<p>Hey so I signed up for Splash! but the thing is.. I really can't go anymore. I'm so overloaded with work, Polish homework, etc.... I was planning just to ditch Polish school and go to the library but I would obviously need to tell my mom if I was going to Northwestern in Evanston...</p>
<p>I really wanted to go and will try to. But can this help my app in any way? I am going for a visit during Spring Break. It sucks.): The classes for tomorrow really interest me...:/</p>
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<p>Not as much as getting straight A’s, getting near-perfect ACT/SAT scores, or building an awesome EC. With Northwestern’s acceptance rate now down to 18%, you really need to focus on the basics rather than wasting your energy trying to find a way to game the system.</p>
<p>ahh the days of Polish school 
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<p>thought I’d chime in as a fellow Pole haha… hope to see you there in the future! and good luck</p>
<p>Really? Cause I know a lot of half A/B not even 30 ACT kids that got in from my school.</p>
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Are they URM’s? What were their essays like? Do not discount the power of your Why NU essay as many high stat kids were rejected because they didn’t apply the same effort as they did on their grades. Obviously grades and scores are important but if you show the passion for attending in your essay you stand a good chance of separating yourself from the rest. My son never visited the school or had an interview and was accepted, he did spend two weeks honing the essay though.</p>
<p>Well I don’t know all of them personally; just two. One of my friends is not involved at all and I guess her essay might have been amazing. She got a 27 and has an UW of like 3.6. My other friend is involved with only the Muslim club, he got a 28 and yes his grades are better at like 3.75? but his junior year he took Auto Shop/easier classes. </p>
<p>I honestly think its just easier to get in from my school. The number 4 ranked guy got into Harvard and so did my friend I don’t know his rank though…</p>
<p>It won’t be such a big deal if you can’t make it to Splash (although it’s pretty great). You can find other events on campus that are open to the public…there are quite many.</p>
<p>One Book, One Northwestern has some pretty interesting events. Check here: <a href=“http://www.onebooknu.org/[/url]”>http://www.onebooknu.org/</a></p>
<p>Kathy, if you really want to get in, you can’t look at someone else’s results, think, “hey, I’m doing better than that” and expect to get admitted. The kids who get in with low stats are usually athletes or did something amazing outside of school you don’t know about, or are 25% Hispanic/AA (or perhaps even lied about it). These candidates are held to a lower academic standard.</p>
<p>Yes, being in a Chicago Public School gives you an edge over the national acceptance rate. On the other hand, having a lot of kids from your school apply to NW could hurt your chances – the top students and the URMs will be cherry-picked off first and if you lie between those two groups you may well find you’re rejected or perhaps waitlisted.</p>
<p>You can get in with stellar grades and stellar test scores, or you can try to game the system. But in either case showing obsessive interest isn’t going to make much of a difference. Want to get in for sure? Write a great “Why NU?” essay, check the Hispanic box on your application along with white, and declare you want to major in engineering (females in engineering are in short supply). Change your mind later, once you get in.</p>
<p>Now, mind you, I am not advocating such an approach, but if your desire exceeds your conscience, consider this your “backup plan” – then stop obsessing about finding an angle and focus instead on improving your stats, so you won’t need to actually use it when application time arrives.</p>
<p>Eh yes I am super paranoid about getting in/not getting in. One of them was white, the other Indian. I don’t know if I could lie though./: Applying to my school was the same way with the race but I couldn’t consider it.</p>
<p>I’m really not trying to “game the system”. I’m trying my hardest in school, and the fewww ehhh extra curriculars I have. I don’t know what else I can do outside of school. I don’t have leadership/can’t because most of the spots are taken my juniors who hold on to them. :,( I should have played basketball in high school but I didn’t ugh…</p>
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<p>Find an unfulfilled need in your Chicago community and develop a way to fill that need – then you can call yourself the founder/president of the organization designed to accomplish it. You don’t always have to take the pre-packaged plan your school serves up for you. And top colleges LOVE when you venture off the beaten path!</p>
<p>This is one of the things my son did. He was accepted at Brown, Williams and Amherst, as well as Northwestern. Yes, he did have perfect raw stats, but it’s interesting that in his early-write acceptance letters at both Amherst and Williams, they both mentioned his commitment to his community rather than his academic achievements. Also, his Brown interviewer lit up when he told her about his community-service project. </p>
<p>Since you’ve been taking Polish classes for some years, you might consider looking into starting a weekend/summertime ESL program for new Polish immigrants. Round up a few friends, find a church basement, put out a few flyers, throw up a simple website. Then write about it in your Common App essay.</p>
<p>That’s a good idea. I’m so scared of failing. What if no one signs up? 
I do a lot of volunteer work at the hospital but I know that’s not standing out. </p>
<p>I was wondering about animals. I dooo a lot of my own kind of rescuing/finding homes?</p>
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<p>Have you been playing it too safe for too long? You were once a tiny toddler, taking her first step or two. Step. Wobble. Fall down. Fail. Opps!</p>
<p>Do you have any trouble walking today? Maybe you’ve forgotten that you will fail if you challenge yourself. So what? Stop. Reflect why you failed. Make adjustments. Try again. Ultimately, you will write a better, more honest essay if you describe your setbacks along the journey to your new success.</p>
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<p>Sure, why not animals? But try to find an angle that meets a need that no one has addressed before in your community. Duplicating what any animal shelter already does is not going to be particularly impressive. Also, if you can “scale up” what you do to involve other helpers, you show management/leadership skills.</p>
<p>Here’s a thought experiment to get you started: Have you ever thought: “Wow, that’s really stupid. Why doesn’t somebody do something about this?” Well, congratulations! — you just identified an unmet need and you are that somebody to solve the problem.</p>
<p>Part Two: How many pets have to be put to sleep each year because they have no loving homes? Are there no lonely people out there who would treasure such a pet? Why do they not have one? Is it cost? Is it the mobility to get out to a shelter? Is it just that no one has ever brought the idea to their attention and made it easy for them to say “yes”? Identify the problem, identity possible solutions, make contacts with people in the industry (vets, animal shelters, pet food store managers). Find a solution and try to implement it. You won’t have 100% success, but you won’t have 100% failure, either. You’ll have a heck of an essay, however, and, very likely, get an invite to attend that college you so long for.</p>
<p>Thank you so much for the help. I’ll definitely do something this summer. All that I’m doing now is what shelters do. Ahhh…:/</p>