<p>ACT:35
SAT:2340
SAT II: 800Math 800US taking Literature or Physics
Course Load: Most rigorous in my grade by far. 11 APs total (max that could be taken, 6 Jr. 5 Sr.)</p>
<p>ECs:
JSA (founded at end of 11th, so I guess 12th only) President
Speech & Debate 10-12
Medical Academy 10-12
Key Club 11-12
NHS 10-12
AIME, AMC12
Nationals Qualifier LD Debate
Stanford Debate Camp
JSA Georgetown Advanced Session AP Government
Volunteer Campaigning for Democratic party in my city 200 Hours (12th Summer and through 12th year)
Internship at attorney general's office (12th year)</p>
<p>Intended Major: Philosophy (I may change my mind, but it's a possibility.) Could this help?
Oh, my mom knows one of the deans of admissions. I dunno how much that would help, though.</p>
<p>well your grades and test scores are great; I'm worried about your EC's though..not a lot of leadership roles, and nothing that really shows commitment outside of a few politics and debate things. you still have a good chance i think though</p>
<p>I completely disagree w/ Dang. I think the SATs are great, but the grades are low. NU, like all other elite schools, wants students in the top 10%, though top 5% is certainly the most preferred.
The ECs are good as long as you paint them properly. Getting involved in politics is good and JSA and Forensics are both widely regarded and respected ECs. I got in relying almost exclusively on JSA and Forensics (though I had a lot more JSA experience/higher positions and roughly equivalent forensics success). I would advise you to really build up the importance on starting a JSA chapter. I know that officials and the cabinet are helpful, but getting a chapter up and running can be quite demanding. Good luck and don't worry about ECs. It's okay to be focused on relatively one-sided. NU doesn't focus on getting a well-rounded student, it wants a well-rounded university. So let some other kids get involved in writing, fencing, bee keeping, or football.</p>
<p>Not to hijack this thread, but when the person above says "noncompetitive high school." What exactly does that mean? How would I know what my kids' high school is seen as, in the eyes of an adcom? It's a typical upper middle class suburban high school -- not the absolute best in the state, but pretty good, most kids are college bound, though most go to the state uni (my state has a strong state uni, not at the Cal/UVA/Mich level, but one rung below) and only a handful to the elites.</p>
<p>Ha ha, arbiter. Indulge an alumni here. Seriously, how do I know? For a typical upper middle class suburban high school where nearly all are college bound, what % of the students would you expect to be attending elite colleges?</p>
<p>Well, my school is definitely what would qualify as competitive, and about the top 20% goes to elite colleges. We don't rank, but I know I was a chunk into the second decile.</p>
<p>What public high schools would you consider competitive in the Chicagoland area? Obviously New Trier, but besides that. Any of the Maines? Highland Park? Hinsdale Central or South? Glenbrook North or South? Downers Grove North or South? Buffalo Grove? Just trying to get some perspective here as to what distinguishes a typical upper-middle class suburban hs from what you're calling competitive.</p>
<p>Top 200 or so are probably competitive. Bear in mind that list cuts out magnets that skew the rankings like the Bergen Academies and the special NYC high schools.</p>
<p>Thanks, arbiter. That's what I was looking for. Guess my kids don't go to a competitive school, but it still manages to send lots of kids on to elite colleges every year, including NU :-)</p>
<p>I go to a non-competitive, stereotypical american high school, but extremely diverse for the suburbs</p>
<p>I would consider New Trier, Glenbrook North & South, Highland Park, Stevenson, Lake Forest, and many others in the chicagoland area competitive.</p>
<p>I'm the NU alum; my kids go to high school. Prefer not to say which one, however.</p>
<p>Our district is next to one of the "the" districts and there's a part of me that thinks it's better for getting them into elite colleges since they'll be one of only a handful applying to those levels, versus some of the school districts you mention above where dozens of kids are applying to the elite colleges. Our school sends about 25-40 kids each year to what I'd term the elite colleges (USNews Top 25 or so, looking at both unis and LAC's). But, it's not the powerhouse of the New Trier type of school.</p>
<p>Right, that's my point. The downside is that the counselors are more used to counseling kids to the state schools and aren't as familiar with the elite schools. The upside is that they won't be one of two dozen kids applying to each elite school.</p>
<p>Right, but my point was that instead of competing only with those 2 dozen other kids, they're competing with the ten thousand other kids who went to non-exceptional public schools. The pool of kids from a single school vs the ocean of applicants. I think the effect you're thinking of only applies as an advantage, really, when the HS student is from an obscure or rural HS where they may be the only applicant to ANY college.</p>