<p>High school: Competitive high school in NY (they don’t rank)
GPA unweighted: 91.26/100 (to give you an idea, kids with 94’s and 95’s go to the Ivy league schools)
ACT: 32…breakdown: english 34 reading 35 math 28 science 30 essay 10
AP’s: AP US (5), AP English Lang (5), AP Euro, AP English Lit + 5 honors since freshman year</p>
<p>Extracurricular: a few leadership positions such as VP in tour guide club, president of peer leader groups for 9th graders, community service rep for grade soph year, jv tennis captain, varsity soccer for 4 years (captain alternate). Also in writing center and had a summer job as a cook at a snack bar.</p>
<p>Common app essay is pretty good and i haven’t written the supplement yet. Recs are also probably pretty good. </p>
<p>Also, my brother is a current sophomore (does this help?)</p>
<p>Undecided but definitely looking at some type of humanities major. I might even look at Medill.
I’m not sure if I love Northwestern but I don’t want to regret not ED’ing if I don’t get in regular. Should I ED? Would I even have a shot if I ED’ed?</p>
<p>Your ACT score isn’t low, but it isn’t high compared to those who apply. </p>
<p>When considering ED or not, I think you should think about financial aspects as well as if you really love the university or not. I love it here, but I wasn’t sure during my fall semester of senior year so I ended up applying regular.
Definitely visit the campus to see if you want to commit!</p>
<p>I won’t be needing financial aid so really it boils down to whether I love it or not. To me, the size is perfect, the pride/sports is perfect, the academics are great, the location and kids are also great. However, that is the school on paper. I visited the school at the beginning of the summer and didn’t fall in love with it at all. I like to think that this is because when I visited, I was kind of in a “small liberal arts college” funk where I was looking at schools like Kenyon, Bates, Wesleyan, etc. I later realized that I may want a bigger school with more social diversity. So, I’m in a position where on paper the school seems great but I don’t know if i LOVE it. Like i said before though, I don’t want to realize after the November deadline that I really do want to go here and should have ED’ed to get in. I understand that I’m not a shoe in, but do i have a chance RD with a sibling?</p>
<p>Never apply ED unless you love it. You don’t want to look back and wonder where else you might have gotten in and potentially struggle with it being a “fit”. There are plenty of wonderful schools out there and most people end up where they belong. It usually all works out.</p>
<p>You’ve got a month - go visit. NY to Chicago is a fast, easy, relatively cheap trip and you can stay with your brother so what are you waiting for?</p>
<p>Let’s start with the good news. You have great stats, and you should get into an excellent school!!!</p>
<p>Now – let’s take a deep breath and don’t panic.</p>
<p>You should apply to a school ED if it’s your number 1 choice and you’re positive you want to go there. If you’re not sure you love the school, or are not sure whether it’s your first choice you shouldn’t apply ED. Investigate a bunch of schools and decide which one is your top choice.</p>
<p>As I say, at the end of the day, you’re going to get into a great school, either ED or RD, so give yourself time to figure it out.</p>