Do I even stand a chance for RD?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northwestern University
1

<p>I'll try to preface this as quickly as possible: applied JHU ED for BME, accepted to school but rejected from BME, thus released from ED contract but I have to make my decision by Jan 15. It's not that I don't love JHU, but there are all sorts of reasons (which I would rather not divulge in at this moment) stopping me from going. I'm not in it for the name, mind you: BME, the profession, is what I want to do, unquestionably. And JHU is not the only school I visited and loved - as should be clear, so was NU. The thing is, if I choose to apply for other schools to do BME/BioE (NU, Duke, and Rice namely), I will lose consideration for JHU, and I'm not sure if I want to give up the school entirely yet. I suppose that part will take more reflection on my end. One thing is clear, however: education comes first for me, always.</p>

<p>Anyways, since I was rejected from BME, I've been feeling really inadequate in my application, and so like the title says, I would appreciate a mini-chance from those of you wandering this board. Again I tried to make it short so I cut out a lot of the subjective areas. My GPA and class rank are subpar to other applicants to NU from my school, so my focus right now is writing the strongest essay I can (tips on that would also be helpful, but I think the direction I'm taking works). But at the same time, NU has accepted 3/25 of applicants from my school in the past three years, so all of our chances are not looking too hot. I would ask if anyone could give me a sort of direction for Rice and Duke as well, but a) this is the NU forum and b) NU is my top pick of the three.</p>

<p>[ul][<em>] SAT I (breakdown): 720R 800M 730W (2250)
[</em>] SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Physics, 750 Chem
[<em>] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.86 (4.55 weighted)
[</em>] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 19/359
[<em>] AP (place score in parenthesis): English Lang (5), Calc AB (5), Physics C: Mech (5), Macroecon (5), U.S. Gov (4)
[</em>] Senior Year Course Load: 6 APs (BC, Chem, E+M, Lit, Latin, Micro) and band
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none</p>[/li]
<p>[<em>] Ethnicity: Chinese
[</em>] Gender: Male
[li] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none[/ul]</p>[/li]
<p>and typical ECs, volunteer service, leadership positions, etc. but nothing groundbreaking; just like everyone else, I was passionate and highly involved in them in terms of hours spent after school, but I have little to show in terms of awards/honors</p>

<p>I may sound pessimistic in this thread, but in this situation I need to be as realistic as possible. I assure you, however, that I will not let any of this show in my supplemental writings.</p>

<p>Thank you for reading; this turned out a lot longer than I had anticipated.</p>

2

<p>The most important thing is that you’re happy with your school of choice. Do you have adequate backup schools that you would happily attend and can afford? If so, I would drop JHU and take my chances at some other universities.</p>

<p>That being said, you are VERY lucky to already have an acceptance in this competitive applicant pool. Be wary that NU’s acceptance rate is rapidly declining; many students from my school with 2200+/33+ SAT/ACT scores and straight A’s, give or take a few B+'s, were rejected. Your application doesn’t particularly stand out, and being an asian male will not help. Barring any significant extracurriculars or leadership positions, it is unlikely that you will be accepted.</p>

3

<p>Thanks for responding. I do have safeties which would be quite less expensive, and right I suppose it’s just as I had assumed: a matter of deciding between JHU and my safety (since, at either, I cannot really pursue my intended field as deeply as I would like). Money is the issue as always, otherwise this would not be such a hard decision.</p>

<p>In regard to NU specifically, do you think the supplemental essay can push an applicant significantly, or am I doomed regardless because of my objective stats? (I’m honestly not trying to beg the question; I appreciate your candor.)</p>

4

<p>^Your stats are average for NU’s applicant pool, and they won’t doom you whatsoever. The problem here is that you have to weigh an acceptance to JHU against a very slight possible acceptance to NU and some other very selective schools, which is an extremely difficult decision to make, especially since money is tight. Again, if your safety school is on par with JHU in terms of likeability, affordability, and opportunity, I’d say go for NU and the others. </p>

<p>I’ve heard that interest in NU is a big boost as far as admission is concerned, so writing a stellar “Why NU?” essay would certainly fall under that category. However, I think it’s more of an item used to eliminate applicants, rather than increase the likelihood of acceptance. Again, I’m not an admissions officer, so I wouldn’t know. </p>

<p>I hope this helps.</p>

5

<p>A great deal, thanks; I really appreciate it.</p>

6

<p>^Not a problem! You seem extremely passionate about what you hope to accomplish in life, and I have no doubt that success will find you, regardless of the college at which you end up.</p>

<p>Good luck!</p>

7

<p>Honestly, if you can’t do what you want at JHU then there’s no point of going. Do what you want to do, and pursue what you want to pursue. It is BME, which is pretty lucrative and very marketable, so even if you go to a less-prestigious school, you should be fine for the future. As for NU, McCormick is pretty hard to get into, so it’s hard to say just based on stats. Your stats seem average (not a bad thing) for an NU applicant, and you do have decent chances. I say apply and give it a shot; you’re better off doing what you want to do than going to JHU and not doing what you want to do (unless there’s a way you can somehow switch into BME while you’re there).</p>