On the right track?

Applying to College
1

<p>Hi, I'm new to CC! I'm just a junior but I've been interested in Northwestern since I visited it in eighth grade with my cousin. It's one of my top schools and I was wondering if you guys could give me your opinions on whether or not I'm on the right track to be a good candidate for admission. I want to major in biology, perhaps psychology. </p>

<p>Senior Year Schedule (next year)
AP Calculus BC, AP Macroeconomics, AP Government, AP English Lit, AP Psychology, AP Chemistry, Honors Design & Tech, Honors Spanish IV </p>

<p>Junior Year Schedule
AP US History, AP English Lang, Honors Chem, Honors Precalc/Trig, Honors Spanish III, Honors Engineering Design and Development</p>

<p>Sophomore Year Schedule
Honors Soph English, Honors Integrated Math II (included Alg 2 & AP Stats), Honors Digital Electronics, Honors Principles of Engineering, Honors Physics, Spanish II, Orientation to Health Occupations, PE, Health (last 3 classes one semester each)</p>

<p>Freshman Year Schedule
AP World History, Honors Freshman English, Honors Integrated Math I (included Alg 2 & Geometry), Honors Biology, Tech, Intro to Eng. Design, Spanish II, PE </p>

<p>Class rank: 24 out of 640
GPA: 4.54 (weighted), 3.71/4.0 (unweighted) </p>

<p>SAT I: 2210
690 (M)
730 (CR)
790 (W)</p>

<p>Still have to take the ACT. </p>

<p>General Extracurriculars
Mathletes (10,11)
Health Occupations Students of America (10, 11)
National Honors Society (11)
Class Council (11)
Modern Indian dance (9, 10)</p>

<p>Work/Volunteering
~80 hours of community service
Local library volunteer (9, 10, 11)
Job as a reading tutor/assistant (10, 11)
Relief Effort Club (9, 10, 11)
AVID program volunteer/tutor </p>

<p>Leadership
Treasurer of Relief Effort Club (elected at end of soph year)
National Youth Leadership Forum/Med Alumni (summer 2011)</p>

<p>AP Test Scores
AP World History - 5
AP Statistics - 4</p>

<p>Awards
High Honor Roll (4.0+)
3rd place at a regional invitational math contest
Also maybe getting AP Scholar and National Merit Commended Scholar, etc. after junior year is over. </p>

<p>In terms of recommendations for next year, I have some teachers in mind (my AP Lang and Honors Precalc teachers this year) </p>

<p>*Also please let me know what universities you think I could potentially get into when I apply next year.</p>

2

<p>I would really appreciate any input! :)</p>

3

<p>Bump!
Sorry guys I just really want to make sure my schedule and activities are on par… :slight_smile:
Don’t want to wait till senior year and realize it’s too late to change anything about my stats.</p>

4

<p>Check the common data set for Northwestern and see how you compare to the admitted students. You look like a very competitive applicant but it’s a highly selective school which means kids with top grades, test scores and activities still might not get in so rather than obsessing about it, spend your time finding similar schools and safeties that you’d be happy at. If you can articulate the criteria attracts you to Northwestern (size, location, culture?), then we can suggest comparable schools. You may want to visit some of them over spring break.</p>

<p>What else can you be doing over winter break? Having a serious talk with your folks about how much they can afford to pay and how much financial aid you will need. It makes no sense to fixate on a school that you can’t afford to attend. Remember too that in ECs, it’s quality not quantity - you don’t need 10 superficial activities that you do for a few hours each week. Do them only if you really enjoy them. 2 or 3 ECs that you are really committed to in a substantive way is not just sufficient, but even preferable as your courseload gets more demanding.</p>

5

<p>Hello, thank you for the feedback, especially regarding the safety schools and other comparative universities. :slight_smile:
What I like about Northwestern is the location (close to an urban area), the stellar academics there (rather than being reputed as a party school), the campus feel, and being really good for research. If you could suggest some potential safeties or other similar universities I would really appreciate it.</p>

6

<p>There are many of the same caliber as Northwestern: Rice, U of Chicago, Wash U, Emory, Tufts, Georgetown, Columbia, etc…And there are many more that are comparable but somewhat less selective. Google ‘top undergraduate programs in x’ (whatever subjects you care about), and check the list that comes up.</p>