<p>How much fun is Northwestern? Are the students really happy? I know it's a rather vague question, but I am just curious as to how happy the students are with their University and how much fun it is to be there. Thanks.</p>
<p>For example, the Princeton Review gives Northwestern a Quality of Life ranking of 77 (on a scale of 60-99). I view that as a rather low score considering many of NU's peers have higher scores (WashU: 99, Brown: 96, Yale: 94, Harvard: 91, Stanford: 97, Michigan: 85, Vanderbilt: 88). According to the site, Quality of Life is measured as: </p>
<p>"Quality of Life Rating
How happy students are with their lives outside the classroom, on a scale of 60-99. We weighed several factors, including students' assessments of their overall happiness; the beauty, safety, and location of the campus; the comfort of dorms; the quality of food; the ease of getting around campus and dealing with administrators; the friendliness of fellow students; the interaction of different student types; and the quality of the school's relationship with the local community. "</p>
<p>Well, I know that NU has mediocre dorm food but Evanston has many good restaurants. So obviously PR method doesn't capture everything. By the way, it's 77 now? It's way better than that few years ago and you know a school doesn't change <em>that</em> much in a matter of few years.</p>
<p>Yeah, 77 seems really off. Especially since Harvard got a 91. </p>
<p>NU's campus is gorgeous, the location is ideal, dorms are so-so but there are some that are better than others. Food isn't that great but like Sam said, there are so many dining options in Evanston. Transportation on campus is good and school bureaucracy isn't bad. All in all, 77 is way off the mark.</p>
<p>the great thing about NU is htat there's no cut-throat competition here. We try hard, but you're not extremely stressed out either. You just worry about doing your best.</p>
<p>The main problem for most people, I think, is the break0neck pace of the workload. I recently had a conversation with a Kellog student crossenrolled in my Japanese class to the effect of:</p>
<p>Him: I was gonna take another UG class, but you guy's work way too much
Me: What? You're in Kellogg... where'd you go undergrad?
Him: ... Harvard...</p>
<p>I think that says it all.</p>
<p>^ HAHAHA. Clearly NU > Harvard. =]</p>
<p>Princeton Review's ratings often are inexplicable. Recently they gave Georgia Tech a 60 rating for academics, then a year or two later it shot up almost twenty points for this academically intense school. Northwestern students just don't drink as much as many elite schools. NU students are serious about their schoolwork and their careers. Friendships tend to continue throughout one's professional life. Northwestern students do tend to work hard, in part due to the demands of taking 4 courses per quarter and in part to prove that they are equal to all of the Ivies. Don't rely on PR or any other publication if you're really interested in a particular school, it is always best to visit if you can. On the other hand, if you can get into NU but you want more fun at an elite school, consider Dartmouth, Brown, Emory or Vanderbilt. Fun at NU centers around Evanston restaurants and shopping, theatre and music groups, sailing, Chicago, dorm outings and very tame fraternity and sorority life. Animal House, inspired by a frat at Dartmouth, does not exist at Northwestern Univ.</p>
<p>Northwestern students just don't drink as much as many elite schools.
While thats technically true, it is also misleading. Plenty of people here drink ALOT. Your suggestion that "Fun at NU centers around Evanston restaurants and shopping, theatre and music groups, sailing, Chicago, dorm outings and very tame fraternity and sorority life." Is true only for some (mostly those who live on south campus. For many others, it is all about the Fraternities and bars.</p>
<p>I can't comment on the Princeton Review numerical ratings on this, how it was arrived at, or whether it is remotely accurate.
I can say this: I have spoken to innumerable NU alums and students, and not a single one was anything but enormously enthusiastic about the school. In fact, virtually every one of them told me that they didn't just like the school, they "loved" it. That was an impressive, although utterly unscientific, survey result.
Then, shortly after my daughter was accepted ED last year, I finally ran into a younger colleague who told me that his sister had transferred from NU to NYU, and this caused some concern. He emailed his sister, asking what she didn't like about NU. A few days later, he forwarded her response to me, which explained that she was a drama major, and had thought that NYU's drama program would be better for her. Significantly, she said that she had loved NU and later concluded that she had made a mistake by transferring.</p>
<p>^ A good number of the Alums that I've talked to have absolutely adored the university too. My next door neighbor is an alum and he wears NU tee-shirts all the time. It's really funny actually, since he graduated quite awhile ago... but he still has so much school pride! =]</p>
<p>icy9ff8, just so you know, PR says that a rating of 60 means the school did not provide them with enough information to properly rate the school (the range is 60-99). Thanks for all of your responses so far!</p>
<p>Sample of one, but all the alums I know (including myself) absolutely adored NU, and I find that NU alums speak more highly uniformly about NU than I observe with other universities. I also agree on the friendships-lasting-forever piece. I'd also note that there appear to be a disproportionate number of "NU couples."</p>
<p>^ I know of at least one NU couple. I see them cheering for NU all the time for sports games and whatnot. Hahaha.</p>
<p>My parents met at NU.</p>
<p>My niece met her husband at NU.</p>
<p>Many of my sorority sisters met their husbands at NU.</p>
<p>Is this unusual?</p>
<p>All of us have such WONDERFUL memories of our years at NU. I liked it so much I stayed for grad school - would never have left. But the kids today don't seem to like NU as much as I remember we did. I don't recall much complaining about social life, or those things you hear students complain about today. Is NU different, or are the kids different? I graduated 25 years ago.</p>
<p>I challenge that I love NU more than you do! I'm considering starting a "**** Hogwarts, I'm going to NU!" Facebook group, and am currently eating as many blueberries as I can to try to bleed purple. Literally.</p>
<p>^HAHAHA. That's a good idea. I'd join, but that depends on what happens on December 15th... xD</p>
<p>I have to say if you asked me about NU this time last year, I wouldn't have been so effusive. I came to NU for journalism and soon realized it was not right for me. That being said, once I figured out what it was I wanted to do (am now a Chemistry major, Global Health minor) I really can't imagine being anywhere else, nor would I want to be. It's really quite hard to put into words how I feel about NU -- just know there aren't enough superlatives and adjectives to describe how much I love it.</p>
<p>i didn't WANT to go to NU- i thought it was too preprofessional (which it is, a tiny bit, but that is seriously one of my only misgivings, and a minor one at that) and boring and weird students and blahdy blah blah but it is incredible/fantastic here and i highly recommend it.</p>
<p>i don't know what it is like at other colleges, but there is almost always a lot going on here on the "fun" side of things especially if you know where to look. people go out on weeknights often, and although the parties might not be entirely insane, they are definitely there, along with a bar scene.</p>
<p>as for the friendships, good activities, relations here- beyond anything i'd imagined. really really amazing people and atmosphere here!</p>
<p>-a current freshman.</p>
<p>Out of curiosity, funfetti, where else were you looking / considering that you didn't think would be as preprofessional?</p>