<p>“…some would say Evanston/Chicago is slightly nicer than STL…”</p>
<p>Some would if they were masters of understatement…</p>
<p>The area surrounding WUSTL <em>is</em> pretty nice - upscale older homes, the park, downtown Clayton. The area surrounding NU is nice if you go north and immediately south (similar upscale older homes, with the added benefit of the lake) … downtown Evanston is a bit more city-ish than downtown Clayton, which has more of a suburban feel … but NU does have West Evanston. Honestly, approaching NU from the west, it looks kind of “eh” and not impressive at all and I shudder to think how many people approach NU from the west (that is, from O’Hare) and don’t realize how nice the areas are to the north and south. I think this comes down to personal preference, not an objective one-is-better.</p>
<p>Agree about the western suburbs. Fortunately they have no role in Northwestern student life other than being a drive-through going to/from O’Hare. Evanston has multiple the offerings of the immediate surroundings of Clayton. And with the El offering up multiple stops just a few blocks from NU’s campus it’s easy access to endless Chicago destinations like Lincoln Park, Wrigleyville, River North, Old Town, Streeterville, Wicker Park, Bucktown…</p>
<p>Unfortunately, St. Louis can’t hold a candle to what these neighborhoods offer students. And while I certainly agree the Clayton upscale homes are nice to look at, they hold no appeal to students other than offering an alternative to the urban blight that defines the drive from downtown St. Louis proper through local streets to the Wash U campus. “Downtown” Clayton is, let’s face it, an oxymoron. Just nothing there for students. Nice place to live but I wouldn’t want to visit?</p>
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WashU’s immediate surroundings (suburban Clayton, the Delmar Loop, Forest Park, and the Central West End) offer a wider variety of upscale shopping districts, bars, restaurants, theaters, museums, etc. As you say, the mansions are an additional aesthetic bonus. IMO this area is superior to Evanston. If you include Chicago, NU has the edge. However, I wouldn’t consider Chicago an integral part of NU.</p>
<p>I’m a fan of both campuses, but as Pizzagirl says, it comes down to measures of personal fit.</p>
<p>Does boosterism for a school even have to extend to the city it’s in?</p>
<p>I mean, really. St. Louis? </p>
<p>Evanston alone has a population of around 80,000 people and more than 170 restaurants. Clayton?</p>
<p>Saying Chicago’s not an integral part of NU is like saying Boston’s not an integral part of Harvard, MIT, Tufts, Brandeis or Wellesley. </p>
<p>Ask any Wash U senior where they’re rather live post grad, Chicago or St. Louis, and the answer will be something along the lines of what have you been smoking. If you’re 18-29 and talking quality of life, social scene, Chicago is not better, it’s unimaginably better than St. Louis. </p>
<p>Want to settle down to a suburban family life? “Upscale shopping”? Then maybe I’ll consider competing arguments. </p>
<p>Otherwise this is just putting lipstick on a pig. Sorry, but the lipstick can’t obscure the obvious.</p>
<p>^This is not worth getting worked up about. Again, I stand by my opinion that the immediate surroundings of WashU are superior to Evanston, while Chicago is a much nicer city overall than St. Louis. Prospective students can visit and come to their own conclusions.</p>
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<p>It doesn’t matter. I think it is a real negative for prospective students. West Evanston is incredibly unattractive and run-down, IMO, and then poof, there is Northwestern. If I didn’t know the school and the surroundings, I’d be decidedly unimpressed. And that’s how most people approach NU (from Golf Road / Emerson Street, from the West). </p>
<p>I actually wish the “official” directions on the website would steer people to come in through the southern part of Evanston so they could see some of the lovely old houses and the downtown shopping area before hitting the campus … Or steer them to come down on Sheridan Road through Wilmette, where they’ll see all the lovely lakeside homes. You can love NU, as I do, and still say that the entry point from the west is really bad.</p>
<p>Northwestern is larger, has a bigger greek presence on campus, and has big sports. It also is on a quarter system.</p>
<p>WashU is smaller and has a very pretty, compact campus. It is on a semester system.</p>
<p>Chicago weather is a bit colder/snowier than St. Louis.</p>
<p>^^^Chicago weather is a LOT colder and windier than St. Louis, not to mention that NU sits directly on a big lake.</p>
<p>That is not necessarily a vote for Wash U over NU, and definitely not a vote for St. Louis over Chicago, but if winter weather is a really big thing for a prospective student, then there is no doubt that St. Louis winters are milder than Chicago’s. (The last two winters in St. Louis have been far colder and snowier than normal. Winters are generally fairly mild, as compared with the north central and northeastern parts of the country.)</p>
<p>Forest Park, adjacent to the Wash U campus, is a major plus, by the way.</p>
<p>I agree about the weather comment. I went to high school in St. L and college in Chicago, and I still remember buying that knee-length purple down puffy coat …</p>
<p>I know this post is old but Pizzagirl, when I first visited NU, we took Lake Shore Drive to Sheridan Road and entered Evanston from the southern border. We never took the Golf Road exit from I-94 (IMO, too far from campus). We preferred the scenic route. ;)</p>
<p>Sure - because you were coming from Michigan!! Out-of-towners are likely to come through O’Hare, however, and wind up taking Golf Road all the way in. Golf Road is just fine throughout Glenview, Skokie, etc. but I think it’s really unimpressive once you hit west Evanston, and selfishly I wish the university would either help spruce up that area, or re-route people somehow to come in through a “nicer” east/west street. I think the impressions you get of NU are ENTIRELY different if you approach it from the south (charming mini-city), from the north (affluent suburbs) versus from the west (looks like a few steps up from the 'hood).</p>
<p>^^^So true. I always approach NU from the north or south. Never from the west.</p>
<p>So in other words, NU is kind of a “butterface”?</p>