deferred ... anything i should add?

JordanSails
Fri, 06 Jan 2012 11:57:21 +0000

I was in a similar position at another school, and I ended up sending an additional recommendation from a teacher who could provide a different perspective on me as a person. Be clear with the adult writing the recommendation that you want to present yourself to the college from an angle they haven’t seen in your application and other recommendations. A run-of-the-mill letter that is too similar to your other recommendations might not sway admissions too much, and it might come off as redundant. Most importantly, be very grateful to the adult you’re asking to write for you because they the recommendation-writing season has already ended for them! haha.

Also, I would actually advise against sending in a portfolio of any sort if the college doesn’t ask for it for your major. Many colleges will see this as a negative, as students will try to get creative and will end up bombarding admissions with a bunch of unnecessary head shots, music demos, food, etc. A counselor at BU actually told me that they like to hang up weird stuff that students send them just to laugh at them.

If worse comes to worst, I would write a letter to Northeastern yourself conveying your sincere interest in the school and how it would benefit you. You have some fantastic stats, and it’s entirely possible that NU might think they’re not high on your college priority list.