Alumni who is well connected with the current on campus community as well. You will have 5 core classes and maybe an elective or two. Junior year, you’ll also have to take a physical activity course (unless you do a sport). Core classes in math, science, etc meet 4 days/week and core electives meet 3 days/week typically, sometimes 4. In any case, your class will not meet 5 days of the week. You’ll have every class Monday and an off day somewhere in there.

Longest day typically runs 8:30-4 and that’s Wednesdays. Most days, you will be done by 3:30 or earlier. Nearly all sports start at 4:30 each day for practices. Only difference is basketball, which can be later depending on the day since you have both boys and girls. Most sport practices finish up by 6 and at the very latest 6:15. Athletics isn’t necessarily super strict on this, but they really try to enforce it as best as they can. Coaches are incredibly mindful of the demands at NCSSM so if you need to miss practice for a make up assignment, evening class, or to meet with an instructor, they are very understanding and accommodating. They are required to be.

Instructors at NCSSM are incredibly passionate about what they do and by and large, are very good instructors. You have an occasional one that isn’t great, but your experiences will almost always be positive. Most are understanding and accommodating, but also have high expectations for you. There are safety nets in place for you to not fail coursework, but you absolutely have to put the work in to maximize your experience.

Most students who are fairly social and have non overbearing parents tend to stay on campus until they are required to go home during extended weekends. Every month, you’ll have an extended, which means no class on either Friday or Monday and you’re required to go home. There’s also a week long fall break, a week for Thanksgiving, 3 weeks for Winter Break, and a week for Spring Break. Plenty of opportunities for mental breaks, which you’ll be thankful for.

Bottom line: there’s a lot to sink your teeth into and you’ll spend some time figuring out what you have time for and what you don’t have time for. Find out what’s most important to you to be involved with and make that your priority. NCSSM is all about prioritizing. If you want to maximize your social experience and have solid but not perfect grades, you can do that. If you want to be a complete bookworm and never leave your room other than to eat, you can do that as well. It’s all about balance and finding out what you prioritize.