Chance Me!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northwestern University
1

<p>I go to a decent Michigan public high school, with about 2700 enrollment.</p>

<p>Academics:
SAT I: 2120 (650 CR 760 M 710 W / 10), Possible retake in October, I'm not sure
SATII: I just took the Math 2 test, so I will post when I have score. I expect at least a 750 on it. I will also take Chemistry and Biology.
ACT: 33 (35 E 36 M 28 R 31 S), Will retake on June 11th
GPA(U): 3.968/4.000 (note: I got a 3.4 in 8th grade because I took Geometry, which was a high school class)
GPA(W): 4.200/5.000
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 1 out of 597
AP: Statistics(5) USH(4) Waiting on Lang, USGov/Poli, Macroecon, Calc AB
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calc BC, AP English Lit, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, Yearbook, Physics
Major Awards: N/A</p>

<p>Note: Our school does not offer AP Physics, nor an honors physics. Also, the five point scale was just recently introduced last year, hence a low weighted GPA. Also (again :S), there were no AP classes available for freshmen (you need prerequisite of some kind) available until last year.</p>

<p>Extracurriculars:
2 Year Varsity Tennis- Conference Champs, District Champs, Division Champs
Youngest competitor in the William C. Byrd International Piano Competition
Played at Kaufman Center NYC for the American Protege Competition
Pianist for 12.5 years
Started a freelance web design company
Open source project contributor
2nd Place 2008/10 State of Michigan State Piano Competition, '11 Honorable Mention
Citizen's Bank Young Musician of the Year - 2008-09
Honorable Mention State of Michigan State Piano Concerto Competition, '10
Speak fluent English, Mandarin Chinese, and decent (yet slow) German
Assorted volunteer hours</p>

<p>President (2 years), elected, of Student Musicale, a student run music club
NHS (no leadership)</p>

<p>Summer Activities:
100+ Hours of volunteer service at a hospital
Other job shadowing and experience (at least with one person)
Assorted computer development and website jobs</p>

<p>Recommendation:
Chemistry teacher loves me.
English/Yearbook teacher adores me, and we share a lot in common, other than music and political views.
Statistics(Math) teacher loves me, and I help and tutor in her classroom whenever I can.</p>

<p>Financial aid: Will apply
Intended major: Premed->med school, Biomedical Engineering, possible Computer science double major
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Male
Income level: 100-150K
Hooks: N/A</p>

<p>I'm wondering... can I get into McCormick, and if I don't could I get into Weinberg?</p>

2

<p>lmike – what do you think your chances are?</p>

<p>What do you view as your strengths and weaknesses?</p>

3

<p>zephyr15,</p>

<p>I think I have a decent chance, just PURELY looking at the 09-10 First-time, first-year… document found on the Northwestern UGAdmissions website. My scores match up with all the 75 percentile scores except critical reading, which matches with the 25 percentile.</p>

<p>I think Northwestern is a possible to me, 50/50.</p>

<p>My strengths are in mathematics, music, and computers, but my weaknesses are that my extracurricular activities do not really confirm my strengths, and also fail to express my interest in chemistry, biology, and medicine. All in all, my weaknesses lie in my extracurricular activities and LEADERSHIP(!), and I may have to raise my standardized scores some (I didn’t send SAT) to have a better chance.</p>

4

<p>Sounds like you’re viewing yourself realistically.</p>

<p>IMO – number 1 in your class is an extra plus. I did note that your unweighted average is essentially 4.0 and your weighted only 4.2 – that’s a pretty narrow spread. However, you have an explanation for this, and presumably the NU admissions officer for your school will understand its grading practices.</p>

<p>I thought your ECs looked ok. You have concentrated and excelled at Piano. It shows commitment and dedication.</p>

<p>As far as McCormick – if you think your sciences are a bit light, partially because of lack of opportunity, explain in your essays why you’re committed to engineering.</p>

<p>the SAT reading is a bit of a concern, but you know that. Also, it looks like the ACT scores and the SAT scores are consistent, so you’ll probably have to work hard to bring that up. (not that it isn’t a solid score, but as you note – 25th pctile for NU).</p>

<p>Overall, from what I’ve read here (and I’m not a admissions officer), your application should be part of the group from which NU chooses its class. You have as good a chance as anyone, and better than many. If you can get the SAT reading up, you probably have a great shot.</p>

5

<p>Thank you, zephyr15. That really helps a lot. Would it benefit me not to submit my SAT score? I did not send my SAT scores (it’s a humorous long story that resulted in a very lucky me :S) to any colleges. I’m retaking the ACT this weekend, and I hope to get a higher score.</p>

<p>Again, thank you for your response.</p>

6

<p>A 33 ACT is a solid score, and is likely to improve on the re-test. I don’t think you can benefit in any way by also sending your SAT scores.</p>

7

<p>LoremIpsum,</p>

<p>Thank you! Does Northwestern superscore ACT tests? I may have a chance to raise my scores quite a bit (although I won’t slack off on English and Math, of course! :P) if they do. I’m trying my hardest to improve my reading and science.</p>

8

<p>As to which to submit – I think this is a guidance counsellor question.</p>

9

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<p>Some tips from my son to help you in your quest:</p>

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<p>I don’t know anything about if NU accepts superscoring but, hey, just prep well and every section test will be a new high score!</p>

10

<p>LoremIpsum,</p>

<p>Yup, I always do skip the introductory paragraphs. I don’t read at all.</p>

<p>I don’t have trouble with English, it’s the reading section that kills my score. I got a 35 in English, so it will be a challenge to improve that. It might even go down, but let’s hope not. I won’t be able to improve in math, because I got a 36 in that, unless there is some extra credit I’m missing out on. A 28 on reading is the obvious work, as is a 31 on science.</p>

<p>On archaic reading passages, I tend to blank out and start thinking other thoughts while reading, and the science passages I’m just sometimes unable to connect the dots.</p>

<p>For the science, would underlining the controls and other important variables work? I know on the “Fighting scientists” passage (7 questions one), I underline what they are arguing about.</p>

<p>Thanks for the tips too! The reading tips help, and I’ll be sure to spruce up my comma superpowers tonight.</p>

11

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<p>On “archaic” reading passages, why not skip to the questions first and scan the text for the answers? Then you’ll be focused on exactly what you need.</p>

<p>Do you have trouble understanding the graphs or just the flowing text? The text can be intentionally verbose and convoluted. In most of the sections, you can largely get by just by reading the graphs and their labels. The exception, of course, is the dueling scientists one, but you might save enough time elsewhere to focus on this one. By far the most common science problem is not having enough time to finish or, similarly, realizing you’re behind schedule at mid-point and rushing in a panic.</p>

12

<p>I have about anywhere from two to five minutes left for science and reading. I usually do well in the dueling scientists for some reason. It’s just the second half of the science test… I don’t have a grasp on what the questions are asking. Sometimes I forget I have to use an equation they gave me, holding some variables constant, etc, and other times, I just read the graph completely wrong.</p>

<p>And the stupid mistakes.</p>