**Northwestern University Class of 2020 RD Results Thread**

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northwestern University
1

Results only!
For Discussion- http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northwestern-university/1816647-official-northwestern-class-of-2020-discussion-thread-p1.html

Good luck to all of you! Please DO NOT post any commentary at all, that may be posted in the other 2020 results thread. This thread is for stats only, as a reference for future users. Go Cats!

Decision: Accepted
Decision: Waitlisted
Decision: Rejected

Applied to which school/college:

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT:
SAT II:
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0):
UF GPA:
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable):
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load:
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service:
Summer Activities:
Essays (rating 1-10, details):

Other

State (if domestic applicant):
Country (if international applicant):
School Type:
Ethnicity:
Gender:
Income Bracket:
Hooks (Athlete; first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected:
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:

General Comments:

2

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): None submitted.
ACT (breakdown): 34 C (32 E 34 R 35 M 36 S) + 36 W
SAT II (place score in parentheses): None taken
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.6
Rank/Percentile: 97/550
AP (place score in parentheses): None submitted
IB (place score in parentheses): None submitted
AP + IB Courseload: 12 by the end of this year
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP German, AP Microeconomics, AP Physics II, IB Computer Science, Honors English, Honors US History
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar w/ Distinction

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Few student organizations for tech, service, hobbies
Job/Work Experience: None
Volunteer/Community Service: 6 years w/ same organization
Summer Activities: Service
Essays: Common App (6/10), Why Northwestern (7/10),
Teacher Recommendations: Excellent recommendations from Comp Sci/Economics teachers
Counselor Rec: I imagine my counselor recommendation was quite decent.
Additional Rec: None
Interview: None

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Economics
State/Country: USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 250,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection
Strengths: Recommendations, decent ACT, good commit to my Community service, decent essays
Weaknesses: GPA/rank, activities, SAT score, ACT score could be improved, essays could have been better
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: GPA/rank are abysmal for a top school
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Safety + UNC, ND, Duke, UChicago
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Congratulations to all who got in! I expected this outcome and I am not particularly disappointed. My only hope is that the people who got in truly deserved it.

3

Decision: Rejected

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): None submitted.
ACT (breakdown): 32
SAT II (place score in parentheses): None taken
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank/Percentile: 1/500
AP (place score in parentheses): None submitted
IB (place score in parentheses): None submitted
AP + Dual Enrollment Courseload: 18
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C, AP Economics, AP CalcI AB, AP Gov’t, Drafting 3, Drafting 4
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar w/ Distinction,

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): FBLA VP, Treasurer, Mu Alpha Theta President. VP, State technology officer
Job/Work Experience: Started my own web development company, two internships
Volunteer/Community Service: 150+ hours
Essays: idk
Teacher Recommendations: Good
Counselor Rec: New Counselor
Additional Rec: Good
Interview: Good

Other
Applied for Financial Aid? Yes
Projected Concentration: Comp Eng.
State/Country: USA
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 100,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection
Strengths: Recommendations, EC, GPA
Weaknesses: ACT
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: ACT
Where else you are applying or have already applied: Duke, Vanderbilt, Princeton, Stanford, UPenn, UF, UCF, USF, FSU, Notre Dame, UT
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Can’t accept everyone, congrats to those who got in.

4

hope this helps some people!! good luck y’all

Decision: Accepted

Applied to which school/college: Weinberg econ + Bienen [insert instrument]

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): did not report
ACT (breakdown):
36 English, 36 Math, 35 Reading, 36 Science
writing 11
composite 36
SAT II: 770 physics, 800 math II
Unweighted GPA: 4.0
Weighted GPA: weighting is weird at my school but I’d say like around 4.3; most rigorous courseload
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school does not rank, but I know I’m top 9% because of UC application
AP (place score in parenthesis): these were the ones I reported.
Chinese, Music Theory (self-studied), AP Physics C Mech, Environmental Science (self-studied), French, Physics 1 (5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4)
IB (place score in parenthesis): n/a
Senior Year Course Load:
AP Calc BC
AP Econ
AP English Lit
AP Psych
AP Physics C
TA for AP Physics 1
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): qualified for AIME, qualified for Math Prize at MIT, National Merit Finalist, AP Scholar with Distinction, Scholastic Gold and Silver keys
also nominated to apply for US Presidential Scholars whatever whatever but it doesn’t matter

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): student at local conservatory’s pre-college music program (9-12), performed on NPR with chamber music group (11), member of local youth orchestra affiliated with an internationally renowned symphony orchestra (11-12), member of other local chamber orchestra (also soloed with them. 9), former principal [insert instrument] and section leader of school string orchestra and chamber orchestra (9-11), founder/president of Campus Cursive (moreloveletters.com) at my high school (10-12), freshman orientation leader (10-11), founder of a local music and community service club (12), participant of local chamber music program (12), published in some online magazines (11), many music awards for solo and chamber music (9-12)
Job/Work Experience: Chinese translator for local nonprofit (10-11)
Volunteer/Community service: intern at local nonprofit organization (10-11), volunteer music teacher for underprivileged schoolchildren at elementary school (10)
Summer Activities: prestigious music festival (11-12), tour to Europe with youth orchestra (covered by local and foreign press; 11-12), teacher assistant for music camp for elementary schoolers in my school district (10), summer chamber music workshop for youth orchestra (9), tour to Pacific Northwest with youth orchestra (10) and was invited to tour in Italy with the same orchestra but could not go due to horrible and untimely stomach illness (10)
Essays: common app essay talked about my experiences teaching music…supplement was pretty generic
Teacher Recommendation: physics teacher…knows me really well. I’m her TA right now
english teacher…we’re best friends!!! woohoo
Counselor Rec: counselor knows me very well since we talk a lot. probably good; my rec probably stands out compared to recs for everyone else at my school, since my school is big and not a lot of people talk to their counselors
Additional Rec: private music teacher. I saw this one, and she did a good job
Interview: none
Supplementary Material (portfolio, etc.): went through the audition process at Bienen

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: no
State (if domestic applicant): CA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: Asian Chinese
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: enough to be disqualified from federal aid
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): girl in STEM if that counts. otherwise none. the audition really helped get my foot in the door at NU, though

Reflection
Strengths: MY AUDITION. For musicians out there, I strongly recommend auditioning at NU. IMO, it might be to your advantage given you have decent numbers…
Weaknesses: HAHA ESSAYS. maybe recs. AP scores!!
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: AUDITION!! I didn’t think it went too well, but it went well enough…also GPA and ACT score
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Deferred Columbia ED, deferred Wellesley EE
Waitlisted at Wash U, UChi (after EA)
Accepted Berkeley early admission (top 2% of applicants. waiting on Regents), UMich LSA and SMTD (probably double degree here), UCSD regents, UCI regents, UCSB regents, UC Davis regents
REJECTED AT MIT!!!
waiting on others

5

Decision: Rejected

Applied to which school/college: Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Didn’t send (one sitting 2100 c, 690r 680m 730w)
ACT: 34 Composite (35E, 35M, 32R, 33S, 31W/E) One sitting
SAT II: Did not take
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 95/100 unweighted (my school doesn’t do out of 4.0)
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): English Language (5) US History (3) Physics 1 (3)
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: AP Calculus BC, AP Physics C, Original Science Research, College-level english class, AP Spanish, AP Economics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AP Scholar, Office of Naval Research Award (got this at county science fair ~5 days ago; doubt my counselor told them in time)

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): 4-year varsity cross country (captain), 4-year varsity winter track (captain), 4-year varsity spring track (captain), 6-year piano lessons, 2-year member of school’s Model Congress club, Member of school’s chapter of National Honors Society
Job/Work Experience: 4-year referee for local rec soccer league, 1-year counselor at local day camp
Volunteer/Community service: 3-year volunteer at local food pantry, various other random service events
Summer Activities: Did a summer program at Princeton where students can learn about topics that interest them that aren’t standard to most schools’ curriculum (examples include the Psychology of Dreaming, the Mechanics of Time travel, etc.)
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common app (9/10 mostly for creativity) was about a time when my phone was stolen and how my true failure was yielding to my cynicism of the world; NW supplement (7/10 probably not my best in retrospect) was about their strong presence in both the Evanston and Chicago communities and all of the service opportunities, as well as the MMSS program (specifically for Econ)

Other

State (if domestic applicant): NY
Intended Major: Either Economics or Math
School Type: Public (about 1400 student total)
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: High (lets just say i had a 0% shot at financial aid)
Hooks (Athlete; first generation college, etc.): nah

Reflection

Strengths: Strong ACT score, good GPA, deep involvement in extracurriculars, creative and thoughtful Common App essay
Weaknesses: Weak AP scores + affluent white male
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I could have taken AP Literature but the curriculum did not interest me; my actual leadership in terms of titles is a little shallow; maybe they just didn’t like the idea behind my essay(s)?
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: REJECTED from Duke ED; DEFERRED from UVA and UNC (both EA); ACCEPTED into Michigan, Tulane (Honors + 32k/yr), Northeastern (Honors + 22k/yr), Miami OH (22k/yr + honors), and Binghamton (Honors); STILL WAITING for Cornell (probably my top choice now) and Wake Forest

General Comments:
While a different letter would have been nice, I wasn’t really expecting this one, so I can’t say I’m too distraught. Either way, congrats to all who were accepted!

6

** Decision: Rejected **

** Objective: **

SAT I (breakdown): 800M 780CR 700W 10E

ACT: 34C 35R 35M 35S 32E 8E

SAT II: 800 M2, 770 Chem

Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.79U/W 4.53W

Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/850W 23/850UW

AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC 5, Chem 5, Physics 1 5, Macro 5, US Gov 4, Lang 3

Senior Year Course Load: AP Bio, AP Physics C, APUSH, AP Lit, AP German, Calc 3, Linear Algebra, Diffeq

Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): WYSE 2015 Chemistry State 4th place, National German Exam Gold AP Scholar with distinction, NMF, National Chemistry Olympiad Qualifier

** Subjective: **

Extracurricular: Scholastic Bowl Varsity Captain, WYSE Team, Science Club, Math Team, German Club, German Honor Society, Chem Olympiad, Founded Paintball team

Job/Work Experience: Seasonal Worker at Bestbuy 2014/2015

Volunteer/Community service: 25 hours tutoring

Summer Activities: Summer Research Internship at Notre Dame with grad students in chem department.

Essays: Common App 9/10, Why NU 9/10 (I thought they were great but I guess not)

Teacher Recommendation: Physics C Teacher 6/10 (generic), German teacher 10/10

Counselor Rec: 10/10

Additional Rec: PI at Notre Dame internship

** Other: **

State (if domestic applicant): IL

School Type: Large (4000 students) Public

Ethnicity: White/Polish

Gender: Male

Income Bracket: 70K

Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): First Generation

Major: Materials Engineering

** Reflection **

Strengths: ACT/ SAT Score,

Weaknesses: GPA, Class rank, rec letter, interview

Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: The two valedictorians at my school were accepted, so i’m guessing my GPA turned them off, or my rec letters.

Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted: Alabama, UIUC, UMN-TC; Waitlisted: UChicago; Rejected: Northwestern

General Comments: I was really hoping for positive news because I fell in love with it when I visited. Oh well.

7

Pick one:

Decision: REJECTED

Applied to which school/college: Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2330 (CR: 760, M: 770, W: 800)
ACT (breakdown): N/A
SAT II: 800 Math II, 800 Chem, 800 Bio M, 790 WH
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): Calc BC, Stats, World History, US History (5), Bio (4)
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Multivariable Calc, Micro/Macroecon, STEM Research, AP Comp Sci, Lit on Trial (English), Ceramics
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): AIME Qualification, National Merit Scholar, Cum Laude, AP Scholar, Scholars & Scholars

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): founded website to promote healthcare efficiency, research paper published on Big Pharma, won two competitions in varsity crew, went to national in FIRST Robotics, president and founder of programming club, House Prefect, research on circadian regulation of antioxidant defense mechanism at UMass
Job/Work Experience: intern at Newracom (tech company), medical intern at Washington DC VA
Volunteer/Community service: Immaculate Conception, Boys & Girls
Summer Activities: psychology course at UCI, Fundamentals of Medicine at Georgetown
Essays: CA was about skating and breaking out of eggshell (9/10), Supplement = stated three reasons (business+medicine, bio research, information communication) why I specifically wanted to go to Cornell (8/10)
Teacher Recommendation: didn’t see them, but probably good (8/10)
Counselor Rec: didn’t see them, so I don’t know
Additional Rec: recommendation from Newracom (10/10)
Interview: normal
Other

Applied for Financial Aid?: N/A
Intended Major: Biology and Society
State (if domestic applicant): MA
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private, boarding
Ethnicity: Asian - Korean
Gender: Male
Income Bracket:
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):

Reflection

Strengths: test scores, GPA, relevant and focused extracurriculars, strong recommendation letters
What you tried to focus on in your application - any hooks you tried to make for yourself: more towards Public Health than STEM-driven
Weaknesses: Asian. APs. Definitely should have taken more AP tests
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: rejected by Stanford, waitlisted by WashU

General Comments:
Admitting 50% from the early pool was just outrageous, leaving no rooms for people who are far more qualified. Really disappointed in the school…

8

Decision: Rejected

Applied McCormick, Biomedical Engineering

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2310 (CR: 750, M: 770, W: 790; Essay: 11)
ACT (breakdown): 35 (E: 36, M: 34, R: 34, S: 36; Essay: 11)
SAT II (place score in parentheses): Bio M: 800, Math II: 800, Chemistry: 780
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 4.0
Weighted GPA (out of 5.0): 4.8
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/570; Top 1%
AP (place score in parentheses): Human Geography (5), Environmental Science (5), European History (5), Biology (5), Chemistry (5), Psychology (5), U.S. History (5), English Language (5)
Senior Year Course Load: AP U.S. Government, AP Economics, AP English Literature, AP Calculus, AP Physics C, Wind Ensemble
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National AP Scholar, National Merit Finalist, other smaller awards and recognition

Subjective:
Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Wind Ensemble (9-12, First Chair Saxophone, Librarian), Marching Band (9-12, Flute Section Leader 10-12), All-State Honor Band (9, 11-12), All-County Honor Band (9-12, First Chair), National Honor Society (12, Project Leader), National English Honor Society (11-12, Vice President), Special Olympics Club (11-12), School Writing Tutor (11-12), School Math Tutor (11-12), HOBY Local Leadership Seminar (10), HOBY World Leadership Congress (10), Gay-Straight Alliance (12), Lab Internship at UCLA (12), Hospital Volunteer (11-12, Student Coordinator/Shift Supervisor), Spring and Summer Music Camp Volunteer (10-12), Vacation Bible School Volunteer (9, 11)
Job/Work Experience: Surgical Assistant at an Oral Surgery Office (Summer between Junior and Senior year)
Volunteer/Community Service: Tutoring, Hospital, Music Camp, Vacation Bible School; 500+ hours, Gold President’s Volunteer Service Award
Summer Activities: Volunteering, Summer Job, Leadership Camps, Marching Band
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App (8): represented myself through a symbol and a short anecdote, revealed a lot about me but could’ve been more eloquent; Northwestern Statement (9): I thought it was uniquely written and emphasized the many facets of Northwestern that I found appealing and hoped to take advantage of
Teacher Recommendations (rating 1-10, details): English Teacher (8): didn’t read it but we have a good relationship and she liked me as a student; Biology Teacher (7): was less personal with me as a teacher, but I did exceedingly well in the class and she liked me (I hope)
Counselor Rec (rating 1-10, details): 7, we’re very friendly with each other but I’m sure it wasn’t anything special
Additional Rec (rating 1-10, details): 9, written by my lab mentor; she said she made me sound amazing in her letter
Interview: 8, interviewer and I had a good amount in common and the conversation went on smoothly for as long as the interview could last (they were on a schedule so it had to be cut off)

Other
Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
State (if domestic applicant): CA
School Type: Public, ~2500 students
Ethnicity: Asian and White
Gender: M
Income Bracket: less than $50,000
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection
Strengths: Stats/Scores
Weaknesses: Too Generic
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Not too surprised honestly. There wasn’t anything that would make an admissions officer remember my application - my essays weren’t specific enough, my profile wasn’t unique enough. Plus, at a school that filled 1061 of 1925 seats ED, I probably didn’t stand a chance RD.
Where else you are applying or have already applied: UCLA, UCB, Stanford, USC, Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, Duke
General Comments/Advice/Hindsight: Always start early - take advantage of all your opportunities from the start of high school (don’t wait until it’s too late in the game like I did), spend time and be diligent in your applications, and be prepared for whatever comes. The process is brutal, but hopefully it’ll all pay off. Congrats to everyone who got in!

9

Decision: Accepted

Applied to which school/college: Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):
ACT: 34 C 31 M 34 S 35 E 36 R 29 W
SAT II: Chemistry: 690 Math II: 750
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.72 UW/ 4.03 W
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesn’t rank
AP (place score in parenthesis):
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: IB 2 Biology, IB 2 Chemistry, IB 2 History, IB 2 Math SL, IB Exam Prep, IB 2 TOK, IB 2 Spanish, IB 2 English
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Co-Leader of Spanish Honor Society, Member of NHS, Science Olympiad, High School Freshman/JV soccer grades 9-11, Club soccer grades 9-10
Job/Work Experience:
Volunteer/Community service: Various volunteering positions, at least 50+ hrs since 9th grade
Summer Activities: Trip to Spain, High school soccer camps
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Common App: 7/10, I never was able to make the essay come out how I wanted. Northwestern Statement: 6/10, I wrote this in one night a few days before the deadline, and I didn’t have anyone edit it.

Other

State (if domestic applicant): Michigan
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: URM
Gender: M
Income Bracket: $200,000+
Hooks (Athlete; first generation college, etc.): Probably URM, but I don’t know if they consider this

Reflection

Strengths: My ACT score, letters of rec
Weaknesses: Pretty much everything else… lower than average GPA, 3 B’s on mid-year report, low SAT II scores, not enough extracurriculars.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I really have no idea, I’m in shock. After looking at how many people they accepted ED, I thought I was sure for rejection. I didn’t even do an interview. I have no idea how this is even possible. Maybe they liked that I visited the campus last September and I talked about it in my essay.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: 5/5 so far, accepted at UMich, Wayne State University, Michigan State University, Case Western Reserve University. I’m waiting on Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Columbia, but I think this acceptance has used up my luck for the next 10 years.

General Comments:
I hope people will read this and know you don’t have to be impeccable to get into Northwestern! Though I will likely not go due to the cost, I hope people will read this and reassure themselves in the future!

10

Decision: Accepted

Applied to which school/college: Weinberg

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): Did not send
ACT: 34 Composite
SAT II: 750 Literature, 760 Math I
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Top 10%
AP (place score in parenthesis): Non-AP school, all exams were self-studied; English Literature: 5, Modern European History: 4, Latin: 4, US History: 4
IB (place score in parenthesis): None
Senior Year Course Load: Political Science, Advanced Chemistry, Advanced Biology, Creative Writing, German V, BC Calculus
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): TASP (if that counts any), a few national language medals

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): (Team Captain) of FTC Robotics regional winners, (Head Editor) of school wide literary magazine, (Manager) backstage fall play, (Senior Fellow) of the Chesapeake Bay Fellows program, blackbelt in karate, varsity rower, tutor with cum laude society, MUN
Job/Work Experience: I created my own summer camp and ran it; intern at mental health care facility, worked in the marketing department and came up with the concept for a commercial
Volunteer/Community service: Junior volunteer at the children’s hospital and children’s disabled home
Summer Activities: Yale Young Global Scholar, TASP finalist
Essays (rating 1-10, details): I really liked my Common App essay, I’d give it a 9. My Northwestern supplement wasn’t the best writing, but it focused on all the resources I’d use and what I would contribute to the school. I would say it’s an 8.

Other

State (if domestic applicant): Virginia
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private 12 year
Ethnicity: Asian
Gender: Female
Income Bracket: 100,000>
Hooks (Athlete; first generation college, etc.): None

Reflection

Strengths: My writing is pretty strong, and I dedicate myself wholeheartedly to all my activities
Weaknesses: My mid year report wasn’t great
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I showed a lot of demonstrated interest, and my Northwestern supplement had a lot of care in it
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Waitlisted at UChicago, 1693 Scholar finalist at William and Mary

General Comments: I wish everyone could have been admitted! I was really shocked to see that I was, and I know everyone truly deserves it. The fact that the regular acceptance rate was so low is crazy, and I know you will all go wonderful places. You are not determined by the schools you do and don’t get into.

11

Decision: Accepted

Objective:[ list]
[] SAT I (breakdown): 2040 (750 CR, 670M, 620W)
[] ACT (breakdown): 34 (34E , 33M, 34R, 35 S, 8 writing)
[] SAT II: 690 Chemistry, 670 Math II
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.89-3.91 (Not sure but rough estimate)
[] Weighted GPA: 4.6
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 6/~290
[] AP (place score in parentheses): WH 5, APUSH 4, ENGLANG 5, CHEM 4, Phys I 3
[] IB (place score in parentheses): N/A
[] Senior Year Course Load: Biology AP, Physics C AP, English Lit AP, Spanish AP, Calc BC AP, Micro-macro econ AP
[] Number of other RD applicants in your school: Around 20
[] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): None really, State Scholar, Ap with distinction
[/list] Subjective:[ list]
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Theater Technicians for 4 years, Science Olympiad, Forensics, History forum, Enrollment program (don’t want to name for security reasons)
[] Job/Work Experience: Nothing relevant
[] Volunteer/Community service:[/list]
Worked with my Church 9-11 grade on various volunteer projects. Can’t really rate it. Along with in school volunteering at soup kitchens.
[] Other:[/list][ *] Teacher Recommendation #1: Probably good, but cannot say for sure.
[] Teacher Recommendation #2: Probably good, but cannot say for sure
[] Counselor Rec: See above two comments
[ *] Interview: Went well, was a hectic day in the university so got a 20 min interview with a student.
[] Date Submitted App: August 31st.
[] State (if domestic applicant): IL
[] Country (if international applicant): N/A
[] School Type: Private
[] Ethnicity: Black
[] Gender: Male
[] Income Bracket: 200,000k when applying but a good deal less now
[] Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.):[/list] Reflection[ list]
[] Strengths: AP and general rigor, ACT.
[] Weaknesses: C+ in Alg II, low SAT subject tests, low SAT.
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: No real reason
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc::

I’m not about to tell you that I got in because my essays showed my “True self” and I really love the school. Because likely they don’t. The entire process is truly a roll of the die (as I am in the habit of saying on here). Why, just 24 hours ago, I sat in the position of a waitlist from the neighboring school University of Chicago, yet Northwestern believed me to be a potential student despite having +34,000 people to choose from. Most of my friends were rejected, some of similar or exceeding calibar as I. So, the only real advice I might give is to be done early, as I was not worried about the physical portion of applying to colleges after a point so much as general waiting. Best of luck to all accepted, rejected, waitlisted, or future generations.

12

Decision: Rejected

Applied to which school/college: Arts and Sciences

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2210 (710 M 720 R 780 W)
ACT: never took
SAT II: 720 Math II 690 US History
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.85
Weighted GPA: 4.15
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 40/240
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5 US History 5 English Lang
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: AP Physics AP Spanish AP Calc AB AP Spanish AP Gov, Journalism
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Jazz Band, newspaper, political action and awareness club
Job/Work Experience: nothing really
Volunteer/Community service: Tutoring, drug and alcohol awareness organization
Summer Activities: nothing really
Essays (rating 1-10, details): 7 or 8 maybe, common app essay was solid but I don’t think my supplement was very good
LOR’s: probably pretty solid

Other

State (if domestic applicant): California
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Public
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 40-60k
Hooks (Athlete; first generation college, etc.): Nothing really, I’m pretty boring

Reflection

Strengths: Test scores maybe, Essays and recs were k
Weaknesses: Class rank and extracurriculars
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Low class rank, weak EC’s
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted at Cal Poly SLO, UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz. Waiting on a whole bunch more.

General Comments:
Expected disappointment, grats if you got in.

13

Decision: Rejected

Applied to which school/college
McCormick

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown):nope
ACT:33
SAT II:nope
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.87
Weighted GPA: 4.6
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): 4/300
AP (place score in parenthesis): APUSH (3) APGov(3) AP Calc, AP Lit, AP Stats
IB (place score in parenthesis):
Senior Year Course Load: Honors WW2, Journalism, Honors Anatomy, AP Lit, AP stats, AP Calc, Honors Botany
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.):nope

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Varsity Football (10-12)
Varsity Track (11-12), School Newspaper (editor)
Job/Work Experience:nope
Volunteer/Community service:nope
Summer Activities: Football
Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common app essay was risky but I showed my true self (8~9/10). I put absolutely no research into my Why NU supplement but I tried to make it somewhat unique but it probably came off as shallow (6~7/10 )

Other

State (if domestic applicant): Ohio
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Crappy inner-city public
Ethnicity: Hispanic/white
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <30,000
Hooks (Athlete; first generation college, etc.): URM, First-gen

Reflection

Strengths: CA essay, hooks
Weaknesses: ECs, ECs, ECs
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I honestly think it is because of my NU supplement. Also the stupid low admit rate.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted: Ohio State, UCSD
Rejected: Purdue lol

General Comments: I really love this school but for some reason I felt I had a good shot of being accepted so I didn’t spend much time on my app. I also wish I would have applied ED where the acceptance rate was like 6x higher or something ridiculous. This one really stings though, but I still have hope.

14

Decision: Rejected

College of Arts and Sciences

Objective:
[] SAT I (breakdown): 790 Reading 780 Math 780 Writing
[] ACT: 34
[] SAT II: 800 Math II 800 Bio M 760 US History
[] Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.98
[] Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): Salutatorian
[] AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Euro, AP Stat, AP Language, AP Calc BC, AP US, AP Psych, AP Bio All 5s
[] IB (place score in parenthesis):
[] Senior Year Course Load: 6 APs
[li] Major Awards (USAMO, Intel, etc.): Math Fairs, AP Scholar, National Merit Scholar finalist[/li][/list]

Subjective:
[] Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): FBLA (vp), Finance Club(vp), Student Body(President), Active in Church group
[] Job/Work Experience: My mom’s health clinic
[] Volunteer/Community service: Two hospitals, teach at my Church, volunteer for Church
[] Summer Activities: Studied language overseas, volunteer work
[] Essays: Common App (7/10), I wasn’t sure what to write about, looking back, the topic seems boring Princeton Supplement (9/10), wrote about my heritage, poured my soul into that essay
[] Teacher Recommendations: 10/10 each, teachers that I had multiple years, they practically volunteered to write my essay
[] Counselor Rec: 6/10, seems like a nice guy, but I never talked to him too much, our school was big
[] Additional Rec:
[li] Interview: no interview[/li][/list]

Other
[] Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
[] Intended Major: Bio
[] State (if domestic applicant): NY
[] Country (if international applicant):
[] School Type:Public
[] Ethnicity (Hispanic Y/N/not reported):
[] Race(s) (AI/AN, Asian, AA, NH/PI, White, not reported): Asian
[] Gender: M
[] Income Bracket: 100,000 +
[] Hooks/tips (URM, athlete, legacy, 1st gen, etc.):
[/list]

Reflection
[] Strengths: Academics, scores, recommendations
[] Weaknesses: ECs, essays
[] Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: ?
[] Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected:
[li] Where else are you applying for RD: U Penn, Princeton, Brown, local schools[/li][/list]

General Comments:
Northwestern was one of my safer choices. At this point, I’m ready to go to a state school

15

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2180: 670 reading 770 math 740 writing
ACT:none
SAT II: 680 bio, 780 math II
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): ~3.65
weighted GPA: 4.15 maybe?
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): school doesnt do either
AP (place score in parenthesis): AP Gov (4), AP World (4) AP Bio (4) AP Lang (5)
IB (place score in parenthesis): none
Senior Year Course Load: AP Music theory, AP Calc AB, AP Stat, orchestra, physics, lit
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Scholastics, national merit, ap scholar

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Beta (VP), NEHS (Secretary), tutoring club (Pres), fundraising club (pres)- sorry for vagueness- don’t want to give away my identity. NHS member, lots of violin- GHP, ASYO, allstate, GMTA winner, etc. etc., art: nationally placed at beta and scholastics
Job/Work Experience: none
Volunteer/Community service: maybe 500 ish hours?
Summer Activities: none
Essays (rating 1-10, details): why nu- omg literally crap. took me 30 minutes. 3.
common app- pretty good. about my intended major. 8.5?
personal statement- messed up, wrote a full blown essay. Apparently was not supposed to do that, so I probs looked like a try hard. 8.

Other

State (if domestic applicant): GA
Country (if international applicant):USA
School Type: public
Ethnicity: asian
Gender:f
Income Bracket: less than 200,000
Hooks (Athlete; first generation college, etc.): none

Reflection

Strengths: extracurriculars, some essays, some recs.
Weaknesses: all things related to gpa and test scores, some of my recs probably were horrible. My why northwestern essay honestly sucked.
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: I showed a lot of interest. always emailing and calling. very close with the professors. Admissions officers knew me very well… since I couldn’t stop calling.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: accepted UGA and Vanderbilt
rejected: none waitlisted: none deferred: none

General Comments: I honestly think I got in because I was proactive throughout this process and talked to the admissions officers (regional and central) frequently. Based off of everything else I am pretty sure I would not have gotten in. My phone bill paid a hefty price.
Also- in case this will alleviate some stress when it comes to academics: got a C sophomore year, 2 Bs freshman year, 5 B’s sophomore year, 5 B’s junior year, 2 B’s on mid year report senior year. Academics most definitely are important, but so are extracurriculars, essays, etc.

16

Decision: Waitlisted (Weinberg)

Objective:

SAT I (breakdown): 2260, 2300 single sitting, 2340 superscored
ACT (breakdown): 36 (36E, 35M, 35R, 36S), writing 11/12 all sections (so 31 on new scale)
SAT II: 800 on Math II, 760 World History and Physics
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8, weighted 4.55
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): n/a, assuming top 2%
AP (place score in parenthesis): 5s on Calc BC, Gov, Human Geo, World History, Macro, Micro, Stat, Physics C Mechanics, Lang, Span Lang, US History, 4 on Chem, 3 on Physics C E&M
Senior Year Course Load: Discrete math (class after lin alg/diffyq), AP Biology, AP Spanish Lit, AP Lit, required classes for graduation
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): none
Minor Awards: National Merit Semifinalist, National AP Scholar, Silver in National Spanish Exam, regional math awards, state stock market awards

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis):

(Internet gaming businesses): pulling in roughly 100k annual revenue, 40k profit
Model UN (Officer position): presided over several conferences, won the standard best/outstanding/honorable mention delegate awards
FBLA: Won #1 in state for computer-related competition, several #1 in district for math/calculations

Volunteer/Community service: School tutoring for roughly 50h, not much else

Summer Activities: Internship at university research institute - no paper, just software development. Lots of business activities.

Essays (rating 1-10, details):

Common App - 8/10, about major leg injury
Why Northwestern - 7/10, did quite a bit of research

Recommendations (rating 1-10, details):

US History - 10/10
Chem - 7/10 (B in class, Naviance wouldn’t let me reassign teachers)
Counselor - 9/10
Employer/business partner - 10/10, probably gave lots of good examples

Interview: Lasted for 30 minutes, went okay.

Other:

Applied for Financial Aid?: Yes
Intended Major: CS (Weinberg)
State (if domestic applicant): CO
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Large public
Ethnicity: Chinese
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: <100k
Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): N/A

Reflection

Strengths: Business extracurriculars (everything except revenue figures are easily confirmed on the internet)
Weaknesses: Mediocre science/math grades from sophomore year (Bs + 1C), average in-school ECs, lack of volunteer work
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Average science teacher rec + weaknesses
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Gatech

17

Decision: Rejected

Applied to which school/college: College of Arts & Sciences

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2170 (760 CR, 680 M, 730 W)
ACT: N/A
SAT II: 700 USH, 650 Lit, 610 M1 (youch, awful)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.8ish
UF GPA: Huh
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): School doesn’t rank but theoretically ~15%
AP (place score in parenthesis): 4 USH, 4 English Lang
IB (place score in parenthesis): N/A
Senior Year Course Load: Three APs
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): NHD National Winner

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): Cross country, writing-oriented things… I have a blog that has 200k views and 100 published posts. I write about sports. I have lots of ECs but not listing.
Job/Work Experience: A little bit (staying brief here)
Volunteer/Community service: A lot. All Christian-y programs though I’m not Christian myself.
Essays (rating 1-10, details): Why NU? (8? It was good but wouldn’t have “wowed” someone from what I remember. Common App (8, it improved but NU was the first college I applied to. By time I finished it was 9 or 10)

Other

State (if domestic applicant): Northeast
Country (if international applicant):
School Type: Private
Ethnicity: White
Gender: M
Income Bracket: ~60k
Hooks (Athlete; first generation college, etc.): First-gen

Reflection

Strengths: Winning NHD, Extracurriculars, Essays though not Shakespearean I thought were insightful to me.
Weaknesses: SAT a tad low, GPA/Rank low, Subject Tests were gross
Why you think you were accepted/deferred/rejected: Scores.
Where else were you accepted/deferred/rejected: Accepted UMichigan, waiting to hear from 8 more schools

18

Decision: Accepted

Objective:
—SAT I (breakdown): 2210 (680CR, 800M, 730W)
—SAT II: 630 Biology, 710 Math II
—AP: Didn’t send
—Unweighted GPA: 3.89
—Weighted GPA: 4.08
—Rank: 8/104
—Senior Year Course Load: AP Biology, AP Calculus, AP Comparative Gov’t and Politics, AP Language, Adv. Spanish Ethics & Morality, Italian IV
—Number of other RD applicants in your school: None
—Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Some local standardized test awards, National Hispanic Scholar, National Merit Scholarship Finalist

Subjective:
—Extracurriculars (place leadership in parentheses): Math Club (President 12, VP 11, Treasurer 10), Model UN (since 7th grade), National Honor Society (since 10th), Science Club (since 9th), Jr. Society for Hispanic Professional Engineers (12th), Journalism Club (9th and 10th), Class Representative in Student Council (10th and 12th)
—Job/Work Experience: None lol
—Volunteer/Community service: In addition to the school requirements of 30 hours before graduation, weekly tutoring sessions to middle school students since 10th grade, plus I volunteered to go on a school missionary trip to Nicaragua last summer
—Essays: I think I did 7.5-9 in all my essays. I had them checked by as many people as possible to make them the best I could

Other:
—Teacher Recommendations: Pretty sure they were damn good. Both of my recommenders know me really well and write amazing things about their students
—Counselor Rec: She knows a few things about me, but enough to write something nice
—Interview: Didn’t have
—Date Submitted App: January 1st, like an hour before the deadline
—Country: Puerto Rico
—School Type: Private/Catholic
—Ethnicity: White latino
—Gender: Male
—Income Bracket: 200,000
—Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Is Puerto Rican a hook?

Reflection
—Strengths: Definitely my written works, I worked on them for a long, long time. SAT was pretty good. Plus I’ve taken every AP and advanced course my school offers.
—Weaknesses: Didn’t really spend much time in community service besides the time required by the school; and I spent a lot of time getting into extracurriculars, but not actually being a leader in them.
—Why you think you were accepted: I’m guessing they liked my essays? I was waitlisted at UChicago so I thought I wasn’t gonna get in at all here
General Comments/Congratulations/Venting/Commiserations, etc: After all this waiting I’m really just glad I got in somewhere. I only applied to 4 (pretty competitive) universities and was worried I wouldn’t get into any of them. To those of you entering this whole process: 1) don’t leave it for the last minute; 2) the essays can make or break your application, trust me: spend as much time as possible on them; 3) enjoy the whole process while it lasts, in a few months this is over and you’ll be wondering where time went.

19

**Decision: Accepted Arts and Science **
Objective:
• SAT I (breakdown): 770 Cr 650 M 760 W. 2180
• SAT II: 770 Lit 700 Hist 700 Spanish
• ACT: 33 (29 science)
• Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.94 (4.35 W, 14 APs)
• Rank: Top 5%
• AP (place score in parenthesis): Hist (5), AP Lang (5), Gov (5), Econ (5/5), Lit (5), Bio (3)
• Senior Year Course Load: Dual Credit Lit, AP Euro, AP Stats, AP Comp Sci, AP Spanish.
• Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): National competition Finalist (not science)
Subjective:
• Extra-curriculars: (place leadership in parenthesis): Club President, Girl Scout Gold Award
• Job/Work Experience: Soccer Referee
• Volunteer/Community service: Teach classes to adults.
• Summer Activities: CC classes, girl scouts, referee, speech camps.
• Essays: Excellent
• Teacher Recommendation: Three very strong
• Counselor Rec: Decent
• Interview: Went well
Other
• State (if domestic applicant): Northwest
• School Type: Public
• Ethnicity: White
• Gender: Female
• Hooks (URM, first generation college, etc.): Legacy
Reflection
• Strengths: Writing, CA essay was really strong.
• Weaknesses: Science (not majoring in science)
• Why you think you were accepted/waitlisted/rejected:
• Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted State school Honors, Boston College Honors.

20

Decision: Rejected

Applied to which school/college: Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences (Economics)

Objective:
SAT I (breakdown): 2160 (720CR, 780M, 660W)
ACT: 35C
SAT II: 780 Math II, 730 German (lol)
Unweighted GPA (out of 4.0): 3.78
UF GPA: N/A
Rank (percentile if rank is unavailable): N/A
AP (place score in parenthesis): N/A
IB (place score in parenthesis): Predicted 44/45
Senior Year Course Load: Full IB Diploma. ToK + HL: Physics, CompSci, Economics SL: Math, German, English
Major Awards (USAMO, Intel etc.): Nothing major

Subjective:

Extracurriculars (place leadership in parenthesis): founded my own online business selling FIFA coins, captain of sponsored, semi-pro CS:GO team, varsity tennis and club soccer, completed with merit business plan competition at local finance-focused university

Job/Work Experience: IT support & marketing for mother’s local business. Internships at consulting and real-estate firms.

Volunteer/Community service: Involvement in school’s student life organization, no leadership

Summer Activities: 10th: Internship at local consulting firm. 11th: Internship at real-estate firm in Latin America

Essays (rating 1-10, details):
Common App: Wrote about being the captain of said semi-pro CS:GO team. I realize that the subject matter is taboo (and tbh this might be what turned them off), but I feel like I did a fairly good job of conveying leadership qualities and maturity. 8.5/10
Supplement: Dunno if I captured what Northwestern is really about. Wrote about Northwestern’s fluidity in colleges and how I’d be able to take classes at Weinberg, Kellogg and McCormick. Also wrote about some marketing bullshit on their website regarding an ‘international community’. First part 9/10, second part 6/10.

Interview: Thought it went fairly well, guy seemed to like me and I think I showed my enthusiasm for the school. Northwestern rates interviews on a 1-4 scale, and I believe it was a solid 2.

Other

State (if domestic applicant): N/A
Country (if international applicant): Germany
School Type: Private International
Ethnicity: White
Gender: Male
Income Bracket: 250k+
Hooks (Athlete; first generation college, etc.): First generation, citizen of severely underrepresented eastern european country, intl. not needing aid, speak 4 languages fluently

Reflection

Strengths: Tons of unique factors in application (ECs, hooks), ACT score, really sold myself as this international ambassador

Weaknesses: UW GPA, ECs might weird some people out with videogame-related stuff, barely no community service and no ‘traditional’ leadership positions as I did my own stuff instead of school clubs. No awards.

Why you think you were rejected: Think my GPA didn’t cut it and that they were weirded out by the subject matter of my ECs and essay, even though it was fairly well written. No awards. Also think I didn’t convey as much enthusiasm for the school as I initially thought I did.

Where else were you accepted/waitlisted/rejected: Accepted at UCSD and Fordham w/ Dean’s Scholarship. Waiting on BU, UCLA, Berkeley, NYU, Columbia, Princeton and Harvard.

General Comments: Wasn’t that hyped about the university but still a bummer. Mostly worried about what it means for the future, especially regarding Ivy decisions. Will probably end up at NYU as initially projected.

Regardless, congrats to everyone who got in!