<p>Did any of you participate in Northwestern's Gifted and Talented Summer Program (CTD) and mention it on your app somewhere? Did you feel like it was the extra 'oomph' that got you in or was it just a minor detail that was overlooked?</p>
<p>Actually I did attend the program at CTD during the summer before my senior year. I did mention it in my app, and although I feel like it wasn’t a huge influence, I think that it probably did show my interest in the school, especially since what I studied at CTD was related to the school that I applied to.</p>
<p>Also, I don’t know if they looked at the grade/recommendation that I got at the program, but I did pretty well while I was there. The recommendation that I got from the teacher was stellar, and he said that I showed promise in the field that I will study, computer science. Since my grades are only so so, (3.75 gpa) if they looked at my performance it might have had a bigger impact.</p>
<p>Oh did you include it in the Why Northwestern section?</p>
<p>Yep I did.</p>
<p>immastudent: how much does it cost??</p>
<p>Oh never mind, looked it up. I have grades like yours and really wanna go to NU, so do you think this will help? Is it considered research or is it basically just a class outside of school?</p>
<p>It’s considered a class out of school but I’m guessing it will help a little in the admissions process…only a little</p>
<p>At NU as well as other schools?</p>
<p>NU, because it shows interest in their school specifically… I doubt it would give you an edge anywhere else</p>
<p>Hmmmm, I love NU, but do you think the edge it’ll give me is worth the $3000?</p>
<p>Hmm I’m not sure, if they were choosing between 2 applicants with stats, ecs, and everything else, they’d probably choose the one that went to CTD. You could always apply for financial aid. If NU is your dream school and you DON’T get in, you would still be able to enjoy NU’s campus by trying out CTD…</p>
<p>i heard that the CTD is similar to Duke TIP, which i did one summer.</p>
<p>if it is, then do it for the friendships/connections you’ll make and the learning/experiences/fun you’ll have, not to help you get into NU later. looking back, it was totally worth the [parents’] $3000 even though I didn’t even apply to Duke.</p>
<p>Trust me, I’d mainly do it for the fun/learning more than anything! I wanna take AP Chem but can’t fit it into next year’s schedule, so it’d be perfect if I could cough up $3000 just like that. I mentioned it to my parents, but haven’t fully asked yet. Would you guys say it helps a bit with admission? Assuming your stats are otherwise qualified in addition? Like the OP said, does it give you that extra little push that’s needed (especially since I hear NU is big on demonstrated interest)? I think immastudent said something like s/he had a 3.7 UW GPA, and that’s what I have… So, seeing as that’s not stellar, do you think this may sorta compensate?</p>
<p>honestly, i dont think it will help that much, like some other people have said, i would do it for the opportunity to learn more and grow intellectually, rather than to impress admissions. In that way i think it is worth doing. However, ive always been biased against programs like that, since i think summer is a time to relax, learn about things you want to learn but also have some fun without school. I mean, I got into NU without doing any of those programs at all, so I think it neither helps a ton nor takes away from your ap, it more just influences the amount of time you have to relax and not worry about grades.</p>
<p>Oops sorry for not responding earlier, but in response to your question about the ‘worth’ of the $3000, I would not look at it like that. When I originally signed up I was not too interested in Northwestern, but I wanted to take an AP Computer Science class, which was something that my school did not offer. Don’t just go because you’re interested in the school and want to increase your chances, go because you’re interested in what they have to offer.</p>