Chance me for UChicago and Northwestern?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

I’m not a perfect student and I’ve gotten B’s but UChi and NU are amazing schools.
Which one would be a better fit for me?

Objective
-GPA : Weighted: 95 Unweighted: 92 (AP classes are only 8 points towards your gpa at my school)
-ACT: 31
-Class Rank: Top 10%
-Endorsement (If you live in Texas you understand): STEM (ask me if you want to know more)
-Race: African-American/First-Generation born in America (Nigerian)
-Major Awards: NSDA Distinction Degree, AP Scholar, Outstanding Congressperson, and Honor Roll
Any other hooks: Parents just got divorced, been alone living with my mom for 3 years/ Single parent household (Motivated me to keep going and keep pushing although my mom makes good income, we struggled a lot together) My dad is a small business owner and his shop was a target of the Ferguson riots in 2014 (i’m going to write my essay about that hehe)

13 AP’s and 6 Honors

AP Bio
AP US History
AP Human Geo
AP English Lit
AP English Lang
AP Statistics
AP Calc AB
AP World History
AP Physics 1
AP Environmental Science
AP Psych
AP Macroeconomics
AP Government

Major: Community Health Prevention and International Relations or Public Policy

Clubs
-Debate team. My events were Domestic Extemp and Congressional Debate where I went to state in both my junior year. Also did Informative Speaking didn’t go to state for it (Member of NSDA) I will most likely be a captain next year as well.

-President of National Honor Society: I really wanted this spot because I get to give a speech at graduation which I know is kind of low. One of my biggest accomplishments because I am in love with service and everything that has to do with community. This was really important to me and I wanted to make my mother happy.

-Created a Club known as Girl Up which raises money for the United Nations for Girls all over the world (President). Far most one of my biggest accomplishments ever! I really love Girl Up and it’s extremely important to me and my little baby, that I nourished! One of the supported girls all over the world.

-Started an annual drive at our school that collects pads, tampons, and other stuff for women at Haven for Hope a local homeless shelter in our city.

-Created an annual color run called: A Walk For Her was one open to the whole city. We raised about 1,000 dollars and over 150 people showed.

-Started a girl’s camp over the summer that has different activities for girls at my school that talk about careers and getting in touch with who you want to be called #GirlsCan. We raised a lot of money and ended up sending it to the United Nations and other small companies like Built By Girls and Girls Who Code that help teenage girls out.

-I plan to become a Girl Up teen advisor for next year

-Youth Community Outreach Leader for church; I organize all the community service activities and clothing distributions that youth in the church does. Also super important to me and I loved it so much! We revamped a clothing distribution at our church and it was super successful. Clothing distribution linked up with the food distribution as well. I love it we’ve done a lot as a group of youth

-Volunteered over the Summer at Haven for Hope tutoring kids and also at my local hospital.

-Round Table (We talk about Social Issues and problems) linked up with Girl Up and made a culture fest at my school.

-Play piano for church every Sunday (I’ve been playing it for a while like 8 years)

-Was in schools Orchestra for two years. Was second chair/first stand led orchestra to sweepstakes at UIL. Did Solo and Ensemble where I received the highest ranking freshman year

Teacher REC’s thinking about getting
Bio Teacher - 10/10 sponsor of my club she’s a GTown alumni
Principal - she knows me very well and I think it would be a good letter
English Teacher - knows me and is aware of my personality

2

Poor ACT. Get it up to at least a 33

3

Still a very good chance even with the ACT score due to the hooks. Choose one to apply ED to.

4

i would say better shot at UChicago bc they look for different students who are not necessarily the most academically talented (not saying you are not academically talented, but your ACT score is not up to par)

You have a good shot at both, but UChicago will be more forgiving of a 31.

5

You are an outstanding candidate all around! You can’t go wrong. However, I would suggest UChicago due to your interest in Pub Pol and Politics. The major there is tops and the Institute of Politics brings amazing speakers in weekly! Make sure your essay is about YOU and not your Dad.

6

UChicago focuses a lot on the essays so I think you have a good shot if your essays are what they’re looking for in a student. Northwestern is more strict on academic stats but you have a decent chance at both. Good luck!

7

bump

8

You have a decent shot, but if you raise your ACT to a 33-34 you will have a much better chance. You are competing against applicants that have everything you have and more, so set yourself apart with something. Northwestern is less selective than UChicago, but Uchicago is more accepting of lower academics if your EC’s are excellent.

9

bump

10

for your majors, the schools are pretty close, maybe a slight edge to Chicago. You have two hooks, so a 31 isn’t going to keep you out, but it wouldn’t hurt to take it again as you tend to do better the second time. Focus on the rest of your app, and enjoy your senior year a little more. Visit the two campuses, the culture is very different, Chicago more academic, Northwestern has a sports scene etc. After your visit if you decide on on as your top choice, then apply early to it.

11

You should still apply, but if you want to be competitive you need to raise your ACT score. They are looking for high 30s, and 31 might get you cut. You have to remember the amount of competition there is to get into these schools.

12

bump

13

You’re ACT is low. A 31 is the bottom 25th percentile and exactly the 25th percentile at Northwestern. I would definitely spend time working for a higher score.

14

Colleges evaluate scores on context, she’s an AA, first gen, 31 is a very good score, I’d focus on other things for the app and try and get more sleep!

15

Both are reaches. Get your ACT up to a 34.

16

You need to get your ACT up to at least 34 to really have any kind of chance.

17

I’m used to GPAs on a 4.0 scale so I’m not familiar with the nuances between a 100 and a 95, but I know that generally UChicago is more forgiving of lower GPAs if you have the test scores to contextualize your performance (for example, a high ACT score and low GPA could mean that you’re smart but attend a challenging high school). If your high school is challenging, the pool of applicants you’re competing against will reflect that. Looking at your resume, your areas of focus are community outreach, activism and debate, all of which, when coupled with your hooks, will lend themselves to a compelling personal narrative if you’re able to synthesize them correctly (for example, you could write about how the Ferguson riots piqued your interest in sociopolitical movements and public policy). Your chances of admission are partially dependent on your intended field of study; so I recommend indicating public policy as your first intended major on your application (you can indicate up to three, and it’s not binding – it just gives the adcom a way to contextualize your interests and achievements). I recommend this because all of your extracurriculars point towards public policy, so it would help you stand out from the the applicant pool - you could always declare your major as Community Health Prevention when you’re admitted, and this would give you more of a chance than competing against people with strong health science spikes. As other posters have mentioned, your test scores do need to be improved but I don’t think that’ll be hard for you :). I’m wishing you the best – good luck!! (Also, consider adding Howard as a safety school - with your test scores and economic background, it’d be nearly free!)