PLEASE Chance me for Northwestern - I'd love you if you do!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northwestern University
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<p>I just completed the 11th grade and, of course, am looking at this point towards college. I'm in California, which means I have interest in many UCs, but I also am considering Northwestern University--since I want to pursue a career in mass communications/journalism while potentially minoring in marketing. Please chance me!</p>

<p>Class rank: Top 5% (out of 388 students)</p>

<p>Grades as of end of junior year (note: x/y means grade in fall semester/grade in spring semester):</p>

<p>Freshman year - 4.0 GPA</p>

<p>Sophomore year - classes taken: Media Production (A-/A-), Spanish 2 (A-/A-), Algebra 2 (A/A+), English II Honors (A-/A-), World History (A/A), AP Physics B (B-/B; 3 earned on AP Exam), P.E. (A/A+); overall GPA in sophomore year: 4.0 (weighted), 3.83 (unweighted)</p>

<p>Junior year - classes taken: AP US History (B-/B+; projecting 4 on AP Exam), Spanish 3 (A-/A-), English III Honors (B/A-), Journalism (A+/A+), Trig/Pre-Calc (A-/B+), Chemistry (A-/A-); overall GPA in junior year: 4.0 (weighed with AP class and English III Honors), 3.83 (weighted with AP class), 3.71 (unweighted)</p>

<p>Please note that all UCs give an extra point for English III Honors, just like AP classes.</p>

<p>Senior year - classes I will be taking and projected grades for first semester: AP Government (B), AP Spanish (A), AP English (A), Journalism (A+), Photo 1 (A).</p>

<p>Other scores:
-A in Statistics class taken over summer before senior year @ nearby community college
-SAT Score: 2220 (730 CR, 690 Math, 800 Writing)
-SAT IIs: 720 in US History, projected 700+ in Literature, projected 700+ in Math II</p>

<p>Other qualifications/awards/etc.:
-Won Sugihara Fellowship Award for ADL in 11th grade by being selected for writing an essay and winnings 2nd place; chosen from over 100 students around the nation who went on an ADL-sponsored National Youth Leadership Mission to Washington DC
-Have applied for a U.S. Patent
-Worked as a tutor at my school's Homework Center through all of junior year (twice a week), got paid about $500 over the year, plan to continue working at HW Center in senior year
-Co-Founder of Chess Club and Sports Appreciation Club
-Involved in Speech & Debate all 4 years of high school, but haven't occupied any leadership positions; earned Championship trophy at a major invitational in Freshman year</p>

<p>Please chance me based on my stats! My dream school would be Northwestern--would applying ED there help my chances? Also, please advise me if there are any "holes" that I should fill--i.e. get a job, do volunteering, etc. that would boost my chances.</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>First, focus on your unweighted GPA.<br>
With respect to your sophomore year, what is “P.E.”? If it’s Phys Ed, you should neither be listing it here nor including it in your GPA if you want to be taken seriously.
Second, focusing on your curriculum, your senior year looks a little soft. AP Spanish will be hard and AP English pretty challenging (in most schools), but AP Govt isn’t that hard and Journalism and Photo sound like easy courses meant to inflate your GPA. I don’t think the AdComm at NU (or any other top school) will be impressed, or think that you are taking the most challenging curriculum.
On the other hand, AP Physics is one of the hardest APs, and you took it as a sophomore, which I don’t understand but which certainly shows that you challenged yourself as a sophomore. (By the way, when did you take regular physics?) But that only begs the question that if you challenged yourself that much two years ago, why aren’t you taking a comparably challenging curriculum now? Also, why no calculus (preferably AP) as a senior?<br>
I would recommend that you rethink your senior year curriculum. I don’t think it will stack up favorably against the competition.
Your SATI scores are okay, not great, but certainly competitive. The 690 in math is just a little soft, and unfortunately I don’t think that the writing score will help much. The SATII in USH is good, but let’s not guess about the other scores. Obviously, if you’re right about breaking 700 on both it will depend how much you break it by.
I think your ECs are fine. I’d like to hear more about that patent, which stands out and is more unusual than the other ECs which, again, are fine but not remarkable.
Finally, if NU is your dream school, I would absolutely recommend applying ED. It could help; it won’t hurt; and if you’re not meant to get in then you’ll know by December, because they virtually never defer ED applicants. The only reason not to apply ED is if you were not happy with your transcript through junior year and felt strongly that the first semester senior year would bring it up substantially.
Good luck!</p>

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<p>One more thing, if you do well on the SATII Math II, NU is one school where that effectively helps “bring up” the sub-700 math score on the SATI.</p>

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<p>Thank you SO much for your comments. Let me try to address some of your comments/questions:</p>

<p>-P.E. is, indeed, Physical Education. We have a requirement at our school to take it for 2 years, so I did it in freshman and sophomore year. It doesn’t count for my academic GPA, but it’s included on my high school transcript anyway, so I thought I might mention it.
-I actually love Journalism–even though it is an easy class, I’m taking it because I have a huge interest in that field (I want to major in Comm), not to inflate my GPA.
-Photo, on the other hand, I am taking only because I have to satisfy a visual/performing art requirement…not because I want to or because I want to increase my GPA…but whatever.
-I didn’t take regular physics, just AP Physics…I think I did OK; got a 3 on the exam.
-You’re actually quite right about my senior year schedule. I think I’ll try to squeeze in Psychology by taking it at the local community college during the fall semester. I don’t really think I need Calc, though, because of the Stats class I took at community college this summer.
-I can’t talk too much yet about my patent, but I am quite proud of it and definitely want to highlight it in my application. One thing, though: how do I mention it? In the Common App, there’s a section for Honors (it says “academic distinctions or honors”) and one for extracurriculars…should I mention the patent in one of those…or put it in my essay…or both? I know it’s not exactly a common thing, but I’d like some advice about that.
-I thought about applying ED, but my GPA isn’t super-high right now and will definitely be boosted by my first semester of senior year…so I was thinking of just applying during the regular period so I could show them my first semester grades. Do you think ED would still be a better option, though?</p>

<p>Thanks so much for your advice…if you could answer some of my questions, that would be awesome :slight_smile: Thanks again!</p>

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<p>I think you should apply ED, but

  • I don’t think that stat will be regarded as any sort of substitute for calc. (By the way, the way AP Physics is taught at most schools, you need some calc - and certainly need to have finished precalc - so I can’t figure out how or why your school would let a sophomore without either take it.)
    -the 3 on the AP Physics exam is certainly creditable, and you should be proud of having accomplished that as a sophomore, but it won’t impress the NU adcom by any stretch of the imagination
    -AP Psych is viewed as being a pretty soft AP course too. I really think that you need another hard core AP in that senior schedule, especially if you are locked in on taking journalism and photo. As it is now, i don’t think that As in those courses would help your chances at all.
    You could submit something extra about your patent, just like someone who wrote or performed music might submit something extra. I think it will really stand out.</p>
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<p>Regarding sending in extra materials…this year when I applied to NU ED, I wanted to attach information about a research project/proposal into space settlement that I had worked on with a group. I ended up writing a one paragraph abstract or summary on what it is that we did. I then attached about 4 out of the 40 pages from our proposal. </p>

<p>They told me at the admissions session at NU that extra material is fine, as long as it doesn’t take more than 10-15 minutes to review. So attach some extra material, but keep it short and sweet. Good luck…</p>

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<p>Some comments…
-I took AP Physics B which, at my school, doesn’t require Calculus–only Algebra 2 and Trigonometry.
-I’ll try to add AP Calc AB to my schedule…but I’m definitely keeping Journalism and Photo :slight_smile:
-I’m actually going to visit Northwestern in a few weeks; at the information session there, I’ll definitely ask about my patent (privately) with the admissions counselor, as well as if I have a significantly higher chance applying ED.
-For anyone who’s gone to Northwestern–anything I MUST MAKE SURE to see/check out? And am I allowed to see the dorms during the summer?</p>

<p>Thanks for all your help!</p>

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<p>One question for you. Did you take the most rigorous curriculum available to you?
If the answer is yes, then I would say you have a shot at getting in.
If the answer is no, then I would say it is very unlikely.</p>

<p>Northwestern is as competitive as some IVY league schools. That being said, I think you know the types of applicants you will be up against.</p>

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<p>Yes, I read after I responded that AP Physics B uses pre-calc, while the two AP Physics C courses use calc (with AP Calc being the far preferable co-requisite, and BC being much more of a help than AB).</p>

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<p>How many students does your high school send to Northwestern and other top schools?</p>

<p>This is also a good indicator of your chances. My high school had about 18 students accepted to NU from a class of 500.</p>

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<p>@ Gaffe: My school (a public school in the San Francisco Bay Area) isn’t that prestigious, but certainly isn’t bad; our API rating (a state ranking of schools, ranging from 1-1000, is around 780–not extraordinary, but nothing to sneeze at either). We send, I’d say, 60-70% to community colleges. That said, last year, we sent around 7 or 8 students combined to UC Berkeley and UCLA, 2-3 to Ivy Leagues, and one to Stanford. I don’t think anyone got into Northwestern, although I’m not sure if many applied anyway.</p>

<p>@ IV: My curriculum is fairly competitive. I have done the highest courses I can do at my school in math (I’ve decided to add AP Calc to my senior year schedule), English (3 full years of honors, the highest at my school, and then next year I’m taking AP English), and history (APUSH and AP Gov next year). For science, I’ve got one year of AP (Physics) and 2 years of regular science–not really rigorous, but better than basic classes, I guess.</p>

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<p>The math score is fine for Medill. I don’t think the OP needs to retake. Most of the high math scores come from the engineering/arts&sci applicants.</p>

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<p>Looks like you will most likely be competitive.</p>