<p>Does interest in a relatively obscure department help in the admission process? Russian is the interest and I wonder if emphasis on this on the application, helps the application get placed in the “Russian studies” shoebox.
In other words is Northwestern interested in guaranteeing a certain number of Russian scholars? How does this work?</p>
<p>Umm, at NU, the Slavic Languages Department isn’t what you would call “obscure”…</p>
<p>I meant only, “does studying a non-mainstream subject” provide some kind of effect in the admission decision. Are there certain slots for Russian scholars, as I am sure there are, for athletes?</p>
<p>From my understanding of the admissions process, you would simply be categorized as another person in a stack of 25,000s with another intriguing quality – I highly doubt that there is 2-3 spots for those who study Russian. </p>
<p>Furthermore, for those who don’t have BTN, Northwestern is not a huge sport power house. Are we competitive? Yes. However, Northwestern does NOT go out of their way to recruit athletes, unless you happen to have an IQ of 145, and promise to be the next Michael Jordan.</p>
<p>So, as this is essentially a “Chance Me?” thread, I’ll say what I say to all the others around here. You have a chance. Sell yourself. If you’ve done your best, you have as good a chance as the 30,000+ that will probably apply this year. With a bit o’ luck, some good numbers, a stellar interview – you could find yourself wearing purple for 2013.</p>
<p>At the risk of derailing the thread, NU DOES recruit people actively. In fact, it gives out Athletic Scholarships. The Ivy League this is not. We ARE a big time sports school, and the new AD is seeing to it that we’ll be a respected one at that.</p>
<p>Just you watch this season. You’ll see… They’ll all see…</p>
<p>“However, Northwestern does NOT go out of their way to recruit athletes, unless you happen to have an IQ of 145, and promise to be the next Michael Jordan.”</p>
<p>I don’t believe that to be true, Majman. I have a business acquaintance whose son got a full ride to Northwestern to play football 2 years ago, and while he’s a good student, he’s not the most brilliant of all times.</p>