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Northwestern
B.S., Journalism
Student journalist and theater kid from California.
Features Included
12
Essays
16
Schools
9
Scores
9
Advice
8
ECs
0
Sports

Background

Hometown San Diego, CA, California
GenderFemale
EthnicityAsian, White Non-Hispanic
Class of2022
First Gen College StudentNo

Results, Essays, and Advice

Accepted
Waitlisted or Withdrew
Denied
  • Northwestern University (Evanston, IL)
  • Boston University (Boston, MA)
  • New York University (New York, NY)
  • Northeastern University (Boston, MA)
  • Emerson College (Boston, MA)
  • Fordham University (New York, NY)
  • University of Washington (Seattle, WA)
  • University of California - Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara, CA)
  • George Washington University (Washington, DC)
  • University of California - Los Angeles (Los Angeles, CA)
  • University of California - Berkeley (Berkeley, CA)
  • American University (Washington, DC)
  • University of Southern California (Los Angeles, CA)
  • Columbia University (New York, NY)
Tap/click a school logo above to view essays and advice specific to that school.

Northwestern University (Evanston, IL)

Applied for a B.S. in Journalism

Accepted and Enrolled Legacy: No

School Specific Essays

Discuss an accomplishment, event, or realization that sparked a period of personal growth and a new understanding of yourself or others.
There are 102 seats in my high school theater, and freshman year I was determined to sit in the farthest one from the stage — seat G1 in the back left corner. It seemed to be the safest hiding place for me, a completely inexperienced member of costume and makeup crew. Still, I couldn’t escape hearing my teacher’s notes to the actors. “What’s your character’s motivation?” she would ask nightly after rehearsal. Why did they move that way...
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Every person has a creative side, and it can be expressed in many ways: problem solving, original and innovative thinking, and artistically, to name a few. Describe how you express your creative side.
I started backstage theatre work as an excited but inexperienced freshman on costume and makeup crew. My disorientation was eventually lessened with nine more shows during my underclassman years, a period during which I was promoted from crew member to makeup designer to, finally, costume designer. I’ll admit that this initial rise was more due to quick dedication, reliability and attention to detail than artistic skill; a less kind critic might describe it as an instance of “fake it ...
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What would you say is your greatest talent or skill? How have you developed and demonstrated that talent over time?
I joined my school paper expecting to cover school art galleries and soccer tournaments, but I quickly found that my strong suit was hard news. My first experiences as a political correspondent were to the district school board in my freshman year. I found that I got a kick out of covering politics in any capacity, even if it was just a simple partisan split among five local representatives. By the end of my freshman year, I was promoted to...
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Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
302 Words
Other parts of your application give us a sense for how you might contribute to Northwestern. But we also want to consider how Northwestern will contribute to your interests and goals. In 300 words or less, help us understand what aspects of Northwestern appeal most to you, and how you'll make use of specific resources and opportunities here.
From the precise day that I decided I wanted to study journalism, it was clear that Northwestern Medill would be my dream school. I was at an intensive workshop in [redacted for privacy] in the summer after sophomore year, where the instructors touted three main undergraduate programs as the best in the country. One was a little close to home, and one was a little too far south, so I began looking closely at Northwestern. I found that it was...
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Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
258 Words
What about being a student at Boston University most excites you?
Boston is one of my favorite cities because I can’t walk its streets without thinking about the American revolutionaries and British royals who walked them before me. It’s especially exciting because so much of that history is still preserved. I revel in the idea of joining a city that respects the past as much as I do, and entering a long line of colorful residents. I’m a journalist, though, which means I focus on the present. I...
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
611 Words
Kilachand Honors College offers a challenging liberal arts education grounded in critical and creative thinking and interdisciplinary problem-solving. What do you think this approach means? How would Kilachand’s interdisciplinary curriculum fulfill your academic, creative, intellectual, and/or professional goals?
Through the diverse skill sets needed for interdisciplinary problem solving, the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts. I have learned how to professionally work in a group through theatre. Collaboration is not just a vocabulary world or a shallow concept for me; I have lived it nearly every school day since freshman year as I produce a unique kind of art with my peers. We pull from classes like speech and debate, English, physics and studio...
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Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
192 Words
As you know, the academic programs at Emerson College are focused on communication and the arts. Please tell us what influenced you to select your major. If you're undecided about your major, what attracted you to Emerson's programs? Please be brief (100-200 words).
As part of an article last year for [deleted for privacy], an online platform for student journalists, I sought out hyperpartisan meme accounts and interviewed them over DM about the 2016 presidential election. The conversations were strange and sometimes a little bit awkward (as can sometimes happen when asking strangers about politics), but the resulting article, littered with election memes from across the Web, taught me that politics can actually be fun and accessible. That mindset is what led me to...
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
200 Words
Much of the work that students do at Emerson College is a form of storytelling. If you were to write the story of your life until now, what would you title it and why? Please be brief (100-200 words).
I spend a lot of time around mirrors, in rooms that have profoundly influenced my life. When I learned how to do stage makeup in the girls dressing room in my school theatre, I used my lack of initial experience as motivation, not an excuse to quit. I found a different kind of confidence in the nearby boys dressing room. Through dorky pre-show traditions that intimidated me at first (think ‘90s rap on full blast through boomboxes), the actors taught...
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Supplemental Essay: Using a metaphor
530 Words
Please respond to the following in 400-600 words: We often use metaphors to help us understand our world and persuade others. Write about a metaphor that you think is powerful, and explore its potential to be helpful and/or harmful in your thinking.
Saint Augustine of Hippo is said to have written that “the truth is a lion. You don’t have to defend it. Let it loose, and it will fend for itself.” This mindset frees us. It unbounds us from responsibility for consequences that may arise when we speak the truth. The benefit of letting go, on one hand, is that we may feel less obligated to prove ourselves to others, therefore untangling ourselves from arguments elicited by our statements. On...
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Supplemental Essay: “Why us” school essay
410 Words
We would like to know more about your interest in NYU. We are particularly interested in knowing what motivated you to apply to NYU and more specifically, why you have applied or expressed interest in a particular campus, school, college, program, and/or area of study? ... We want to understand, why NYU? (400 words)
My favorite word is cosmopolitan. It’s a word associated with glitz – the pink magazine covers, the bleeding red cocktail and the gaudy hotel in Las Vegas – but there’s a purer meaning as well. At its root, cosmopolitan refers to a universe housed in a citizen, to being at home all over the globe, and to the kind of cities that attract these individuals. New York University is quintessentially cosmopolitan, and so am I. NYU originally drew me because...
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Supplemental Essay: Unique question posed by school
490 Words
HONORS: Write a letter to the author of a book you didn’t like.
Francis Scott Fitzgerald, my lost love, I guess this is my fault. The Great Gatsby was school-assigned magic — the green light! Boats against the current! Daisy's voice was like money! But I am young, foolish and greedy. I wanted more. The Beautiful and Damned presented quite a temptation when I first saw it at my local Barnes and Noble. A pink cover featuring a vain woman and an onlooking tuxedo-clad man immediately caught my attention, as did your name. As...
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Supplemental Essay: Strong beliefs/principles
276 Words
George Washington University encourages students to extend learning beyond the traditional classroom by taking advantage of hands-on learning through service, research, internships, and studying abroad. Describe an experience that transformed the way you view the world and how this perspective prepares you for GW.
“We’re going, right? We’re going?” The words almost wouldn’t come out. The clock said 12:59, my instincts said “stay,” and my eyes said I might cry. Nobody looked at me, though. They too were all locked on the clock. Plan an anti-Trump walkout, my friends said. It’ll be easy at a liberal school, they said. Kind as they were, those encouragements didn’t quell my constant fear that morning of being jumped, expelled or arrested by some...
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Supplemental Essay: Extracurricular activity
233 Words
Describe how you plan to pursue your academic interests at USC. Please feel free to address your first- and second-choice major selections. (250 word limit)
I’ve written for a publication of some kind consistently since I was 12. Since Middle School Yearbook Editor isn’t a viable long-term career option, I’ve been pursuing more mature variations ever since. I plan on applying for the Daily Trojan on my first day at USC to continue this long standing tradition and challenge myself with the intense short term deadlines and covering breaking news in print. There’s no broadcast class at my high school, so I...
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Supplemental Essay: Extracurricular activity
307 Words
Describe the world you come from and how you, as a product of it, might add to the diversity of the University of Washington.

Keep in mind that the University of Washington strives to create a community of students richly diverse in cultural backgrounds, experiences, values, and viewpoints
300 words maximum
I knew of my school thespian club’s accepting reputation even before joining, but the serendipitous aspect for me was that every person is not only tolerated, but celebrated as part of a near-boundless cultural appreciation stemming from the arts. Acceptance is ingrained throughout my high school, but theatre takes it a step further: Our most advanced class involves learning about how different cultures throughout history have performed - from Japanese puppetry to Moliere’s neoclassicism to the set designs...
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School Specific Advice

Why I ultimately chose my school
141 Words
Choosing Northwestern was a hard process for me, but ultimately an easy decision. The other school I almost chose was Boston University, which had two main advantages: I loved the city and I was in the honors program. However, Northwestern won out...
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More Essays

These essays haven't been tagged by school. Click school logos above to see tagged essays.

General Admissions Advice

What set me apart from other applicants
199 Words
It's the Troy Bolton Effect: I highlighted that I was equally involved in two major extracurricular leadership positions, along with some other extracurricular activities. I think this set me apart from a lot of other applicants who had one main activity/"talent" that they chose to highlight as their only distinguishing factor. For me, it was like -- a...
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How I made up for low grades in high school
262 Words
Disclaimer: I did not really have low grades in high school -- I had one B in an unweighted class and a range of Bs in 4 semesters of various weighted math and science courses (also outside my major). However, since I was applying to highly competitive schools (as you probably are as well), those grades definitely did not look good against my competition. I had a legitimate excuse for only one of those grades (the unweighted...
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How I narrowed down my essay topics
176 Words
Make sure it's nothing they've ever read before. Either write about a unique topic or combine two topics in a unique way, which is sort of what I did. I think I got major bonus points for being kind of funny. Not only does it show that you are a comfortable and...
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How to deal with the stress of applying to college
321 Words
Five tips for not going completely crazy in the college applications process: 1. Stay OFF college confidential (mostly)! Reading those "chance me" posts is not going to help you AT ALL; you will go blind from staring at your laptop for hours and not get any further in writing your actual essays. That being said, however, if you have a specific question there can be times when CC can be helpful. Also, once you apply to your schools, CC will usually be able to figure out the exact date and time when decisions are released. Other than that, be careful don't...
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Whether I used a private admissions counselor, and advice I received
28 Words
You do not need a private admissions counselor...
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My advice about getting recommenders
129 Words
Everyone will say this, but try to pick people who really know you and will be able to speak to your personality. These will also be the people that care most about your success and will probably put...
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Recommended summer activities during high school and college
109 Words
This seems obvious, but do things related to your major. It shows commitment and that you have extra experience, which is definitely attractive to colleges. Look for programs super early in the...
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Whether I took out loans or applied for scholarships, and my advice
294 Words
Financial aid for me was almost equally as stressful as the application process because money equally determined my ability to attend school as admission did. I did take out some loans, but I was not willing to let loans be the main way I paid for college. For example, one school I applied to gave me only $1k in grants and recommended that I take out over $40k/year in loans. To me, it seemed irresponsible but it was up to me to make that distinction....
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High School Performance

Weighted GPA
4.15
(equivalent to 3.88 unweighted)
Rank
Top 25%
 
Academic Performance in High School Steady

Test Scores

Highest ACT
35
 
ACT Score Details
 
Other ACT Scores
ACT Prep
Highest SAT
1410
 
SAT Score Details
 
Other SAT Scores
SAT Prep

AP / IB Classes and Scores

Details7 classes and scores

Sports

Extracurriculars

ActivitiesSchool Newspaper/Magazine/Journalism, Theater/Drama, School Theater/Plays, Art, School Newspaper/Magazine/Journalism, National Honor Society, Career Oriented, Conservancy Volunteer
Elaborate on Extracurriculars or Work

Experience & Awards

Volunteer Experiences
Awards Received

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