Northwestern - what kind of kids do they like?

[Anonymous]

URM;
HS newspaper editors, particularly from the summer program;
national accolades in niche sports;
Published writers

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At our competitive public school - the editor in chief of the school paper.

You really should visit if you can before applying. There are some schools - I'm thinking Northwestern, Stanford, Duke - that have this reputation as fun, smart schools.

Well, that was some time ago.

We visited. The lake is beautiful of course. But when Chicago seems like the more fun school, there might be an issue.

+100 Crazy that Chicago is getting more of the smart but really social kids from our private than Northwestern. Especially when you consider that fact that Northwestern is in the Big 10. We went and toured and were shocked by the feel of the place and the kids that attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our competitive public school - the editor in chief of the school paper.

You really should visit if you can before applying. There are some schools - I'm thinking Northwestern, Stanford, Duke - that have this reputation as fun, smart schools.

Well, that was some time ago.

We visited. The lake is beautiful of course. But when Chicago seems like the more fun school, there might be an issue.

+100 Crazy that Chicago is getting more of the smart but really social kids from our private than Northwestern. Especially when you consider that fact that Northwestern is in the Big 10. We went and toured and were shocked by the feel of the place and the kids that attend.

So what schools have taken the place of northwestern, Stanford and Duke as the fun, smart schools?

Vanderbilt?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The kids I know who got in don’t seem to fit a common pattern except bright, nice kids who seem genuinely interested in learning.

My kid had high SAT and high grades (not perfect)—challenging course load but not “the most” challenging (eg Calc BC, not multivariate). They had a bunch of activities including one that they were very involved in and had an outside recommendation for that activity that I am sure helped. I think they probably came across as a study nerd who was also outgoing/social … that seems to be sort of the northwestern sweet spot. Lots of kids with diverse interests who want to double major.

Northwestern University looks for applicants with a specific interest/a particular reason for attending Northwestern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our competitive public school - the editor in chief of the school paper.

You really should visit if you can before applying. There are some schools - I'm thinking Northwestern, Stanford, Duke - that have this reputation as fun, smart schools.

Well, that was some time ago.

We visited. The lake is beautiful of course. But when Chicago seems like the more fun school, there might be an issue.

+100 Crazy that Chicago is getting more of the smart but really social kids from our private than Northwestern. Especially when you consider that fact that Northwestern is in the Big 10. We went and toured and were shocked by the feel of the place and the kids that attend.

So what schools have taken the place of northwestern, Stanford and Duke as the fun, smart schools?

Vanderbilt?

Vanderbilt is starting to trend down too (in vibe, not academics!). When schools place so much emphasis on absolute perfection of grades, scores and ECs that is what happens. The more laid back smart kids are weeded out. I suspect many are ending up at the big state flagships or privates that are the tier down from the top 25.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our competitive public school - the editor in chief of the school paper.

You really should visit if you can before applying. There are some schools - I'm thinking Northwestern, Stanford, Duke - that have this reputation as fun, smart schools.

Well, that was some time ago.

We visited. The lake is beautiful of course. But when Chicago seems like the more fun school, there might be an issue.

+100 Crazy that Chicago is getting more of the smart but really social kids from our private than Northwestern. Especially when you consider that fact that Northwestern is in the Big 10. We went and toured and were shocked by the feel of the place and the kids that attend.

So what schools have taken the place of northwestern, Stanford and Duke as the fun, smart schools?

Vanderbilt?

Vanderbilt is starting to trend down too (in vibe, not academics!). When schools place so much emphasis on absolute perfection of grades, scores and ECs that is what happens. The more laid back smart kids are weeded out. I suspect many are ending up at the big state flagships or privates that are the tier down from the top 25.

Agree. We toured Vanderbilt twice this year and it also feels very different than a few years ago when we toured with my older child. It is getting to be a grinder place too.
NU, Duke and to a slightly lesser extent Vanderbilt are now highly Asian with a few geeky white people and then some URM athletes. That's really what they feel like. We spent hours walking around each of them. The perspective students on tour groups feel even more this way so if anything they are trending ever increasingly in this direction.

I think the smart and social kids (white, Asian and any race) keep going down in prestige to try and find a more balanced college experience. Wisconsin seems full of normal kids. Smart but want a vibrant social life.

[Anonymous]

They like kids who REALLY want to be there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They like kids who REALLY want to be there.

How do you convey that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At our competitive public school - the editor in chief of the school paper.

You really should visit if you can before applying. There are some schools - I'm thinking Northwestern, Stanford, Duke - that have this reputation as fun, smart schools.

Well, that was some time ago.

We visited. The lake is beautiful of course. But when Chicago seems like the more fun school, there might be an issue.

+100 Crazy that Chicago is getting more of the smart but really social kids from our private than Northwestern. Especially when you consider that fact that Northwestern is in the Big 10. We went and toured and were shocked by the feel of the place and the kids that attend.

So what schools have taken the place of northwestern, Stanford and Duke as the fun, smart schools?

Vanderbilt?

Vanderbilt is starting to trend down too (in vibe, not academics!). When schools place so much emphasis on absolute perfection of grades, scores and ECs that is what happens. The more laid back smart kids are weeded out. I suspect many are ending up at the big state flagships or privates that are the tier down from the top 25.

Agree. We toured Vanderbilt twice this year and it also feels very different than a few years ago when we toured with my older child. It is getting to be a grinder place too.
NU, Duke and to a slightly lesser extent Vanderbilt are now highly Asian with a few geeky white people and then some URM athletes. That's really what they feel like. We spent hours walking around each of them. The perspective students on tour groups feel even more this way so if anything they are trending ever increasingly in this direction.

I think the smart and social kids (white, Asian and any race) keep going down in prestige to try and find a more balanced college experience. Wisconsin seems full of normal kids. Smart but want a vibrant social life.

Do we think any of this has changed with the class that was admitted this past fall?
I noticed the social adjusted smart but not crazily so did really well in T25 private admissions - while the grinder type kids did less so (observations from our private).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They like kids who REALLY want to be there.

How do you convey that?

Essays. A few years ago, the marketing campaign theme was "AND," about pursuing multiple interests at Northwestern. (The quarter system and low distribution requirements facilitate this.)

[Anonymous]

^^Plus ED, of course, if that is an option for you. 20+% acceptance rate for ED.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^Plus ED, of course, if that is an option for you. 20+% acceptance rate for ED.

Think it was lower this year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Anyone know what they value?

same with other t10: top stats, at or near top of class, maxed out the hardest APs in all core areas. ED if you aren't a tippy top student because only those get in RD: it is slightly easier than RD at the top 5 ivies or Duke, but Norhtwestern is harder RD than the lower ivies and Hopkins

No. DS didn’t get into Northwestern. Got into schools like Duke, Vandy, Cornell.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:From our school, URMs

Same here.
only URMs from our private.

Not ours. White, artistic

[Anonymous]

DC is at Northwestern and most of the kids they know fall into three major categories

legacy, white, rich, pretty high stats

very high stats, underrepresented in different ways, public service minded

double or triple majors that are cool combos like music and engineering, art and chem, econ and theater, high stats