@Hoorent Who is we? You’re a student. I don’t buy it.
NU alum and parent here. Completely silly to take that “34%” assertion seriously. He’s got a fighting chance. Don’t count on it, because it’s stupid to count on anything with a 88% denial rate. Good luck.
MarathonMom
Looking at your son’s statistics, and the Northwestern Admissions Profile, your son definitely has a chance. His stats look to fit right in with the admitted class. That’s the good news!!!
The bad news – NU is incredibly competitive, and there are probably more students with stats similar to your son’s who are denied than get in. Sorry.
So, what can he do? APPLY!! APPLY ED if possible!!!. That gives him the best shot.
Also – two pieces of advice (from a Parent (whose daughter graduated last year).
First – chance me threads. The best any of us can do is look at the published data (available from USNWR, College guides or the Common Data Sets (available online for many schools)). You should probably check these sources (if you haven’t already). Then the people who post on the NU (and other school boards) can confirm your suspicions or point out if you’ve missed anything. However, we really don’t have any better information than you have.
Second – MOST IMPORTANT – this is really an exciting time for your family. Savor it. The vast majority of students who do their job with applications get into a the tier of school that one would expect based on the Stats. We see this every year. However, make sure you have a good Safety School, and if there’s a reach school (statistically) or two, apply, it can’t hurt and there are pleasant surprises every year. I also recommend finding some school (safety and matches) that have Early Action. The students generally feel a tremendous relief when that first acceptance comes in (much less anxiety). Other than that, be there for your child because there almost certainly will be pressure, but remember, everyone goes through it.
(Sorry for the length, especially if you knew all of this – and Good Luck!!)
@zephyr15, thank you for the information. He is planning to apply ED. Thank you for the additional resources. After I posted my thread, I thought to myself “what are you doing”, but any responses are always helpful.
He has chosen his safety schools, middle and top tier. I think we have a good mix. After our visit this past weekend, he really has his heart set on NU. He can’t stop talking about his visit. We have been on a few visits, but this is the first time I have seen this enthusiasm in him.
Thank you again for the information.
your son has strong academic achievements and brilliant extracurricular activities. He will almost certainly be viewed as a strong applicant. If Northwestern is his first choice, then encourage him to apply for ED. Still, a top tier school like NU is no guarantee, it would be safer to apply to other top 20 schools like Vanderbilt, Brown, Norte Dame, Cornell, UWSL, and etc. I believe your son has a solid chance to get into one of the best schools in the country
@KevinHY, thank you for your encouragement. His enthusiasm has not wavered.