Ask me questions about Northwestern!

<p>Yay, one that I'm an expert in!</p>

<p>Anna,
Shepard, although one of the larger buildings on campus (177 residents), is relatively a much smaller community than Willard (~360 residents). Because of this, each floor is much more cohesive--you're much more likely to know everyone on your floor in Shepard than in Willard--also, you're much more likely to know a greater percentage of the people living in Shepard (and thus, more likely to have closer relationships with, say, the hall government).</p>

<p>Willard is a pan-thematic RC, while Shepard is "multi-thematic". What this means basically is that Willard claims to have <em>all</em> manners of student foci, whereas Shepard merely claims to have "multiple". Shepard has very nice facilities on its first floor and in the basement, including multiple pianos in several practice rooms. Because of this, Shepard tends to have a high propensity of musically-inclined residents (the powers that be, however, realize this and tend to cap the number of music majors they let into the building, and they also tend to be disinclined to accept applications that focus on the "nice practice rooms"/"good facilities"). Willard, on the other hand, has different lounges (computer, TV, study) on different floors in addition to their basement and first floor main lounges. Both Shepard and Willard have adequate basement kitchens.</p>

<p>Willard also has a dining hall that is open 5 days a week--Willard's dining hall (known as "Saga" to the residents), has improved drastically this past year with a change to an electronic buzzer ordering system as opposed to traditional dining-hall style service. Shepard has no dining hall inside, but Shepard is about a 30- to 45- second walk away from Allison's dining hall (where Shepard has a private dining room). </p>

<p>Willard and Shepard are about the same walking distance from downtown Evanston, but Shepard is much closer to most University buildings (Willard is on the westernmost edge of the sorority quads). What this translates to in practice is about 3-4 minutes extra walking time to any destination on campus--which is actually pretty significant to those walking up to Tech for math and science classes periodically.</p>

<p>Both Shepard and Willard have thriving communities--there is NEVER a shortage of events planned for residents in either building (often, the reverse is the case, and residents <em>want</em> to participate in more but simply can't make it to every single event). Shepard tends to be more "tame" than Willard, especially in terms of partying--Willard can vary quite drastically sometimes among residents.</p>

<p>Oh, and to address a common concern; yes, you'll be able to find someone else with your major or a similar area of study at either Shepard or Willard (even engineers!). If you have a different-than-usual major or a science-based major, although you may be in the minority in the predominantly liberal arts/humanities South Campus, you'll have plenty of people to run to for help/form study groups with.</p>

<p>--just so you know i'm not some rando with bad information, I lived in Shepard my freshman year and still keep up my Shep ties (I play ultimate frisbee every Sunday night with them), and I'm currently the head CA of Willard (and Chapin+the mid-quads+the female houses), and have quite a few friends there.</p>

<p>Oh, and just to set the record straight: I have Sprint, and I get EXCELLENT service on campus (even in Norris, and in many parts of the basement of Tech!).</p>

<p>Purposeful pretty much nails it. People I know in Shepard and Willard are both really happy with their choice though -- don't think you can go really wrong with either.</p>

<p>This is a nice guide that talks to people in both dorms, if you want to hear more: </p>

<p>Freshman</a> housing guide » North by Northwestern</p>

<p>How come North by Northwestern seems to be so much better than the Daily these days?</p>

<p>They don't have as much of a rigid, impenetrable, Medill controlled hierarchy, so any good writers can get on the staff. Further, they don't have a no-compete agreement.</p>

<p>I think that Shepard is going to be my number 1 pick and Williard my number 2, but I'm not sure about my last 3 choices. I think Allison will be one of them too. Any suggestions?</p>

<p>if you're applying to those... then I'd suggest hinman as a fourth, then perhaps Chapin as a fifth.</p>

<p>Could anyone tell me if we are allowed to bring guests on move-in day?
I was planning to bring sister along and she was to stay through the student orientation and registration stuff...so are guests allowed overnight or will she have to make other arrangements?
If they are allowed, for how long can they stay?
Thanks!</p>

<p>She'll be allowed, but personally that sounds like a terrible idea. It'll stop you from making friends, having fun going to all the orientation week parties. Also, if you're not living in a single, I doubt your roommate would be happy about having a guest for a week, yet alone the first week. Also, you'll have to go to all sorts of programs during the day, and I don't know that she'll be allowed to that stuff, and even if she were, it would be really pointless/awkward.</p>

<p>Unless you have a really good reason, I would say take the college plunge in one swoop.</p>

<p>actually, if you want to get technical, she would NOT be allowed to stay for the first week. Technically, you're only allowed to have overnight guests for a couple nights at a time; even though that rule isn't strictly (<em>cough</em> rarely <em>cough</em>) enforced, it really is between you and your roommate. If your roommate doesn't want a third person staying over, end of story.</p>

<p>Frankly, I wouldn't even want to ASK a new roommate to do something like that--your room is going to be full with all the moving in, there's barely going to be any room let alone time to hang out, and that's pretty much a sure way to make your brand new roommate already resent you.</p>

<p>Usually, if family members or siblings are coming for part of moving in or orientation, they should be booking rooms at one of the local hotels. If you want to spend time with them at night--sleep over at the hotel with them (this is a VERY common practice--you won't be labeled for doing something like that). As for how long visitors should stay... usually within a day or two of moving in, all the open orientation events will be over, and your schedule will be jam-packed. Parents/others who try to stay longer usually end up feeling neglected.</p>

<p>Thanks for the help guys!
Also, what keeps the schedule on the first week so jam-packed? I mean the NU calender says classes begin only on 23rd September...</p>

<p>Oh my god, there are SO many orientation things. Meetings with your advisers/peer advisers, Essential NU sessions, dean's convocations, group dinners, campus-provided social events... it is seriously one of the busiest weeks.</p>

<p>Thanks everyone for all your helpful answers...honestly, without CC I would be at a major loss! </p>

<p>But I still have a few lingering questions heh...
First of all, let me introduce myself. I am a recently accepted female transfer student who is going to be of Sophomore standing this coming fall.
So here I go!:
1) It seems like all the dorm recommendations (Shepherd and Wilson seem to be the most ideal) are recommendations for incoming freshmen. Is this true? Or do you NU students also recommend these for transfers as well? What dorms are most popular for Sophomores? Also, how would you compare those dorms to the Transfer House? </p>

<p>My main concern is making friends (given that i know NO ONE) and so the dorm that is most social, tight knit and easy to make close friends is my main concern. All the other features of dorm living fall secondary...</p>

<p>2) I know there is a difference between having a Double Major and Dual Degree (5 years). Do most students choose the latter if deciding between the two. And if so, is it because once you graduate, employers don't give much credit to NU Double Major program if you had the Dual Degree option available?</p>

<p>3) If it's not too much trouble, can someone give the stereotypes/classifications of each sorority? Or at least the most prominent ones on campus? *note: readers do not get offended--stereotypes are a reflections of someone's OPINION not the actual truth.</p>

<p>4) Overall, what's the fashion like? At the school where I came from (UC school), EVERYONE wore a college sweatshirt, sweats, and jeans. My friend at GWU tells me that most people dress up to class (trendy, high fashion) and designer labels are prominent. (sorry for the superficial question, I would just like to know what type of clothes I should be bringing)</p>

<p>5) lastly, if I'm a Communications major, where will most of my classes be? South or North side of campus? And what about Art History classes also--south or north?</p>

<p>Thank you so much!! I sincerely appreciate your answers!! :)</p>

<p>Most (all) your Art History classes will be south. Comm classes will frequently be ALL the way north (Francis Searle). It's an unfortuante mix. </p>

<p>Fashion is... suited to the cold weather. Mostly you'll see sweaters and northface jackets. You'll see a lot of abercrombie, polos, and Threadless/ printed tshirts.</p>

<p>PM me if you want my personal run down of the sororities, but it wont be THAT helpful. Also note that Sophomore rush is very difficult.</p>

<p>A double major and dual degree are totally different. A double major is FAR more common, as dual degrees are only a handful of special programs (usually engineering or music and something else). You can also only double major with a weinberg major and another schools major, not between specialized schools.</p>

<p>If you're looking to integrate, don't live in the transfer house. I would recomend (from the sound of it) a south campus residential college. Willard (not wilson) is incredibly popular- if you don't mind something smaller try for ISRC or CRC. There's a housing guide:
Freshman</a> housing guide » North by Northwestern That's fairly ok. Again, any other questions, pm me.</p>

<p>Has anyone participated in the pre-Wildcat Welcome Programs (leadership stuff, backpacking, volunteering etc)? How was your experience? I'm trying to decide if I should take part, or just wait for the welcome week thing....</p>

<p>Arbiter... I've seen only 2 people advertise Abercrombie in the 2 terms I've been here, and one of them I know (he's not pro-Abercrombie. he wears it just because).</p>

<p>Was the question who advertises it, or who wears it? I know a ton of people who wear abercrombie (Though in retrospect, more lacoste/izod and ralph lauren). I think people wear what's sort of the average college clothes, nothing in particular. Though you'd certainly have a better perspective on what the average is san, so I defer to your better judgment on this point. I am by no means a fashion guru.</p>

<p>I don't think the transfer house exists anymore. </p>

<p>Also, it might actually be harder to break into the social scene at a close-knit res college, since a lot of it (among the sophomores anyway) will already be set. A generally all-around social dorm like Allison would be my best recommendation. Bobb is also very fun for upperclassmen if you don't mind partying.</p>

<p>I'm gonna contradict you there though- in ISRC at least, we had a couple of transfers who are integral parts of the dorm. Warranted they're mostly friends with freshman, but they have tons of close friends- one's even on the Executive board. The reason I recommended a residential college is precisely because the mingling of upperclassmen and lowerclassmen allows a transfer to fit right in.</p>

<p>Hi guys,</p>

<p>I'm a prospective transfer student who just received an offer from NU and I'm excited about joining the school. However, due to some personal reasons and the fact that I've already spent two years in my current college, it is imperative that I'm able to complete my degree in the next two years. My credit evaluation is not out yet because I just sent out my final transcript, but in the unfortunate scenario that I'm unable to matriculate with junior standing in NU, I was thinking I could take more than the typical 4 classes per quarter. Thus, my questions are: 1) Are there any GPA requirements for overloading? 2) In addition, is overloading a common occurrence amongst NU students?</p>

<p>Many thanks in advance for helping me out with my queries. </p>

<p>Best,
Ray</p>

<ol>
<li><p>I don't think there's a GPA requirement but you could be charged extra. I am not sure. I was in Tech and we were allowed to take five without paying extra. I took five in one quarter and interestingly my GPA went up.</p></li>
<li><p>Overloading isn't very common; Northwestern requires 45 courses (48 for Tech however) to graduate and that's already higher than just about any other schools I know. You can do a lot and even double-major with 45courses if you plan well. Even if they give you 21 credits, instead of 24, you still can graduate without overloading since you only need additional 24 credits to graduate and you can accomplish this by taking 4 courses in each of your remaining terms. It'd be great if they give you 24 or more because you will only take 3 courses/quarter during your senior; this schedule would give you more free time for job search. If you will be in Tech, then it's a different story.</p></li>
<li><p>I transferred from WashU and NU was quite generous. I was given 14 credits for my coursework at WashU.</p></li>
</ol>