Applying to and have visited Northwestern, Notre Dame, and Purdue. I am a caucasian male from Indiana, with an upper middle class background. I am leaning towards going pre-med and majoring in biochemistry for my undergrad.
GPA:
4.4 (weighted)
4.0 (unweighted)
Class Rank: 6/580 at competitive public high school
SAT R: 800 M: 780 W: 710
SAT II Math Level 2: 800, will take Chemistry in June (taking AP Chemistry now)
AP Scores (do colleges even consider AP Exam scores for admission?):
AP Stats- 5
Current Schedule:
AP English Lang
AP Calculus AB
AP Chemistry
AP US History
Dual-Credit Marketing
Anatomy and Physiology
Advanced Athletic Development
Senior Year Schedule:
AP Biology
AP Calculus BC
AP Government/ AP Macroeconomics
AP Psychology
AP English Literature
AP Physics
Biomedical Innovations
ECs:
Club Soccer Team Captain (Team won State Championship)
High School Soccer 3-year Varsity Player, 2-year starter
Key Club Elected Officer and organized events with UNICEF
Student Government Representative
Many hours of service
History Club Member
NHS Officer
Karate National Champion and Junior Olympian
Karate Junior Instructor
DECA International Competitor
Peer Tutor
Volunteer at Chemical Lab
Volunteer at Hospital
What are my chances for admission into the schools to which I am applying? All honest opinions and pieces of advice are much appreciated.
I’d be surprised of you weren’t accepted at Purdue. Notre Dame shouldn’t be too much of a struggle. Northwestern is a little trickier, but you’re certainly a credible applicant.
Not really. Northwestern’s a good school, very competitive. My younger son applied there. His objective measures weren’t much different than yours. Notre Dame? No problem. Northwestern? Didn’t make it in. But he’s at Harvard, so go figure. A quick read of your thumbnail sketch suggests that you can aim high, and that you should get into some reach schools. But probably not all of them. I don’t think Purdue is at all a reach for you, and neither is Notre Dame. But Northwestern - I’ve seen several really top students rejected there. If you apply to enough reaches, you should garner quite a collection of rejections - and acceptances.
Going to agree with the masses here. Purdue is a match and honestly perhaps even a safety with your stats. Notre Dame is probably going to admit you. Northwestern is more of a crap shoot, but you do have the stats to get in there.
I think that admissions offices will look at any AP scores you report (and who will report poor ones?) just as a way of assessing curricular rigor at your school. If they see applicants receiving As in AP classes, and then only scoring 2 or 3 on the actual tests, they might question the actual teaching and whether they should weight the course when considering the application. In general, they only look at AP scores for placement once you’re admitted. Some colleges, like NYU, have “test-flexible” options, whereby you can submit AP scores in lieu of ACT or SAT scores. This shouldn’t be a concern for you. No college will question your ability to perform well academically.