WHY NORTHWESTERN?
TO JOIN A CLUB. TO PAINT THE ROCK. TO GO TO DIVISION 1 GAMES. TO GET INVOLVED IN RESEARCH.
THIS YEAR, THE FAMOUS QUESTION THAT MANY STUDENTS ANSWERED IN THEIR NORTHWESTERN APPLICATION, WAS REPLACED.
[music “Curious” Free Music Archive]
THE 2023-2024 UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS CYCLE INTRODUCED A REVISED SET OF QUESTIONS. THE CHANGES WERE MADE IN WAKE OF THE RECENT SUPREME COURT DECISION,
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WHICH RULED THAT RACE CANNOT BE A CONSIDERATION IN THE ADMISSIONS PROCESS TO COLLEGE.
NORTHWESTERN REQUIRES PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS TO COMPLETE AN ESSAY PROMPT ABOUT WHICH ASPECTS OF THEIR BACKGROUND, IDENTITY OR COMMUNITY HAVE IMPACTED HOW THEY SEE THEMSELVES ENGAGING IN THE NU COMMUNITY.
ASSOCIATE DEAN AND DIRECTOR OF UNDERGRADUATE ADMISSIONS LIZ KINSEY SAID THAT –
[Liz] The pandemic, the Supreme Court decision this summer, I think, gave us an opportunity to come together and look at our policies and our processes. And we leaned into that opportunity to add some more substance and specificity to our questions.
STUDENTS CAN ALSO FILL OUT TWO OF THE FIVE OTHER OPTIONAL SUPPLEMENTAL ESSAYS NORTHWESTERN PROVIDES. THESE QUESTIONS FOCUS MORE ON HOW A PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS SEES THEMSELVES AT NORTHWESTERN. ONE QUESTION EVEN ASKS ABOUT WHAT A STUDENT WOULD PAINT THE ROCK.
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DO THESE CHANGES AFFECT THE REVIEWING PROCESS? KINSEY SAID THE COMMITTEE’S REVIEW WILL REMAIN THE SAME AS PREVIOUS YEARS.
[LK] We’ll continue to select students through a holistic review process that considers every applicant in the context of their high school, their community and their household settings.
KINSEY DESCRIBED THE NEW PROMPTS AS STUDENT-CENTERED.
[LK] We’ve designed our prompts to invite responses that go beyond simply documenting where they’ve been and what they’ve done in high school. And instead, we’re trying to help them connect the dots between past present and future, kind of thinking about who they see themselves becoming and how they see themselves growing and contributing, in college and beyond.
SENIOR LUCA PASSALACQUA GOES TO MIAMI SENIOR HIGH IN MIAMI, FLORIDA. HE IS APPLYING TO NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY IN THIS ADMISSIONS CYCLE AS A FIRST GENERATION COLLEGE STUDENT.
PASSALACQUA STARTED WORKING ON HIS COLLEGE SUPPLEMENTS IN MAY TO GET AHEAD.
[Lucas] It gets really competitive and it gets really tiring, where at some point it takes a physical toll. I did get a good head start, but I’m still very anxious.
BUT PASSALACQUA SAID HE LIKES THE CHANGES MADE TO NORTHWESTERN’S ESSAY QUESTIONS.
[LP] I don’t have the highest GPA. But if I can get more time to explain why I don’t and explain other things I do, it helps my circumstance. And as first generation, it’s just the best way to explain and say ‘hey, this is who I am.’
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COMMUNICATIONS JUNIOR VICTOR CRIOLLO IS A NORTHWESTERN MATRICULATE ADVISING FELLOW. MATRICULATE IS A NON-PROFIT THAT “CONNECTS HIGH-ACHIEVING, LOW-INCOME JUNIORS AND SENIORS TO HIGHLY-TRAINED UNDERGRADUATE ADVISORS.” HE IS CURRENTLY ADVISING TWO HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS APPLYING TO COLLEGE.
[Victor] One connotation that I feel like a lot of students sort of feel is that when you think about Northwestern, you’re like ‘that is an elite institution.’ When you think of people who go there, you don’t think about people who are first generation low income students, you don’t think about living below the poverty line. You think of people who have already been privileged.
IN LIGHT OF THE AFFIRMATIVE ACTION LAWSUIT, CRIOLLO SAID HE THINKS THE RECENT CHANGE IN NORTHWESTERN’S SUPPLEMENTAL QUESTIONS
[VC] – is a starting point. I think that is a way for people to really express like, you know, their own identities if they chose to do so.
BUT CRIOLLO SAID THAT THERE IS MORE WORK THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE BY NORTHWESTERN AND OTHER TOP INSTITUTIONS TO ENSURE A DIVERSE RANGE OF STUDENTS ARE APPLYING.
[VC] I think Northwestend and other universities should be like ‘how are we going to show these students that you know that you are a strong applicant?’ I think the only answer would be direct outreach that would be informational panels and going doing direct outreach. Because that is one way rather, that that message is really gonna get across, right.
NORTHWESTERN HAS BEGUN TAKING THOSE STEPS. CRIOLLO ATTENDED A PANEL HOSTED BY NORTHWESTERN ADMISSIONS. THEY TALKED TO PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS ABOUT QUESTBRIDGE, A PROGRAM FOR FIRST GENERATION LOW INCOME STUDENTS TO “MATCH” WITH SCHOOLS LIKE NORTHWESTERN ON FULL RIDE SCHOLARSHIPS.
[“The National College Match” video by Questbridge]
I ASKED KINSEY WHAT’S NEXT FOR NORTHWESTERN ADMISSIONS.
[LK] I often find myself saying that I wish I had a crystal ball. I started in my role in the fall of 2019, and really could not have imagined then the kinds of changes in the landscape we’d be navigating over the past several years. But I do think that our holistic approach fundamentally equips us to foreground context and the diversity of circumstances students face in a changing landscape.
AND TO EASE THE MINDS OF ANY PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS LISTENING OUT THERE, KINSEY OFFERS A FEW WORDS:
[LK] Have some fun with the new essay questions. I know that applying to college is a lot of work and can feel very serious and maybe even draining but just have some fun.
FROM WNUR NEWS, I’M ERICA SCHMITT.
