Chances for Northwestern?

Let me start by saying I’ve always enjoyed school and been a serious student, but I never really thought much into college beyond vaguely planning on going to a good one. Recently some circumstances have shifted in my life that make being in the Chicago area ideal, and since it seems like the most academically fitting in the area, I’ve become interested in going to Northwestern. Since I haven’t been working towards going to an elite school my whole high school career, my stats may not be as competitive as some others’, but I’m wondering if I have a chance.

My stats:
~3.75 GPA (I’m not actually sure, but this is my best guess)
My first attempt on the SAT, I got a 1410 — 760 in reading and writing and 640 in math. I ran out of time in one of the math sections and arbitrarily filled in some bubbles, so I think with a retake and a little prep, I could do much better. I’m hoping to raise my score to 1510.
I have taken quite a few AP classes.
I’m female and plan on majoring in a STEM field.
I don’t have a ton of extracurriculars; I’ve been in a few clubs here and there and volunteered at a few places, but no leadership positions or anything. I also did band the first two years of high school if that matters? And I designed my own website.
I don’t have any work experience.
There are a few teachers who know me decently well and who I think would write good letters of recommendation, but only one is in a subject relevant to my intended major.
I don’t know if this would help me at all, but a few generations ago my family donated quite a bit of money to Northwestern. I’m not going to lie, this is part of what gives me hope that I could get in.

What are my chances, and how can I strengthen my application?

Thanks!

I obviously don’t know how much money your family donated, but unless its a sizable donation, I don’t think its going to make a huge impact, especially considering that it was a few generations ago. Now I think you could have a chance if you do the following. First, raise that SAT score or take the ACT. A score of 1500+ is fine and make sure that you get at least that much to be safe when it comes to the SAT. Now I also hope that the AP classes that you took are related to your major, and you didn’t do badly in those classes. When it comes to ECs, I recommend that you stick with the ones that you are doing. Don’t stop any of them to show continuity. The recommendations don’t seem to be too significant of a problem. Also Northwestern recommends subject tests, so try taking two (at least one in Math). Good luck!

You don’t have a prayer on merit but family donation can be your hook. Elite schools are suckers for that $hit. I suppose request a meeting mentioning you are a descendent of a donor and interested in attending NU. You can do it in a more subtle manner by writing an essay about the real donor but that may not get a proper response.There is a theory out there about NU capping National Merit Scholars, favoring athletes and potential donors but no info out there about legacy of huge donors’s loosing cash out value after few generations.

@CupCakeMuffins I’m definitely not a potential donor, so like you said, that’s why I wonder if being a legacy of a donor would give me any advantage or not.

As for not getting in based on merit, I would hope that I would merit being there academically. I wouldn’t want to go somewhere based on donation alone. I would be okay with it helping make up for my lack of fancy extra curriculars, though.

Because your fraternal side is the North family & the maternal side is the Western family & a substantial donation was made to the university, I think that your best chance for admission is to apply ED.

On a more serious note, your numbers are low for Northwestern & nothing in your above posts shows any reason why NU should overlook your relatively weak GPA & relatively low SAT.

What other schools are you considering ?