<p>Do they vary a lot? The ones I saw seemed kind of...<em>stuffy</em>...may be...The buildings are connected? I didn't know that. It was summer when I visited, a cloudy yet beautiful day in Evanston, IL.</p>
<p>Some buildings are connected, but for the most part you'll be walking (biking if you're smart) outside. It's honestly not that bad... if you wear a lot of layers/ have a great coat.</p>
<p>Dorms vary a lot in terms of size. Some of the rooms, such as Willard Triples or Allison and Chapin's rooms, are TREMENDOUS for dorm rooms. Others, like Bobb's, are tiny little afairs.</p>
<p>My two cents, as someone who has worked at NU during summers since I was twelve, knows plenty of students and has friends who're the kids of professors, NU is a school that is better than its students. For the most part, and I've had professors actually agree with my analysis, many of the students who are at Northwestern got there because they are grinders. This is not a school of intellectual people, it's a school of hard workers that are only of slightly above average intelligence. As for the social scene, NU has one redeeming feature and that's Dillo day. Apart from that, I had a student admit that she'd rather be at one of ETHS's (Evanston's high school) parties than go to an NU party. Of course, I've also met some very intelligent people, but, I've also met a lot of people who I've been shocked by how unintelligent they were.</p>
<p>No offense, but as an actual student here, and one's who's most assuredly not a grinder, and one who's very happy with the social scene and in particular the Greek system, and who eats lunch with professors on a regular basis (ones who seem to think we're pretty intelligent, on the whole), you don't know what you're talking about. Please leave opinions about the social life to those who actually get to experience it.</p>
<p>On an unrelated note, Colorado college is a great place (my sister's boyfriend went there for his undergrad and loved it).</p>
<p>I don't mind walking outside. I do it all the time right now in the lake effect area known as The Cleve.</p>
<p>Check out Etowner's other posts in which he lists his grades and asks for his chances at various schools. The fact that his grades make it unlikely he would be admitted to NU appears to explain some of the strange content in his post.</p>
<p>Well, I sort of knew that. Colorado College, while a fine and unique institution, isn't exactly Williams.</p>
<p>ETOWNER,</p>
<p>if you have a problem with northwestern students being not intelligent enough by your standard, then perhaps you should apply to only caltech/harvard, not schools like colorado college. but imo, you pretty much need a miracle to get into either one of them, so make sure you have a plan B.</p>
<p>I never meant that NU is a bad school, or that its students are idiots, just that comparitively, the school is ranked better than the students who attend it. And yes, I have had an English professor agree with my assesment of NU students, as well as multiple NU students who I have talked to. I'm not bitter towards NU, its given me a job and some great times, I'm just offering the assesment of someone who has been in some way shape or form connected to the University since I was 8 years old. And Arbiter, you clearly haven't fully experienced the NU social life if you think non NU students aren't involved in it.</p>
<p>No, I'm pretty much fully involved. Going to parties every so often does not make you an expert, or even a part of the social life here.</p>
<p>Hey, I'm just going off of my personal experiences and what I've been told by students who have attended the school for more than 5 months.</p>
<p>Do you seriously believe there's some kind of unknown force at NU that draws more "grinders" than its test scores indicate? Like a black hole? lol!. If NU has more grinders and less brilliant students than you want/expect, I am pretty sure you will see even more grinders at most of the schools you apply to because they have lower test scores. You should apply to schools with higher test scores, not lower and definitely not way lower like Colorado College. Our average SAT was 1423. So the ones that score like 1600 are gonna think a lot of people are grinders whereas the ones at the lower end are gonna think there are tons of brilliant people. It's all relative and depends on whom you talk to. I am pretty sure some Harvard students think some of their peers are grinders too.</p>
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And Arbiter, you clearly haven't fully experienced the NU social life if you think non NU students aren't involved in it.
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this statement alone shows that you have no idea of the actual social scene here</p>
<p>I applied to CC because of what makes it unique, and it's not as if I've decided to go there and it's not like that's the best school I could get into. Also, I will admit, I haven't spent much time talking to students from the other elite institutions in the country, but I have enough experience with students from some similarly elite schools (Middlebury, Dartmouth, Bowdoin, Stanford and a few others) to say that I've found more bright people at those schools. To use test scores as a measure of intelligence is not valid, especially because my logic would dictate that NU students would have taken plenty of test prep classes anyways. I got a 35 cold, and while I consider myself intelligent, I don't consider that to be evidence of my intelligence. Also, sure there are a lot of NU parties, but if you've ever been to a party at almost any other college in the nation, you'd understand my perspective.</p>
<p>the schools you mentioned, with the exception maybe of dartmouth, i will agree with you have more intellectual types than northwestern. northwestern is very pre-professional, most kids are looking to go to med/law/biz school, and aren't really there to intensely indulge in academics other than to get as nearly perfect grades as possible and get out. there are very few students (in my experience) at northwestern who are hoping to pursue PhD work or who take "harder" classes for the 'experience' when they have the option of taking something easier</p>
<p>this doesn't mean though, that northwestern students aren't as smart as students at these other, academically-oriented schools, they're just utilitarian with their academics. depending on your definition of "smart" they might actually be more so, for knowing the most efficient way to a lucrative and prestigious career, without spending a lot of time and money pursuing unprofitable academic work. obviously i'm sort of kidding with that, but you get my point</p>
<p>and PS the ACT is an achievement test. the SAT is the 'intelligence aptitude' test.</p>
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but I have enough experience with students from some similarly elite schools... to say that I've found more bright people at those schools.
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</p>
<p>I really, seriously doubt that is true, barring completely meaningless pure numbers manipulations. I also find your use of the word logic amusing.</p>
<p>that could actually be part of it as I've never really looked at it that way. That being said, in just normal conversation I've been unimpressed by a fair number students. I dunno,, they just didn't seem like the students I'd expect to see at a top 15 university</p>
<p>There are two things at play here, then: Your preconceived notions (known as biases) of what a student at a top 15 institution should be, and that Northwestern is a-typical in that regard. Wonderfully so.</p>
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what a student at a top 15 institution should be, and that Northwestern is a-typical in that regard. Wonderfully so.
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<p>amen to that</p>
<p>northwestern is also one of the most "fit" colleges in the country, by research and rankings. it's not a school full of argyle sweater-vests and philosophers, and that's why i like it.</p>
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it's not a school full of argyle sweater-vests and philosophers
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</p>
<p>merrr- I could use one or two more of those....</p>
<p>:sad Philosophy major face:</p>