Chance Me (ED @Northwestern Univ) - 20k Income Per Year!

Chance Me / Match Me!
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**Demographics:

  • US domestic: US citizen
  • State/Location of residency: Chicago, Illinois
  • Dual Enrollment (I will graduate with a HS diploma AND an associates degree in Information Technology at 17.
  • Female, Pakistani
  • Other special factors: First Generation to college, Household income: x<20000, Household size: 7 (I am the oldest of 5 girls).

Intended Major(s)

  • Biomedical Engineering

PLEASE READ, IMPORTANT: \ Freshman year and sophomore year of hs were average, I took 1 AP offered (the only one offered). BUT I transferred into College for my associates degree in Information Tech for my Junior and Senior in HS. A typical day for me at school: 8 AM - 11 AM = high school (AP classes) and 12 PM - 3 PM = college.

GPA, Rank, and Test Scores

  • Unweighted HS GPA: 3.85/4.0
  • Weighted HS GPA (incl. weighting system): 4.9/5.0 (Note: My college classes count for my weighted GPA; hence, why itā€™s high).
  • College GPA: 4.0/4.0
  • Class Rank: Top 5%
  • ACT/SAT Scores: 1350, but will apply test-optional if my score doesnā€™t reach 1450

Coursework
(AP/IB/Dual Enrollment classes, AP/IB scores for high school; also include level of math and foreign language reached and any unusual academic electives; for transfers, describe your college courses and preparation for your intended major(s))

These are the only AP Classes I was offered. Keep in mind, I only had 4 high school classes (All AP level) Junior and Senior year since I was in college too.

  • AP English Lang: 4
  • AP Physics 1: 4
  • AP Calc AB: No test
  • AP US History: 4
  • AP Psychology: 5
  • AP 2D Art (to fulfill art credit): 5
  • AP World (Modern): 3ā€¦ I knowā€¦

College Classes (just a few, I took 24 courses in total):

  • Such as Fundamentals of Cloud Computing, Fundamentals of Information Technology, Algebra for College Students, Introduction to Operating Systems, Introduction to Programming, Intercultural Communication, Applied Physics with Lab, Composition, ETC.

Awards

  • 40K Scholarship Award to DeVry University (at 15 years old)
  • 3rd place in city-wide math competition (against all CPS schools)
  • Future Engineer award at UIUC Engineering program
  • High honor roll all semesters
  • A-Level Honor Roll - highest honor (college + highschool)
  • White Belt from Microsoft
  • Future Medical Leader Award of Excellence
  • Placed 1st in bridge-building competition (district-wide) and competed in city-wide competition
  • Awarded award of excellence in research presentation on impact of Engineering on medicine (to Neurologists & Neurosurgeons)
  • UIUC Full scholarship to summer engineering program (covered fees/tuition, dorm, food)

Extracurriculars

  • SUMMER AFTER JUNIOR YEAR Cancer Research at Northwestern University (partnered with UChicago) - HIGHLY SELECTIVE PROGRAM: I conducted and presented an individual research I did with a mentor (equipped with PhD in the relating field).

  • JUNIOR AND SENIOR YEAR Northwestern Universityā€™s Medicine Discovery Program - HIGHLY SELECTIVE PROGRAM

  • JUNIOR AND SENIOR YEAR Robotics (I founded a CAD branch, which I am a leader of) ā€“ NOTE: This EC is a College EC, not in relation to HS

  • JUNIOR AND SENIOR YEAR Internship (Specific name, which I am not going to mention for safety): I worked to research parts of Chicago that werenā€™t equipped with a desirable healthcare system, voiced the opinions of residents, and created a ā€œcity planā€ to help advocate for change in primarily the South and West sides of Chicago.

  • SOPHOMORE - SENIOR YEAR* Cancer Kids First Volunteer: Led online zoom sessions with other peers to connect with Cancer patients (ages 6-12) and organized events to help cheer children up (Valentines day: basket filled with chocolate and stuffed animals, etc).

  • SOPHOMORE AND PARTIAL JUNIOR YEAR University of Illinois at Chicago Engineering Internship - SELECTIVE PROGRAM, about 20% ā€œacceptance rateā€ (fun note: I was the only representative of my grade level): Worked to support environmental justice and food inequality by volunteering at Stein Learning Gardens at St. Sabina while helping support a community greenspace, while also innovating a robot system to help clean up the university campus.

  • SOPHOMORE YEAR Research Intern at Malcolm X College for applied engineering in medicine: Learned about the different disciplines of medicine (neurology, cardiology, etc) and learned ways to apply the engineering disciplines to the medical field. Created a paper/presentation to present one way to improve the functionalities of hospitals with the existence of engineering.

Essays/LORs/Other
English Professor (who graduated grad school from Northwestern University) = 100/10, I am by far her favorite student out of all college students (pretty evident) and she wrote a rec letter for me for my second EC (Northwestern Medicine Discovery Program) which helped me get in.

Research Professor (who I worked directly with in the summer with Cancer Research @ Northwestern) = 10/10, We worked together really well and developed a good student professor bond which helped me a lot with my cancer presentation.

ESSAY: I would rate my essay a solid 8/10, my essay is (obviously) personal but relates my personal life to my lifeā€™s passion, which is BME. I think my essay stands out a lot, I just need to come up with great transitional words/phrases which will help tie it together well.

Cost Constraints / Budget
Obviously, I canā€™t pay for college, my parents only make less than 20k/year while providing for 5 kids and balancing rent in Chicago. I hope to work and pay at least $5k/year myself since Iā€™m going to be out of high school with an Associates degree.

Schools

  • ED TO NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY !!! :))
  • ED II TO JOHN HOPKINS OR DUKE (I donā€™t know which one, yet)
  • HYPSM (Who knows!)
  • UChicago!
  • MIT
  • UIUC
  • Let me know what schools you think Iā€™m a great for for :slight_smile:
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Congratulations on your achievements.

Have you already graduated high school? Itā€™s confusing because you say youā€™ve written your essays already, and also you said the summer after your junior year you ā€˜conducted and presented individual researchā€™, seems like that wouldnā€™t be happening until this coming summer, unless you already graduated.

I encourage you to look into questbridge national college match program: QuestBridge | National College Match

I canā€™t chance you, but UIUC will be affordable (a full ride) provided you meet the criteria for Illinois Promise: Illinois Promise ā€“ Office of Student Financial Aid But, BME will be a reach, so for your second major choice in the app make sure to choose a more likely major as well.

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Hello! Sorry for the confusion, I just checked and my grammatical structure is awful right about there. I meant Fall-Spring Semester of my Junior year :sleepy:

Iā€™m glad UIUC has that option, one reason I look forward to applying there :slight_smile: As far as BME, Iā€™ve been trying to take advantage of a lot of opportunities related to that specific field which has been a little difficult; however, Iā€™ve been trying to improve my English score on the SAT since my English is fairly new and in the process of still developing!

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Iā€™m not sure I understand your full story.

But you are the kind of student that overreaches and gets shut out.

I may be wrong but I think you need targets and a safety.

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Thanks, thatā€™s helpful.

What is the breakdown of your SAT score? Note that MIT requires tests, so applying test optional is not on the table there.

I agree with tsbnaā€¦you need at least one affordable safety, and some targets. UIUC will be highly likely if you choose your second major wisely, so do some research on that but your second major has to not be in engineering. So biology, or biochem, or DGS for example.

For targets you might look at Union College and Lehigh U, both have BME, both meet full need but have relatively higher acceptance rates than the other schools on your list. Maybe also Illinois Tech. Iā€™ll continue to think about it too, but meanwhile strongly encourage you to research questbridge.

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As others have said, thereā€™s nothing wrong with shooting for these high-reach schools, as you do have an impressive recordā€¦ but you also need matches and safeties. As you already know, your SAT is weak for tippy-top schools, and some schools like MIT are going back to requiring test scores.

Iā€™d be cautiously optimistic about UIUC given your connections there, but you could throw in UIC as a true safety - they do have BME and might even be commutable if you need to save money.

You are still a freshman applicant - not graduating from high school until next year, even though youā€™ve done college coursework - correct? Just making sure; the transfer landscape is different.

In addition to Lehigh and Union, look into Case Western Reserve U, U of Rochester, Lafayette College, Boston U, Tufts, Northeastern U, U of Miamiā€¦ also the few public Uā€™s that meet need for OOS students: UVA, UNC-Chapel Hill, and UMichigan (meets need only for low-income, but you should qualify). You might also look at Rose-Hulman; their normal need-based aid probably isnā€™t generous enough, but they offer some big scholarships, especially for women (and even more so for women of color). Run the Net Price Calculator for every school that interests you. (If you havenā€™t used one, hereā€™s one example: Northwestern Net Price Calculator - every school has one.) Make a spreadsheet to keep track of projected net costs and other info thatā€™s important to you!

If you apply to Questbridge and are accepted for the Match process, you can rank up to 15 of their partner schools (if accepted, you receive a binding offer from the school you ranked highest that accepted you, and itā€™s a very generous full ride). Even if you donā€™t match, you can then apply to as many partner schools as you want through Questbridge regular decision, and being a QB Scholar improves your chances. Here are all the Questbridge schools that have either BME or a general engineering program that might work. (As you can see, all of your proposed ED and other high-reach schools are on this list, so youā€™d lose nothing by ranking them in the Questbridge process instead of using the normal ED process.)

Your application strategy will differ depending on whether you do Questbridge or not, but Iā€™d definitely advise you to apply for Questbridge and see what happens. No need to worry about NPC projections if you get accepted via QB Match, whereas if applying RD our outside of Questbridge, some schools will be more generous than others. (For example, Iā€™ve seen QB candidates get into USC via QB RD, but with weak financial aid that really took the option of attending off the tableā€¦ but everyoneā€™s financial profile is different, so you have to run the numbers and see which schools look like they will work.)

Youā€™re doing well to get an early start - plenty of time to research and consider your options!

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I agree.

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Definitely apply through Questbridge. :slight_smile:
What do you mean by ā€œEnglish is fairly newā€?
Look up each college listed here + ā€œjoin the mailing listā€ and provide them an email address created for college admissions (a serious one :stuck_out_tongue: that you check every day). Click on the links they send and spend some time reading what interests you on the website. This is called ā€œinterestā€ and is factored in by Admission Teams, especially at private universities&colleges.

UIUC is so selective for Engineering itā€™s a high match rather than a match/safety so we mostly need to help you find affordable matches and safeties.

Have you completed

  • 4 years of English and History/Social Science
  • Foreign Language through level 3 or 4
  • Biology and Chemistry (in addition to Physics)
  • get an A in Calc AB? Take a further calc class in college?
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Hello, sorry it may be confusing, maybe my ECā€™s or information donā€™t make sense. I have gotten feedback from students at Duke and UChicago and my app has been looking good to them.

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My SAT breakdown: 710 math, 640 English, around that. I have gotten Aā€™s in every class including AP Calc. My requirements will all be complete by the end of my hs career! I do have plenty of safeties in mind, cub as UIC, DePaul, Loyola and I am confident Iā€™ll get in.

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Thank you for your very descriptive comment, it has helped me understand a lot more about what can make me stronger. I am trying my very best at raising my English SAT. Also, once again Iā€™m sorry for the confusion I may have caused; I am a current Junior (I messed up on my first EC, I participated in the summer cancer research program at NU during Fall-Spring semester of Junior year) in high school but also a college student (Freshman, at a ā€œcredibleā€ university).

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The leaving HS after 10th grade to college - is what has thrown me off.

Good luck to you.

Glad to see your further message that youā€™ve got DePaul, Loyola, and UIC.

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Oh, I see. I am still in Highschool but only taking 3 classes (AP) instead of the usual 8 classes. After those 3 classes, I start college. My typical day, like today, looks like this:

  • 8 AM - 11 AM: Highschool
  • 12 PM - 3:15 PM: college.

And yes, I am definitely applying to a lot of safeties especially for financial aid. I just didnā€™t mention it because I knew it would be easier for me to get in.

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Define safeties for financial aid?

Schools easier for admission may not be as generous with aid.

A better tact would be to find schools that will 100% meet your costs. But assure admission. Those will be hard to find but a U Miami, Dennison.

Your state may have a program to help low income families hopefully.

You sound like the perfect student for Questbridgeā€¦so look here.

This might be your best hope - youā€™d get a full ride if accepted - and can apply to a lot of schools.

Good luck.

PS - I worry that you are taking college classes now - thatā€™s normally not something that ends well for the student if they are trying to go to a private university.

QuestBridge

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I understand your concern. Thank you for your suggestions and comments!

I have been guaranteed admission to a college already with full-ride (connected to the college I attend right now). Also, after attending open houses and events at colleges (around chicago), I have found that (for example) UIC will be able to grant me very generous financial aid. Also, I have been ranking #1-5 ever since my entrance into college - compared to a class of 100-200. I have maintained a 4.0 GPA, all my classes have had a grade over 95% combined with final assessments and projects.

I do not know if you took note of college for my associates degree, thus far, I have not been very challenged in college. I believe in my capabilities and know that I have been doing really good, as my mental health has been super balanced with school (super important for me)

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What I meant was - if you got into a high level private school like Chicago, theyā€™re unlikely to give you any credit for these classes.

But look into Questbridge - Chicago is one of the partner schools as is Duke and many others. For a low income student, this is potentially an awesome opportunity.

AMHERST COLLEGE

BARNARD COLLEGE

BOSTON COLLEGE

BOSTON UNIVERSITY

BOWDOIN COLLEGE

BROWN UNIVERSITY

CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

CARLETON COLLEGE

CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIVERSITY

CLAREMONT MCKENNA COLLEGE

COLBY COLLEGE

COLGATE UNIVERSITY

COLLEGE OF THE HOLY CROSS

COLORADO COLLEGE

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

DARTMOUTH COLLEGE

DAVIDSON COLLEGE

DENISON UNIVERSITY

DUKE UNIVERSITY

EMORY UNIVERSITY

GRINNELL COLLEGE

HAMILTON COLLEGE

HAVERFORD COLLEGE

JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

MACALESTER COLLEGE

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

MIDDLEBURY COLLEGE

NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY

OBERLIN COLLEGE

POMONA COLLEGE

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY

RICE UNIVERSITY

SCRIPPS COLLEGE

SMITH COLLEGE

STANFORD UNIVERSITY

SWARTHMORE COLLEGE

TUFTS UNIVERSITY

UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO

UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY

VASSAR COLLEGE

WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY

WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS

WELLESLEY COLLEGE

WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY

WILLIAMS COLLEGE

YALE UNIVERSIT

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Oh I see! I will definitely be looking into it. Thank you so much!

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These may be academically highly likely but I donā€™t know any will be affordable. Can you live at home and commute to UIC? I doubt DePaul and Loyola will get close to being affordable. Run their NPCs and see, neither meet full need for most students.

A non-engineering major at UIUC could be highly likely, depending what you choose, and you likely qualify for UIUC Promise, which is a full ride (covers tuition/fee/room/board). Of course that doesnā€™t work if you are certain you want engineering, which is a reach at UIUC.

I mentioned QB in my first post in this thread. I strongly encourage you to apply to schools via QB. The app is involved, and you should finish it over the summer (itā€™s typically due end of September). There is no reason not to do it.

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Another recommendation for you to apply through Questbridge. The program is selective and there are early deadlines for you to apply to them, before you can work with them to apply to the most selective universities in the country (listed above) as a ā€œQB applicantā€.

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These are studentsā€¦I think I would take their feedback positively but with a grain of salt.

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