Extenuating Circumstances, Chances at NU

Chance Me / Match Me!
1

<p>Hi, I'm a high school junior who wants to get into Northwestern University. I know that just by looking at my grades it looks like I have no chance, but I'd really appreciate it if you could just look over this and give me your opinion.</p>

<p>My mom suffered from schizophrenia and I found it very difficult to concentrate on school and find the time to work on it because I had to take care of her through sophomore year. She died the summer before my junior year (this year) and although I was very sad about it, it did free up a lot of time and gave me a better chance to concentrate on school. My grades have been improving but they're still not stellar. A summary's below:</p>

<p>Freshman year and first semester sophomore year: D's, C's, and the occasional B.</p>

<p>Second semester sophomore year: B's and C's.</p>

<p>First semester junior year: Two B-'s, Two B's, One B+. Also taking debate as a class and got an A in that.</p>

<p>Prospective second semester junior grades: One B, Two B+'s, Two A-'s, and an A in debate.</p>

<p>I haven't taken any AP's yet but will be taking AP Economics (Micro and Macro), AP English Literature, and AP Calculus AB next year.</p>

<p>I took the PSAT and got a 220, which means I will almost certainly be a National Merit Semifinalist (I live in Illinois), and expect to get a score at least as high on the SAT (2200).</p>

<p>I am co-head of my school's poetry club and have been in it since freshman year. I've been in congressional debate since sophomore year and have won a couple second place awards, but nothing too impressive. And I've been doing volunteer tutoring this year once a week, but not in the winter because it involves travel and it was too cold.</p>

<p>My decile rank will be low; I am in a very competitive public high school. My mom, my dad, and my dad's two brothers went to NU, so I do have the benefit of legacy. I plan to major in math or English.</p>

<p>Any opinions on my chances, what I can do to boost them, or any other contributions would be greatly appreciated!</p>

2

<p>I hadn't seen other people's posts asking chances until I had already posted and I realized I had left out some information (feel free to skip it though.) I am a white female and will almost certainly need financial aid despite living in an affluent area.</p>

<p>I can't remember all my grades but I'll fill them in the best I can and estimate when I can't.</p>

<p>1st Semester Freshman year:
Algebra I: D
English: D
World History: C-
Latin 2: B</p>

<p>2nd Semester Freshman year:
Algebra I: C-
English: D
World History: C+
Latin 2: B</p>

<p>Over the summer:
Biology: B first semester, C+ second semester</p>

<p>1st Semester Sophomore year:
Geometry: C
English: D
Modern World History: C-
Latin 2: B
Debate: A</p>

<p>2nd Semester Sophomore year:
Geometry: B-
English: C
Modern World History: B-
Latin 2: B
Debate: A</p>

<p>Over the summer (the summer my mom was constantly in and out of the mental hospital and died):
Algebra II: C's both semesters</p>

<p>1st Semester Junior Year:
Precalc: B-
English: B
U.S. History: B-
Chemistry: B+
Latin: B-
Debate: A</p>

<p>2nd Semester (PROSPECTED) Junior Year:
Precalc: B+
English: A-
U.S. History: A-
Chemistry: B
Latin: B
Debate: A</p>

<p>My schedule next year:
AP Calculus AB
AP English Literature
AP Economics
Physics
Debate</p>

<p>I am considering (and I know most of these are huge reaches):
Northwestern University
UW-Madison
Beloit
Oberlin
Lake Forest
University of Iowa
University of Michigan
Albion
Augustana
UC Berkeley</p>

<p>Again I'd really appreciate any opinions you have!</p>

3

<p>The fact that you managed to get yourself on an upward trend despite such difficult circumstances is very impressive indeed. I think schools that look closely at applications and can see beyond stats will realize your potential. Big state schools that rely on an admissions metric may not be as friendly. But reach away -- you deserve the best and I feel confident that some smart admissions committee will feel that way too!</p>

4

<p>Thank you so much! So basically I should look at small/private schools?</p>

<p>Anyone else?</p>

5

<p>Regarding Berkeley: You may not meet the out of state minimum GPA of 3.4. You can find out how the UC schools compute GPAs at <a href="http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/admissions/&lt;/a>, and the D in English sophomore year may also be an issue there if you have not made up the coursework. The UC's, by the way, are not the best for financial aid for out of state students.</p>

<p>I think you have a very nice list, with a good mix of reaches, matches, and safe bets. A few other schools you might want to check out: Earlham College, University of Redlands (California), Hendrix College (AK), Willamette (Oregon), Syracuse University. These schools also offer excellent automatic scholarships for NMS finalists: the University of Arizona, Arizona State U, University of Tulsa. Good luck!</p>

6

<p>Thank you!</p>

<p>Does anyone have estimates on my chances at specific schools (NU especially?)</p>

7

<p>Bumping this up...</p>

8

<p>What's your overall GPA? If you score really high on the SAT, you may get into UW-Madison.</p>

9

<p>I have a weighted 3.27 (sucks, I know!) but I know that's going to go up; my weighted GPA for this semester's like a 4.38, so that brings the whole thing up to a 3.46... I don't know about unweighted.</p>

10

<p>Northwestern University-no chance
UW-Madison-none
Beloit-dont know about this school
Oberlin-none
Lake Forest-probably not
University of Iowa-idk anything bout this one
University of Michigan-impossible
Albion-dont know about this one
Augustana-same as above
UC Berkeley-impossible</p>

<p>im sorry, but even with a decent upward trend (it is good, but not exactly the right caliber) your 2.78 gpa is not nearly sufficient.
Go to community college</p>

11

<p>One or two years? And if I do well enough there do you think I could get into the places I listed?</p>

12

<p>If you want to go to UC Berkeley, you really need to go to a California Community college. Preference for transfers go to in-state students by a large degree. From OOS you would need at least a 3.9 to get into Berkeley. Your only other choice would be to apply to the UCs as a freshman based upon your test results only. It's the third option they UCs offer. As someone else already pointed out, costs for OOS students in California are extremely high, however--so I'm not sure that it's the best choice considering your financial aid need.</p>

<p>Since you live in Illinois, I suggest you go to an Illinois Community college and try to transfer to either Northwestern, University of Chicago, or University of Illinois after two years. </p>

<p>You can also try to transfer into some of the other schools on your list if the grades are good enough. </p>

<p>The other option is to consider the schools carolyn listed above.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

13

<p>Hopefully you'll be able to get National Merit Finalist status, because that will open a lot of doors for you. Try to get a little more involved in your ECs to better your chances. You could transfer into a better school, or just go to a less-prestigious school for undergrad. Good luck!</p>

14

<p>you can get into great schools. use your situation in your essay, describing your experiences. i dont know about nu, but maybe a couple schools on that list would take u</p>

15

<p>go to a two year community college and then transfer after your associates degree. If you dont go for two full years they will look at highschool transcripts too.</p>

16

<p>I would imagine that very high SAT II's in the two areas in which you got low grades in school would help a lot... World History and Math. Also, make sure you do well on the SAT I reading and writing to couterbalance the English grade.</p>

<p>An admissions officer would have to have a heart of stone to not give you a break. It seems to me if your references could tell the story of your struggle, rather than you telling it, it would make you seem super-resiliant.</p>