Entrance RequirementsHigh School CoursesTo be considered for the HPME, you must have 16 units of high school credit. A unit represents one year of work in a subject. Within those 16 units, the following must be included: | Mathematics | 4 units* | | Chemistry | 1 unit | | Physics | 1 unit | | Biology | 1 unit | | English | 4 units | | Foreign Language | 2 units | | (3 or 4 units of the same language are preferred) |
* Before beginning the HPME, students must take a year of calculus, including differential and integral calculus. If your high school does not provide such a course, you must take a suitable course before entering Northwestern. No substitutions for course requirements. All are mandatory. While we realize that high school curricula often vary, a high level of performance in chemistry, mathematics, and English is most important. Entrance Exams
Applicants are required to take the SAT Reasoning Exam and SAT Subject Exams in Math Level 2 and Chemistry. The ACT with writing may be substituted for the SAT Reasoning Exam.
While there are no standardized test score "cut offs" for the HPME, we do anticipate that our applicants will have scored well on their college entrance exams. The average test scores from our last application year are listed below:
| Exam Type | Average Test Scores from
2011-2012 application season | (or) | Exam Type | Average Test Scores from
2011-2012 application season | SAT Critical
Reading | 762 | ACT
Composite | 34 | SAT
Math | 770 | | 770 | ACT
Writing | 10 | | and |
| Exam Type | Average Test Scores from 2011-2012 application season | | | SAT
Chemistry | 762 | | | SAT
Math Level 2 | 775 |
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