<p>It’s unclear what your plan is, but I would DEFINITELY apply anyway. Even if you don’t think you’ll get aid, NU has put quite a bit of funding into bolstering its financial aid program. If you want to go to NU, I think its worth the application to find out if it is financial feasible. </p>
<p>The other cool trick is to wait until your admissions cycle has ended. If you got in to NU but also got into another school w some merit money, you can let NU know that you got merit money elsewhere and that could be a deciding factor for you. NU might give you a bit more merit money bc it knows that those dollars are fulfilling the truest intent of financial aid - getting kids who want to come to NU and NU wants to come to be able to attend. (I got an extra $3k/yr from Emory by letting them know that I had basically a full-ride @ GW, so it can be done).</p>
<p>In the meantime, focus on those applications and SAT/ACT if you are retaking! None of this matters unless you get accepted!</p>