<p>Hey everyone, </p>
<p>I'm applying early decision to NU this fall and I would really appreciate any Northwestern admissions/ NU supplement specific advice that will strengthen my application. Thanks! </p>
<p>quick stats:
SGA President
Vars. Girls Lax Captain
Writing Center for 3 years
NHS
Key Club Committee chair</p>
<p>All IB Classes
GPA: 3.85
ACT: 30
SAT: 1950 (not sending)
Caucasian
Female
applying to SESP or WCAS, not sure yet if I would want to double major</p>
<p>I’m also looking into Northwestern (rising senior) I’m no expert, but here’s what I’d say:
You seem to have 5 solid EC’s, which is good.
You’re taking a difficult courseload of all IB’s, which is also good.
Your GPA is great!
You should bump up your standardized testing. A 30 on the ACT isn’t so great, you should try to get it up to a 33 or 34. Same goes for the SAT. A 1950 isn’t too great either, and you should strive for a 700+ in every section. Also you didn’t post up your SAT II scores, but they should probably also be 720+.
Just keep working hard in school and get your testing grades up.
And write a kickass Why Northwestern essay, I guess.
Good luck! Maybe I’ll see you there some day :)</p>
<p>Have to ask – are you good enough at Lax to be recruited for NU?</p>
<p>Obviously I can’t speak for the OP, but she would have to be ridiculously good at lacrosse to be a recruit at Northwestern. The women’s LAX team has won the NCAA D1 championship in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and this year in 2011. </p>
<p>I think halfsie summed it up quite nicely. If you could raise your scores a little more that would be great, and remember it is probably ideal to take 2-3 SAT IIs - that goes for all applicants. You don’t have many ECs but seem to be an officer in most of them - they may be a little low number wise but leadership always helps, Shannon. And sports are a huge commitment. Then again, you said “quick stats” so maybe you didn’t list them all. Your GPA is good considering your courseload. But I’m curious as to why so many people consider NHS to be an EC. When I applied I was told to place it under awards/honors. While I did occasional tutoring, it was mostly a ceremonial honor. Just seems curious to me…</p>
<p>Also, if you plan to major in a SESP field, you MUST apply to SESP. While from SESP or Medill or McCormick or Bienen (though you have to apply for a double degree in this situation) or SoC you can double major in anything granted by WCAS, the reverse is NOT true. You can do internal transfer though later down the line. Statistically, people in SESP have lower scores, but it is just as hard to get into considering the small class size admitted and the need for a passion in the program. I think Northwestern is a reach for you though. But my best advice would be to put any passion for NU or a specific program (like SESP) into your essays so they know how important the school is in your eyes. However, try to go about this in the most unique way possible - you don’t need to give them empty stats and praise that they already know or have gotten 10,000x before. Explain why NU is a fit within the scope of yourself. After all, it’s through your own personalized prism that you’re viewing NU.</p>
<p>Thank you!! </p>
<p>1) I am definitely not talented enough for their lacrosse team…that would be amazing though haha
2) that’s not all my EC’s, just the ones I felt were most important to depict my involvement in the community/school… I’m confident that my EC’s as a whole are competitive
3) I am getting tutored on the ACT to improve my score (fingers crossed) and still studying for SAT II’s, to be taken in the fall (literature/us history/possibly physics). </p>
<p>-question: I’m assuming it’s fine but is it acceptable to send my ACT and SAT II’s but not my SAT? I’ve taken it twice already (1830 then 1950) and I don’t think it will improve much more beyond that so I’m not sending it to NU
I’m thinking of pursuing the concentration of Human Psychological and Social Services in SESP with Psychology or Anthropology from WCAS… but honestly i still find everything else offered extremely interesting too (except math) so I could end up in a totally different direction, hence the draw to WCAS because of it’s broader array of majors. Still pondering 
</p>
<p>I am visiting this month and trying to schedule an interview…</p>
<p>thanks for all the feedback!!</p>
<p>Shannon:</p>
<p>Your grades are fine. Your ECs are ok. The problem, if there is one, are the Standard Scores. Your 30 ACT is roughly equivalent to a 1980 SAT – so there’s really not much difference between the two scores. The SAT/ACT people also say that it’s about the equivalence of 1330-1350 on the two part SAT which is slightly below the 25th percentile.</p>
<p>Basically, in my uninformed opinion, this makes NU a slight reach with your current stats. </p>
<p>Applying ED will help your chances somewhat, though. Overall, I’d say go for it, but don’t be surprised if it doesn’t work out.</p>
<p>That’s great that you’re visiting, and I’m sure that you’ll love the school! I didn’t do an interview with NU because it seemed like a group interview almost when I was e-mailed rather than a one on one discussion. It would have made me travel far, and I was so busy with sports and school it didn’t make much sense. But reading between the lines here, you made it seem as if you were thinking about doing an on-campus interview…which they don’t actually do. What happens is if you apply ED you’ll probably interview in November or so, and if you apply RD you’ll interview sometime around February or March - that applies for most schools. Just wanted to clear the air on that one. </p>
<p>I personally might not send that SAT, but like zephyr just said, it would still be almost equivalent to your ACT which is a bit low I’m afraid to say. Hopefully your tutor will help you out. You still have a chance mind you - everyone has a chance whether they have a 30 or a 36. Admissions are very nonlinear. It’s a reach but applying ED might help you out a bit though - if anything it is a little higher of an acceptance rate so who knows? </p>
<p>I figured you might’ve had more ECs so while they might not be anything all too out of the ordinary they will still look very nice on a resume. They’re a positive all in all. And good luck on your SAT IIs - I didn’t find the SAT CR or AP English tests anything too too hard but that Lit. exam was a doozy. The passages were a bit ridiculous in my opinion, and time was my biggest concern. My best advice on that is to practice timing yourself - the passages you can’t exactly study for, but take some practice exams to get a feel for the answers they’re looking for instead. </p>
<p>If you are leaning towards WCAS that sounds great too. But remember, anything in WCAS you can double major in should you major in/apply to SESP. However, if you decide on double majoring in two areas within WCAS, well, there you have it. So that’s something to think over still.</p>
<p>the one thing i tell everyone who wants to apply to NU is to show that you’re really interested in going there</p>
<p>thanks everyone :)</p>
<p>NU Is definitely my reach school, I am fully prepared to not get accepted… but I also believe in the power of positive thinking, and I am really realllllyyyy passionate a out the school so I just need to figure out how to show that through my essays. thanks again for all the advice!</p>