<p>Compared to schools from the Ivy League and schools like Stanford, MIT, UChicago, Duke, etc., what kind of student does Northwestern look for? How is that type of student different than one that would apply to the aforementioned schools? I am looking forward to an intriguing discussion.</p>
<p>I will be as well.</p>
<p>@yikesyikesyikes are you planning on applying to these schools? A lot of high-profile ones, especially if that is t
he extent of your list.</p>
<p>I just want to choose one for early decision.</p>
<p>Although this doesn’t directly answer your question, I thought that this would be helpful to mention: this year, Northwestern’s accepted ED students filled up ~45% of the class of 2018
(source: <a href=“Northwestern admits nearly 1,000 to class of 2018 during early decision period”>http://dailynorthwestern.com/2013/12/13/campus/northwestern-admits-nearly-1000-to-class-of-2018-during-early-decision-period/</a>)</p>
<p>In other words, your chances of getting accepted will obviously be substantially lower if you choose to apply regular to Northwestern. Some other top-tier colleges might not favor early decision applicants as much as Northwestern does, so take that fact into consideration as you make your decision. </p>
<p>On a side note, I’m actually not a completely new user on collegeconfidential…for some reason I can’t login to my old account. Oh well. </p>
<p>@catsmash -How are applications to Northwestern considered? Does it make any difference if you apply to the arts and sciences or engineering? What I am interested in doing is pretty interdisciplinary involving computer science and business, but I do not think there is an undergraduate business school at Northwestern.</p>
<p>Since the OP was asking about “what kind of student” NU looks for… I’ll give it a shot. There are more similarities than differences in what type of student all the top schools are looking for, speaking as the father of 2 NU students. </p>
<p>I really don’t think it’s a secret. The top schools all want students that are 4.0 or close to 4.0, and students that are also capable of more than just scholarship, so they are looking for applicants that might be the captain of the math and chess team - and also captain of the football, softball or lacrosse team. They want someone with 5s on their AP scores - and rec’s from teachers indicating that the applicant can also do more than just get good grades and scores. The top schools want an applicant that is capable of scoring well on standardized SAT / ACT testing - and someone that can give back to their community and their school.</p>
<p>The bottom line is that the top schools want the top performers. Caltech & MIT are going to attract more STEM kids than Harvard, and I am sure there is a regional bias, but other than that it’s hard to see a quantifiable, discernible difference among Duke, Stanford, NU and Ivy students. </p>
<p>I believe this site will address some of your concerns regarding the lack of an undergrad business school at Northwestern: <a href=“http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/certificate/”>http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/certificate/</a></p>
<p>Northwestern runs on a quarter system (unlike the majority of top-tier institutions), which makes it very easy to double major, add a minor, etc. As there is no “business major” at Northwestern, I think most students there major in economics if they want to go into a business career. As a side note, the economics department is probably the largest department at Northwestern–a lot of students major in economics. So, in your case, you would probably be double majoring in computer science and economics, which can be easily arranged due to the quarter system. In fact, Northwestern would probably be a pretty good fit for you because of this fact! :D</p>
<p>Also, it’s really easy to switch between majors while you’re at Northwestern, even if you’re switching from the college of arts and sciences to the engineering school. Northwestern’s flexible in that regard. With that being said, I would still apply to the school of engineering if I were you, as you seem to be very interested in computer science (and that interest would probably be better reflected in your essays). </p>
<p>I will list the profile of two of my children that got admitted to NU (only one enrolled) which I hope will give you an idea of “the kind of students NU look for”:
- Challenging academics in High school - IB and many AP courses
- Competitive Standardized test scores (> 2300 in SAT and > 34 in ACT) and high GPA
- Compelling essays (IMHO)
- Meaningful volunteer work that shows passion and leadership qualities
- Music (Band and Orchestra) with significant achievements</p>
<p>NU wants students who want to be at NU (and not Ivy rejects) which is why they take almost half of the incoming freshman class from Early Decision. </p>
<p>“NU wants students who want to be at NU (and not Ivy rejects) which is why they take almost half of the incoming freshman class from Early Decision.” - pretty much says it all. Why wouldn’t they want a top notch student who favors Northwestern as their #1 choice, not as a back up to an Ivy.</p>
<p>Pretty much all Northwestern RD arts sci/engineering applicants apply to Ivies, Stanford, etc. The ones that are a little different are those applying for the specialty schools (music, journalism, education, and theater) for which NU has less peers except maybe Yale for theater or Vanderbilt for education.</p>