Chance Me Please! Applying RD

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northwestern University
1

Hello Everyone, could you please chance me for Northwestern. I want to know where I stand before I start writing my essays. Any input is appreciated!

Asian Male

SAT (Superscore): 2230 (CR-670, M-770, W-790 Essay:10)
SAT II: 800 Math II, 740 Biology E
ACT: 32 (Math:33, Reading: 28, Science: 35, English: 32)

NC GPA (Unweighted) - 3.96
NC GPA (Weighted) - 5.125
Class Rank: 7/631
Attend Top Public School in NC
Student in North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics Online Program
Taking courses offered nowhere else in the country, which include Honors Medicinal Chemistry and Honors Bioinformatics

AP (7 AP’s taken):
Biology (4)
Calculus BC (5)
Statistics (4)
Human Geography (5)
US History (4)

Senior Year Courses:
AP Computer Science A
AP US Government and Politics
AP Comparative Government and Politics
AP Psychology
Calculus III (at NC State)
Honors Anatomy and Physiology

NCSSM Courses (Semester-Long Courses):
Honors Bioinformatics (Taken)
Honors Computational Chemistry
Honors Medicinal Chemistry

Major Awards: Winner of Genentech Emperor Science Award in Cancer Research, PVSA recipient, Selected and Completed NC Governor’s School in Mathematics, Junior Marshal (Top 35 Class Rank), Chosen for spot in Duke Biology Research Lab

Subjective:
Extracurriculars:
Varsity Men’s Tennis Player (9-12)
Cancer Research Lab Assistant at UNC (11-12)
Key Club (9-12) / Executive Board Member (10-11)
Science Olympiad (9-12) / President (11-12)
National Technical and Spanish Honor Societies (11-12)
Quiz Bowl Team 9-12) / Co-Captain (10-12)
Tutoring Club (9-12) / President (10-12)
NC School of Science and Mathematics Ambassador (11-12)
NC School of Science and Mathematics SIDE Leader: Create and teach enrichments to K-12 students across NC (11-12)
UNC Hospitals Volunteer (11-12) 200+ Hours
Red Cross Volunteer (9-12) 50+ Hours

Interest:
Taken Campus Visit
Go to Northwestern college fairs whenever in town
Constant emails with regional admissions counselor

2

Northwestern RD is really tough and hard to predict. NU admits >50% of its class in ED. Moreover, unlike a school like Penn where legacy advantage applies only in ED, it does favor legacy in RD. Thus, many of the RD slots go to legacy, minority, Pell grant qualifiers (whose percentage NU is trying to increase), and so on.

You have a good record and you should be competitive for RD. If you are really interested in NU, consider applying ED.

3

I agree with osuprof. ED is far easier than RD and you are competitive in a pool of many other competitive folks.

4

What the two above said. You’re really well rounded, the only advice I can give is try to raise your reading score in the ACT or SAT. Reading was always my slumping score too; luckily I got in with a 31 on that section but since you have time, you should try improving that and retake one or two more times (probably ACT since I found their Reading much less daunting than SAT). Anything under 30 may just stick out a bit, especially in RD.

5

Agree as well. RD can be tough with only a 3 percent acceptance rate.
You are ranked at the top and I cannot see why you would not be competitive.

Chance me back
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northwestern-university/1909760-in-the-running-for-ed.html#latest

6

Hey guys I bumped up my ACT to a 34 composite ( E: 35 M: 34 R: 34 S: 31) and a 35 superscore (E: 35 M: 34 R: 34 S: 35). How do my chances for Northwestern look now after taking these into account?

7

You are in good shape. As you might be aware, NU is underweight in Southerners, so being from NC may help boost your chances. Good luck.