NCSSM Admissions, North Central Region
NCSSM Admissions for Orange County Students
65 students from Orange County were enrolled at NCSSM in 2025-26: 32 at NCSSM-Durham, 8 at NCSSM-Morganton and 25 in NCSSM Online. That puts Orange 6th among North Carolina's 100 counties, by NCSSM's own count.
Orange County Students at NCSSM, 2025-26
| Program | Orange | Statewide |
|---|---|---|
| NCSSM-Durham | 32 | 675 |
| NCSSM-Morganton | 8 | 300 |
| NCSSM Online | 25 | 498 |
| All programs | 65 | 1,473 |
Orange County's public school districts, Chapel Hill-Carrboro City and Orange County, had 1,618 tenth graders in 2025-26, 1.4% of the state's public-school tenth graders. Orange County students made up 4.4% of NCSSM's 1,473 Residential and Online students. So Orange sends more students to NCSSM than the size of its public high school classes alone would suggest.
NCSSM does not publish how many Orange students applied or were admitted, so there is no official NCSSM acceptance rate for Orange County. Any rate you see elsewhere is an estimate; these enrollment counts are the closest official figure.
Orange County at NCSSM, Year by Year
Orange County had 65 students at NCSSM in 2025-26, up from 34 in 2021-22. Counts include both grades, so each year overlaps the one before it. NCSSM-Morganton opened in 2022.
| Year | Durham | Morganton | Online | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-22 | 19 | – | 15 | 34 |
| 2022-23 | 19 | 1 | 21 | 41 |
| 2023-24 | 22 | 4 | 29 | 55 |
| 2024-25 | 36 | 7 | 32 | 75 |
| 2025-26 | 32 | 8 | 25 | 65 |
How Admission Works From Orange County
NCSSM does not set aside seats by county. State law (G.S. 116-235) has it admit, as far as practicable, an equal number of qualified applicants from each congressional district, and NCSSM assigns a team of three readers to each district. So a Orange applicant is compared first with applicants from the same district, not with the whole state. The exact wording of the law.
All of Orange County is in congressional District 4. The district takes in 3 other counties in whole or in part. The closest to Orange are Durham (33 students), Chatham (23 students) and Wake (194 students), counting NCSSM students in 2025-26.
District lines are from the 2025 congressional plan (S.L. 2025-95, which redrew Districts 1 and 3; the rest are unchanged from S.L. 2023-145). NCSSM does not publish which map it uses in a given cycle or how many students it admits from each district.
Durham, Morganton or Online
One NCSSM application covers both residential campuses and NCSSM Online, and applicants rank the programs they would attend. NCSSM describes itself as a public, two-year residential high school for juniors and seniors, and both campuses are tuition-free.
- NCSSM-Durham
- About 12 miles from the center of Orange County, the closer campus. 1219 Broad Street, Durham, NC 27705. Its High School Open House is Saturday, October 24, 2026, and Welcome Day for admitted students is Saturday, April 17, 2027.
- NCSSM-Morganton
- About 146 miles away. 901 Burkemont Avenue, Morganton, NC 28655. Opened in 2022.
- NCSSM Online
- A free two-year honors program that students take while staying at their own high school. 25 students from Orange County took NCSSM Online in 2025-26, which is 38.5% of the county's NCSSM students (statewide it is 33.8%).
Distances are straight-line miles. Most of Orange's residential students attend NCSSM-Durham, the closer campus.
Dates for Orange County Applicants
The application for the Class of 2029 opens on CFNC.org Thursday, October 15, 2026 at 4:00 p.m. ET and closes Tuesday, January 5, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. ET, the same in every county. The Open House at NCSSM-Durham, the campus closer to Orange, is Saturday, October 24, 2026; NCSSM lists it as full. Residential applicants take the Math Assessment at either campus on Saturday, February 13, 2027 or Saturday, February 20, 2027. Every other date, with calendar links, is on the NCSSM admissions countdown.
Applying to NCSSM from Orange County
The application essays and the Math Assessment are the parts a Orange student can prepare for. Our free NCSSM admissions countdown has every published date, and the NCSSM eligibility checker walks through the residency and grade rules.
NCSSM Blueprint is a structured NCSSM preparation plan with asynchronous essay review and Discovery Day practice tests, designed to fit your schedule. It includes up to 3 rounds of asynchronous essay editing, 25 full-length Discovery Day math practice tests, email support, and access to successful essay examples.
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Counties Near Orange
The six counties whose centers are closest to Orange County's, with their NCSSM students in 2025-26. Durham has the most of the six, with 33 students. Orange is in the North Central region.
Common Questions
How many students from Orange County go to NCSSM?
65 students in 2025-26, by NCSSM's own count: 32 at NCSSM-Durham, 8 at NCSSM-Morganton and 25 in NCSSM Online. The count covers juniors and seniors together.
What is the NCSSM acceptance rate for Orange County?
NCSSM does not publish applicants or admissions by county, so there is no official acceptance rate for Orange County. Admission is decided by congressional district, and Orange County is in District 4.
Which NCSSM campus is closest to Orange County?
NCSSM-Durham, about 12 miles from the center of the county in a straight line. NCSSM-Morganton is about 146 miles away. One application covers both campuses.
Can Orange County students do NCSSM without leaving home?
Yes. NCSSM Online is a free two-year honors program for 11th and 12th graders who stay enrolled at their own high school, and it uses the same application as the residential campuses. 25 students from Orange County were in it in 2025-26.
Sources, last checked September 27, 2026
- NCSSM Office of Institutional Effectiveness: Geography of NCSSM Students (Enrollment dashboard)
- N.C. General Statutes 116-235 (NCSSM admissions)
- NCSSM Admissions: Admissions Criteria
- N.C. General Assembly, S.L. 2025-95 (Senate Bill 249), 2025 congressional plan
- NC DPI Statistical Profile, Table A1: Final Pupils by Year and Grade (LEA level), 2025-26 month-final enrollment
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2024 Gazetteer Files: Counties (land area and internal point)
- NCSSM Residential Program
- NCSSM-Durham
- NCSSM-Morganton
- NCSSM Online
- NC Department of Public Instruction: Education Districts (eight regions, effective April 2015)
Student counts are NCSSM enrollment by county of residence (juniors and seniors, counted after the 10-day census date), not applicants or admissions. Distances are straight-line miles from each county's Census center point. EduAvenues is independent and not affiliated with NCSSM.
More NCSSM Admissions Pages
NCSSM students from every North Carolina county · North Central region · Free NCSSM tools