North Carolina State University supplemental essays
North Carolina State University asks for one supplemental essay in 2026-27. Common App. Personal statement required (250-650 words).
That is one supplement plus the Common App personal statement: two pieces of writing in all. Early Action closes November 1, 2026 and Regular Decision closes January 15, 2027. Every North Carolina State University prompt is printed on this page in full, with its word limit and who has to answer it, checked against the college’s own admissions page.
Deadlines
| Round | Date |
|---|---|
| Early Action | November 1, 2026 |
| Regular Decision | January 15, 2027 |
Checked against admissions.ncsu.edu/apply/first-year. Confirm on the college’s own page before you submit.
The essays, 2026-27
Required
Explain why you selected the academic program(s) above and why you are interested in studying these at NC State.
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Your North Carolina State University checklist
One supplement, required. The first deadline, Early Action, is November 1, 2026.
- Common App personal statementRequired250-650 words
- SupplementRequired
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Getting into North Carolina State University
North Carolina State University admits 41.7% of applicants. The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 1300-1470 on the SAT and 28-32 on the ACT.
About 1 in 2 applicants are admitted, at a college of 27,371 undergraduates.
| Enrolled students | 25th | Median | 75th |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT total | 1300 | 1370 | 1470 |
| SAT reading and writing | 650 | 680 | 720 |
| SAT math | 650 | 690 | 750 |
| ACT composite | 28 | 30 | 32 |
What SAT score do you need for North Carolina State University?
A 1470 puts you in the top quarter of the students who enrolled, a 1370 at their midpoint, and a 1300 at the bottom quarter, meaning one in four enrolled students scored below it. The same three points on the ACT are 28, 30 and 32. A quarter of an enrolled class scoring under the 25th percentile is not a rounding error, so a score below the range is a reason to strengthen the rest of the application rather than a reason not to apply.
US Department of Education, College Scorecard (2026-09-17). Percentiles describe students who enrolled, not everyone admitted. SAT totals are the reading and math bands added together, which is how every source in this market reports them and is an approximation of about 10 to 20 points, because the two sections are correlated.
- What SAT score do you need for North Carolina State University?
- North Carolina State University sets no minimum. Among students who enrolled, the middle 50% scored 1300-1470 on the SAT: a 1300 sits at the 25th percentile, 1370 at the median and 1470 at the 75th. A score at or above 1470 is a clear strength in the application; below 1300 it is the part of the file the rest has to make up for. These are the figures North Carolina State University reports to the US Department of Education, released in the College Scorecard of 2026-09-17.
- What ACT score do you need for North Carolina State University?
- The middle 50% of enrolled students scored 28-32 on the ACT, with a composite of 30 at the median. There is no cutoff: a quarter of the enrolled class scored below 28. Reported by North Carolina State University to the US Department of Education, College Scorecard release of 2026-09-17.
- What GPA do you need for North Carolina State University?
- The honest answer is that the federal data behind this page does not contain one. Colleges report their admit rate and their enrolled students' test scores to the Department of Education; they do not report a GPA distribution, so any site quoting an exact average GPA for North Carolina State University is either reading that college's own Common Data Set or estimating. What the reported data does say is that North Carolina State University admits 41.7% of applicants, and the more selective a college is, the closer to the top of the class its admitted students sit and the more the strength of your course load counts alongside the number itself.
- How hard is it to get into North Carolina State University?
- North Carolina State University admits 41.7% of the people who apply, which is about 1 in 2 applicants. Numbers inside the reported range put you in a real position here, and the application itself decides the rest.
What North Carolina State University costs after grant aid, by family income, from the same federal data.
Sort your whole college list into reaches, targets and likelies, or find colleges that fit your GPA and test scores. Both are free and neither needs an account.
North Carolina State University essay questions, answered
- Does North Carolina State University have supplemental essays?
- Yes. North Carolina State University asks for one supplemental essay in 2026-27. Every prompt is printed in full on this page.
- How many essays do you write for North Carolina State University in 2026-27?
- One supplement, plus the Common App personal statement.
Schools with similar admit rates
North Carolina State University admits 41.7% of applicants. The colleges either side of it in our set by admit rate, most selective first, each with its own prompts and deadlines: Brandeis University (40.5%), Howard University (41.3%), University of Tennessee, Knoxville (41.6%), Dickinson College (42.1%), University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (42.4%), Furman University (43.0%).