<p>what the brochures wont say, what students experience at northwestern that bothers them and if the regret their decision?</p>
<p>No college is going to be the “perfect” college. Every college on CC has this type of thread. I’d rather build a college up than tear it down. Do some research - there are already threads like this out there - we don’t need to start another.</p>
<p>Northwestern has potentially the worst-run undergraduate administration I have ever encountered. Students are routinely ignored, derided, treated condescendingly and as if they were expendable. It is very difficult to get any personal attention or support without being very proactive in seeking it out. Professors treat undergraduates as if they should feel fortunate to be learning from them. And the school (Weinberg - from the dean to the professors) generally treats its undergrads with scorn and superciliousness, never going out of its way (or sometimes even doing the very basic) to ensure a student feels welcome and valuable.</p>
<p>If you want to hear anecdotal incidents that I believe are specifically illustrative, feel free to PM me and I can share with you.</p>
<p>I believe in the long-term this is a series mistake, and will lead to reduced alumni enthusiasm and donation, however it is somewhat of a catch-22 - once you are here, it only hurts you if you don’t donate in the future.</p>
<p>HOWEVER the incoming president is from Williams and I strongly hope he brings that liberal-arts community feel and undergraduate support with him - so I believe there is still a chance to turn it around.</p>
<p>The student body and the location, not the administration, are NU’s strong points.</p>
<p>elsijfdl, I find your comments completely exaggerated and not reflective of the entire university.</p>
<p>I am still in contact with some of my favorite professors. I graduated years ago.</p>
<p>I am always able to get information I needed in a timely fashion. Whenever I request a transcript, NU sends it out on time. </p>
<p>My (SESP) advisers were very in tune with the needs of undergraduate students. They are always striving to improve advising and research opportunities.</p>
<p>i don’t think its fair to attribute one’s experience as the entire student body’s experience… urbuddy, you ought to research CC and other places for plenty of opinions of NU, not just the very critical ones, but the ones that qualify NU’s pros and cons more evenly as well.</p>
<p>take everything you hear with a grain of salt, whether it’s good or bad.</p>
<p>I haven’t had much exposure to the actual administration at NU, but ALL of my professors this past year have been very enthusiastic about teaching undergraduates and did not act condescendingly at all. The professors that I have had were more than willing to help out their students if they had any questions or concerns. </p>
<p>A lot of these anecdotes and complaints may just be a single student’s experience and do not represent what the student body feels as a whole.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>SESP is an absolutely different story. My experience with SESP was nothing short of exceptional.</p>
<p>Also, I don’t contend that every person or even every major is the same way, I was speaking generally for my experience in Weinberg, and more specifically for the political science and PARTICULARLY the economics department.</p>
<p>This also extends to anyone who has dealt with the dean of students as a greek representative.</p>
<p>People will rush to defend Northwestern because they don’t want the school to sound bad (and neither do I, ideally, my degree is from here too) but their opinions must likewise be taken with a grain of salt (and with the skepticism required by vested interest).</p>
<p>He asked for the downsides not given in the brochures, I find it hard to believe that anyone majoring in economics or political science, or who is a member of a greek organization, or is someone who has ever tried to appeal to the high levels of administration would not acknowledge the issues I raised.</p>
<p>PS I am speaking from the vantage point of someone who has experienced undergraduate life at another university - most others who will post here have not and thus have little in the way of context.</p>
<p>Undergraduate admissions is taking forever with transfer decisions… got my other letters months and months ago.</p>
<p>thanks for the posts. the flaws of northwestern still fall short of the pros. but ive heard lots of kids in nu are ivy rejects who are bitter, is this true? also the professors skip their own class? anyways a degree from nu still means alot and im still prob gonna app ed</p>
<p>dude, there are so many errors in your posts/wording. you may want to proofread your essays 100x before you submit them.</p>
<p>brebeuff, relax. it’s just a forum. we try to be helpful instead of shooting hopefuls down.</p>
<p>sorry, brebeuff. wanna? proof! read: my; essay’ when{ im done} i think thts perfect 8-)</p>
<p>^Ahahaahahaha. Sorry that my post isn’t that relevant to the topic! Hopefully, a year from now, I’ll have something to say about Northwestern as well. :]</p>
<p>I do apologize if English isn’t your first language, but in all honesty, you need to beef up your English skills before you can be competitive. There’s no easy way to say that.</p>
<p>In the spirit of cynicism:</p>
<ul>
<li>Not the collegiate atmosphere that it’s made out to be. yes it exists, but not to the degree of other universities</li>
<li>less intellectually driven, more pre-professional minded students </li>
<li>the el ride to Chicago is terrible. You won’t go into the city as easily as it may initially seem</li>
</ul>
<p>the experiences of elsijfdl vary greatly from those of the student body IMO</p>
<p>^ If you don’t want to ride the El train, take the intercampus shuttle to downtown Chicago.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Certain liberal arts departments are geared only towards graduate students. Undergraduates are noise in the background. It would be nice if these departments gave more attention to undergraduates.</p></li>
<li><p>Many discussion sections are led by inept TA’s. As a result, the quality of discussion suffers, it is hard to get good answers to qustions, and papers are poorly graded. It would be great if there was a system in place that ensured all discussion sections are led by competence.</p></li>
<li><p>Irresponsible students. Yes, I know there are lots at most, if not all, universities. But the point is, NU is no haven from irresponsible college students.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>My D loves the place, and her biggest gripe seemed to be the walk between north and south campus to take the French class in the middle of winter. She couldn’t find a shuttle that could get her back and forth in a timely manner. Also, she expected to see and experience more of Chicago than she actually has done.</p>
<p>One thing I always denied, but have now finally come to terms with, is that NU students ARE, on average, way more awkward than many other schools. More than other Ivy equivalent schools? I’d say largely yes, with possible exceptions for HYPs.</p>