How do you like Northwestern? (if you attend or know someone who does)

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northwestern University
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<p>I was just curious about how Northwestern is a unique school. Ever since I have been introduced to it, I have been on their website, and bookmarked the Northwestern page in the giant Fiske's Guide to Colleges book, but I thought it might be cool to hear from people who have actually gone to the school or know people who have. Even in the Fiske's book, which is very nice, you don't get very many personal anecdotes about how the school is, and I haven't been able to visit, since I am on the west coast.</p>

<p>So, how is everyday life at Northwestern? Is there a particular something that has really been enjoyable at Northwestern? And if you had a bunch of colleges to choose from, how did you pick Northwestern in the end?</p>

<p>I know at least one person who has gone to Northwestern, but they only cite that Northwestern has excellent academics. To me, this is obvious, but I want to get a better idea of whether I would enjoy/fit in at all.</p>

<p>Thanks to all who answer! I think it will be helpful to all who are thinking of applying.</p>

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<p>I’ve heard sports are big there. Are there other sorts of things that people like to do there?</p>

3

<p>My apologies for the long post. I figured that since no one else was answering, I would try to tell you as much as I could. Let me know if there’s anything else you’d like to know!</p>

<p>One of the things I love about Northwestern is my dorm. Not the facility itself, just the closeness of the community (I live in a residential college). I don’t know how it is at non-RCs, but from what I’ve heard, the community is much closer in the RCs. So that’s something I enjoy a lot; I’m really involved with my dorm.</p>

<p>I love my classes. I love the professors, because they’re all brilliant and interesting and a lot of them are very charismatic and friendly.</p>

<p>There are SO many clubs here, so you’re bound to find several that interest you. There are all the sports clubs, then there’s everything from the sign language club to the aerial artists’ club to the political and religious groups to all the dance groups to all the a cappella groups and choirs and all the theatre groups…and it goes on and on.</p>

<p>Personally, I also really just like the environment. The landscaping is gorgeous, and the lakefill and Lake Michigan are beautiful, and there are beaches nearby. Not to mention Chicago and Evanston have a ton of cool places and restaurants and stores.</p>

<p>Northwestern also has a lot of traditions that are fun to participate in (painting the Rock, doing the claw at football games, etc.). </p>

<p>Dillo Day is awesome.</p>

<p>It sounds cheesy, but I love the diversity. I come from a small town that is almost all white, all the same socioeconomic background, etc. It’s so cool to be here and just hear people speaking different languages everywhere you go, and see people of different races and cultures EVERYWHERE. Again, it sounds cheesy, but being here has really made me challenge and change some of my views of the world. I’ve learned a lot of perspective by being surrounded by people from so many different backgrounds with different opinions.</p>

<p>I would say that sports are pretty big here if you want them to be, but there are also lots of people that don’t attend sports events, so it’s not like if you’re not into sports you won’t fit in.</p>

<p>Lots of students go Greek, and lots don’t. So if that’s something you’re interested in, it can definitely add a lot to your experience, and if not, it’s not like you can’t have a social life.</p>

<p>As to how I picked Northwestern over other colleges…I would be lying if I said it wasn’t because of the prestige. NU was way more prestigious than the other schools I got into (with the possible exception of U of I, but their financial “award” was horrible), and I know that CC tends to look down on people who choose places for prestige, but it’s just something that was important to me. <em>shrug</em></p>

<p>But as I said, there are several other factors that make me love it here. And for most of them, I didn’t realize how important they would be to me until I’d already gotten here. So it’s interesting to see what things become important to you that you wouldn’t have thought about coming in.</p>

<p>You asked what everyday life is like, so I guess I’ll give a brief outline of a typical day for me, although this might not be a typical day for someone else:</p>

<p>-I go to classes. My first class is usually at 9 or 10 AM, but you can have classes that start earlier or later than that. My classes end anywhere between 1:50 PM and 4:20 PM (the 4:20 PM is for a lab, though. Most classes end earlier than that, I believe).
-I go to my work-study job for a few hours.
-If I’m being good, I do homework or study. If not, I’m on my laptop goofing off for hours. :stuck_out_tongue:
-I go to a dorm meeting or event if there’s one that I want to go to.
-I go to a club meeting/practice if my club is meeting that day.</p>

4

<p>One thing is all the special programs. I was in the first year of the Kaplan Scholars Program and the Brady Scholars Program. Both have had a tremendous influence on my experience here, and put me in really close contact and relationships with some of the best faculty at the school. There are a slough of other programs just like them (MMSS, ISP, Musical Theater, American Studies, etc.) that also allow you to have a truly unique, rich experience here.</p>

5

<p>Personally I liked how Northwestern balanced having fun and studying hard nicely. Being an engineer, I liked how demanding my classes were but then I could slack off on the weekends and just relax on the lakeside/go to chicago/ go see a movie etc. </p>

<p>Also I feel like Northwestern has much more diversity, in terms of people with different interests… I mean you have an amazing theater and journalism school, a top notch engineering program, SESP along with the usual science, econ etc, which just attracts a lot of varied personalities which my current school doesn’t have. Well not to the extent Northwestern did.</p>

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<p>WOW siemprecuriosa!! I don’t mind the long post at all. In fact, thanks so much for the long response (probably took you a long time)–had a lot of stuff I wouldn’t have known just by getting it from a book. Sorry I didn’t respond until this late, as I haven’t checked back in a while. </p>

<p>I also have a few questions–how are the financial awards at NU? And are they usually generous with the aid?</p>

<p>Also what do you mean by “going Greek?” Maybe I’m too last-century to know it, or maybe I’m just a hermit, but I’ve heard that term been used before, so just wondering =)</p>

<p>Thanks!!</p>

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<p>For special programs like that, do I apply to them right away or do I do so only if I become a freshman at NU?</p>

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<p>That varies by program.</p>

9

<p>prateek, why do you still comment on the NU thread when you transferred to Columbia? Can’t cut the cord yet? I guess if you still have good things to say as a transfer that’s great, but you were only there a year!</p>

<p>NU is work hard, play harder. And not just in the sense of playing harder as in going out. Play harder on the IM sports field, setting up an event with your frat, or doing something like Dance Marathon or ASB. Sure everywhere else has the same components that NU has, but I think the distinguishing factor is the type of people that are engaged. It doesn’t mean anything if a school offers a whole bunch of stuff, what matters more is what people actually do with it.</p>

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<p>NURaider- one of my step sister’s best friends (and I believe sorority sisters) at UPenn had transferred from NU and had nothing but positive things to say about it when I told her I was going- she simply couldn’t pass up the Wharton/Engineering dual degree opportunity. If I recall, Prateek had nothing against NU, he just felt he couldn’t pass up a certain opportunity at Columbia.</p>

<p>Besides, as long as he wears purple on fridays and goes to Blondies to cheer on the cats, he’s cool with me.</p>

<p>(I have no idea if he does that, but he should)</p>

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<p>^Many wear purple on Saturdays in DC. The alum club booked sections at two very popular sports bars for this season. We have all the big screens and it’s fun to see the confused look from some “big program” fans when they walk in and see their games only on small TVs. ;)</p>

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<p>funnyman- You’re welcome. :slight_smile: </p>

<p>“Going Greek” means joining a fraternity or a sorority.</p>

<p>I would say the financial aid is pretty good. I believe (someone please correct me if I’m wrong on this) that NU meets 100% of demonstrated need for all students. The one catch is that “demonstrated need” is based on the FAFSA, and FAFSA can sometimes spit out some crazy numbers. If you feel the award they give you is too small, you can appeal it, and sometimes they’ll give you more.</p>

<p>Overall, I’ve had a good experience with the FA here. The big thing was this past year when my younger brother started college, NU covered more of my costs. So that was good. Also, although I had to take out some loans, they did give me quite a bit in grants, so that’s less debt to pay off after I graduate, which is also a good thing.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, NU doesn’t offer any merit aid (except for certain programs? Again, someone please correct me if I’m wrong on this) - it’s all need-based.</p>

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<p>Being an upperclassman here, I have so much more exposure to exclusive social events it’s amazing. I’m talking alumni-sponsored dinners to fancy restaurants, meet-and-greets at classy bars and hotel rooftops. If you know Kellogg people, they will seriously spoil you even more than that. I know all of that sounds elitist but in our defense, we have a lot of community service/development initiatives as well. Many social gatherings are actually fundraising events for good causes. </p>

<p>I noticed Northwestern students come in with a particular kind of social orientation that creates this absolutely electric environment brimming with dynamism, creativity, real-world intellectuality, passion, and kindness all mixed together. I know I sound like a brochure there, but it’s true. After being exposed to it for a couple of years, it’s definitely rubbed off on me in meaningful ways, like helping me impress interviewers! I’m not kidding-- I think I’m fundamentally transformed and I’m loving the person I’ve become.</p>

<p>It’s true that once you find a certain niche on campus (it could be so many things), you might develop a particular way of seeing things. However, you can definitely belong to multiple niches and expand your horizons as much as you want (and there’s an unspoken rule that you do so-- Northwestern students are adventurous like that). I’ve personally dabbled on a bunch of religious groups (even though I’m not religious) and ones specific to my major. I feel academic-centric niches are especially good because it’s just cool to get to know people from your classes outside of class-- it definitely enhances the learning experience.</p>

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<p>what is ASB?</p>

<p>I assume that IM is intramurals. So can anyone just walk on and do IM at NU, or is it selective and are there tryouts? is it only for the buffed and most athletic? Can a nerd find a place, people of his or her type, doing IM at NU ?</p>

<p>a related question on the stmt that NU is about ‘working hard and playing harder’. If someone happens to be maybe kinda quieter, maybe not as electrically dynamic (as the brochure person said) and wanting to go into the inner city or go to that community fund raiser - say, a math/engineering type, for example - how well might he or she fit in at NU? Out of place? Or would there be enuf birds of this feather to find kinship at NU?</p>

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<p>roderick, if playing harder requires a game console contoller, then I’m pretty positive that there’s a niche for you as well. I think it’s called… Slivka</p>

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<p>Well, if you’re not “electrically dynamic” coming in, there will still be plenty of niches for you. However, you really should look beyond what’s comfortable because that’s how you will grow as a person.</p>

<p>ASB=Alternative Student Break</p>

<p>IMs are not competitive to join at all. Any group of people can form an IM team. That said, the most athletic people will probably end up winning the tournaments.</p>

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<p>^ ASB is amazing. Both my trips were epic fun to say the least.</p>

<p>@NURaider: I comment/read the Northwestern board because I still love the school. I’m at Columbia and I love this place, but it’s a departure from the NU life. </p>

<p>The bonds I made there, the way NU cossetted me [important esp. as an international student] and the whole atmosphere of the college is something I absolutely love.</p>

<p>I transferred 'cause I choose to major in something, Northwestern didn’t offer - it was a hard decision but in the end it was a question of pursuing my passion or not.</p>

<p>And yes, I still wear my NU hoodie and I’m a staunch NU supporter on gamedays. Good thing ESPN is free for college students.</p>

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<p>Good to know… you still only have a year under your belt, but it’s good that you left satisfied. It’s not like the Ivy League has much to be desired in terms of sports… well maybe cornell basketball… maybe.</p>

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<p>Wow…I’d always heard NU was a crazy competitive academic school, but “there’s also a niche” for people who like to use their game console controllers? Sounds like there’s never a dull moment there.</p>

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<p>You can even say that <em>because</em> NU is highly competitive, people need an outlet to let loose. Some turn to partying, some to video games, some to events/concerts, some to a combo or all of those. Class discussions though are especially motivating when you have people going over the readings really carefully and making insightful comments class after class after class. You kinda don’t want to fall behind and that kind of intensity coming from others really does inspire you to learn more. I don’t mind it at all.</p>