Confused Junior

<p>I'm completely aware of NU having schools within the university as many do, but do you HAVE to decide one when applying? I'm not sure if I'll be positive of my major next year...? If so, which are generally "harder" or "easier" to get into? I'm thinking Weinberg at the moment as it has what I THINK I'll be majoring in? Thank you!</p>

<p>Yes, you apply to one of the schools within the university. 1/2 the students attend Weinberg, the rest are spread out in the more “pre-professional” schools. Don’t try to “game” the system by thinking you can figure out that one school is easier to get into than another. You need to show a true interest/passion for one of the schools other than Weinberg because they are so limited in scope. It will be obvious to Admissions if you don’t have the demonstrated interest to back up your application. In most cases, you can transfer from one school to another once you are a student at NU.</p>

<p>What do you think you might be majoring in?</p>

<p>It is my understanding that there are specific majors that you can’t transfer in to… for example Theatre. Are there others?</p>

<p>Theatre and music might be the only ones. Otherwise I’ve had friends transfer into Engineering/Jounalism (harder to do) and SESP/Comm (very easy to do). Stick with Weinberg if you are unsure. Vast majority of college kids change their major by the time they graduate.</p>

<p>You can transfer into Theatre, it’s just not easy. If you have an inkling that your interest might lie there then you should apply as a Theatre major because it’s easier to transfer out.</p>

<p>@amtc - thanks! I know when D was touring they said you could not transfer in to theatre or sign up for most theater classes without being a theatre major, but I do think we met a dance major who said she had largely moved in to the theatre department, so I’m not surprised to hear they make exceptions.</p>

<p>I know D is hoping she can get involved in the music department, so I’m hoping exceptions are possible there as well.</p>

<p>Biology or Chemistry are what I’m leaning towards. Im pretty positive but Buisness is a possibility.(:</p>

<p>Do you like biology and chemistry, in addition to math and physics? You may want to take a look at the Integrated Science Program (a honors science program which requires a separate application.) It’s in Weinberg, but the program is set up in such a way that most ISPers (about 30 per year) end up with a double major, which can be in other colleges, such as McCormick.</p>

<p>30 a year? Let me guess the best of the best only get in? in my high school carreer I will have taken eight years of science classes and do very well in all of them. Straight As. However, if other classes (History or English) and overall GPA I might have a problem. Obviously you need Science and therefore it is one od my best sibjects as well.</p>

<p>Wow^ that did not make much seanse. I need to stop texting and shopping. 30 a year? Let me guess the best of the best only get in? in my high school carreer I will have taken eight years of science classes and do very well in all of them. Straight As. However, if other classes (History or English) and overall GPA are also important factors I might have a problem. Obviously you need math for Science and therefore it is one od my best subjects as well.</p>

<p>I want to do journalism, but I doubt that I would get into that major (It’s it the top journalism program in the country!!! ^_^).
I think that if a major is really competitive ,then it would be easier to apply for something easier.
Or would it still be hard to transfer?</p>

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<p>There seems to be a discrepancy between your various posts. I’m also wondering about those “8 science courses”? Are you counting lab classes separate from the AP classes?</p>

<p>Well whatever you get in AP, you get in lab. I do not consider that a B, because I earned an A. It actually turned into a whole ordeal at school. The teacher basically, last minute, after the final made tests worth twice as much and moved things around because his students’ grades were “too high”. The vice principal sided with him because apparently he can do it whenever he wants without warning. You win some, you loose some. -_- </p>

<p>Yes, I count Lab as a year of science because it is. AP Biology is AP Biology and Honors Lab. Both of which have separate requirements and are two full class period. If colleges don’t regard it as a separate class than in my 4 years I will take 6 years.<br>
-Honors Biology
-Honors Chemistry
-AP Biology && Lab
-Honors Physics
-AP Physics && Lab
-Honors Horticulture</p>

<p>Wish I could take more but don’t have room in the schedule.),:</p>

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<p>I see that your approach to the actual facts can be quite flexible. In my son’s Chicago high school, many AP teachers structure their assignments and tests so that no more than 2-3 students in a class of 30 are able to get As. I find that a bit extreme, but ultimately the grade is what the grade is, not what it should have been or would have been with another teacher or at another school.</p>

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<p>You won’t get into Northwestern’s ISP program without both AP Chemistry and AP Physics – and of course AP Calculus. The “number” of classes you take is largely irrelevant, it’s the quality of the classes. Even counting years can become problematic in some instances.</p>

<p>My son bypassed Honors Chemistry and Honors Physics by special waiver, so he has had less official classes than you but more advanced ones – honors bio, then AP Chemistry, AP Physics B, and AP Bio. He taught himself 3 others and took the APs, but they don’t appear on his high school transcript – how does one account for these, since they have already earned him college credit in most schools?</p>

<p>I don’t want to nor ever planned to get into the ISP program… I would love to take AP Chem but since its also a double period and the requirements of my senior year and AP Physics with Lab and AP Calculus already exceeds the total number of classes [7].</p>

<p>WAIT, you do realize that I have and am going to take the same classes you just listed except for AP Chemistry right? My school does not “allow” us to have special waivers for fundamental REQUIRED classes. I am also teaching myself APs next year for the AP exam since as I said, my school has requirements and then electives. There is a reason why self taught AP courses don’t appear on transcripts, because they aren’t classes you’ve taken, just tests you’ve prepared for.</p>

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<p>Neither does my son’s school. He’s gotten the only waiver for these classes in probably years. He’s also the only sophomore there to ever take 8 AP exams in one year. It really helps to have the confidence of your high school counselor! ;)</p>

<p>You know, you CAN set your own learning agenda, but it’s a lot of extra work.</p>

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<p>But AP Chem is a big one, and needed for getting into ISP (which you had sounded like you were interested in).</p>

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<p>Well, yes, but they can show up on your college application and show that you’re exceptionally well prepared. Three of the APs my son studied for, including the two Physics C exams, are not taught at his school.</p>

<p>Out of curiosity does your son go to a private school or if its in/near Chicago which one? If you ask anyone that goes to a selective enrollment school, none of us have time to excel in our subjects in school along with self taught ones because of the time restraint. These teachers are basically pushed to give us BS work.(: This work tends to not really help us learn but is required to get a good grade. If my teacher didn’t give any work, then my only concern would be to study for each class. It seems like your son had a lot of time on his hands.(: In my school, not many people “self-teach” for more than one class since they want to succeed in them all.</p>

<p>And no I don’t even know what ISP is lol nor do I care.</p>