<p>As it is, my high school is ranked #365 out of the #366 schools in my state. Conditions are **** poor. From what my guidance counselor has told me, I'm the first person to score above a 1800 in my school in the past 20 years (If you're wondering, I got a 2100. M 630, R 710, W 760). That being said, does it help my chances at all coming from such a school that is known for performing, well, bad. Or will it work against me? I'm real anxious to find out because Northwestern happens to be more or less my dream school and from what I've seen on this forum alone, my stats are beyond sub par compared to those who have been admitted in the past.</p>
<p>It’ll help your app, but acceptance would depend on many other elements too.</p>
<p>The fact that you overcame such a poor academic environment should help you, but like dyiu13 said, that is not the only factor. If your essays and extracurriculars were good you may have a shot! Good luck.</p>
<p>Like what? The only thing really holding me back are my SATs, especially that 630 in math considering most applicants score above 700 on math. Aside from that, my EC’s are solid and my essays - as far as I know - were good, especially the Why Northwestern. Talked about some pretty unique stuff. </p>
<p>By the way, how would NU know I come from a bad school if I haven’t mentioned it in my essays? As far as I know, my counselor hasn’t filled out any sort of optional report.</p>
<p>Hi SternBronco-the admission counselor for the territory that contains your school should be aware of the performance of your school–that is part of their job. I would tend to think that coming from an underperforming school might help you. (I don’t see where you don’t mention your grades. Am I correct in assuming they are good as well?) It might help you also with the 630 in math (which is a good score, BTW, but you are right, it is not terribly high for a school like NU)–as they might take into account that your preparation for the SAT would not have been the same as someone who comes from a competitive HS, where students are encouraged to prep, prep, prep!</p>
<p>Good luck to you wherever you land. You sound like you have a very bright future ahead of you!</p>
<p>I sure do hope my territory has an admission counselor, for my sake. As for prepping, you can forget about that. My school was more concerned with getting kids to pass the state issued standardized tests. It was like we were being prepped to graduate from middle school in high school. Social promotion at its finest.</p>
<p>I applaud the hard work you have done to achieve academically in a difficult environment. Admissions committees do, I believe, consider the rigor and quality of a high school when evaluating an applicant. I would advise taking the SAT again, as it is a standardized “equalizer” that will allow an admissions committee to evaluate all candidates on similar ground.</p>