Can Northwestern Be a Saftey for me??

brebeuff
Sun, 23 Aug 2009 20:37:07 +0000

It’s best not to be openly cocky about your chances on these forums. If, by chance, an admissions officer remembers your profile, they might be more reluctant to admit you when there are thousands of others with similar qualifications in line. I’m not saying the OP in particular is being cocky… this is just general advice. You guys have to remember that although NU admissions is more predictable than HYP, it has gotten to the point where a 34+ and top 10% will not guarantee you admission anymore (if it ever did) since there are so many with those stats these days. NU might rather give the spot to somebody for whom NU is a top choice but who has slightly lower but still highly competitive stats. Of course, adcoms might not know they’re your back-up, but they certainly will if you EXPLICITLY TELL them. That’s definitely not a good situation to be in if you still want to get in. But maybe you don’t really care, and if so, that could be good for somebody else for whom NU might be their best option. And honestly, if I were an admissions officer, I’d take the latter applicant since a couple of points on the ACT don’t really make a difference to me, especially if I have other high-scorers to pull up the average.