<p>Which s the best school for a no-nonsense kid?</p>
<p>All 3 attract their shares of no-nonsense kids. Tell us more?</p>
<p>UChicago, see the thread about Northwestern vs. Chicago for more insight on this debate.</p>
<p>a lot of people bash this school but I believe that Washington University In St. Louis is the best school out of the 3</p>
<p>I completely disagree… I really don’t think WUSTL compares to either Northwestern or Chicago. </p>
<p>It terms of the no-nonsense thing… I think you need to tell us more what you are looking for.</p>
<p>For undergrad, I’d go for Northwestern then UChicago then WUSL. For grad school, it depends on the program. But NU and UChicago are neck-and-neck in almost all factors.</p>
<p>You’ll need to elaborate on “no-nonsense” for any constructive feedback, but all other things aside, having visited St. Louis this year, I have to say as a city Chicago blows St. Louis out of the water. I obviously wasn’t expecting St. Louis to be as grand a city as Chicago to begin with, but just because it is one of the largest metropolitan areas in the Midwest, I was actually shocked to see the state that St. Louis was in. Every part of the city we drove through, the infrastructure and architecture looked as if it could easily collapse in a few years, and the vast majority of the city that we passed by driving to WashU and the downtown area with the Arch was extremely run-down and dangerous. I guess was expecting St. Louis to be a pleasant mid-sized city like Boston, but that was hardly the case. Even as we walked around the famous Arch area we had to search a good half an hour for a decent restaurant/diner to have lunch at and ran into at least five different beggars on the streets that chased us down for money, in the supposedly nicest commerce area of St. Louis. I have to say I’ve never been more disappointed with a city as a whole. WashU’s campus was decent itself, with new living areas being built and all (it sort of looked like a townhouse village in development in a Chicagoland suburb like Glenview), but there wasn’t really anything to do or anywhere to eat in walking distance from campus and again driving a few minutes away from campus, we found ourselves in a very run-down neighborhood where there were holes in the roofs. I don’t think it helped that all the trees had lost their leaves at the time we visited, but the overall impression I got was a that of a dying city.</p>
<p>On the other hand, Chicago is stunning in its looks but also in the culture it offers. Even after spending my weekends in Chicago for the the past three years, it still has yet to disappoint me. It really is surprisingly safe for a big city too, far more than LA, New York or Philly. I have to say it’s a great city to explore while you’re a college student, and both Northwestern and U of C are about the same distance to the downtown district called the Loop, 25~30 minutes by the El train. There’s also a lot of fun places and nice restaurant/cafes in the uptown area just 15~20 minutes from Northwestern, Wrigleyville, Lakeview, Argyle and Bucktown to name a few, while U of C is close to China Town, where you can get amazing authentic Chinese food. Evanston itself is called the Food Capitol of Chicagoland with a bunch of nice bistros to eat at just acrossed the streat from campus, while Hyde Park is a historic neighborhood that also has a lot of culture to offer as well. So once you get tired of the touristy things in Chicago like shopping on Michigan Avenue or going to Navy Pier (and trust me that happens pretty fast), exploring the rest of the authentic neighborhoods in the city is also a lot of fun.</p>
<p>I don’t know how much you care about location, but that’s my take on that.</p>
<p>gd016, I think you forgot to mention the south side of Chicago where Hyde Park is located</p>
<p>also I think Washington University In St. Louis was ranked among the top 10 for best quality of life for students</p>
<p>Yeah admittedly the South Side and West Side of Chicago are the areas known to be more dangerous than the others, but as I understand Hyde Park is safe around the proximity of the campus. Purely in terms of safety, the North Side neighborhoods that are easily accessible from Northwestern and the Loop are safer than the South Side. But even so, I’ve been to Chinatown numerous times and have never once felt that it was particularly dangerous. In college, you’ll find it that you do things with a fairly large group of friends and that usually keeps you from being singled out for any type of trouble.</p>
<p>I still standby the fact that the area just outside of WashU looked for more dangerous than U of C.</p>
<p>akorn, you need to be more specific regarding the atmosphere that you are looking for. </p>
<p>gd106 did a real unfair bashing job on St. Louis. I don’t think he knew where to go in St. Louis and it sounds as if he headed towards the arch area in the city–which has little to offer besides the arch and is not the part of the city the WashU students frequent. Unfortunately for him, he missed all the nice areas! </p>
<p>I’m not going to tell you that St. Louis is a better city than Chicago, but the fact is that WashU is far from the seedy parts of St. Louis and is in fact in a beautiful upscale suburban area. It is walking distance from a “hip” section called the Loop which has fun shops and restaurants and abuts Forest Park which is a huge park with a boating lake, ice skating, the art museum, the zoo…etc. Right across Forest Park, near the med school, is a very nice section called the Central West end, also with great restaurants and shops. The school is an easy metro ride to the baseball park and concert venues. Clayton, also right near the school has nice shops and reaturants as well. </p>
<p>My D has lived her entire life with NYC at her footsteps and while St. Louis can’t top NYC or Chicago, it has proven to be a fine place to spend four years, particularly given the fact that she spends the majority of her time on or near the gorgeous WashU campus. </p>
<p>Unless you are looking for a true “city experience” versus a traditional campus experience, don’t let the city drive your choice of school. Most kids at campus schools spend the vast majority of their time on or near campus. </p>
<p>As for the “no-nonsense” aspect, please be more specific. All three schools are top notch academically and filled with bright, high achieving students. U Chicago has the reputation of having a more “serious” vibe while both Northwestern and WashU have “work hard, play hard” reputations.</p>
<p>I didn’t mean to deliberately bash on St. Louis, sorry if it came across that way. I was just giving my subjective impression after my visit. I actually went down to visit a friend at WashU, so I think he tried his best to show us around the best parts of town, but that’s still the impression I got. I think it has to do with being so amazed and impressed with Chicago coming from LA, then expecting once again a refreshing city with some sort of Midwestern charm. And we actually did drive past the med school and its surrounding area, but I still can’t say it was impressive at the least. Any city has zoos, art museums, and little lakes with boats, but it’s not the mere presence of such things but the quality and culture involved in it that makes it a nice city. On the other hand, just to let you know I’m not biased against small to mid-sized cities, I was also thoroughly impressed with Madison, Wisconsin upon my visit. Not only was the campus beautiful, but the city of Madison itself was very beautiful surrounded by lakes with a lot of green everywhere, and the state street district is possibly one of the nicest areas I’ve spent time in, with authentic cafes and restaurants galore. It reminded me of Oldtown Pasadena actually. At any rate, no, I don’t think always think big cities like New York or Chicago are “good” environments for a college student as opposed to small, mid-sized cities like St. Louis and Madison. In fact, New York City is one place I don’t particularly want to ever live in personally. But I do think Chicago is a particularly good college environment along with a few others like Boston, Madison, Berkeley/San Francisco and Ann Arbor.</p>
<p>I’m not sure if I would call Wash U’s campus “decent.” I’ve seen HYPM + many, many others, and Wash U’s is one of my favorites. There aren’t many schools with a soccer field in a main quad. But that’s of course personal opinion.</p>
<p>One of the things that’s so great about the area that Wash U is in is that Forest Park is literally right across the street. Sure, Chicago has art museums and zoos as well that may trump those in St. Louis (though probably not the zoo), but how many are directly across the street from Northwestern? It’s also a plus that most of the attractions in the park are completely free. </p>
<p>Also, The Loop is AWESOME, and there’s a nice bridge and path that leads directly from campus to the area in about 10-15 minutes. Delicious ethnic food abounds, as well as Blueberry Hill, home once a month to Chuck Berry (hey, the blues may not be high culture, but it’s culture). </p>
<p>I’ve spent a lot of time in NYC, Boston, Philly, Baltimore, and D.C., and I found Wash U’s St. Louis to be a great place to spend four years.</p>
<p>Not to burst your bubble, but I don’t see why a college student would want to be right across the street from a zoo… The Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago is a 20 minute drive from Northwestern, but going to the zoo is one thing I haven’t ever wanted to do in Chicago. Maybe a lot later when I get married and have kids. And wouldn’t you rather have world class museums (the Art Institute of Chicago is, in fact, world class as well as the Museum Campus on Northerly Island) in a half-an-hour distance than just any museum across the street? In fact, it’s kind of nice that the Museum Campus is all the way down at Northerly Island because when we have our formals there, say at the Field Museum or Shedd Aquarium, the moment you step out for a breeze, you get a beautiful view of Chicago’s U-shaped night skyline which is pretty fascinating. But frankly if we’re talking “solely” about location, I don’t think WashU has anything over the other two in question. I’m sure WashU has plenty of unique qualities to itself that makes it an appealing school, I just don’t really agree being in St. Louis is one of them.</p>
<p>Those are 3 of my choices…
What I mean by no nonsense is as little partying as possible. Now obviously Northwestern is a huge school so there will be some of everything but buy and large, which of the three has the least sexual atmosphere.</p>
<p>gd016, no one is trying to convince you or anyone that St. Louis is a better city than Chicago. We are simply trying to clarify the fact that for a four year college experience, the area in St. Louis near WashU has alot to offer students. Also, I reiterate that unless you are going to a school that is actually in the city ( like NYU, BU, U of Chicago) the actual city you are near is alot less important than the school itself, the campus and its “vibe”. Remember the vast majority of your time will be spent on or near campus. Therefore, being able to walk to the Loop or Forest park between classes at WashU can be more of a lifestyle plus to students than being a half hour drive away from an exciting city.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>I know college is often shown in movies as party 24/7, but what I’ve noticed is that you have to be the one to go out and find the party if that’s what you’re into. I don’t go to parties so to me personally it doesn’t seem like a big part of what is “college life.” But I’m fairly sure U of C is your best bet if you want to see the least parties on campus whether or not you actually go to them.</p>
<p>nervous1, point taken. I just wanted to share my impression of St. Louis and the surrounding area after my visit. Even in comparison to a school like UW Madison or U of M Ann Arbor, which are in smaller cities, it seemed to me that WashU’s surrounding environment was not as pleasant, and in comparison to the downtown Evanston area across the street from my campus, left something to be desired in both restaurants and cafes. I still do think there’s more to WashU that makes it a good choice, but to say it for the last time, it’s my subjective opinion that location is not one of them.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>…I’m not sure how to respond to that. I think it’s really up to yourself, nobody’s gonna make you do anything you know.</p>
<p>WUSTL is simply overrated.</p>
<p>^ That’s the opposite of what you just said (I saw what you said before your edit), but why?</p>
<p>Ignore Phead. He is one of the CC WashU bashers who shows up on any thread that gives him an opportunity to say something negative about WashU. Let it go Phead. You are happy at Johns Hopkins, right? Why don’t you focus your posting time on giving prospective Hopkins kids tips and advice about your school instead of ■■■■■■■■ around bashing WashU.</p>
<p>If safety is your concern, Northwestern. The campus sits on beautiful Lake Michigan and borders affluent neighborhoods. NU also offers the most diverse opportunities for undergraduate students outside the college of arts and sciences (e.g., education, journalism, engineering, music, and communications)</p>