Do I have a better chance at Northwestern or at Princeton(legacy)? Are my other colleges reasonable?

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

Hi! I am starting to form a list of colleges, and was wondering if my categories are reasonable for my stats/ECs. Before you judge my lack of APs or such, keep in mind that I am only a JUNIOR! I hope to improve my SAT/PSAT this year as well. My intended major at this point is psychology or economics, possibly with a minor in creative writing or physics. I’m also considering going to law school.

1st Tier:
Northwestern (1st Choice)
Princeton (I am a legacy)
UPenn
UChicago
Cornell
WashU in St. Louis
Carnegie Mellon

2nd Tier:
Boston University
NYU
Northeastern
University of Virginia

3rd Tier/Backup:
Binghamton University
Stony Brook University
Pittsburgh University

Objective
GPA: Weighted- 99 UW- 96
PSAT: 1480
SAT: 1540 (750 Reading, 790 Math)
APs: World History (5), I am taking APush, AP Physics 1, and AP Psychology this spring.

Junior Year Courses:
APush
AP Physics
English Honors
Precalc Honors
SUPA* Psychology
SUPA* Writing
Symphony Orchestra (Most advanced in our school)

*SUPA is this Syracuse University thing that is equivalent to an AP.

Extracurriculars
-Orchestra-
Freshman- VP of String Orchestra (our freshman orchestra)
Sophomore- 2nd Violin in Symphony (our audition orchestra)
Junior- 1st Violin in Symphony
Fresh/Soph- 2nd Violin in Chamber Orchestra (our super good audition orchestra)
-Tri-M (Music Honor Society )- joined as a sophomore, am going to continue.
-Tennis-
Freshman- JV 4th Doubles/3rd singles
Sophomore- JV 1st Singles and captain
Junior- Varsity Exhibition/4th Doubles
-Model UN- Have done every year. This year I am a chair at CNYMUN, a conference run by my school.
-Mock Trial- Every year. I am an attorney, and we went to the state finals last year.
-Link Crew- Junior year. A program to help welcome freshman to the high school.
-Positivity Project- Soph/Junior. I’m an ambassador for this project that promotes a sense of positivity in our school by community outreach etc.
-Community Wide Dialogue- Junior year. A program where our high school works with a partner school downtown to discuss racial issues.
-Calm Club- Every year. A club focused on relieving stress among high school students, I’m an officer.
-Math League- Every year. Exactly what it sounds like lol, I was a “captain” my fresh/soph years.

I also might join a writing/poetry group at my school that has won a lot of awards.

Work/Volunteering Experience

-Tutoring math to middle school students.
-Volunteer at local library and taught Java coding as well as founding a chess club.
-Ushering concerts at my school.

Teacher Recs:
I obviously haven’t finalized but probably:
-English teacher who I had freshman and junior years, is my club adviser, and knows me quite well. 9 or 10?
-History teacher I had sophomore year, I go in after school and talk about politics and stuff with him. 10.
-Supplemental rec from either my mock trial adviser or orchestra teacher, both of whom I will have had for four years.
-Counselor rec- Probably pretty good I don’t know her super well but have gotten to know her more this year, also I signed up for a bunch of hard classes for this year and she was like “welp if anyone can do this you can” so I think 8 or 9.

Other Stuffs:

Financial Aid: Probably
State: New York
School: Public
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: I legit don’t know
Hooks: Princeton legacy?

2

Overall statistics: great (subject tests not mentioned though … make sure you do those :smiley: )
ECs: Not to be mean, but they are fairly average. Since you are a junior, I would suggest trying to expand your Calm Club and possibly participate in FBLA. This summer, you should definitely look into doing some type of research through one of those summer programs or get an internship.

I would suggest you REA to Princeton and take advantage of your legacy. However, if you really like Northwestern, ED. It’s up to you. Good luck!

3

I think it’s too early to say as we don’t know how your weighted and unweighted GPA will change with all those future AP classes. I’m not knocking you for lack of AP coursework, but rather there just isn’t enough evidence. In our district advanced honors courses are easier than APs. If you stack them up, with each giving you an hour of homework each night, you may find yourself with a few Bs. Even with a slight drop off, you shouldn’t have too many worries with your tier 2 and 3. FYI…PITT puts greater weight behind SAT scores when making admissions decisions. You are golden there.

4

@GoBears2023 I am looking into getting an internship at a law firm this coming summer, and I’m probably going to do some kind of law-based camp/workshop. Is it good if I focus my application around the theme of law, or do they not want something so specific?

@Sophley Okay yeah haha honors are easier here too. Yeah I’m not too worried about tier 3, and I’m fairly confident I can get into NYU as a solid backup school.

5

@Psych59 Specific can’t hurt!

6

If Northwestern is your 1st choice, then go for it! Applying early will definitely give you an advantage. Good luck next year!

7

Probably wont get in to your 1st tiers because you have no subject tests and legacy really doesn’t mean anything unless your parents are donating money.

8

Hi OP,

I did some more research. As @pkp210 said, legacy wont help unless your parents have given money to the school. At the moment, I would ED to Northwestern because that will make it more likely that you will get in. Also, make sure to get those subject tests done. Be sure to check which subject tests each school requires so you can avoid doing extra ones.