<p>Go to a pretty good public high school, have taken the most challenging curriculum, no weighting on the grading</p>
<p>GPA 4.0 (UW)</p>
<p>Class Rank: 1 of 524</p>
<p>SAT
760 CR 780 M 760 W</p>
<p>SAT II
Math II 800
Spanish 800</p>
<p>National Merit Semifinalist (Will most likely advance to finalist with 4.0 and 2300 SAT)</p>
<p>AP
Spanish 5
Calculus AB 5
Calculus BC 5</p>
<p>I am really interested in mathematics and am/have taken advanced honors calculus classes at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I also took a genetics class at UW-Madison last fall. (I took an honors calc II in the spring). I am currently enrolled in the honors multivariable calc and a statistics class. I have received all A's in my UW courses.</p>
<p>I expect to get a great rec. from my math professor, I got 100% , 96%, 97%, 98% on his exams.</p>
<p>I am the captain of a very competitive club soccer team that travels out of state most weekends in the spring. I also play the violin and am an avid sailor/windsurfer.</p>
<p>Did a summer research internship this summer at an engineering lab (am submitting my abstract).</p>
<p>uhhhh this thread is the biggest waste of matter. of course you'll get in (unless you like murdered somebody or are a registered sexual offender or something)</p>
<p>i dont know what northwestern's scholarship policy is, but if they give them out you will probably get one.</p>
<p>I don't know why posters always think seemingly highly qualified candidates will automatically get in. If one looks at the admission stats for the class of 2009 (a class which was easier to get in than the current class) we see nothing is for certain:</p>
<p>Valedictorian: Accepted:51.2% Applied:939, Admitted:481, Enrolled:116
SAT CR:750-800, Accepted:49.7%, Applied:2543, Admitted:1265, Enrolled:345
SAT M:750-800, Accepted:45.2%, Applied:3257, Admitted:1472, Enrolled:443</p>
<p>The OP's 1540 SAT is equivalent to a 34 ACT (College Boards conversion of 1510-1560 is 34 ACT)
ACT:33-34, Accepted:49.7%, Applied:744, Admitted:370, Enrolled:144</p>
<p>I admit the entire package of the OP looks good but I think realistically it is probably around 75% chance of being accepted (ex. perfect ACT's at NU have a 71% chance of being accepted). Be awarded that National Merit scholarship and then the OP will have a very good chance of being accepted.</p>
<p>Might be some concern as to why you are applying RD instead of ED, especially in light of your strong interest in sailing. Just looked at your prior posts and read that you applied EA to the University of Chicago, so I think that I answered my own question. As a highly qualified RD applicant, you will have well above the average 27% chance of admission; it will probably depend upon your "why Northwestern?" essay.</p>
<p>yeah, I visited northwestern and liked it a lot so I applied. I think my Why Northwestern? Essay is pretty good, it talks specifically about the special programs that northwestern offer like MENU and ISC for students that are especially academically motivated. </p>
<p>If I get in to both UChicago and Northwestern I am not sure where I would go. Chicago seems to be a great school in terms of academics but that seems to be the only thing people do there. I am very academically motivated but I enjoy things outside of academics as well. Northwestern seems to be more well rounded, (i feel that Chicago's academics may be slightly better in the hard sciences and econ).</p>
<p>To answer icy, i didn't apply ED because I don't want to make a binding commitment anywhere, I want to keep my options open.</p>
<p>Academics is a very big part of what we do here (by "we" I mean University of Chicago students), but it certainly isn't the only thing we do. Chicagoans have lots of fun with theater, intramural sports, volunteering, playing in a punk band, making movies, you name it.</p>
<p>I have heard different things about UChicago. Some people (those less academically inclined) tend to say that it is too focused on academics. But I know several people who go/went there and say that they had a great experience as undergraduates.</p>
<p>p.s. For those who don't know the university (i would like to think I have a semi-decent idea of what it is) the "where fun comes to die" slogan doesn't help</p>
<p>Well my bias is clear, so take this accordingly. My daughter is at NU and loves it, and that's where I thought she should be. No interest in U of C, even though I think it is superb on a purely academic level. NU just offers a more well-rounded, social experience; lower concentration of eggheads; more spirit.
FWIW, a friend whose son is at Chicago concurs with the well-known descripton quoted in your "p.s.", and another friend who got his masters and PhD there, and taught there before two other even higher-ranked schools, compared the two schools by telling me essentially the same thing. He told me not to consider sending my daughter to Chicago because of how much happier she'd be at NU.</p>
<p>A lot of people I've talked to claimed UChicago truly was "where fun comes to die." I didn't like it when I visited... Their core requirements drove me insane.</p>
<p>Other than MENU and ISP, check out MMSS also. By the way, while Chicago is ranked higher in physics and math, NU is ranked higher in chemistry as far as hard sciences go.</p>
<p>1) A slogan that we think of rather affectionately
2) On a t-shirt and sweatshirt that Tufts House sells to lots of buyers for exorbitant prices.
3) Is only as true as you want it to be.</p>
<p>On one hand, I'm inclined to say that you know you're a good candidate for the U of C when you think the slogan is funny and you know you're not when your heart rate spikes, but on the other hand, college, any college, is exactly what you make of it, and there are so many opportunities to have fun in academic and non-academic ways here. I hope high school students don't ignore that. Thinking of Chicago as WFCTD is the same as calling Dartmouth "fratty," Williams "jocky," Middlebury "preppy," etc. etc. etc. etc. If you want to find people who adhere to your stereotype, you can, but you'll find plenty who don't.</p>
<p>By the way, as Sam Lee points out (and if anyone is interested in chemistry), I have heard that, practically speaking, NU's chem dept is second to none in terms of distinguished, excellent faculty</p>
<p>Stats are for the class of 2009. Obviously harder to get in now. OP stats probably better than the average candidate with perfect ACT's. Thats why I guessed ~75%.</p>