Can Northwestern Be a Saftey for me??

Sam_Lee
Mon, 17 Aug 2009 17:07:53 +0000

GG,
Your school apparently has done an excepotional job on Northwestern. That 50/50 for those above UW 3.7 GPA is likely not representative, as shown by the stats from the following schools:

http://tcci.naviance.com/malvernprep password: friars
http://tcci.naviance.com/wilton password: wiltoncths
http://tcci.naviance.com/fc/signin.php?hsid=mullen password: mustangs
http://tcci.naviance.com/fc/signin.php?hsid=bcc password: barons

Although you claimed your school might not be representative, you took the position as if it is. You didn’t give any margin/allowance of safety in your analysis. So there’s a bit of an inconsistency in your part.

“safety” is just a label. Basically, people here are divided over whether safety means 95% chance or 80% chance. But in people’s heads, is there really a material difference between those two probabilities? On the other hand, the risk takers would find 80% pretty comforting while the risk-aversed would find 95% not safe enough. At the end of the day, both say that a slight chance of rejection is part of the equation. The only material difference I see would be whether Northwestern is “bird in your hand” and whether a rejection would be an “extrodinary event”. I don’t think Northwestern fits that description.