<p>This is a wonderful forum. I have been reading it for awhile and am very impressed with the information that can be found here.</p>
<p>I am hoping to get a few responses/chances regarding my daughter's chance of being accepted into Northwestern. We think her chances are slim and my husband does not even want her to apply but I feel it never hurts to try...what do you think?</p>
<p>She is going into her senior year at a private HS academy that has a reputation for being
an extremely difficult school academically. They do not weight and they are completely against ranking.</p>
<p>My daughter is an average student with A's and B's but did get a C plus last quarter for AP History. How much will this grade affect her? Her GPA is around a 3.4 and her SAT scores that we just received back are 600-600-580. Her ACT score was a 28. All very average.</p>
<p>She has various volunteering including Children's Hospital, serving for 7 years at church, asst scout leader for 4 years, etc. She has been on her dance competition team for 7 years earning many awards and medals. </p>
<p>So, what are your thoughts about Northwestern? Any hope at all? What all should she do senior year to help her chances?</p>
<p>She’s a good student and has plenty of options. But almost no shot at Northwestern. It’s a very high reach. </p>
<p>What does she want to major in? She has a decent change if she applies into one of their less competitive programs. Something like their Journalism, however, probably won’t happen.</p>
<p>It surely does not hurt to try. Just go for it, crazier things have happened. Just have a kickass essay and tell her to try her best. You never know.</p>
<p>Thanks for your reply. She wants to be in their Communication Program which we were all very impressed with when visiting. She is also looking at Loyola Chicago, Marquette, possibly Clemson and wavering on a few others.</p>
<p>suamon- While I appreciate the kind words, I don’t think her SAT/ACT scores will get her into a school the caliber of NU. ( Not NW) Simply looking at her SAT and ACT scores, one can find that they are below the 25%tile of NU’s average. And most of the scorers that rank the bottom 25%tile for NU, or any university, are athletes who are being recruited. Even though she goes to a “rigorous” private school, there is no excuse for grades on the lower end of the spectrum. ( Everyone considers themselves to go to a “rigorous” school, unless it is a top 25 Private like Exeter, Groton, or Collegiate, it doesn’t matter.) </p>
<p>Loyola Chicago: Match
Marquette: Match
Clemson: Match</p>
<p>Your daughter’s stats are good. Her SATs are a little low, (is she going to take them again?), but her grade point for a private, rigorous high school is good. My daughter had a 4.0 when she applied to colleges last year but it was from a public high school so I knew it wouldn’t carry much weight. You’re much better off coming from a private high school with a lower GPA. At Northwestern, (I’ll just spell it out so as not to get caught up in any dispute over abbreviations), there is apparently a difference in acceptance rates between the different colleges. The college of liberal arts is harder to get into than the other more specialized schools. I think she should apply, it isn’t clear to me at all that she won’t get in.</p>