<p>SAT approx 2300
SAT II: Chinese 790, Maths II 760, Chem 720
2 self studied APs: 5(Music Theory), 4(Calculus AB)
No GPA in school, but my scores are actually pretty bad. Say 2.5 for GPA. (I know..)
School ranks top 5 in country</p>
<p>Straight As in Stanford EPGY/OHSx English Lit and Maths courses
7A*3A1B for GCSE, 3A3B for GCE AS</p>
<p>EC:
1. MUN chair
2. Zonta Z International school club VP
3. School music club President
4. School debating club committee member
5. School Chinese History club VP
6. Music: Various international awards recipient, studying in a professional music skl, local record holder, knows 5 instruments
7. School magazine editor
8. Local newspapers and magazines contributing writer
9. Co-founder of a local online orchestra
10. Interned at an investment company
11. Many voluntary works (teaching public speaking,visiting elderly houses, volunteer at music concerts...)
12. Wrote school musicals</p>
<p>Potential studies and career paths:
1. Media and communication
2. Business
3. International Relations
4. Minor in music/dual degree</p>
<p>I really want to pursue Northwestern ED for the Dual Degree between its communication school and Bienen music school, but my parents want me to stay in US and work in Wall Street after graduation, so they think Barnard ED is a better choice， especially when it has a much higher rate of admission. I understand that if I want to work in Wall Street, being in NY definitely helps a lot.</p>
<p>My parents are serious about their preferences and said I will risk having no financial support from them if I end up in Northwestern without the communication school (you get in there from either school). Should I take this risk or should I just listen to them, because I understand Barnard's a wonderful school too.</p>
<p>What are my chances and benefits of going into either of these schools?</p>
<p>It seems like both you and your parents have unrealistic plans. Is there a good explanation you can provide colleges as to why your GPA is so low? (If not, you probably won’t be admitted ED anywhere … so you might as well apply where your parents want you to, assuming you are full pay. That way you won’t have to listen to them saying “we told you so” if you are deferred or rejected). </p>
<p>I don’t think Barnard is a big Wall St feeder, to be honest. I agree with calmom - do what your parents want you to if that’s what it takes to have their financial support, then be ready with your backups because that GPA doesn’t seem likely to work for Barnard or NW (unless there is something about your grades that is different, like everyone gets those kinds of scores at your school?). You would be an international applicant, right?</p>
<p>Frankly, Northwestern is a bigger feeder to the Street than Barnard. In Barnard’s favor is that being in NYC gives you more opportunity to hustle and network for internships/jobs. However, if you don’t have a passion for hustling, you’d have no chance going that route.</p>
<p>That GPA will definitely hurt. However, being a recipient of multiple international music awards may very be a strong enough hook. Especially at colleges that value elite musicians majoring in music for their orchestras and music school (which is true of NU; dunno about Barnard).</p>
<p>@AnnieBeats being the utmost expert in the inner workings of all adcoms of all colleges in the US, of course.</p>
<p>Anyway, to the OP: you have a big weakness but maybe a big hook (if the music awards are as prestigious as you make them sound). What is your class rank? American colleges would care more about that for foreigners than a straight GPA number, as different countries have wildly different systems.</p>
<p>I just want to clarify – I agree that the music accomplishments, other EC’s, and test scores are impressive. I can see a possibility that there is a reasonable explanation for the week GPA – but I just think that generally most colleges are going to want to see midterm grades before taking a chance on a student with a weak GPA. </p>
<p>It’s also unrealistic for parents of a daughter who wants to study media and music to expect that the student will graduate from college and get a job on Wall Street… but that’s another matter. Presumably when the OP graduates in 4 years, she can get whatever job she wants – and if it is enough to support herself, then the parents aren’t going to have much leverage at that point. </p>
<p>I am aware that I could be underestimating the power of the music hook together with a possible financial hook (full pay student) … it’s just that there would have to be a very compelling explanation for weak grades, together with a strong rising trend. The last thing any college wants is to accept a student who will not be able to keep up with the academic demands of their program.</p>
<p>If the student is not eligible for financial aid, then her choice is not college X vs. college Y. Her range of choices is limited by what her parents are willing to pay for, right or wrong. So if the parents are saying they won’t pay for Northwestern, she can’t apply ED. Perhaps the better choice is to forego ED anywhere, and apply to a number of colleges RD. On the other hand, maybe a December rejection from Barnard is exactly what the OP needs in order to convince her parents to pay for a different program, though Northwestern still seems like a huge reach. </p>
<p>Thank you guys. I’ve gotten over the hurdle my parents set for me, so the problem here is no longer whether I should apply to Barnard or Northwestern ED. I’ve chosen Northwestern ED (yay!)</p>
<p>However, I AM concern that its school of communication will accept me or not. Yes, my music may be a hook, but I’m not certain how much that would cover my weak school grades. For your information, I’m a mediocre student in the school, but I’ve got to say my school is an extremely competitive one. Every single person in there is guaranteed a place in the local universities. If you’re asking for class rank in accordance to school results, I’m probably a little higher than the middle percentile. If you’re asking for ranks in accordance to the public exams, I’ll be in the top 35%.</p>
<p>What, in your comments, would make up a little of my poor grades?</p>
<p>I think she’s got an interesting hook and probably could attend some fairly respectable US colleges… I just am skeptical about the ones she has picked for ED. </p>
<p>@calmom I’ve started the other thread earlier because I want to have more people answering me and have more possibilities, that’s all. The grades have also changed recently (school’s a mess since the beginning of the term, changing stuff), so I’m around the middle. </p>
<p>@alafae – why do you have difficulty with your grades in school? Based on your test scores, it seems you have the ability to do well when you want to.</p>
<p>The only thing that makes up for your poor grades is your hook – you have to think in terms of what you have that you can offer colleges, not what you want from the college. You need to sell yourself to colleges based on your strengths - that may mean emphasizing our interest in music over other things. </p>
<p>@calmom I guess I was too involved with extra-curricular activities over academic work. And honestly, my school is way too competitive and all the marks aren’t great to look at. </p>
<p>I know that I will have to enlarge my hook, but apart from sending in art supplements, using essays to write about music, I don’t know if there’s any more innovative ideas to do anything</p>
<p>If the grades are improving this year, your admission chances may be better in the RD round. AMTC is correct about Bienen requiring auditions and/or submission of an audition tape – I believe the deadline is quite soon so you may want to double check on that. (That would be for RD as well as ED). As your parents are allowing you to apply ED to your top choice, there’s no harm in your applying – just don’t be discouraged if you get a deferral. I can see that your EC’s would keep you busy and that could be difficult at a school with strict policies on attendance and adherence to deadlines – but the most competitive colleges are unlikely to be sympathetic. You can go ahead with your ED plans, but you should also be focusing on developing a list of schools with somewhat more flexible admission policies for the RD round. You have the type of profile that might benefit from consultation with a private admissions counselor to help identify those schools. </p>
<p>NU gives a pretty significant boost to those applying ED, though, so I think ED is the right way to go. They’ll care about your musical ability, but your awards and audition tape (and stuff on Youtube of your competition performances) should be able to speak for themselves.</p>
<p>IMO, you should play up why NU is a great fit (so the collaborative humanistic well-rounded aspect). My personal take is that, unlike some other elites, NU believes that being well-rounded is a virtue. BTW, I would just apply to Music. Applying for a second major in Communications after you already got in would be much easier.
Finally, for business, you can apply to be a Russell Fellow later (MS program at Kellogg only open to NU undergrads). They’d specifically like kids from non-traditional backgrounds who want to get a grounding in business.</p>
<p>OP, please do not waste ED at a school that there is no shot you will get into. From the looks of it, you are in the bottom 25% of your class, if not the very last according to you. There is literally no way in the world you are getting into either of these schools. I’m not trying to rain on your parade. I’m just being honest. It’s pointless applying.</p>
<p>@PurpleTitan I know I am not an admissions counselor. But less not give the OP false hope because of a couple of awards. Neither of these schools will admit someone far below the standards of regular admitted students because of some music. It ain’t happening. Sure the OP has the Stanford thing, but still, we are talking about 4 years of work where someone has put little to no effort in their studies.</p>
<p>OP, I’m am not trying to hurt you, but I implore you to look elsewhere. The reason why acceptance rates for ED and EA are higher is that the applicant pool is much stronger. Last year, Northwestern didn’t admit any student with a GPA under 3.5.</p>
<p>@PurpleTitan Also, the OP is an international student. That makes everything even worse.</p>
<p>OP, if I’m not mistaken, you cannot stay in the US after you finish your studies. Part of being admitted as an international student includes you agreeing to go back home after your education is completed.</p>
<p>Actually. being full pay international can be something of an admissions advantage - the primary benefit of ED, from the viewpoint of the college, is to lock in full pay students. I agree that the chances of admission ED are slim… but I don’t see a downside. It might be wiser for the OP to apply ED to a college that is less prestigious/less selective, but I think that it is unlikely that she or her parents would be comfortable making that commitment at this stage. </p>
<p>An ED rejection would be painful, but it’s also functions as a reality check-- it sounds like the parents need that as much as the student. </p>
<p>NU does seem to want everybody to be in at least the top half of their HS class, though I can not find info about worst GPA admitted. Where did you get that info from?</p>
<p>Also, @AnnieBeats, please don’t make stuff up. Internationals do not have to agree to go back to their home country in order to be admitted.</p>
<p>I doubt that there is any source of information whatsoever about lowest GPA at most schools. The admissions committees recalculate GPA anyway, so the GPA reported by the school might not always equate with the college calculation. I’d guess that a CC poster who reports that sort of statistic is relying on a source such as their own school’s Naviance system, or a web site that reports stats from self-reporting submitters. </p>
<p>A low GPA is always going to be a problem, but the colleges also look at patterns of grades. They are willing to accept lop-sided applicant when the grade pattern is consistent with the apparent set of talents and weaknesses in their students. </p>
<p>And I honestly don’t know how much leeway some colleges will go when it comes to admitting a student strong in specific arts. Probably not very much when the music program is also very prestigious and selective. </p>