<p>Hi all! NU has been a dream school for me for quite some time, but I'm a bit concerned. I was going to apply ED but I realized that I want a school that is not cutthroat- kids don't compare grades/test scores on a regular basis, and there isn't much competition to beat other students. I want an intellectual atmosphere, but without grade-grubbing and all of that. I believe in learning, for the sake of learning. Can anyone answer me?</p>
<p>(PS I would double in theatre and poli sci so if the engineering or journalism school is like that I don't really care.)</p>
<p>Very few people are like that from what I can tell in half a quarter haha. Northwestern isn’t really a cutthroat place. Students are smart, but they’re also involved with all sorts of things, and a lot of students go out on weekends and party. People aren’t devising any master plans to give everybody else a bad grade; maybe it’s because we’re all too busy :-D</p>
<p>My son in Eng says NU is actually all about cooperation. In his opinion, you must learn to work with study groups - if you try to go it alone, you’re asking for trouble. Unless you’re pre-med - then it’s more about the extra .1 point… </p>
<p>BTW - My son would agree with crimsonstained - he’s always busy, and most kids at NU are involved with multi-programs, groups and interests - and that is exactly what he wants. Look at it this way - you don’t make it to NU if you just sat around the library and studied in HS! NU might accept a Chess Team Captain, but that same person was also the lead in the school play and/or captain of the baseball or softball teams.</p>
<p>Both of our kids say the students at NU are highly collaborative, friendly and creative. Based on everything I’ve seen and heard I bet you’ll love it, so I’d certainly apply ED.</p>
<p>There’s definitely Duck Syndrome at Northwestern though, at least when I was there a couple of years ago. You think some students go out all the time but actually they study super hard (in concentrated bouts) and you just don’t see them. At graduation, you find out they actually have a really high GPA and are heading to Harvard for graduate school. That said, very few people are overtly cutthroat competitive-- they just want to do the best they can for themselves, though that often means the grading standard for classes is adjusted ever upward.</p>