<p>pkmontag, what are you looking to major in? What size school do you want? I consider Northwestern to be medium-large, for example (of course, most of the other schools I applied to were liberal arts colleges or universities with less than 5000 students, so other people might classify it differently). What part of the country do you want to be in (if you care)? I can give you better recommendations if I know these things. </p>
<p>As Fickle pointed out, be sure that Northwestern is your absolute first choice if you’re considering applying early decision. It’s a perfectly worthy first choice, but I do think that you have a shot at any college you want to go to.</p>
<p>However, Fickle, while I agree that he shouldn’t apply to Northwestern early decision just because he thinks he has a good chance of getting in that way, I’m not sure I agree with the sentiment behind your post. Perhaps I’m reading too much into things, but you seem to be trying to make sure that he doesn’t ‘settle’ for NU. You seem to assume that he must want to get into somewhere “more selective.”</p>
<p>Why? For bragging rights? Because you didn’t even reference the quality of the institutions, simply their acceptance rates. Northwestern is a top school by any standard. Take a look at this list, for example:</p>
<p><a href=“Education - Image - NYTimes.com”>Education - Image - NYTimes.com;
<p>Northwestern is hardly a bad or even mediocre place to be. I don’t believe anyone should apply to any college on the basis of selectivity. It just doesn’t make sense for anyone to go out of his/her way just so he/she can justify feeling like part of an elite/elitist club.</p>