<p>Hi fellow CCers! I just want to know if I have a shot at Northwestern, it has been my dream school since I moved to America and I recently just visited and fell even more in love. I am planning to apply ED this fall if that makes a difference. I know my GPA is low, but I was depressed after moving here and got pretty much straight b's Freshman year, I have a steep upward trend as I got straight A's junior year. I plan on majoring in biology or psychology.</p>
<p>White Female
I am not a US citizen but I do have a greencard (moved from England in middle school)
Large public HS in Chicago Suburbs</p>
<p>GPA (School uses 5 pt scale): 4.5 UW, 5.125 W
ACT: 34
ACT Writing: 10
Rank: Top 10%</p>
<p>Classes:
Freshman Yr: All honors
Sophomore Yr: All honors + 1 AP
Junior Yr: All honors + 2 AP
Senior Yr: 5 AP</p>
<p>EC:</p>
<p>5 years of competitive gymnastics
2 years HS gymnastics (had to quit due to injury)
4 yrs French Club
French Honors Society Vice President
4 yrs Eco Club
Senior Mentor (competitive program for mentoring incoming freshman at my school)
School Ambassador (I mentor kids who have just transferred to the school to help them adjust)</p>
<p>Volunteer:</p>
<p>200 hrs at my local hospital
150 hrs at my local animal shelter </p>
<p>Work:</p>
<p>Nannying for 3 years </p>
<p>Recommendations: Should be very good, I picked two teachers that really liked me.</p>
<p>ED is your best shot and upward trend in GPA definitely helps. Good Luck!</p>
<p>Thanks! I also forgot to add that my high school is ranked 5th in our state and I made high honor roll all three years so far if that changes anything. Any other opinions? I will try to chance back to the best of my ability! Oh! Also I am a 1st generation college student from an income bracket of $300k + a year.</p>
<p>Bump! Any others? Please :)</p>
<p>I agree that ED would be your best shot. There are many other students with the same credentials as yours, and you have to show something unique about yourself to be set apart. The assumption behind first generation designation is that you have not have the opportunities that others may have had. If I am understanding you correctly, your family income is $300,000.00 a year. I doubt that you have missed any opportunities (test prep, great school etc.). I am sure that the admissions committee is very knowledgeable about your school. That can be a plus (you are prepared and competent) and a minus (you were exposed to a high level of high schoold education with plenty of bright kids and plenty of opportunities—kind of diminishes your “first generation” hook).</p>
<p>Go for it
You’ll do fine</p>
<p>Thanks for all the opinions! I guess the income bracket does kind of ruin the 1st gen hook… 
Will not being a US citizen change my chances at all?</p>
<p>yeah not being a US Citizen sucks, you have to compete with international. and ED your chances are probably decent, 35-40%</p>
<p>I was told that because I have a green card, I am not considered an international student?</p>
<p>Yeah, green cards and citizenship are treated the same.</p>
<p>Definitely go for it! You never know… Plus, it’s not like you’re not a strong applicant. As long as you’re in the top 10%, you should be fine…</p>
<p>Work on your essays, and go for the ED!</p>
<p>Good luck :D</p>
<p>Being from Illinois is a plus, and having a green card doesn’t make you an international applicant, so that’s another plus. Upward trend is good, and you seem to be taking on a rigorous curriculum which is also good. Your ACT is good enough, but you should try to take some SAT 2s to boost your chances (of course, you have to get a good score on them too, though). Applying ED is a HUGE boost, as RD is becoming increasingly harder to get in. Just make sure you write a great essay showing your interest in NU (use your proximity to NU to take a tour, take some notes on what your guide/counselor says, and use those specific details in your essay-- it’ll show your interest and effort in the application), and you should be good to go.</p>
<p>ED Id say over 80% chance- if not higher. NU fills up about 1/3 of its incoming class during the early decision time. I would be very confident with your stats applying ED.</p>
<p>That said, if you opt out of ED for regular decision your chances drop significantly. Your academic stats will probably be the same as the all the other regular decision applicants and to be frank, I dont see anything exceptional in your extracurricular activities.</p>
<p>^I would say the same for any other top university so if you know Northwestern is really the one you want, I say go for ED</p>
<p>ED is up to 40% now, and I hear that they might take a higher percentage next year. Just hearsay, of course, but still.</p>
<p>I don’t believe that NU is devoted to accepting local students, but I doubt that it’ll work against you, either.</p>
<p>Since you’re so interested, I doubt you’ll have any issues explaining why you love the college, and they’re very interested in demonstrated interest. Don’t sweat it.</p>