Why Northwestern essay: Why this supplemental essay is necessary?

With a student population of around 8,000, acceptance rates at Northwestern for 2022 dropped to an all-time low of 8.4%. A private university in the Big 10 category operating on the popular quarter system, Northwestern is just a half-an-hour from the city of Chicago.

So why Northwestern essay? Why write a supplementary essay? Although they are an “optional” requirement, the university highly recommends that applicants complete them. However, with acceptance levels on a steady decline for some years, it is not really optional.

What is required in a supplemental essay for Northwestern?

Again, that question comes to mind, “Why Northwestern essay and what does writing it entail? The admissions board want you demonstrate in a mere 300-word essay that you are capable of thinking  creatively about why you would fit into their school and the members will also use it to see how good you are at writing prose.

According to Northwestern, your essay is a fitness test for their school and it is about you explaining how you think you will thrive on its campus.

If you are thinking of applying, it is likely you think you will thrive at the school’s campus.

Still wondering, “Why Northwestern essay and what should I write?” Well, the supplemental essay is your chance to tell the admissions committee your story.

Break your Northwestern supplement essay down into the following three sections:

• A short but compelling narrative that shows your passion and interest in this particular university;
• A picture of things you have done to develop your interest;
• An account of how you think Northwestern resources will contribute to developing your interest.

Note how the word interest is used in its singular rather than plural form. If you read some why Northwestern essays that worked for other students, you will better understand why focusing on a single interest is the best way of making an essay of 300 words tenable.

As is the case with any essay or personal statement, a little brainstorming and some research is needed. Once you have done these, you should be in a position to write your story, create a picture, and to think about how Northwestern can benefit you.

The admissions committee will want to hear about your plans both within the classroom and outside it, and what aspects of the university you find appealing. Hence, it is up to you to show how you will use what this institution offers and how you will contribute. Your Northwestern essay should encompass these points:

Your academic objectives/goals

We strongly recommend you begin with a few due diligence steps by taking a look a the university’s quarter system. The calendar on the university’s website provides a great deal of helpful information about the Northwestern essay requirements (and guides to the midterm schedule). The choice is a personal one: The benefit of a quarter system is that it allows students to take on a greater number of classes, but they will be in midterms virtually all of the time. If you are prone to panicking whenever you need to study (or cram) before exams, you should really consider if the quarter system is the best in your case. Any reasons that make this system ideal for you should be mentioned in your supplemental essay.

Keeping the why Northwestern essay word limit in mind, the next step is to choose your major. Study the majors and the minors list and identify something aligned to your educational interests. As mentioned before, it is not necessary to adhere strictly to the subject or discipline discussed in your essay but it should be a subject you have a genuine interest in. This assignment is of a research nature. Therefore, it is essential to show you have developed a study plan so choose some classes you are interested in and state your reasons for your choice. These classes should be at the upper level i.e. 200 to 300 rather than the 101 classes available anywhere. Check out the lecturers or professors who teach the classes you are interested in, the projects or groups you would hope to participate in, and various other interesting snippets you come across. The experts who teach at Northwestern have their reasons for doing so and, therefore, explaining your reasons for being interested in specific classes (taught by certain individuals) demonstrates due diligence on your part.

Extracurricular activities

Your next task is to choose a university club or organization you would like to join. This choice should follow on logically from activities you have already participated in as a high school student. Once admitted, it will be possible to join whichever clubs appeal to you but you should select activities that complement your chosen major for your essay.

To conclude

Now that you have an idea how to write a why Northwestern essay, it is worth remembering that Northwestern takes great pride in its Evanston location. A short journey by train to Chicago, Evanston is situation of Lake Michigan coast and is amazingly diverse, so it is little wonder Northwestern is so proud of its location. However, before ending your supplement essay, say how you hope to make the most of this excellent location. Think and write about things that students (and you if you get admitted) can do here.

Possible Topics for a Supplement Essay for Northwestern

• How a visit to campus and a chat with professors and students helped you imagine yourself at Northwestern.
• Mention particular professors that you would like to interact with or the classes you hope to take and the ways in which these will help you realize your goals.
• Particular clubs, events or activities at Northwestern that you would like to take part in and how these relate to your goals and aspirations
• Any additional resources that Northwestern offers e.g. talks and lectures, overseas study programs, career networking opportunities and/or fairs, and so on that might help you grow intellectually and professionally.

Final few tips on writing an effective “Why Northwestern” essay

Try and condense your “why Northwestern” story into approximately a 100-word narrative. Devote around 50 well-chosen words to achievements and milestones and a further 150 well-chosen words to how you think things will transpire if you get into Northwestern.

Here, we offer a few final recommendations before you think about clicking submit:

• If a sentence could be used in the “why” essay for any other university, avoid it. Be specific where possible.
• Avoid saying how “perfect” Northwestern seems for your needs since the idea of complete perfection is quite impossible. Instead, provide the reasons why you think you could flourish and grow here.
• You should have provided a clear picture of yourself and your view of the world in your common application essay so do not rehash this in your supplement essay.
• This essay is an opportunity to describe the things that interest you and pique your curiosity and to say how you think you will thrive as a student in Northwestern.
• Leave time at the end to revise what you have written.

Do not forget that Northwestern will have a picture of whether you can make a contribution to their school from the common application you submitted. This is now a chance for Northwestern to find out if its school can make a contribution to your future.

The Northwestern supplemental essay is very much about you elaborating on your reasons for applying to this specific school and how studying here will enable you to realize your scholarly, personal and professional ambitions.

Why Northwestern essay sample: Hints on writing

This sample essay will help you understand how to write application letters. Good application letter is your chance to show that you are the best of candidates, as well as your desire to study at a specific university. The sample letter below is an example of how creative application essays should be written. Follow this sample in your writing to provide a high quality application letter.

Knowledge without application in action is nothing. I realized this simple truth at a very young age when I thought that I was the smartest person ever and could do anything I want. However, after my first tries to turn my knowledge into actions failed I started thinking “Maybe just knowing is not enough? What should I do to make thinks work?” My first failure was a construction of a bridge over a puddle in our garden. I was six years old and I thought that my vision and knowledge of a bridge would definitely help me reach my aim. I brought together different stone, sticks, and other things I found useful for this work and after a couple of hours of constructions I really managed to create some sort of a bridge but crossing it proved that it lacked stability. Then, the sticks and stoned did not break my bones but they made me think that application of knowledge required more sophisticated approach and in order to reach a set goal I need to work harder. It was not the only failure I had in life but with each step I improved my skills and finally managed to succeed in my engineering attempts by creating my own computer! I believe that persistence and desire to improve are those qualities that make me a good candidate for Computer Engineering School.

When I grew older I badly wanted to have a computer, as almost all of my friends have already had their PCs. However, at that particular moment of time we could not afford one. So, I checked some information, made some calculations and offered my parents an alternative: I will build a PC on my own if they buy me some parts for it. It took time to persuade them that I can actually do it and the money spent would not be wasted. Besides, it was much cheaper than to but a new device. So, after I got all the parts, I started working. To say that it was difficult means to say nothing. However, this process reminded me of a construction of a bridge over the puddle: I had an understanding of what has to be done but I have never actually done that before! It was a period of tries and failures but how excited I was when after pressing power button the screen came to life!

However, my success did not make me stop. The following few weeks I tried to understand how to enhance the performance of my PC. For this reason, I started experimenting with frequency multiplier and Front Side Bus (FSB) in BIOS. I must admit that it was not an easy job to do but, hey, I was just fourteen years old! Finally, I managed to reach 2.75 GhZ indicator of processor performance. I guess, the fact that I actually did it on my own made me want to do more! As a result, I started taking different challenges from my parents and friends in fixing their computers.

Finding a solution to the problem is one of the best things for me. Nevertheless, I never perceive a solved problem as a completed task. It is just one more step to the immense world of computer science. No matter how great it is to find a solution of a problem, what I really want is not to fix something old but to create something new. The world of innovative technologies is my passion and that is one of the main reasons why I want to apply to Computer Engineering School. I truly believe that it will give me a positive and valuable experience and a great possibility to develop my abilities. Moreover, I believe that the School has much more to offer than just a standard educations program and it will help me elicit my potential to the fullest.