@ljberkow awesome, thank you!
The 1350 SAT is definitely on the low side for Northwestern/WashU. If you can get the SAT up to 1530, that would help.
@Hamurtle 20000 students out of 1.8mm test takers got a 1530 or better. That’s quite a jump your suggesting. OP get your score up but your score is a very good result already. Congrats and keep up the good work. Write killer essays and get great recs.
@privatebanker I took my first SAT in March (in which I got a 1350) with not much practice because school was too demanding at the time. After some serious studying, I took a timed practice test and got a 1530. I think its doable for me, but thank you, I definitely will focus on the other aspects of my application as well.
I missed that @Hamurtle In my reading the thread. My apologies. OP. Go get the 1530 and rock on.
UPDATE: After serious research, I have tentatively decided to ED to Northwestern. I did virtual campus tours of the top 3 schools I wanted to ED to (NW, Wash U, Emory), checked out their pre med stats, rigor of courses in the majors I would like to pursue, and made a decision.
:-c awesome choice. With those three there’s no wrong choice!
Let’s take a breath. All this talk about scores and admit rates and what OP “wants.” And yet, she has to be what they want. OP, ED alone isn’t a bump for kids not otherwise at the top of the app pool.
The 3.72 can be limiting, depending on what courses were less than A. That matters, sometimes more than the gpa number. If it’s an extra class, like gym or woodworking, that’s different than a core. And the most risky is those courses most related to your major. We also don’t know your rigor, other than IB. And since you waved off the EC description, we don’t get much idea of any impact in that. Among top colleges, there’s an expectation some of your ECs will relate to your major. But all I see is the hosp vol (the stem cell club doesn’t sound on the level of, say, science team or other math-sci things.)
You sound bright and realistic. But it takes more than applying early and I don’t get the idea, from this thread, that you know much about what these colleges will look for, in toto (the holistic whole.) That’s something to stop and look into now. Competition will be fierce for some of those colleges. You also hint at explaining the junior year grade drop in your essay- and that’s not something you should do. The competition is such that you do not want to draw attention or make excuses. If you triumph over this in fall, if your set of strengths is otherwise great, then your GC can explain a little and have the chance to also brag about how you surmounted this.
Once you do know more about what, say, NU or WUSTL look for, you can self evaluate how to make the most of what you do offer, how to make a strong self-presentation in line with what they look for (not just hope it’s a crapshoot,) even fine tune some of your activities, bring them up a notch, if needed, or add something. See the difference?
It will also help to try to learn whch colleges are competitive in pre-med vs collaborative. You don’t want to be weeded out. At some, it’s just crazy to try to get an A in a course, sometimes even a B. Their “pre-med stats,” if you mean number of kids accepted to med school, is after many med school wannabes have been eliminated- not the number who start freshman year wanting med school.
Best wishes.
@lookingforward thank you…I only mentioned the ECs that I have spent the most time on, but I have done summer activities related to science and I am going to be doing a program in a few days tied in with Brown University at the CDC which was quite selective to get into. I will be mentioning these in my applications.
I created this thread to assess the advantages of applying ED at these schools, not whether I will get in or not (maybe the stats weren’t necessary, but if I didn’t post them, someone may ask for them, so I did). I know that my stats are below average and when I started this process I didn’t particularly want to go to a T20 for premed. Not saying that is why I got below average grades but the universities I mentioned caught my attention with emails and such. And I will take your advice and not explain my shortcomings in my essays.
And for my course rigor, I doubled in IB sciences junior year, and took 6 IB courses in junior year. I will be taking 5 IB courses next year and 1 AP course. The reason I didn’t take IB or AP courses in 9th or 10th is because they were not offered in those grade levels. I will let the colleges know that as well.
Ok, just remember, you can be strategic in how you present. It helps to know what they look for. That’s how some kids make the best of ED.
Again, it matters what the non-A grades were in. I’m not discouraging you, just saying, be willing to take your understanding a bit further. That way, you can make the best self-presentation, what traits to show, how to describe activities, what is meant to show in the big essay or any written parts.
Assessing ED chances really IS about those chances, from the get-go. On multiple threads about Early advantages, we all agree it’s a boost-- but only for those kids the college feels are most qualified. And at some schools, a huge chunk of Early will go to recruited athletes, sometimes also legacies. You do sound smart and I just want you to be savvy, give yourself the best shot.
@lookingforward no worries, I didn’t take what you said the wrong way. I will make sure I present myself well and take time on all my applications, not just this one. But just for the record, I am aiming towards Cali public schools and just applying to one or two privates out of state.
I am pretty sure with my ED decision, but of course, I’ve only done a few days worth of extensive research. I will try to do some more digging before August.
If at all possible, you should consider a late September or early October visit to Northwestern or even combine it with a visit to Wash U (less than an hour by air) just to get a feel between those two. I’d be a little nervous applying ED sight unseen to any school, but I suppose many do. In any case, good luck on your SAT retake. It sounds like you have a good plan.