Chance me for Weinburg ED!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northwestern University
1

I have a kind of weird situation–

I am a white, transgender (female to male) senior who has lived his entire life in a very rural mountain town, with a population of less than 2,000. Because of this, I have not had access to the resources that most competitive applicants have. My freshman year was the most tumultuous period of my life, and during that year, I made nothing but B’s, A-'s, and one C. I had a rough time and went through a great deal of adversity, which while these challenges strengthened my character, they tanked my GPA. I was homeschooled for the majority of my freshman year because I took care of my chronically ill aunt, and didn’t have access to any honors or AP courses because my family was too poor to afford any programs that offered them. Yet, whenever I entered public school again my junior year, I pushed myself as hard as I possibly could in order to make up for the lack of extracurriculars and rigor I missed during my period of homeschooling. My school only offers 6 AP courses (I’ve taken 5 of them) and doesn’t allow students to take AP online, so my options have been rather limited, but I have made the most of it.

My school has a very scarce faculty, and so the course and club selection is rather slim compared to most, due to the fact we only have 4 classes per semester-- and usually only 1 teacher for each core subject in each grade. My current GPA is a 3.8 weighted on a 4 point scale, and I scored a 30 composite on my ACT. ( 22 M, 28 S, 35 E, 33 R) My math score is probably my fatal flaw in admissions, but my schedule has been messed up numerous times, more specifically Math wise, so I ended up taking Math 3 late in my junior year, and will take Honors Pre-cal this year. Despite my low GPA and test scores, I want to hold onto the hope that I have a chance, no matter how small.

I have a sizable amount of EC’s that I’ve participated in Junior and Senior year, including:
President of my school’s GSA
Science Club member
Leadership Team Senior Representative
Debate Team
Being a School and Regional Science Fair Winner, and a State Science Fair Participant
Independent Research
Library Advisory Staff
Editor for my school’s Literary Journal
National Honor Society
75 hours of community service as a tutor, teacher assistant, and volunteer at a local animal shelter
Summer Job for an acting company, currently employed there part time again

I plan to write one of my essays about being transgender, and how I used to be ashamed of myself due to my identity. I want to express how the struggles I have faced by being a transgender student in a school with minimal diversity has impacted me and allowed me to grow as a student. Cliche, or no? For my recs, I’m getting two of my AP teachers.
Please be honest!

2

You should learn how to spell the name of the school correctly first. What is your unweighted GPA and what are your grades in challenging math courses? You have somewhat broad activities, but you it doesn’t appear that any of them have depth or that you have really differentiated yourself with them. I agree that you need to raise the ACT math (and ideally the ACT composite too), but the other things I mentioned could also hold your application back. Don’t forget that essays and recs are also really important. That being said, the school admits all kinds of people with all kinds of grades, scores, and profiles. However, the stronger your application is overall, plus the transgender sob story, the better your chances. Of course, you could be rock solid and be denied.

3

@Pacepea, your response is rude and you owe the OP an apology for your harsh words. Obviously he did not come to CC to be berated by you; please be more considerate when forming future responses.

@nohrdragon, I think your chances are slim to okay, because I believe your ACT, while good, is not quite strong enough to compete with many NU applicants. That being said, I have many friends who scored below 30 on their ACTs (I am a current student), and I know none of them have had the distinguishing and rare circumstances you have described–and worked past–in this post. I will keep my fingers crossed for you, but please brace for the worst (and hope for the best!). Good luck and go 'cats! :slight_smile:

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@kitts95 your response is rude and you owe pacepea an apology for your harsh words. Obviously he did not type out a paragraph of insight and advice to the OP to be berated by you; please be more considerate when forming future reproaches.