Northwestern HPME Part 1

<p>SAT I: 1420
SAT II: Writing-700, Chem 680, IIC 710
3.60 GPA Unweighted.
2 senior year AP's.
As for extracurriculars, I'm a reporter on the newspaper, no other clubs, if you can call the paper a club.
Community Service: 150 hours at a local clinic.</p>

<p>Rejected HPME. But int'l student requesting fin aid (though studying in US).</p>

<p>STATS-</p>

<p>1550, SATII's 800, 800, 730
4.4 W/ 4.0 UW
Founder/ president of clubs, blah blah blah
600+ hrs volunteering at hospital
Excellent rec; I thought I wrote a very solid personal statement.</p>

<p>Well, I don't have any regrets, except perhaps not being born in USA!</p>

<p>ya... if you were born in USA you'd no doubt get an interview</p>

<p>or perhaps the fin aid. You'll get in somewhere else excellent, noone.</p>

<p>noone, mistaippa-- you don't need to be born in the US to get an interview. Also, HPME office doesn't exactly know about financial aid status of internationals.. if you have good enough credentials, you will get in.</p>

<p>plushenko - That's slightly insensitive to imply that noone didn't have good enough credentials, although I'm sure you didn't mean it like that. "if you have good enough credentials, you will get in' is like saying if you have good enough credentials, you will get into Harvard. Not all qualified people get into Harvard. As to being international, I wouldn't be surprised that it's a measure more difficult for them to get one. They may expect that internationals will have trouble even making the trip due to time (for example, having to take several days out of an exam period) or money (pretty expensive airfare depending on where you are). Even communicating with an international applicant can be a problem given the short timeframe HPME needs to evaluate applications + interview. Thus, while admissions might take a chance on an applicant close to home, it would almost be considerate for them to require more of an international.</p>

<p>just my $0.02</p>

<p>oops, I didn't mean it that way-- noone-- don't be offended! :)
Mea-- I think I get what you mean, but during my interview, my interviewer said that all qualified internationals were invited for the interview.. so that's what I meant.</p>

<p>What I really meant in my former post was, that being an international will not make your chances slim. Also, financial status is like, um, not considered in HPME office.</p>

<p>Also, Mea-- noone is studying in the US, so travel costs wouldn't be that much. All I meant was that if he was qualified enough, he would have gotten an interview. Since he hasn't received one, I am assuming that some aspect - NOT financial aid, NOT citizenship status or location - was not quite up to par with other applicants. And when I say "qualified," I am not talking only about stats, although they are important. Although Noone's stats are those of an average HPME applicant, I think his lack of volunteer experience might have been a factor. I dunno.. why am I lecturing you guys when I don't know any better.. :P End of Point.</p>

<p>plushenko - (yea, i didn't think you meant it like that.) Aah...well, your interviewer's a better source of info than my guessing. Part of the guess on my end was that one of my classmates also applied, and she is by all degrees a better applicant - and one with more med-related activities. The conclusion I arrived at was that if all qualified people got a place, either she or both of us would have one. Then again, no one's ever quite sure what any adcom's looking for.</p>

<p>noone's lack of volunteering experience????</p>

<p>"600+ hrs volunteering at hospital"</p>

<p>i doubt 600 hrs is lacking</p>

<p>whoa, didn't see your 1:11 post plushenko - yes, I see your points. I won't disagree with you, because neither of us know for sure. However, I will just quickly point out that noone has 600+ hours of volunteering, so a lack of volunteer experience might not have been an issue.</p>

<p>(didn't see your post either mistaippa - you beat me to the 600 hours thing, hehe.)</p>

<p>Anyway plushenko - whereabouts are you from?</p>

<p>600+ hours of volunteering.. would be like 150 hours/year... which isn't all that.. eh.. never mind. I sound like Larry Summers now, "provoking discussion"! :P</p>

<p>P.S. As far as I know, 3 of my friends and I have received the Interview cards, and we each had 2000+ volunteer hours. I dunno.. but one girl had around 3900 when she calculated her hours. :) Whoosh!</p>

<p>that's awesome - that should be a huge boost for you. </p>

<p>was this 2000/3900 at one hospital, tho o.O?</p>

<p>(i hope noone feels special with all this discussion going on about him/her, haha)</p>

<p>Don't worry; I'm not an upset grudge-bearer on a rampage. Maybe the fact that I completed high sch in 3 yr might have made them think I was over-accelerating. I really have no idea, and I am certainly not brooding on it. Life goes on.</p>

<p>lol 600 hours is MORE than enough. Honestly, its quality over quantity. I had 300 hours at a hospital. </p>

<p>I interviewed last week. Both went well -- just a conversation for about an hour each, the student interview over lunch. I wore a suit, and I would recommend other guys do so to. I have no idea what girls wear so I wont even touch on that :)</p>

<p>noone - hehe, that's the end of that then. I have a question for you now tho - I have a younger friend who's wondering whether he should finish high sch in 3 years, stay on for 4 years (and presumably get some topnotch leadership positions etc), or do 3 and take a gap year and/or college courses. Do you have any thoughts on this?</p>

<p>It depends. Is your friend aiming ceiling high into the Ivies? It takes quite some work to finish high school off in 3yrs, but by no means is it unbearably difficult. IF he will be prepared for all his SAT's and tests, and he feels ready to move on, I would definitely suggest finishing in 3 years and going to college. I wouldn't recommend spending 1yr in a community college or whatever, when he can already be in a college. I know that if I spent one more year in high sch, I would be knocking my head against the sturdiest wall every day because I'm sick of it. Tell your friend to gauge whether he will be ready for college, perhaps take some tours of colleges, and if he feels ready, to go for it. There is a certain thrill in acceleration of these sorts!</p>

<p>Just curious, for those of you who have/will have an interview for hpme, what undergraduate school did u apply to?
I'll start:
Biff- McCormick</p>