<p>I just got home from visiting Northwestern this weekend and I think I've fallen in love with the Medill School of Journalism, arguably NU's most competitive school in terms of admission. On the other hand, I'm nervous about banking my shot at attending NU on getting into a program that accepts only 150 or so students each year. So is my anxiety legitimate? Should I just apply to the College of Arts and Sciences so as to not take risks? Also, I'm considereing applying Early Decision, if that changes anything (a boost in my chances possibly?). Without further ado...</p>
<p>School Info:
- Public school in suburban Ohio that occasionally sends grads to top schools.
- GPA: 4.0 UW -- but it might be 3.98 or so after this year. Damn you, precalc..
- Rank: Tied for 1/260 as of now.
- Most rigorous curriculum, which unfortunately means only 2 AP's by graduation, and none so far. Our required curriculum has a lot more science classes than English or history ones, too, which is unfortunate for me.</p>
<p>Test Info:
- SAT: 2290 (730 CR, 760 M, 800 W, 11 essay)
- ACT: 34 (35 E, 32 M, 33 R, 35 S, 11 essay)
- Will be National Merit Semi-Finalist at least (234 PSAT), probable Finalist?
- Taking French, Math 2, and Literature SAT II's in June</p>
<p>Activities:
- Debate (3 Years so far, all through high school)
3 time state qualifier, 2 time national qualifier, 1 time Tournament of Champions qualifier
Tons of local/regional awards, top 16 in the state this year.. this is my main activity.
Executive Board member as a senior (this is like our officer thing, only seniors can be on it)</p>
<ul>
<li>Cross Country (also all through high school)
Will be a 3 year varsity letterman after next year.. but our team isn't too competitive.
Possibly Captain as a senior, we'll see...</li>
</ul>
<p>Those are my main ones, but I've also been fairly involved in my school's art program since sophomore year, winning a couple awards at the school shows and participating in "Art Club"... I also did varsity Quiz Bowl.. and I started playing guitar sophomore year, although I'm nowhere near an impressive level, just for fun.</p>
<p>Also, since I'm looking into the Journalism school, it's important to note my lack of journalism experience. At my school, the newspaper is only open to those in a class called Newspaper Publishing, which has never fit into my schedule. I'll be taking this class (finally) as a senior next year.</p>
<p>Subjective Stuff:
My essays should be pretty solid.. I like to think writing creatively is a strong suit for me.
Also, recommendations.. I will have an amazing one from my debate coach and a fairly strong one from a history teacher who loves me, possibly one from my honors English teacher/future newspaper supervisor. If that all makes sense. :-P</p>
<p>Thanks for reading through all this! What do you think my chances are for, say, Medill if I apply early decision?</p>
<p>And if you want, you could additionally chance me for:
Stanford (obviously a crapshoot), Brown, Georgetown, Boston College (as a legacy), and USC.</p>
<p>Thank youuu! :)</p>