FWIW, and it’s not much, but NU did sell-out 4 of its 7 home games. Those sell-outs were against the following teams:
Notre Dame
Michigan
Wisconsin
Nebraska
NU had a very good football team last year, they went to the Big10 Championship, but Nebraska? 
I have to say that there were a TON of Nebraska fans walking around that weekend, all decked out in their bright red gear.
@phoebehana4
As an alum of NU (Chem Engineering) I can strongly endorse NU. The co-op program at NU was very rewarding for me both academically and professionally (I think Michigan has one too) and the smaller overall enrollment allows students to easily make friends with those outside of one’s major as well as have more personal interactions with professors. The name recognition of NU as a “top ten” school can also open doors. I loved the campus situated on Lake Michigan, and the school has invested recently in spectacular new world class facilities, from sciences to sports to business school to music.
Now to my favorite topic: NU football. The school just opened a $400 million facility right on Lake Michigan with million-dollar views of the Chicago skyline. There is a full-size indoor football field with one wall of glass looking out onto the lake. Students can use the Athletic center that is part of the complex. The coach is the legendary alum Pat Fitzgerald who is on a 10-year contract (after turning down an offer from Michigan) and just won the Big 10 West championship last year going 8-1, not to mention topping off the season with his 3rd straight bowl win. The program will continue to compete for championships.
Basketball went to the NCAA tournament two years ago (beating Michigan to basically clinch a spot), and opened the newly renovated Welsh-Ryan arena this season to rave reviews. The fans may not be present in huge numbers, but they are just as fanatical and it can be a loud, rocking environment.
There is a very active Greek life, but non-Greek life can be enjoyable too with residential colleges, etc. The proximity to Chicago is a plus, and Evanston itself has been transformed into a vibrant city with trendy restaurants and shops within the past decade.
If the financial side of the equation is taken care of by merit scholarships, it is a no-brainer to pick NU. Just my biased view. 
“…it is a no brainer to pick NU.” That kind of remark is not helpful at all to a student deciding between these two peer universities.
I think that the poster was referring to NU with a guaranteed scholarship versus Michigan with a contingent scholarship.
^^^^except the OP never said that. Speculation, which is not helpful.
I thought the OP was interested in engineering, not football.
@rjkofnovi : In post #5 above, OP wrote: “The UMich scholarship is contingent upon her declaration of an engineering major at the end of freshman year while NU scholarship does not have any restriction.”
@Publisher that’s a big one, NU would be the place to go. Only 30% of my freshman class graduated with me in engineering back in the day. You also need to take a hard look at 4 year graduation rates in engineering at each university. An extra year or two will cost serious money.
Compete for Big10 West championships? Yes. Compete for Big 10 Championships? Maybe, but highly unlikely. Winning the Big10 would require down years from UMich, Ohio State, MSU or Penn State (aka Big10 East Champion. Compete for National Championships? No.
Oh, and that one conference loss was to…UMich. Last season, Ohio State and Penn State weren’t on NU’s schedule.
As for NU basketball making the NCAA tournament two years ago, well, that was their ONLY NCAA appearance in at least the last 20 years. 
Although veering off the OP’s topic, check out Northwestern’s football QB. Should make NU very competitive for the next several years. I believe that he was a five star recruit.
OP never even mentioned sports attendance is a big deal. I would think someone interested in sports journalism would have already had some idea.
On top of the great funding for independent research, someone mentioned co-op at NU. It’s one of the oldest and most established co-op in the country. It has 1/3 participation rate. It’s a cool program where you alternate between work term and class term so you get to integrate work experience into classroom and vice versa better than if you were to do summer internships. It’s also easier to get because the spots are already kinda prearranged; you still have to interview but the competition will be much less than summer internships where you compete against people from anywhere.
It started as a discussion of “school spirit.” And then veered off the road. Blame me, my family always does. 
“@rjkofnovi : In post #5 above, OP wrote: “The UMich scholarship is contingent upon her declaration of an engineering major at the end of freshman year while NU scholarship does not have any restriction.”
I forgot that caveat tbh when I read post #24. That is a huge consideration just in case the OP decides engineering is not for her.
@sushiritto OK we’ll blame you and be done with it.
OK back… Yes @sushiritto, I am the surgeon.
@phoebehana4
First been to both for football games and at NW you will have more of opposing school fans then NW fans hands down and very small stadium. Nice but like a high school size. Michigan is more like a religious experience… Plainly, even if your not into sports it’s just fun!
My son just paid for his football season tickets a few days ago. Both schools anyone can get tickets on Stubhub etc.
As far as scholarships Michigan gives out very few most are Michigan grants. Money is money no problem there… Don’t worry about declaring they treat you like family and are very interested in your child success. This is very rare at a large school. Don’t believe me, email the head of the department or engineering admissions etc and see how you are treated. It is vastly different between these two schools.
As far as majoring /minoring etc switching majors at anytime etc. Very easy at Michigan. They will support any of your choices. You can do anything you want at Michigan engineering and the school will support the kids. My son is living proof of that. Engineering with a music minor is big at both schools. Combine anything with anything at Michigan, not a problem.
As far of the comments of prestige… Seems we have some NW fans coming on this thread… Haha… . Both great schools. In Chicago proper the perception is Michigan is a bigger deal and harder to get into. Engineering is 3.93(unweighted) with 33/34 Act. I don’t think NW is much higher then that. Michigan lsa is 3.83 with 32/33 and both higher for OOS. So please stop the mine is shiner then yours crap! It’s not helping the OP or anyone. Both are world-class universities. Both have world class research facilities. Both have world class hospital systems.
For the poster comparing private VS public… Michigan runs like a private school but who cares. 11 billion in reserves, I think their doing OK.
Here is something that no one has addressed and alert… It’s a serious subject 
.
Both schools for engineering are very hard. Michigan claims at least a full grade drop from Freshman to Senior year in engineering. Maintaining a “b” avg is not as easy as it seems. Stress! How each school handles this is different. There have been a record number of suicides at Northwestern in the last few years. We actually know of two of them. If your students need this type of help or counseling prior to admission please check out both schools and how they handle this. This is Not a reason not to go to NW BTW. But something to look into.
There is an engineering class that goes into all the disciplines. I recommend doing that. When visiting Michigan make an appointment with a professor or head of your department or peer student. This should open up your eyes on the school.
Both schools intertwine the creative minds like engineering , theater/arts , design majors, medical. This is what North Campus is made of for Michigan. When you go there you will see this group of large blah buildings. Well, some of the world’s leading research is being done that your child can participate in, in those blah buildings.
Alumni is strong at both schools if the students reach out.
You don’t have a bad decision here. It really comes down to fit /feel of the schools. Both schools have really smart kids that will challenge each other. It depends on how competitive your child wants the environment. My son wanted this environment coming from the type of high school he went to. It was what he was used to, good or bad.
Again you just need to visit Michigan to see what’s its like. Please pm me if you want inside information on engineering and opportunities that exists at Michigan. Again, you can do anything you want to there.
Class size. Sorry my son’s Calc and other classes some had 20 students others have more. You can meet with professors /t/a etc easily. This is college and not high school. I am sure both have 150 people in some classes. My son said it’s really not an issue if you have questions. Etc I know at Michigan you can type your question live and it’s answered right there and then if you don’t want to to raise your hand. Forgot the name of the program they use for it. If you need more explanation just email, ask the professor live (crazy huh? ?), go to office hours. Peer to peer labs etc etc. If you need the help it’s there for the taking. More students doesn’t mean less instruction.
@Knowsstuff - “In Chicago proper the perception is Michigan is a bigger deal and harder to get into.” LOL. These are also the same people that think that U of Illinois is more prestigious than UChicago and Northwestern?
@StanfordGSB00 I can’t help but note the most recent USN&WR ranking of Engineering schools, which seems like a fair gauge of prestige. In relevant part…
@StanfordGSB00 @Knowsstuff is probably referring to just the CoE at UMich (3.9+ GPA and 34 ACT), not the entire university, which is very easy to be accepted into.