Chance Me, Pretty Please?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northwestern University
1

<p>Hi there, I'm a rising senior, interested in going into advertising. I'll probably apply to SoC for something like Comm Studies. My stats are...</p>

<p>SAT: 2060 (CR:710, M:660, W:690)
ACT: 34 (E:34, M:32, R:35, S:35)
GPA: 4.0 weighted (100.32)
Ranked 10 out of 107</p>

<p>AP Classes: Lang&Comp, Lit&Comp, Bio, Spanish 4, World History, US History
Haven't passed any of the exams so far :P</p>

<p>Mostly honors classes, except math</p>

<p>ECs: 3 years of theatre, 3 years of competitive journalism (state medalist last year), 2 years cross-examination debate, National Honor Society, freshman class president, volunteered at church, that's all the good stuff...</p>

<p>Local Pre-Calculus Award and Accounting Award</p>

<p>I expect a killer recommendation, too, from my theatre/journalism teacher</p>

<p>Also, I tested out of first grade? Is that something I should put on an application?</p>

<p>So, what are my chances, in your humble opinions? Thanks!</p>

2

<p>Your SAT score is on the low side, but with a 34 on your ACT it’s not even worth sending. You didn’t mention anything about SAT Subject Tests, but if you haven’t taken them yet, I recommend taking two or three. You’re ranked number 10, but you also have a ridiculously small class size so I don’t know how well I can gauge that. You’re still in the top 10% which always looks nice, but that GPA might be low considering it’s weighted. At my high school, most top students had between a 4.6-4.8 weighted GPA (4.8 being the weight of an AP course), so unless your high school is radically different, I would say that your GPA is below average. But then again, considering your rank there might be grade deflation at your school. I just don’t know - perhaps you could fill me in?</p>

<p>While your ECs might be on the lower end of the spectrum in terms of raw numbers (I personally don’t count NHS as an EC btw), you seem to have shown dedication throughout your years to a few activities which definitely helps your cause since it isn’t the longest list. </p>

<p>As to your question pertaining first grade, I don’t even know where you would put that on your application nor do I think it’s really necessary even if there was such a spot. I really don’t think that colleges care much about first grade, but maybe they’ll see your age and realize you’re a year younger. I highly doubt that would help though.</p>

<p>All in all, I would classify Northwestern as a definite reach for you. Not to say that you won’t get in, but with admissions today, it’s an uphill climb. But SoC also tends to look at applications differently; that’s not to say they’ll admit a necessarily weaker applicant, but they may look for a real passion/interest in the field you are applying to and weigh that more heavily in your application than say WCAS. Essays are especially crucial since you are applying to a niche program. I still see it as a reach though, but not an unattainable one. So, go for it.</p>