<p>ACT: 31 (33 M 34 W 29 R 28 S)
SAT: 2030 (760 M 690 W 580 CR)
GPA: 3.7 UW, 4.2 W (most rigorous courseload available; upward trend since frosh year)
ECs: co-Editor in Chief of HS yearbook
Forensics team
FIRST Robotics team
Tennis team
NHS
200+ hours volunteering (notably relief work in Detroit)
White female; upper/middle class</p>
<p>Can I get into Northwestern!!!!!?????
Or Michigan (in-state)????</p>
<p>(Engineering or Pre-Med)</p>
<p>Boost that CR score above 650 and you’re a lock. Good luck!</p>
<p>Chance back please? <a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1118399-chance-theatre-acting-inclined-junior-ill-chance-you-back.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/what-my-chances/1118399-chance-theatre-acting-inclined-junior-ill-chance-you-back.html</a></p>
<p>You have a shot, maybe not a great one, but a shot nonetheless.</p>
<p>The weaknesses I see are your test scores (on the lower end for NU) and ECs. Work to improve them and your chances should improve a lot.</p>
<p>Northwestern - reach
UMichigan - high match</p>
<p>My ECs are a weakness!? I’ve been told they’re my strengths…</p>
<p>They look fine to me. Austrian…?</p>
<p>I mean, I didn’t list EVERYTHING/my achievements in all of them. Come on, the reason I wanna go to NU is due to my dual interest in engineering and journalism. Note robotics (engineering) and yearbook/forensics <a href=“journalism”>I’m in broadcasting</a>. How are those lacking!? P.S. I WILL raise my test scores! As you can probably see, I suck at reading sections.</p>
<p>Biggest weakness is test scores, but if you get those up, I would say you’ve got a good chance.</p>
<p>Thanks buddy, and those are the easiest to improve! I’ve only taken the ACT and SAT once! Those’ll definitely come up. 
:)</p>
<p>i am SO jealous of your SAT/ACT scores… darn you hahah</p>
<p>if you can get that cold… wow, you can definitely be in the running for northwestern!
your ec’s are fine, it may not be a long list per se, but im sure robotics, tennis team (i play too! ) and extensive volunteer work take up plenty of your time. i think college admissions rather have a short list that you are extremely involved in and dedicated to than a long shallow list</p>
<p>good luck!!</p>
<p>Wait, haha, are you seriously jealous of them? </p>
<p>And “get that cold?” You mean temperature-wise? Hell yeah I’m from Michigan!</p>
<p>And actually, I do have a longer list, but for the sake of conciseness I decided to only give my main ones. Plus, as you said, it’s about depth, not breadth. :)</p>
<p>Hahahah my SATs are AWFUL!! Its the one part of my application that is really going to hurt me… but anyway by cold I mean did you just go in and take them without studying beforehand? They’ll skyrocket next time!</p>
<p>Like, I studied a little. I was worried about the math because SAT math tends to be less straightforward than that of ACT, so I just did this strange computer game some random guy from California solicited to me and my family for a couple hours the night before. I figured it wasn’t like I was about to study the dictionary to improve my Writing score, and I wasn’t going to become an efficient lightning-reader overnight. But legit, I was expecting like an 800 (with the curve) on math 'cause I only skipped one and I knew I got one wrong. Did you take the March SAT?!?!?!?!</p>
<p>It’s not that your ECs are a strength, it’s that they’re the least of your weaknesses. A non-URM with a 2030 SAT score is not going to be accepted. And Northwestern requires two SAT II scores. Your GPA can be a bit higher too. 3.7 is a bit low.</p>
<p>Yeah I took the march one… sorta disappointed 
this past fall I was hardcore tutored and consistently had 700+ in everything, math was really high 770 or around there, then i take the real ones and get like mid 600’s on M and high 500’s and CR and W I found I have a tracking disorder though thats apparently really serious and causes me to write wrong answers in scantrons or something weird like that, but im going to an eye doctor to get it fixed and he said my scores will go up dramatically, i sure hope so!</p>
<p>Calvin, NU does not REQUIRE two SAT IIs. And, as I mentioned earlier, I will retake the regular test at least once to get a score that makes me competitive; it’s not as though I’ve reached my limit. A 3.7 may be low, but that’ll probably ultimately be the weakest part of my application, which in itself is not that weak, as I’ve seen non-URMs get accepted with a GPA of this and even lower. I believe my ECs are strong; rather than a laundry list of clubs, I have demonstrated talent in communications (public speaking and writing), sports, science, and community service.</p>
<p>Good luck, trips! You can do anything! If you still don’t get the score of your dreams by application time, you may want to mention your condition to college AdComs. :)</p>
<p>From the office of admissions (directed to alum/club leaders):
</p>
<p>EDIT:Looks like Sam Lee, an NU legend, posted while I was typing my response with better supported and solid info (as usual) - likely more helpful information. But, I already typed my response so I am not going to delete: </p>
<p>NU is a reach for you currently. Improving your scores will certainly help. Your EC’s are solid and if you present some impressive essays, recs, (along with a couple of improved scores - I would also suggest some 700+ SAT II scores would help), you have a chance. The adcoms at NU are looking beyond the stats, so let them know what makes you special and you may fill a role in the freshman class they are building.</p>
<p>I would suggest that with admission rates now below 18% at ALL of the top 15 schools, having a dream school in these long shots may now be impractical. When narrowing down your reach school (the TOP 15 are basicaly reaches for everyone currently), you should widen your net a bit. Consider not just putting your eggs in the Northwestern basket, but consider throwing in by picking a couple of it’s peers as well: Brown, Dartmouth, UPenn, Cornell, Duke, UChicago, WashU, Vanderbilt, Tufts … along with some matches and solid safeties.</p>
<p>Thank you for the helpful advice! Are you from Hinsdale (IL)? And what, in your opinion, would you consider a match if, say, my ACT score becomes a 33 exactly?</p>
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<p>It is recommended (according to the website, only required for HPME and ISP). But despite this, why would you willingly choose to put yourself at a disadvantage to about majority of the students that do in fact submit their SAT Subject Scores? Of course by saying majority, I could be severely exaggerating; I don’t really have the means to the data listing what percent of applicants submitted SAT II scores.</p>
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<p>In that logic, I’ve seen non-URMs get rejected with a GPA of that and even higher. Well, I’ve only seen two, but my point refuting your logic still stands.</p>
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<p>That’s nice. And you presumed that I would somehow know this without you mentioning it? If you can improve your SAT or ACT score (hopefully get some SAT IIs in if you can) and GPA, you’ll have a very strong shot. I’ll take your word for it on your quality of ECs. And make sure you write a killer essay.</p>
<p>I didn’t say I wouldn’t put myself at the disadvantage of not taking SAT IIs! I know I’m taking Math II and Physicz come June. And I can name at least five teachers who have gone out of their way to tell me/my parents I’m a “really great writer” - essays shouldn’t be a problem. They should certainly help enhance my application. Thanks for your input, but I would be a bit less presumptuous next time you bash someone.</p>