I’m a current junior thinking of applying ED to Northwestern, but I’m not sure if I should even try (given my poor GPA). Also considering ED to Cornell, Dartmouth, Vanderbilt, WashU, Northeastern, Wesleyan - help me decide which would be the best fit?
School: Highly Competitive Public in NJ
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
GPA: 3.7-3.8 UW, 4.3 W (Bad I know, but school is hard) - strong upward trend
PSAT: 1510 - probably will be national merit semifinalist based on past predictions
ACT: 35 composite (36,36,35,34)
Coursework: H/AP track (most difficult) throughout HS, will graduate having taken 9 AP exams with 8 classes
Awards: Prez volunteer gold medal, National Latin Exam Gold Medal, a bunch of regional/state awards in sports, National Qualifier in Speech and Debate, NHS, probably national merit semifinalist, honor roll
ECs:
Varsity sport 4 years (captain senior year) - strong program that consistently won, named MVP, named to All-Scholastic teams (academic and athletic excellence)
Speech and debate - nationally ranked, national qualifier
Teaching Assistant at language school for 4 years
Self-started tutoring business - make bank
Interned at a research hospital for a summer
Coach students in S&D
Organized town-wide events for various community organizations
Helped immigrants with learning english, immigration process for one summer
NHS
I’m a strong writer and feel like I can write strong essays. With the short time i have left ,what are some things i can do to boost my application?
It’s worth it to apply to Northwestern ED - your stats are similar to older friends who got in ED and RD this year and your ECs show a lot of depth! I think you’re pretty much a lock-in for schools like Vanderbilt and Northeastern - either ED or RD.
Your EC’s are fantastic. I know how hard debate is, so I would definitely recommend elaborating a lot on your nationally ranked status. As you know, the only thing weighing you down is your GPA. Test scores are great. I think you have a good chance at all of those schools except maybe Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and Cornell.
You’re a competitive applicant. Don’t worry too much about your UW GPA - if you’ve gotten a 3.9+ in junior and senior year that you’re fine.
What I think you need to focus on is building coherence to your application. From what you’ve written, I can’t really tell where your interests lie. Are you interested in research? Writing? Debate? Whatever it may be, you need to drill down this summer and do activities that relate to your interests. So, if you want to apply as an English major, try submitting work to online competitions and literary competitions. If you like speech and debate, create a community service organization that focuses on teaching public speaking to young students. See what I mean? Top colleges want people who have defined what they’re passionate about
Good chances at WashU ED based on GPA and test scores. My son got in ED this year with about the same GPA but you have higher standardized test scores. Northwestern and Vandy like the high GPAs but you have a decent chance. I don’t think Vandy has that many Asian applicants so it’s worth it for you to apply.
Flip of the coin for your ED. I would decide between WashU and Vandy to use the ED.
All of these schools are reaches, as they are at a level where no admisson is guaranteed. However, you are a perfectly qualified candidate to be one of the bright individuals accepted at any one of these universities
Sorry I didn’t look at your full list. For Northeastern you are a very strong candidate. Noone is a lock at Cornell or Dartmouth, but you should definitely pursue the schools if you like them