Ask almost anything about the school and application process!

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Hello all! Posting this in a more open and general thread.

I’m an incoming freshman at Northwestern University and I survived the college application process and you can too!

If you’re looking for any tips, advice, or essay revisions, comment on this thread and I will do anything to help you out.

I think I will be particularly helpful because I got in with a low test score by NU standards.

Whether you are a parent or a student, I will try to be as open as possible.

I will not give out full copies of my essays and supplements, but I can give you an idea of what I wrote about.

About me:
State: NY
Test Scores- SAT: CR-670 M-630 W-670
GPA- 3.75

I applied to Medill. I absolutely love writing. I believe that I got in because I spent an exorbitant amount of time on my supplements and my personal essay. I showed that I did significant research into the school.

Disclaimer: I am a URM. I know that does change things a bit. However, the nudge for being a URM is probably a whole lot smaller than people imagine.

In addition, I was selected for a special Wildcat Days program (for admitted students) where Northwestern offered to fly me out for free! So that kinda shows that I wasn’t just a charity case. Initially, I thought it would be because of my ethnicity because it wasn’t like I had high financial need. But when I got there, there were students of all races and SES.

So if you have any questions about the application process from tests to interviews (gasp, I cancelled on my interviewer), to supplements, to visits, sound off below!

I’ll answer any of your questions to the best of my ability :slight_smile:

Go Wildcats!

2nd Disclaimer: I am not in anyway guaranteeing acceptance. I’m just giving advice on my process and what I learned from it.

MODERATOR’S NOTE:
Single user “Ask Me Anything” threads are not allowed on College Confidential. All too often the Original Poster vanishes and leaves the questioners in limbo. This thread has been converted into a general “Ask Me Anything” thread, in which all Northwestern students/alum/family/friends/employees are welcome to participate and answer questions.

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Creds to @2015Comp

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CaliCash - Congratulations to you - and also, good to see one of the NU Kidz taking some of the load from us old timers! Thanks for helping out - and have fun at NU!

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First off, congratulations on your acceptance! Now if you don’t mind, I have a few(probably more than that) questions I would like to ask :slight_smile:

Did you not have to do any interview? If the interview is optional would you recommend that applicants do it? How long was the entire application process for? Do you know how substantial the boost is for being an URM(I’m not an URM but the bigger the boost the harder it makes it for us non-URM. I know at Harvard they give you around 225 extra points on your SAT for being an URM so I basically don’t have any chance there-not that I would have one anyways)? What made you decide Northwestern is the place for you?

Sorry if that was too many questions! If you don’t have the time to answer them that’s perfectly fine. Good luck at Northwestern :smiley:

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@2020academy thanks for asking! I’ll answer every question here :slight_smile:

**1) Did you not have to do any interview? If the interview is optional would you recommend that applicants do it? **

The interview is optional. I signed up for it, but I actually had to cancel twice! The first time because I couldn’t make the day and then I canceled the second one because I figured I wouldn’t be able to get in or afford NU. However, I would recommend it to demonstrate interest seeing that NU does consider it.

**2) How long was the entire application process for? **

For me, my application process was fairly long. I had a draft of my personal statement from the summer before senior year. For supplements, it took me about two weeks to gather ideas and refine them into my supplement. I rewrote it like three times to make it perfect.

**3) Do you know how substantial the boost is for being an URM(I’m not an URM but the bigger the boost the harder it makes it for us non-URM. I know at Harvard they give you around 225 extra points on your SAT for being an URM so I basically don’t have any chance there-not that I would have one anyways)? **

Well, URMs only make up 20% of NU’s population, so I wouldn’t say that you have no chance. The overwhelming majority of students are not URM.

As for this:

I highly doubt any school looks at the test scores of a URM and says “Hmmm… This is a 1900, but she’s black, so let’s consider it a 2120.” It’s all about context. Colleges want diverse student bodies, so they may look at an applicant and say “Hmmm… This applicant seems well qualified, but their test scores are kinda on the low side. However, this student is a URM and will have a unique and interesting perspective to bring to our student body.” Colleges aren’t out to hurt ORMs. They are over represented for a reason lol. Because colleges have lots of them! So don’t look at your race as a disadvantage to you. I’ve never heard of a college accepting an under qualified student over a qualified student because of their race.

4) What made you decide Northwestern is the place for you?

I knew I was meant to be a Wildcat when I visited the campus. Northwestern invited me and several other students to stay for a weekend with a host and they covered all of our expenses. For starters, it meant a lot to have a school actively try to get me to commit beyond the regular phone call or email. When I got to the campus, I fell in love with the location, the facilities, the environment, and my financial aid package (I appealed an got an extra $10,000+ in grant aid)! In addition, when I visited I was able to have lunch and speak directly with several professors. I knew that I wanted to be in an environment with that type of accessibility, which is why I chose NU over the University of Florida. In addition, at NU, you don’t have to wait two years to take classes for your major. You can take them as a freshman which is something a lot of schools don’t allow. And the last main reason is that Evanston is absolutely beautiful and is a thriving suburb and I could see myself spending 4 years there and maybe more if I am a good enough student and get selected for the 5 year masters track in Medill. The last, last thing is that Medill has the best journalism connections in the business and every student gets to spend a semester working for a news publication and/or studio before they graduate.

I hope this was helpful. Let me know if you need anything else! :slight_smile:

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Thank you so much for answering my questions!

Regarding the URM, I looked it up and you actually get 230 points added to your SAT school when you apply at Harvard if you are African American. Hispanics receive 185, whites receive nothing, and here is the real kicker, Asians have 50 points taken off! Shocking, I know. I am absolutely amazed that they are able to get away with doing something like this, but what can I say. It’s ugly, but it’s the truth. I don’t want to argue politics, I know little to nothing about them, but I will say that if I were Asian I would be absolutely outraged by this. I have no idea how something like this can be allowed. And Harvard probably isn’t the only school that does this. I’m not an expert on this, but I would guess almost every school that looks at race in college admissions does something similar. Here is a link to where I got the data from. It’s a very interesting article, if you have the time I think it is well worth reading! It really opened my eyes.

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-adv-asian-race-tutoring-20150222-story.html#page=1

Thanks again for the help!

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@2020academy

I don’t want this to turn into an AA debate, but I read the article and you are either taking the authors’ words completely out of context, or just don’t understand what they are saying. No one is literally sitting there with a calculator adding those values to SAT scores. For future reference, understand that the author is saying that on average those numbers represent a hypothetical bonus that students receive. So you shouldn’t say you are shocked they are getting away with adding points to SAT scores because they are not. And there should be no outrage. This is the classic fallacy of “missing the point.”

I wish you the best in your endeavors.

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Back to Northwestern questions! :smiley:

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Hey!

*Congrats on getting in! NU, specifically Medill, is my top choice for when I apply this fall. What did you do specifically in terms of writing/Journo experience(ei. school paper, magazines, internships)? What would you recommend beyond
the normal “wrote in the school paper” to stand out?

*From what you’ve heard, how is the financial aid? Do most people end up paying the full tuition costs?

Thanks

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@Ztrappity
Hey! Thanks for stopping by :slight_smile: So glad to see an aspiring journalist.

**1) What did you do specifically in terms of writing/Journo experience(ei. school paper, magazines, internships)? **

I was in a writing program, I was published in 2 books, now 3. I was editor of my school paper, I tutored English, and I also was on my debate team which involved speaking and writing. I also received multiple national awards for poetry.

**2) What would you recommend beyond the normal “wrote in the school paper” to stand out? **

I don’t recommend doing something to stand out. I recommend that you do something because you genuinely have a passion for it :slight_smile: At one point, I was supposed to intern for my local paper, but I ended up going to camp that summer. If you check out your local or neighborhood paper, they could offer you an opportunity to write which certainly goes beyond the typical high school writer. In addition, you should submit any work of yours to essay contests so that you can get something that confirms the quality of your work.

**3) From what you’ve heard, how is the financial aid? **

It’s great! NU is committed to meeting full need for all domestic students.

4) Do most people end up paying the full tuition costs?

Nope! Roughly 60% of students receive some type of financial aid. I had a very good experience working with the financial aid office. Initially, my package had my parents paying around $43,000 per year with work study for me. However, I appealed and now, they are paying about $28,000 and I was offered a $5,000 loan, and kept my work study. So the financial aid office is very flexible if you submit reasons (I won’t disclose mine) for your appeal and stress why NU is the school for you. I also come from a relatively high income family, so getting this much aid was surprising seeing that some schools calculated that I could be a full pay student.

Good luck! Go Cats!

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I need to correct the idea that Northwestern meets full need. They meet the full need determined by them. My FAFSA has put my estimated family contribution at 0 each year (it might be like… 1000 this year?) and Northwestern has put it at around 6000. Northwestern financial aid is mediocre, and there’s not too many people at Northwestern who would say it’s great.

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I would second what @Crimsonstained7 said. My family has struggled mightily to get aid from Northwestern. Despite repeated letters and pleas, they’ve been pretty stubborn and unwilling to help us. I’d say NU’s financial aid is similar to any other school that say they are committed to meeting your “full need.” If affording college is an issue for you, don’t look at getting into NU as a slam dunk financial aid-wise.

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I am surprised to see that some of you have this experience. From what I’ve seen with this years admissions cycle, most got a really good package. As for appeal, if you provide a glimpse into your financial life that is not seen by the CSS Profile or FASFA, you will likely see a difference. It’s also worth noting that I didn’t just send letters. I actually sat down with a financial aid officer and perhaps that is the difference.

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@CaliCash Hey Calicash! Quick question, with relation to journalism, what stood out about NU in relation to other journalism heavyweights like Mizzou or Syracuse? Thanks!

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@WindyCityKid Outside of journalism, Mizzou has very little appeal. In the unlikely event I switched from journalism, the value of that degree would drop significantly. In addition, the local area is not ideal for aspiring journalist in my opinion. As for Syracuse, a lot of people from my high school go there and I wanted to distance myself from them. And the second reason is similar to my first reason for Mizzou. Take out Newhouse, and Syracuse would not be nearly as reputable. The third reason was that they wanted more than $50,000 per year, so that automatically eliminated them.

Journalism wise, Northwestern’s residency program stood out to me. I think that’s what gives NU the edge. All students within their junior or senior year get one semester working in a news station for an entire semester and it can be anywhere. Some people go to California and some go as far as South Africa. I was really attracted to that and for many, that’s how they land their post- grad job. Academically for journalism, they are all extremely reputable and you cannot go wrong.

For you, an aspiring sports journalist (or maybe business) it would make sense for you to be near Chicago over Columbia, MO and Syracuse, NY provided you are admitted. Chicago has a team in each of the major professional sports, those cities cannot say the same. Being in a big sports city would open more doors.

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There aren’t very many actual current students who would say the financial aid is great. It might sound great now, but the extra costs; eating out, going to shows, laptop, books, etc. add up, and most students that got into Northwestern could have had a full ride that covered that kind of stuff at flagship public schools. I love Northwestern, but it’s expensive, and our financial aid is mediocre. It worked for you, and that’s great, but my parents are struggling to find any money to pay those thousands we have to pay, because Northwestern is stingy.

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Hello! I am a rising senior and am still a little shaky in my search for colleges. I am planning to major in Communications and I heard that Northwestern has a fairly good school of Communications.

What really stood out to you in your visit to NU, geographic-wise?
Also, have you heard anything about the School of Communications? How difficult it is to get in, etc.? (I’m planning to go into broadcast television or film/media) (edit: if it changes anything, I’m planning to work in Korea and work at a major broadcasting station after college/maybe even during college)

I apologize for my seemingly broad questions, I’m still working on narrowing my list down and choosing important questions to ask when I go to visit schools. Any answer will be fine!

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Congratz on the acceptance!!

Northwestern is my dream school and I will be applying ED so do you have any suggestions on how to improve the application?

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@jinny11419 Hey Jinny! How nice of you to stop by!

**
What really stood out to you in your visit to NU, geographic-wise?**
I loved how the school was right on the water. There are some really amazing, quiet places that you can go to if you want to study. I also loved the fact that the campus is not sprawled across a city. The building are relatively close together with some residential homes in between. You can easily walk from one side of campus to the other. I also loved the accessibility to Evanston. It’s close enough that you are not isolated, but it still feels like you’re in your own Northwestern community.

Also, have you heard anything about the School of Communications? How difficult it is to get in, etc.? (I’m planning to go into broadcast television or film/media) The School of Communications is one of the best in the country! You would surely be in good hands. I’m not sure how hard it is to get in, but when applying, it’s not like you would apply to the school of comm, and then get rejected by the school of comm and have a chance at Weinberg or something. They’ll either accept you into Comm or reject you.

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@rolleypolley12 Applying ED is a great option for someone truly set on NU! This past year, the ED app pool was so competitive that half of the incoming class was accepted ED. That made RD more selective than usual. I recommend that you really find specific things that are unique to Northwestern when writing your supplements. Make sure to be as specific as possible so they know that they are the only school, or one of a few schools that can meet your educational goals.