<p>^ thank you for your help! How often do they respond? And, aside from HS Honors courses, how much experience in the field will they expect me to have?</p>
<p>Liv4 - One of the dirty little secrets of college admissions is that if you are willing to go across the country for an admission, they like to admit you because they want to choose people based on geographic diversity. So theoretically, you stand a good chance of getting into schools if they are 1500 miles away as opposed to neighboring States.</p>
<p>USC has one of the top journalism programs, 11th ranked engineering school etc and do admit a lot more kids than Northwestern because of the lower yield.</p>
<p>Hahaha California is a strange place though. As closed-minded as it sounds, the only school I could see myself sacrificing in-state tuition of UofM is NU. I just love it. I love Evanston, the coop opportunities in Chicago, its reputation, flexibility to switch between majors, closeness to home… Haha I could go on and on</p>
<p>no problem. just make sure you take your fair share of ap classes–especially in physics and chem, if possible. they also don’t <em>expect</em> experience, but rather prefer it. pursuing an internship takes balls (ovaries? 
) and a lot of time, so it’s more the concerted effort rather than the experience that will impress the adcom.</p>
<p>and don’t listen to this ^ malarky about rankings and geography. just try for the schools like, do your best, and you should be in decent shape for admission. theres no strategy.</p>
<p>Hahahah, and I’m taking AP Physics and Chem (I’m pretty sure if it fits) next year (senior year). Sorry for all the questions, but what’s a typical intern schedule like in terms of commitment? (How many hours per day, days per week?) Also, what exactly do I do as an assistant?</p>
<p>Thanks again! you are very helpful!</p>
<p>no problem at all. i can’t speak to what your average internship might be, but mine was 5 days a week, 10am-5pm, flex hours aplenty. i offered myself as just a gofer, but the guy i worked for said if i learned some linalg and python i could write code for him. which i did…with mediocrity. but hey, its a learning experience, and they understand that. </p>
<p>honestly, even if you are just a secretary or the guy who gets the coffee, you’ll end up doing things like making measurements or setting up experiments. it’ll be awesome no matter what you do.</p>
<p>Do you think it’ll last the whole summer?</p>
<p>I’m technically committed to this community service project in the city four days a week for like eight weeks of the summer…but would an internship be way more worthwhile of I can secure one?</p>
<p>10-5, 5 days/wk, 7 weeks</p>
<p>i offered myself as just a gofer, but my supervisor said i could write code for him if i learned some linalg and python. but honestly, even if you dont have specific tasks–scientific or otherwise–you’ll be doing cool little errands and jobs in the most awesome research environment. even if they say they just want you to distribute the coffee (hyperbole), you’ll end up helping out on experiments and making making measurements and whatnot.</p>
<p>Liv 4 - As I tell my kid, dont get too attached to one school.</p>
<p>Liquidswords - Just because you got into NU, does make you an admissions expert to dismiss others’ words as malarky. That attitude will drown you at some point.</p>
<p>liquids should I forgo the volunteering? And do you think doing research at Michigan gives me an even greater chance of being a shoo-in there?</p>
<p>okay i didnt want to get into a shouting match. i just think that it’s ill-advised to tell juniors that they should game their applications by considering factors like geography. my whole point was that no one on these boards knows what’s going to happen inside admissions, so why not try your hardest, pay the $60, and just apply with all your heart?</p>
<p>and as far as dropping your service project goes–i would not turn that down. unless you were virtually shoehorned into that and will be reluctant to do the work, you should stick with it. you’ll be helping people, and you should feel good about that. i myself got my internship only after i was turned down for a position at a low-income tutoring service.</p>
<p>i should also mention that the fact you participate in FIRST is a big bonus for a “hands-on” school like NW. i had no such experience, so the internship filled that gap you don’t really need to fill at this point :)</p>
<p>this is a dilemma. you dont think i will be disadvantaged to not have done any applied work in engineering?</p>
<p>FIRST is sufficient enough? even if our robot hasn’t won like national awards? :)</p>
<p>i truly believe that if you have a great service project on your hands, that’s more important–regardless of what the colleges think–that an internship. then again, this is all your call. go with your heart on this one.</p>
<p>should I still email a couple of professors to see of they’d be willing to give me a position, and then decide?</p>
<p>again: this is your decision. if it truly speaks to you, go for it. no harm in sending out emails, though.</p>
<p>Liquidwords - No shouting matches here. I have no problem if you say you dont believe what I advised would work as opposed to calling it malarky. Insulting others is not the best way to make a point.</p>
<p>It is common to spread your applications between reaches, matches and safeties. Despite a lot of hardwork, not everyone can always get into their dream schools. NU is a reach for all people irrespective of the credentials.</p>