<p>(I tried to post this in the DePaul thread, but no one replied, so I came here--hopefully that's ok; I'm a new member.)</p>
<p>I'm a junior in high school from Illinois and I can't decide if Northwestern or DePaul would be a better fit for me (or if it would even be possible to be admitted to NU). I'm currently ranked 3rd in my class (out of 400). I'm predicted to get a 28-32 on my ACT, although hopefully that'll improve after practicing and studying for it. I'm taking 3 APs this year (which is as many as one can take in my high school, except for 4 students in an engineering program), and I've had straight A's all through high school thus far. My ECs aren't bad; 3 (will have 4) years of tennis, french club, 3 years of DCP/SAFE (promoting substance-free teens), 3 years of volunteering at a local museum, and I work part-time in a law office.</p>
<p>I'm not exactly sure what I want to do, but it'll probably something along the lines of communication, journalism, marketing, etc.</p>
<p>IF you get in and money isn’t an issue (since DePaul WILL offer some kind of scholarship), that’s a no brainer. I live in Chicago and went to a high school with 4,000 kids where a good majority went to DePaul/Loyola/UIC and I was one of 3 (I think) to go to Northwestern. Just look at the rankings…</p>
<p>If cost is a concern, take the scholarships from DePaul. Those are low-paying fields (on average) to start with after college and you don’t want to carry a lot of debt while starting.</p>
<p>Northwestern is incredibly generous financially. They do a fantastic job tailoring their aid to the family’s situation. It isn’t an arbitrary process.</p>
<p>DePaul gave a lot of people in my school scholarships, about 10-15k. Just because NU doesn’t give out these scholarships doesn’t mean you won’t get more money from them. You would just have to wait until you got your financial aid letters.</p>
<p>NU is pretty generous for the low income students. No loans under $50,000 or so, and they meet 100% demonstrated need, I believe. I’d say wait until your Fin Aid packages come back and you got into both, and if NU ≤ DePaul, go NU. Medill, the journalism/communications/etc school is world renown.</p>
<p>I was thinking if NU ≤ DePaul in terms of how much money he will have to pay, you’re thinking of how much they are giving. We’re just thinking of two different sides of the same coin :-)</p>