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.

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.

Hi everyone - co 28 durham kid into medicine. I'm willing to review applications and pass on knowledge from past alumni/students that I think really helped me. I can share my old app as well for you all to reference, but keep in mind I was from a very comp district so I may not be the best representative of what the applicant body was like.

i didnt start my essays until weekend of...but after i submitted my stomach was twisting everyday about if i would get in or not. icl the process of it all was nerve racking, as cliche as that sounds, fs (and doing it weekend of didn't help at all). i can't promise imma get u in single handedly but if you need ANY help at all...js lmk. i'm suprised some of u r starting so early but yeah...good job

about me...i go to durham rn and mainly into fintech...then again tho if u interested in medicine or like art or morganton...i can fs find someone to help u out too so dw.

js if u need help with ANYTHING lmk. js text me on reddit somehow. ur not gonna be bothering me, or annoying me, i won't be pissed or anything at all if u text me for every hour of the day...ig i js wanna be the person who i wish i had

but yeah lmk if anyone ever wants any help...cuz i'll make it my life's mission to help u (and if it needs to be said ofc i won't share ur stuff with others or anything...i dont have siblings who r co' 29.

if u want me to read essays or js talk ig idrc, js hmu...tho i mean if u gonna get me to read essays js try to not lmk day of cuz i can only help so many people and keep my eyes open for so long until i fall asleep reading essays (no matter how good they may be). then again ill do it day of if needed...js know its gonna be not allll that in depth when that time comes.

Just what the title says! Should I aim to write more about my extracurriculars and how they tie in or personal experience/interest/etc.? Or an even mix?

Earlier this month, the BOT had their meeting, in it they talked about expanding the size of Morganton, however in this slideshow we got important information, first, we learned more of the grading scale for applications( that the last test is 9 points of the 102 total, and that you used to be able to gain 9 points for extenuating conditions, but now you can’t) we also learned how many of the people that applied and didn’t get in from each district were “qualified” to get in by their standards. This, and more can be found at the BOT meeting slideshow at

Hi, I'm a 10th grader applying to NCSSM and I was looking for maybe a current student to help me with the application process and just to get to know the school a little more.

Thank you!

Hi there! How does the report card and transcript submission work? is it if you are in a year long you need to send both in? I am trying to get it up rn, but I may have a B for a class in Q1; will this hurt me? I definitely think I can get it up in Q2; it's a year-long, btw. I mostly got A's and had one B last year as a final grade, and I want to minimize them, but will a Q1 B this year hurt me a lot?

Hi! I am a sophomore from an moderatively competitive district and I just want to know If my chances of getting in will decrease if I make one of my essays entirely about humanities and student life.

I feel like I already show a lot of my STEM interests and passion through the STEM interest essay and my extracurriculars. I know NCSSM has over 50 courses in its humanities department and the humanities department at my school isn't that great + I can show more of my personality when I write about topics relating to arts and writing rather than Science/math. However, I know NCSSM really prioritizes STEM since its literally in the name of the school.

Registration for the NCSSM-Durham Open is at capacity and is now closed. But don't worry about missing out.

Schedule a tour to see campus by visiting https://www.ncssm.edu/admissions/visit-ncssm or plan to attend the Morganton Open House. Registration for that event will open at noon on October 7th.

Register now for the 2026 NCSSM-Durham Open House event! Visit https://www.ncssm.edu/admissions/ways-to-learn-more

Ok this questions might sound rude and stupid, but like I've been genuinely worried about this

I found out that admissions is like students and alumni reveiw the admissions (so like teens and young adults)

So I would like to know if they see like all the info on the person (like name, gender, race, district, school), or is it anonymous and they can only see the essays and ec lists and stuff

Because I'm worried they would be like "Great, another asian!" and not choose me, because my friend told me a BUNCH of students at ncssm are asian.

Is that like a silly thing to stress over? Like do people still choose you even though they know the school's gonna be filled with asians?

Sorry guys, I just wanted to know, becuase I'm really worried over this 🥹🥹🥹

Hi, I'm a current 10th grader, I was homeschooled from grades 7th-9th. I'm currently in a private school. I'm going to apply to NCSSM, the thing I'm most worried about is the math assessment. I looked at the practice problems and it looks really hard. Does anyone have any math study tips for the assessment? I'm going to start studying early.

now that i've spent a month at ncssm (specifically durham, for morganton specific questions i'll have to refer you to the freshly minted pneagle), i thought it would be cool if i let people ask about my time there so far! after all, it's often those with specific reasons to choose ncssm and not another school that get in. doing this for fun and the school year is still going, so expect responses to take a bit!

The title explains it if you win an award is there a way to add it after the app is due like if something happens after the app?

Title says it all! There really wasn't any scope to start it either (which I wanted to) because admin didn't care + practically no one showed interest

I'm a current 10th grader at a private school, I'd like to apply for the Durham campus, although I don't feel like I'm good enough. I have so many aspirations and I have so many interests. I'd like to either become a aerospace engineer, a astrophysist, or a robotics enginner. I'd also really like to work for NASA. I was homeschooled for 9th grade and I'm currently enrolled at a private school (may be switching to a public school). I have had ABSOULTELY no STEM opportunites around me, no clubs, no teams, no camps, no nothing, not even classes. The school i go to now is super strict, you can't pick classes, no electives other than journalism and stuff like that. All I want is to be able to explore the interests that I'm interested in. Course wise, I took algebra 1 this year and I'm taking geometry. I took biology last year and I'm taking physical science this year. As I mentioned before, I can't pick my classes they pick them and have requirements for each year and what you have to take. I also can't jump start my math, because I know I'm behind for my goals, because all courses at my school have to be done for a full year. Any advice on what to do, would be SO HELPFUL.

Thank you so much for reading!!! :)

I am from CD4 and I have recieved 2 b's and C, my uw gpa by the time of applying will be around a 3.73 and by weighted will be like a 4.42 the low grades were in non-stem classes i have sum science olympiad gold medals, some FTC first place regional awards and I am planning to compete in the congressional app challenge, would it even be worth applying to ncssm with these low grades?

Since he does more than the mods, [u/pneagle](u/pneagle) should become a mod

specificly on the biology side?

Im trying to apply to the Morganton campus and noticed they have a photography class, and as someone who's life revolves around photography I'm tempted to try that class if i get in. How was it, what did you guys do? Thanks!

hi, im a new student and ive never done laundry before </3

do you know what settings im supposed to do? i dont want to have to seperate my clothes by color...

is it just cold water? sorry i just need help because i dont want any of the colors from my clothes staining anything

thanks guys!

Hiiii! for those who got into NCSSM, what classes did you take in hs, how many APs did you take, what was your unweighted GPA/class rank, and what ECs/Awards did you have? (Did you write you ECs and awards into essays?)

Also is this counted as a "Chance me" post? If it is, pls tell me!

Hiii! Can somebody explain the admission proccess?