<p>many CCers have told me to make sure i "show interest" to my #1 choice, northeastern, because many people have pegged it as a "match" or "safety" school for me.. They said that NEU might reject me because they think i am applying just for a "safety." </p>
<p>How do i avoid this?!</p>
<p>I am visiting the school next week from Cali, but is there anything else i can do to "show interest"?</p>
<p>Thanks so much!!</p>
<p>If they track interest, then visiting will definitely help. Also you can request information from them, find out who your regional admissions rep is and get in contact to them, attend open houses in your city, etc. </p>
<p>Another thing you can do is to tell your guidance counselor that it is your first choice. They can convey that to the admissions officer of Northeastern, and that will probably be taken into account. </p>
<p>I feel like many people throw around the fear of "___ syndrome" because they think they will be rejected for being too qualified, but in reality it seldom happens. Most likely people are rejected from their safety/match because they didn't put much effort into their application and it showed, or the guidance counselor told them to give the spot to someone else who was much more likely to go.</p>
<p>Make sure that the admissions committee knows it's your number-one school. If possible, tailor essays to demonstrate how well you would fit into the community. Take advantage of any supplements they might have (I'm not sure about Northeastern). Ask your GC to emphasize that it's your top choice if the school ever calls or anything.</p>
<p>yeah, it's basically your essays. spend time with it. more than with the other colleges you're applying to</p>
<p>Be sure to apply EA. Also, your geographhic location might be an important factor for Northeastern since they have been trying to increase national recognition over the past few years. The fact that you are traveling from Calif says a lot about interest. </p>
<p>I agree with the others re essays and recommendations; the point is you want to market yourself in a way that shows this school is a great fit for you as well as someone who will ultimately choose to attend NEU over other schools if accepted. For instance, since their educational mission is experiential education, how can you convey that this type of educational style is something you are really interested in or will benefit from? </p>
<p>S is beginning his 3rd yr at NEU. I don't think he wrote a "why NEU" type essay BUT his GC and physics teacher both emphasized his "hands on" learning style in their recommendations; he also had the geographic factor (from the upper midwest) going for him as well. But he did not apply EA or visit until accepted - although I would still recommend EA if the school is your top choice (S did not apply EA but at the time it was not S's top choice, he actually had not been looking that far away or at many highly selective schools - which I suspect the school was also aware of if they saw the other schools he applied to; this is one way NEU might determine if it is a safety or not).</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>