<p>Hey guys, I've pretty much narrowed down my schools to the following: UCLA Honors, USC, Claremont McKenna, and Northwestern. My intended major is Economics. Which prompts me to lean toward NU; however, I've heard some negative remarks regarding the student body and the social scene there.</p>
<p>Essentially, I've been told that NU students are too driven, and that dedication to academics squelches many opportunities for an active social life on campus. Now, I'm sure there's a certain amount of exaggeration going on in these statements, but I'm still wondering if current NU students are enjoying themselves there. I've also heard NU provides its students with a traditional college experience, and to be honest, that's what I want.</p>
<p>I mean, for my undergraduate education, my main concern isn't prestige: it's enjoying where I'll be living for the next four years. I have graduate school to worry about getting into an Ivy.</p>
<p>@ AtomicLightbulb</p>
<p>Although I am a Northwestern grad, go to the school that is the best overall fit for YOU. Visit the schools. Get a feel for the campus. Look up the academic opportunities and extracurriculars. Get a feel for the climate and environment (do you mind snowy winters whereas at UCLA it's mostly warm year-round?). Don't listen to what people say negatively. See it for yourself. I visited Northwestern and I knew it was the place for me. I don't regret my decision either.</p>
<p>those are my choices also! northwestern, UCLA, UCB, or USC..possibly JHU?</p>
<p>i ahve heard that there is some racial segregation @ northwestern..and students tend to be cliquey.
but it seems like an amazing school on paper. i'll definitely be visiting sometime in april.</p>
<p>i've heard that the social life is dominated by sororities and fraternities? yeah my interviewer told me the competition was bad when she attended, which doesn't attract me. but i get to go visit in a couple weeks!</p>
<p>i usually try hard to answer each thread and not tell people to search the forums but for this particular topic you honestly would get a better answer if you searched the forums for threads on this, because there are ones with pages and pages of discussion on this that are much more informative than i could ever be with one post.</p>
<p>to answer your question quickly, northwestern has arguably the best social life of any school in the top 15. students are very driven and ambitious about their careers (for the most part) but this really does not affect the social scene negatively. a large part of the campus goes out on multiple weekdays each week, so there is always something going on if you want to go out.</p>
<p>northwestern has a traditional campus experience, we have our own campus in a nice, quasi-suburban area (I liken it to cambridge, MA or Georgetown if you've ever been to either of those places... slightly less urban than georgetown) with the added benefit of being next to chicago. the greek scene is pretty big and available to those who want to participate, there are plenty of house parties, college bars, and fraternity parties, and when you go out the parties/bars are full of northwestern students, most of which you will know by the end of your freshman year</p>
<p>northwestern is pretty racially segregated, nothing i can say to that, idk why it is but that's just how it generally is, although no one carries prejudices and there is no amount of animosity, just ethnic groups for the most part hang out in homogenous circles.</p>
<p>northwestern isn't very cliquey at all though, that is untrue. all groups are friendly towards each other and there isn't a snobby social scene.</p>
<p>Pennylane all things being equal financially 1) Berkeley 2) UCLA 3) Northwestern 4) USC....In fact I would drop USC off the list altogether unless you are a film and TV major. If you can't handle a huge campus environment however then I would say NU is the choice.</p>
<p>Atomiclightbulb....UCLA students are extremely driven and the grading is on a curve in many classes. If you want the least challenging place go to USC. Claremont if you want a tiny lib arts campus. UCLA won't coddle you, it's sink or swim, but the benefits are amazing. Beautiful and intelligent people, top notch prof's great weather, sports, nice city.</p>
<p>For an economics major, the choice should be between Northwestern University & Claremont McKenna College. USC is a distant fourth. UCLA is a huge school with a significant commuter population. Classes will be smallest at CMC, then Northwestern. I don't know much about UCLA's Honors Program--even though I have closely watched honors programs/colleges for over a decade now--could you share some info. about the benefits offered by UCLA's Honors Program? Also, social life is alive & well at Northwestern.</p>
<p>Economics major here - and I vote for NU - unless of course you can't take the cold.</p>
<p>Once again - I second what elsijfdl has posted.</p>
<p>There is absolutely NO PROBLEM in having an active social life at NU.</p>
<p>First, I'd drop USC (relatively weak in econ).</p>
<p>Among the CMC, UCLA, and NU, NU has the edge because of the numerous unique academic options you can add to your econ major: MMSS, Kellogg cert, business institutions program, undergrad leadership program, double-major with IEMS (another top-10 dept), integrated marketing cert... I don't think UCLA/CMU will give you such wide array of options; it's also easier to double-major or take more courses in a quarter system.</p>
<p>Thanks for all the responses. I normally wouldn't put much stock into negative rumblings from Northwestern detractors, but even my alumni interviewer talked about negative experiences with the social scene. Then again, she wasn't exactly the most socially competent woman I'd ever met.</p>
<p>I've taken USC off my list, and I'm going to visit UCLA and Claremont McKenna next week, and then Northwestern the week after. Hopefully that'll give me a chance to sort everything out.</p>
<p>Any other comments about the social scene at Northwestern would be welcome.</p>
<p>The quality of the social scene here at Northwestern is STRONGLY influenced by where you live. I'm not even kidding. Research each dorm, talk to people, ask questions on here for the dorm culture, before you decide on where to live, because once winter hits, you can't be driven enough to go out and meet new people. </p>
<p>If you do, unfortunately, hate the dorm you live in, definitely join some student groups. That will definitely help you with your social life.</p>
<p>people are definitely more academic and career oriented on top of the bad weather. however, it does not stop people from having fun. it is more like a work hard play hard mindset. besides, it is you who decides how well ur social life is. if there isnt any party around, throw ur own party! i have done it several times and it always worked out great.</p>
<p>and as someone mentioned, dorms actually influence it. research it. the famous party dorms are bobb, allison, shepard, and willard. the infamous social wastelands are plex and slivka.</p>
<p>i've never met anyone from shepard...on rep i'd move it to the second group and add elder to the first group</p>
<p>"the famous party dorms are bobb, allison, shepard, and willard. the infamous social wastelands are plex and slivka."</p>
<p>are there any in-between dorms?</p>
<p>"Any other comments about the social scene at Northwestern would be welcome."</p>
<hr>
<p>Let's put it this way - I knew people who partied 4-5 days a week and sometimes 7 days a week (early on during the quarter or during a lull btwn mid-terms/finals).</p>
<p>It all depends on the type of people you meet and associate with.</p>