Chances?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northwestern University
1

<p>My guidance counselor feels that I'm a far reach for Northwestern. I would appreciate it if you could look at the information I have posted, and tell me my chances. Thank you!</p>

<p>Test Scores:
-SAT - 770, 640, 710 (2120)
-ACT - 31
-SAT II - Literature 640, US History 760, World History 670, Chemistry 710
-APs - World History 4, European History 4, English Language 4, Chemistry 4</p>

<p>Will be retaking both SATs and ACTs. Aiming for 2200 / 33 </p>

<p>Unweighted Grades (Listed as yearly averages, Included projected senior grades)
- History: H 84, AP 92, H 92, AP 93
- English: 79, 85, H 82, AP 90
- Science: 82, 91, 90, AP 90
- Math: 73, 71, 72, 80</p>

<p>ECs:</p>

<p>Newspaper (9-12)
Environmental Club (9-12)
Golf Team (12)
Interact Club (9-12)
Student Council (9-12)
Code of Conduct Review Committee Member (9-12)
Building Level Planning Team member (9-12)
Busser at restaurant (11-12)</p>

<p>Particular accomplishments or achievements:</p>

<p>In 10th grade I was the chairman of the Interact club's finance committee. I organized an auction / concert which raised over $20,000. This money was used to construct a medical clinic and school in Nicaragua.</p>

<p>In 9th grade I attempted to form a GSA, however, there was community push-back and it didn't happen.</p>

<p>In 9th grade a couple of my buddies and I were lamenting how no one our age seemed to know about world events. In response, I arranged for two flat screen televisions to be placed in the cafeteria through the Student Council which I was / am a member of. They are tuned to CNN and the students still love them.</p>

<p>Attedned RYLA and HOBY.</p>

<p>In the summer of 11th grade I interned for the president of an investment company with over $40,000,000 on the books. (Can't go into specifics due to a confidentiality agreement)</p>

<p>I organized a concert for a local man who became paraplegic after a car accident. It raised over $1,000 which went towards his medical expenses. </p>

<p>Personal Profile:
-White
-Income below 50,000 USD,
-First Generation
-Will receive great teacher/ counselor recs</p>

2

<p>Before we chime in, Dareyne</p>

<p>Based on your research, and what you’ve read here – what do you think your chances are? What do you view as your strengths and weaknesses as a candidate If you had one essay to 'sell yourself on NU (or any other school), what would you write about, and how strong do you think it should be?</p>

3

<p>Everyone is a far reach for Northwestern. It is the twelfth top school in the country.</p>

4

<p>While certainly possible, it looks like a reach for you</p>

5

<p>Well, I would call my chances neither fantastic nor abysmal. Northwestern is a sought after school, so even the strongest applicants can be sure, but I’d say my chances were 1 in 5~. </p>

<p>My essay, would be, and will be about why I intend on majoring in finance / economics. My father has struggled with health issues since I started High School, and it has left us on pretty shaky financial grounds. Seeing the rampant overcharging hospitals engage in, I know the system needs reform. I think my degree would enable me to influence where the discussion and or national policy on healthcare heads. Either by directly advising policy makers, or conducting research on our healthcare system which demonstrates the need for reform. </p>

<p>I think that is a fairly strong essay.</p>

6

<p>Thanks for the self assessment.</p>

<p>First of all I am not a college admissions officer or a guidance counselor, so take whatever I or anyone else says with a grain of salt.</p>

<p>Here’s what I see looking at what you posted. You are generally strong in the humanities and weak (relatively) in Math. This shows up both in your grades and in your SATs. Not that a 640 in Math is not a great score, but it’s low for NU. (Your CR is great, and your Writing is ok). Overall, 2200 SAT and 33 ACT would be better – however, more is always better.</p>

<p>I converted your grades to a 4/5 point scale. Essentially, 95=4.0, 85=3.0 75=2.0. Giving one additional ‘point’ for each honors/AP course. I get basically a 3.0 unweighted average and a 3.5 weighted average. This is significantly low for NU. If you look at the thread where people who were admitted (or denied) post their statistics, I think you’ll see that admitted students fall in the 3.7-4.0 range unweighted, and are in the 4.5-4.7 range weighted. </p>

<p>Your essay topic sounds good, and the fact that you have had to deal with family adversity/health situation, and still managed an impressive academic record is a strong factor in you favor. Regardless of whether you get into NU, it says a lot about you as a person, which in the long run is far more important than which school you get into. </p>

<p>ECs show an organizational ability and that you are the kind of person who can make a difference.</p>

<p>Overall, you have an impressive record, but my admittedly uninformed opinion it is unlikely that you will be accepted to NU – basically the grades are below what NU usually accepts by a fairly significant margin. However, you have a couple of other factors that certainly make your application worth a read, and no one here really knows how a particular admissions officer will view these factors.</p>

<p>I think you’re basically being realistic. – you’re saying 1 in 5 chance of being admitted, which says you think you probably won’t get in. Your guidance counselor says far reach too. So, what we all think that it’s far more likely than not that you won’t get in.</p>

<p>Should you apply – well, the bottom line is that if you don’t apply, you definitely won’t get in. Even if your chances were 1 in 100, the downside to applying is the application fee and time to fill out the application, which in the grand scheme of things isn’t a tremendous cost. My own belief is that so long as you apply to a sufficient number of target and safety schools, and don’t unrealistically get your hopes up, there’s nothing wrong with chasing a dream and applying to one or two far reaches. However, make sure to spend the bulk of your time focusing on the schools where you have a more realistic shot.</p>