He sounds like your niece and nephew in that he loves math and reading and politics. He really enjoys learning.
Taking advantage of the opportunities offered by elite universities such as Northwestern, Columbia, Chicago, Princeton, Stanford, etc. combined with hard work will yield a rewarding life in many respects. Yet, there will always be something missing, something sacrificed. But, that is what makes life worth living.
P.S. Some schools offer a degree in P, P, & E = Philosophy, Politics, & Economics. This may be of interest to your son. University of Pennsylvania offers this major.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_politics_and_economics
The wikipedia page does exist. It lists all universities around the world which offer a PP&E major.
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I tried to direct message you but couldnât figure out how to do so. Is there a way to message you?
Like @Publisher, Iâm not a nuts and bolts person with the specifics of the college process. I will say that at Northeastern (which I know is not Northwestern) that students have written the âWhy this collegeâ essay and then sent it to their admissions officer, even though it wasnât part of the official appplication. Those essays were accepted and appear to have had some favorable results as well.
So, if thereâs no option in the current prompts at Northwestern, then perhaps a supplementary essay sent directly to your sonâs admissions counselor might work?
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There are two problems with this approach.
One is that these essays are usually NOT as good as the writer thinks they are.
And two- adcomâs donât need to read more essays on âwhy your college is perfect for me and why I really really really want to attendâ. Any additions to what they ask for should be focused on ânew information about MEâ, NOT âold information about youâ.
Iâve had kids Iâve interviewed for Brown show up with a range of essays (neatly printed out and in a folder for my convenience). Iâve seen âNot as bad as it might have beenâ when a trite essay gets real right at the end, so thatâs a nice surprise. But most of them fall under the category of âplease donât send these to admissionsâ even though the kid already has.
If the application itself is inadequate to communicate what makes a kid special- then sure. A highly edited supplement (which is why performing arts supplements exist- you cannot communicate using words the type of artistry that a person has achieved). But an extraneous essay which extols a program the adcomâs are very familiar with, describes in baroque detail why âthis is a perfect fit for my needsâ, explains why the program is unique?
Mmmm⊠not sure this is the right strategy.
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Yale as well. It is basically their flagship program like Oxford.
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Mid Application Update. Things are going pretty well so far for S24.
He has gotten in rolling at:
Arizona - Auto merit scholarship
Alabama - I think free with Presidential Elite? (but must pay for housing years 2-4)
Pittsburgh - Nice merit scholarship but not enough to bring price to $11,000.
He has gotten in EA at:
Tulane - Very generous merit but waiting on financial aid
USC - Waiting on merit and financial aid
Macalester - Very generous merit and financial aid combo - almost to $11,000
Deferred:
MIT
UChicago
More applications still out and still waiting on most of above for all the finances to shake out with the delayed FAFSA and all. It looks like he could go for free to Alabama and he has no bad feelings about the school but really wants a big city so if we can get a big city school in our price range we are OK to pay for it.
Will update again when we hear more.
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Congratulations on all the acceptances so far! It looks like your sonâs going to have some good options to consider.
Appreciate the update, and hope theyâll continue!
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So between Alabama and Mac - which both come to budget(Bama does, Mac close) - how are you leaning?
And if SC or Tulane get close - where do they fit?
Great update - and most importantly - you do have at least one affordable (Bama) and one close - if youâre able to stretch (Mac) and potentially more to come when they provide further info.
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Itâs so all up in the air still. Fortunately he is not in love with any specific school and is very conscious of the finances. I am hoping he might get to visit a few places in April if he has a number of affordable choices. But that means affording an extra airplane flight!
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Great results so far!!
Whatâs the projected cost of housing at 'Bama in years 2-4? Thatâs room and board that you would have to pay, right? Or is there a meal plan grant? If itâs both, then it isnât that much less than your 11K mark, after the first year. Plus travel expenses. Nonetheless, a great option to have.
Mac is a wonderful urban school, albeit not as large as he wants.
Fingers crossed for the Tulane and USC aid packages! And for all the other decisions youâre still waiting on! 
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Thanks! He is happy with the results so far.
Since he had no hook to highlight, he just highlighted that he is a nice kid who loves to learn every subject and be involved in lots of different things. It seems like that is being well received.
No there is no meal plan grant in that Alabama scholarship, so youâre right, the costs might be similar.
And yes keeping fingers crossed we get some good financial aid offers.
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Thanks! He is happy with the results so far.
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A student with a 4.0+ GPA and 36 ACT OR 1600 SAT will be selected as a Presidential Elite Scholar and will receive:
- Value of tuition for up to four years or eight semesters for degree-seeking undergraduate and graduate or law studies
- First year of on-campus housing at regular room rate (based on assignment by Housing and Residential Communities)
- $1,000 per year supplemental scholarship for four years
- $2,000 one-time allowance for use in summer research or international study (after completing one year of study at UA)
- $500 per year Supe Store book scholarship for four years
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Thanks everyone for all the help and suggestions.
S24 ended up applying to a lot of schools because he was targeting the medium / large urban schools where he would get an auto merit scholarship or could apply for a full merit scholarship, or schools that are known for being very generous with aid.
We are happy there are numerous affordable options. He has no idea where he wants to go and is open to all the options. I think they would all be fine because he still doesnât know what he wants to study. We canât really afford to do many admitted student days (if any) so Iâm not sure how he will decide.
Likely
Alabama - ADMITTED (AFFORDABLE) (Presidential Elite Scholarship)
Arizona - ADMITTED (NOT AFFORDABLE) (auto merit scholarship)
Pitt - ADMITTED (NOT AFFORDABLE) ($20,000 merit scholarship)
McGill - ADMITTED (NOT AFFORDABLE) (did not apply for scholarships because already had affordable offers when admission came)
Target
Macalester ($30,000 merit + financial aid) - ADMITTED (AFFORDABLE)
Reach
Boston College - ADMITTED (NOT AFFORDABLE)
Boston University - WAITLIST
Northeastern - WAITLIST
NYU - ADMITTED (NOT AFFORDABLE)
Tufts - REJECTED
Tulane - ADMITTED (AFFORDABLE) - (full tuition merit scholarship)
UC San Diego (financial aid unknown because of FAFSA delays)
Wash U - ADMITTED (AFFORDABLE) - (BEST PRICE!!)
Super Reach
Brown - ADMITTED (AFFORDABLE)
Columbia - WAITLIST
Harvard - REJECTED
MIT - EA Deferred - REJECTED
Northwestern - ADMITTED (AFFORDABLE)
Penn - ADMITTED (AFFORDABLE)
U Chicago - EA Deferred - REJECTED
UC Berkeley - ADMITTED (financial aid unknown because of FAFSA delays)
UCLA - ADMITTED (financial aid unknown because of FAFSA delays)
USC - ADMITTED (financial aid unknown because of FAFSA delays)
Vanderbilt - WAITLIST
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Congratulations 
!
So, WashU, Brown, Northwestern, Penn - embarassment of riches
(And potentially more if the FAFSA mess is resolved quickly, unless youâve already eliminated these 3 options.)
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Yes we are incredibly grateful. Although he is not crazed for prestige and actually would have chosen Boston University above all else if he would have been admitted and gotten a merit scholarship.
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And Tulane! That is a lot of great options! Congrats!
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Congratulations! I would recommend your student download all of the âgeneral announcements â from his top choices, and look at the classes he would be taking that first year if he does not know his major yet. Find out also what the living situation would be. (And the food.). Then watch a bunch of you tube videos made by current students, no more than 12 months old. So excited for you all!!! Really no bad choices.
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He had incredible results!!! Congratulations!
Thank you for posting his FA/merit outcomes, too. Most are in line with what I would have guessed, but itâs super interesting to see real outcomes.
Iâm really sorry that BU didnât work out if it was his first choice, but he really does have fabulous options.
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