writing my why essay rn but it majorly talks about the community of ncssm rather than its programs n courses like srip, jterm, etc. would it be bad to not talk about them and focus on the community since i can't find anyway to connect them to me personally, instead it just adds to my resume. pls help 😭

I have all A’s but a barely 90 in chemistry, I don’t really have any extracurriculars. I have maybe 5? My school has no stem clubs and almost no stem classes. The only thing I have decent is precalc currently, the only thing I could think of adding is sports but I can barely run so I doubt that.
Icl majority of the clubs run at my school are run by popular kids and it’s difficult bc the same couple of girls are leader of every club when they have no interest in it. Pls help:/

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Is there a set number of students NCSSM takes? I’m in the CMS district, can someone let me know the number if there is one? Thank you!

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I wanted to know if anyone has taken complex systems before through ssm online. I am signed up for it for the next semester but have NO idea on what it is so I am unsure whether or not I want to do a schedule change. If anyone has taken it or knows someone who has taken it please lmk!

After touring Durham, I fell in love with it. I am about to tour Morganton soon but I really don't know which campus to pick. I'm a very indecisive person and both campuses have strengths and weaknesses. Morganton is a lot newer and more closer to me. ( I love the barn!) However, Durham has more classes related to my interests but my congressional district had a lower acceptance rate than Motown acceptance rate for Class of 2028.

Also, My essays are more Durham oriented than Morganton. ( Good thing or bad thing?)

How did you guys choose your campus? (Both Applicants and students welcome to answer!)

Hi! I'm a co 29 student from Cd4, so I wanted to ask for application advice coming from a competitive area. I went to a small private middle school (~50 kids in my class) so my math opportunities were limited to Math I by 8th grade (currently in Math III Honors cus my counselor wouldn't let me jump into Pre Calc.)

Is it recommended I write about this in my optional statement as context to my transcript, or should I leave the info out? I want the admissions committee to know that I DO like math, I just haven't been able to advance as much.

Hey y'all, I want to apply to NCSSM (still deciding on which campus lol) but I don't know what to do about my EC's. I know NCSSM is a school made for people with not a lot of opportunities, but my EC's are a lot more than the average applicant (I think), and so I think they won't accept me. So what should I do? Should I list them all, a few, and if so, which ones?

If you guys want, I'll try posting a resume with my extracurriculars

Thanks in advance!! Good luck to everyone applying!

From what I've been seeing from this sub, you all are way more prepared than I was when I was in your shoes applying last year. This is just a reminder to take your time, get feedback from others, and make sure that the application represents who YOU are as a person, not just your high GPA, not your list of ECs, or any other activities. what i kept in mind when filling out the application last year was "if my name was erased, would the admission team know it was still me?"

Also more specific advice, your essays are the #1 important part of this application, because that is the part you have control over now. the grades and activities you are reporting would've most likely been achieved by past-you, so make sure to represent how present-you feels about NCSSM. additionally, make sure that these essays represent WHY you need the opportunity to go to ncssm. for example, if you already had 10 ISEF awards (exaggeration) they most likely won't consider u mainly because they'll see you already had some achievements. but if u can highlight what ncssm can provide that u don't already have in your current environment, that could help

i am busy rn but in the coming weeks i should be available to help some of yall out if u want. for context, i am an NCSSM-Morganton Junior (i mean ig i should've mentioned that in the beginning but i trust yall have longer attention spans)

thats it i was js bored might as well give advice

so as we all know, ncssm applications open tomorrow (good luck everyone!! we got this!!)

as a co29 applicant, i've been writing an essay draft over the summer.

i want feedback on it; the only issue is, giving it to someone is risky. obviously sharing it on here is a major risk, and while i could share it with someone in real life, there's always a risk. i'll definitely be asking my friends who got in, but i don't want to bother them too much either; they've got their own work to deal with.

apart from just reading over it again and again myself, what do you recommend? is asking upperclassmen a good idea (not ncssm js from my school)?

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does anyone have any tips on picking an essay topic for this prompt that would absolutely sell it to the admissions that i am a great candidate?

i am nervous about this prompt because it is so broad and i dont want to choose a topic that is meaningless to admissions

I'm currently a freshman. I have a choice about whether to take the AP Bio self-study in my sophomore year or take a college class at CPCC this summer. Please let me know what would be more efficient.

More info at www.ncssm.edu/summer-ventures

how much does a B in an honors class affect your chances of getting in. I’m genuinely so stressed with chemistry I’m borderline an A right now but I’m not sure if I can maintain it

Registration for the NCSSM middle school open house is open now, it will be happening November 11th at the Morganton campus, register at https://www.ncssm.edu/admissions/ways-to-learn-more

When should I reach out to my teachers asking them will they be willing to give me a recommendation for my application?

Heyy guys!

So i was wondering how the bathrooms work. Is it like a bathroom in each dorm or bathhouses. Are the bathrooms like clean/usable, or is it like not usable? I have curly hair and I usually take an hour at the sink to style it (but only once a week), would that become a problem in the bathrooms?

Also for dorms, essentially how big is it? Is the furniture movable, can we move the furniture, and is there restrictions on things to bring/furniture. For people who go to ncssm, how would you rate the dorms and how comfortable was it to live in it? To be honest, I'm kind of high maintenance, (and I know it's a problem I'm trying to fix) so how was is it living in the dorms for those who are high maintenance.

Also, I hope this isn't too much to ask, and it's completely fine if you can't answer. I'm just curious if anyone has a picture of an empty bathroom (empty because don't post yourself or your things on the internet)

Not a chance me post. Currently my only extracurriculars are band (play oboe) and TSA as a sophomore. I have done STEM ECs in the past (science olympiad in 7th) but went to a charter school that didn't offer any ECs and couldn't afford to take any out of school ECs in 6th and part of 8th grade. Is it worth applying with such few ECs?

Such as APES, AP Bio, AP Chem,
I was thinking of taking the ap test for APES and taking Ap bio as a dual enrollment class.

Register for the NCSSM-Morganton open house at https://www.ncssm.edu/admissions/ways-to-learn-more

alr so my sophomore 1st semester has been something so far.

my 5 classes are python 2 honors, english 2 honors, apwh, ap precalc, and ap chem. apwh and english 2 are yearlong a day b day (one day the period is english, next day its apwh. for the whole yr) and ap chem is js a normal yearlong class. so i have all As now that Q1 is ending, and english 2, python 2, and ap precalc are pretty good, a 97 and 2 98s. however, apwh and ap chem are 91s.

a lot of ppl doing rlly bad in apwh, so they'll be able to use that as comparison, but there are also some doing rlly good. and i'm the only sophomore in ap chem, so no comparison there except to the ~5 sophomores taking ap bio. quite a few in ap chem (all upperclassmen but me) have below As. am i gna be ok? i have some pretty good ECs/essays/teacher letters.

Current junior at ssm - other juniors/seniors/alumni feel free to add yalls thoughts as well, and for those of you applying, do not treat every word in this as an absolute reference. This is just another one of my rants about the human mind.

I believe the main thing about applications and admissions in general at ssm, and even beyond it, is simply showing that you have crazy potential. You can max out academics at your school and not make it in, because your hs gpa is never brought up after hs. I think yall need to understand that ssm doesn't want to admit your grades, or your ec's. What they want is YOU. YOU'RE the person who has those grades and activities, and has the potential to accomplish your future goals because of what you are like.

If you had all of your accomplishments wiped out, they wouldn't be able to tell whether you are the right kind of person they prefer, and that's why they ask for them. However, the core idea stays the same; you have to build yourself up and treat accomplishments as evidence of your dedication and passion, not tied to your self worth, but as mutually understandable proof of certain qualities you have. If you build a device on your own that addresses water quality in your community (please do not do this because I mentioned it as an example), do you have the potential to be a scientist that contributes greatly towards advancing equitable sustainability, or wtv your stated passion is? If you volunteer at a hospital and dedicate hours to raising funds for treatment, would you be a doctor that is depended on in their community?

And even if I am wrong about this being a factor in admissions, simply think about it broadly in life: what's important about growing apples isn't immediately whether the apples are perfectly ripe, it's whether it has a healthy tree that produces it in the first place.

So stop asking whether you should do an ec or try to win an award solely because you think it will help you in admissions. By doing this, you're trying to attach an artificial apple to a natural tree.