Why northwestern essay

In this article, we'll go over what this kind of college essay entails as well as why you're required to submit a "Why Northwestern" essay. We'll also cover various topics and tips you can use to craft a compelling Northwestern supplement essay.

Before we take a look at the Northwestern supplement essay, what exactly is this type of college essay prompt asking you to do? The "why this college" essay , as we call it, is a supplementary essay in your college application that asks you to explain why you are applying to this particular school, what you can bring to its community, and how the school will help you in return. This type of admission essay allows schools to learn several facts about an applicant, including the following:.

The "why this college" essay also helps colleges guess whether an applicant is likely to attend their school if accepted. Knowing this gives the school a higher yield—a more accurate sense of how many students they can expect to enroll for the new school year.

Northwestern is not the only school to ask for a "why this college" essay. According to the Northwestern application, although you are not required to submit the "Why Northwestern" essay, Northwestern strongly recommends that you do so anyway. On both the Common Application and Coalition Application depending on which system you use , you'll be shown this message on the Northwestern application:. Do you plan to complete the ''Why Northwestern'' Statement?

We strongly encourage a response, as your answer will help us connect the dots across your application to imagine what kind of college student you might become. You'll then select either "Yes" or "No" from a drop-down menu.

While you technically have a choice about whether to submit the "Why Northwestern" essay, we strongly recommend that you complete it. Here's what the Northwestern application requirements page says in regard to the essays that applicants must submit with their applications:. Interestingly, there's no mention here of the "Why Northwestern" essay being optional at all—you're simply expected to write it. Additionally, it's worth noting that Northwestern highly values the concept of "fit" within their community.

In this sense, it's not much of a surprise that Northwestern wants applicants to spend some time thinking about what kind of relationship they want to develop with the school. Overall, you should treat the Northwestern supplement essay as a required part of your application. Next up, we'll be looking at what pieces make up the Northwestern essay prompt puzzle. You should definitely submit the Northwestern supplement essay—but what is the prompt asking you to do, specifically?

Also, how should you answer it so that you can give yourself a solid chance of getting accepted to the school?

In order to answer these two questions, let's take a look at the Northwestern essay prompt:. While other parts of your application give us a sense of who you are, we are also excited to hear more about how you see yourself engaging with the larger Northwestern community.

We are curious about what these specifics are, as well as how they may enrich your time at Northwestern and beyond. Your "Why Northwestern" essay can be a max of words, making it rather short.

Most college essays are around words. This means that you'll need to be clear and concise in order to get your point across and ultimately be able to craft an effective response.

This Northwestern essay prompt isn't that different from other "why this college" essay prompts in that it really just wants you to answer one big question: how will Northwestern help you further your interests and achieve your goals?

Northwestern already has a general idea of how you can contribute to the school; now, it wants to know how it can help you. Here are some topics you could write about in your Northwestern supplement essay:.

If you're not sure what to write about for your Northwestern supplement essay, spend some time doing research. You can also browse other student-geared websites, such as College Confidential and Niche , to see what people have to say about Northwestern, including what makes it unique. We can help. PrepScholar Admissions is the world's best admissions consulting service.

We combine world-class admissions counselors with our data-driven, proprietary admissions strategies. We've overseen thousands of students get into their top choice schools , from state colleges to the Ivy League.

We know what kinds of students colleges want to admit. We want to get you admitted to your dream schools. Learn more about PrepScholar Admissions to maximize your chance of getting in. Below are two real Northwestern essay examples for you to use as references when writing the "Why Northwestern" essay.

The essays were both written by admitted applicants and should give you a good idea of what kinds of topics and styles you can use in your own essay. Before we look at the two essays, though, be aware that both are answering an older, slightly different version of the "Why Northwestern" prompt, which was as follows:.

What are the unique qualities of Northwestern—and of the specific undergraduate school to which you are applying—that make you want to attend the University? In what ways do you hope to take advantage of the qualities you have identified? As noted above, this first essay responds to an older version of the "Why Northwestern" essay prompt: it asked applicants to focus on the specific qualities that made the school unique and explain why these were ultimately appealing to them.

Since this student wanted to study in the Medill School of Journalism, he mainly writes about this facet of Northwestern. At about words, this essay is a little longer than what the current word limit allows words , so just know that you'll have to write more concisely for your own essay. One unquestioned pillar of journalism is the importance of accuracy in a journalist's work. So when my counselor at the National High School Institute, a current Northwestern journalism student, proclaimed, "Medill kicks your ass," I knew she had given my fellow cherubs and I the straight-up truth.

Back this up with real-life examples! You might share an experience where you helped create a model to predict the decline of the monarch butterflies with your local nature conservancy group. This model was used to help inform policymakers about the actions needed, and how certain actions would impact the monarch population. You could then explain that you want to gain the tools to develop even more environmental rigorous models at a higher policy level.

Here you want to provide a fairly detailed blueprint of what you imagine life would be like for you after college. Do you want to venture into a specific industry? Pursue research in a niche field? Become a professor? Whatever it is you want, remember that the underlying purpose here is to demonstrate why you need to be a part of the Integrated Sciences Program. By using it here, Northwestern is issuing you a challenge: you need to take this vast question and bring it back into the material world.

This means giving concrete reasons for your application that are unique to you. Note that ISP is mentioned explicitly. Well, look who finally decided to involve themselves in the prompt? Now ISP wants you to talk about ISP, so you should concentrate a bit less on yourself and more on the resources and strengths of the program.

What intrigues me? What draws me emotionally? ISP is looking for scholars with curiosity and drive beyond the mundane. Communicate this about yourself by identifying an intangible pull. And speaking of intangible….

Brainstorm with the tangible vs. You can adjust her to fit the more narrow parameters of your ISP application. If you can find an unconventional thru-line for your emotions, your scholarly interests, and ISP, you can really knock this essay out of the park. Exercise: think about your scholarly topic. Got it? Then reconnect it to the science topic. Now list all the resources and courses in ISP that would foster your study in the topic. Do you notice how all the tangible and intangible things are starting to blend together into one beautiful, giddy mess?

For example, I could begin my essay by talking about my interest in primate psychology, and discuss evidence that chimpanzees perform best in small to mid-size groups. How did you hear about ISP? Did you find ISP before Northwestern specifically? If you can, however, say something new about your interest in ISP that relates to your discovery of the program, then add it in!

The structure and purpose of this essay are fairly straightforward — you want to elaborate on your activities related to science and math. There is no need to over-complicate it, but the goal is to show your depth of interest. For example, say you volunteered at your local science center. You might write:. Science center volunteer: During my 4 years at the science center, I led experiments for kids and answered questions about exhibits. I could now make baking soda volcanoes and tell you how fossils form in my sleep.

I realized, however, how the cost of entry to the museum could be a barrier to some families, and proposed an initiative to offer a free community day once a month. A fellow volunteer and I, with the blessing of our supervisor, outlined a plan to offset the lost entry fees through local business sponsors.

We presented this plan to the museum board, and were given permission to proceed. Focus on rewards, not awards. To my delight as a prospective communications major, the School of Communication's research labs showcase project topics ranging from the depiction of STEM in media to improving digital communication.

I look forward to taking advantage of the high-quality research, internship and even career opportunities offered to explore my ideas. My multiple passions keep me creative and energetic, and I plan to continue pursuing them at Northwestern. With years of editing and writing experience for school publications under my belt, for instance, I hope to join the staff of Helicon and North by Northwestern.

Last but not least is the constant school spirit and sense of inclusion present within campus. During my campus tour, each tour guide seemed genuinely excited to introduce prospective students to the school.

As my particular tour guide described the quarter system and tradition of guarding and painting the rock with passion in her eyes, I knew that only at Northwestern could I find students as enthusiastic about the school itself as they are about their majors. I also spotted many students of color while visiting; as an Asian woman, Northwestern's focus on diversifying reassures me that not only will I not be judged for my background, but that I will get to meet students of all ethnicities and cultures.

College is a time of self-discovery, and I firmly believe I can see my dreams become reality at Northwestern. Think Purple: Aspiring journalist dreams of being a Wildcat. After brochure browsing, website wandering, and campus canvassing what felt like hundreds of different schools, it took Daisy Conant exactly 32 seconds on the Northwestern University campus to realize she had found the one. Once learning she could start on day one at Medill acquiring investigative journalism experience writing an enterprise story and end on day with a journalism residency and international experience already under her belt, she was hooked.

A journalist at heart, Conant is fascinated with the intersections of other disciplines. As an NU student she would be free to engage her passions for international studies and business through outside concentrations in addition to investigative journalism, uncovering the adventures and discovering the tenacious Wildcats that lie between Evanston and the shores of Lake Michigan.

Some students have a background, identity, interest, or talent that is so meaningful they believe their application would be incomplete without it. If this sounds like you, then please share your story. These Common App personal statements got accepted into Northwestern.

Be sure to check out our list of other successful Common App essay examples. Chubby fingers outstretched and round cheeks flattened against the window, I leaned further into the plexiglass. Although I could feel a firm hand tugging at my shirt, urging me to sit back in my seat - at ten, I possessed little concept of manners or sanitary awareness , both of which I abandoned as I refused to cease standing on the chair of the CTA train - at the moment, all that mattered was that I was soaring above the streets of Chicago.

Eyes darting across the ever changing expanses of the city, I refused to lift my gaze in fear of missing anything. From that first ride to the present day, my fascination with the inner and outer workings of the L and its passengers has refined itself to an infatuation.

Who is that woman, man, student, small rodent, and what is their story? I adopt the lenses of journalists, economists, marketers, sociologists, historians, and the mere fellow passenger to analyze: the placement of an ad for Planet Fitness adjacent to an ad for Pizza Hut, the change in the racial makeup of passengers as the train travels North to South, the origin of unassuming stains or abandoned books.

The L is a catalyst between my vim mind and the seemingly elusive outer world, a seventy-five cent silver chariot that I can ride to whatever adventure I see fit. Since that first ride, I persist in search of the optimal collection of train stops, forging a mental map of Chicago shaped by my life experiences - all accessible by a simple swipe of a ventra card. The boathouse, where I strain my vocal chords from hours of training and hours of laughing with my teammates.

The school, where I test the waters of political responsibility, explore the depths of socioeconomic research, and conquer the wakes of edits delivered on my reporting for the newspaper. The small urban farm, located in a former project, that I help create and cultivate each spring and summer.

My thirst and and hunger for the knowledge of anything and everything was, and remains, insatiable. This train, this beating artery, pumping from the birthplace of the city to its outer reaches, is what quenches my thirst and satiates my hunger. Riding the L not only gave me the access to pursue rowing, a liberal education, and volunteerism; it forged a sense of adventurousness deep into the synapses of my nerves, a sense driving me into the intersections of journalism, student government, fashion, and aiding my beautiful city.

That first L ride instilled the interests that lie within me, passions that subsist on experiencing life at its fullest and engaging my sponge-like intellectuality.

I thrive on discovery; It defines who I am. Oh… I could also use that ml lemonade as you process the order please. The disbelief printed in the face of the waiter as he scribbled my order confirmed to me that he definitely heard me right. I get that look a lot and I kind of got used to it. In fact most of my friends have teased that my extremely huge appetite is a genetic disorder. Well if you ask me, I think they just envy me.