By Teresa Fang, Stentorian Editor-in-Chief
As the academic year comes to a close, 322 seniors of NCSSM-Durham’s Class of 2025 have reported their college destinations. The seniors are set to attend a wide array of institutions, from Ivy League universities and top research institutions to liberal arts colleges and public universities across the country.
According to Program Assistant Pam Oxendine, NCSSM Counseling Services worked with seniors from May 1-5 to complete their final transcript requests. After May 1, seniors self-reported their decisions to the department, which has released data on the colleges the class of 2025 committed to for The Stentorian. As of May 14, 2024, college commitment data was available for 322 out of the total 342 graduating seniors (94 percent reporting), including early decision, early action, and regular decision commitments.
Unsurprisingly, the most popular destination is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where 169 NCSSM-Durham students—more than half of those reporting, or roughly 52 percent of the senior body—will enroll this fall. NC State University follows with 68 students, continuing a long-standing pipeline between NCSSM and the state’s flagship STEM university.
Beyond North Carolina, students are spreading out across the nation. Four students will attend Yale University, another four will enroll at Columbia University, and four more are heading to Stanford University. Duke University, located just minutes from campus and a popular research partner for many NCSSM students, will welcome 13 undergraduates this fall.
The class also boasts acceptances to all eight Ivy League institutions, with students enrolling at Harvard, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Princeton, UPenn, and Yale. Other notable destinations include the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (2 students), the University of Pennsylvania (5), Carnegie Mellon University (3), Georgia Tech (5), and the University of Chicago (2).
Smaller liberal arts colleges are well represented too. Students will attend Barnard, Davidson, Haverford, Swarthmore, Spelman, and Williams. One student is heading to the United States Air Force Academy, and another to McGill University in Canada.
Two students have chosen to take a gap year before continuing their academic journeys.
Altogether, the Class of 2025 reported plans to attend 47 different colleges and universities, showcasing the diversity of interests and ambitions that define the NCSSM experience.
Here is a full breakdown of college destinations for the class of 2025:
| College | # Attending |
|---|---|
| Appalachian State University | 1 |
| Barnard College | 1 |
| Carnegie Mellon University | 3 |
| Case Western Reserve University | 1 |
| Coastal Carolina University | 1 |
| Columbia University in the City of New York | 4 |
| Cornell University | 4 |
| Dartmouth College | 1 |
| Davidson College | 1 |
| Duke University | 13 |
| East Carolina University | 1 |
| GAP YEAR | 2 |
| Georgetown University | 1 |
| Georgia Institute of Technology-Main Campus | 5 |
| Harvard University | 1 |
| Harvey Mudd College | 1 |
| Haverford College | 1 |
| High Point University | 1 |
| Howard University | 1 |
| Johns Hopkins University | 1 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology | 2 |
| McGill University | 1 |
| New York University | 2 |
| North Carolina A & T State University | 1 |
| North Carolina State University | 68 |
| Northwestern University | 1 |
| Princeton University | 1 |
| Rice University | 1 |
| Spelman College | 1 |
| Stanford University | 4 |
| Swarthmore College | 1 |
| United States Air Force Academy | 1 |
| University of California-Berkeley | 1 |
| University of California-Los Angeles | 1 |
| University of Chicago | 2 |
| University of Michigan-Ann Arbor | 1 |
| University of North Carolina at Asheville | 1 |
| University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill | 169 |
| University of North Carolina at Charlotte | 1 |
| University of North Carolina at Greensboro | 1 |
| University of North Carolina Wilmington | 2 |
| University of Pennsylvania | 5 |
| University of Southern California | 1 |
| Vanderbilt University | 1 |
| Wake Forest University | 1 |
| Washington University in St Louis | 1 |
| Williams College | 1 |
| Yale University | 4 |
| TOTAL Reporting | 322 |
