCSSM, I would suggest they find a stronger word than BITTER. Bitter is much, much, much too inconsequential a word for the feeling a parent is left with after NCSSM fails their child. Betrayed, incredulous, outraged–that’s more accurate.

Pretty humorous comment about “requesting” a dorm.

If you are considering the school, temper your enthusiasm and realize that probably much more so than in your base school, your child will have to fight (mulitple elements) for a quality education. If you expect the school to get your child ready for the top tier colleges, you should probably find a counselor better than the sports teacher mine was assigned whose comment to my child at a critical time was: “I don’t know why they make me do this. I don’t know anything about these courses.” When you hear a report like that from your child, pay attention. Don’t just believe NCSSM knows what it is doing. Some teachers do, but more than a few kids are sacrificed so that others can achieve their dreams. Make sure your child is not one of them.

NCSSM admissions opinion from an alumnus

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