<p>I applied to Northwestern this year and as I browse these forums, I get the impression that some current students aren't happy with the school's prestige. As somebody from the Midwest, the idea that Northwestern is not prestigious enough is really unthinkable to me so I was really shocked to find this out. Is it really the case that students there don't think the school is prestigious enough? If so, why do you guys have this kind of mentality? Personally, there's nothing more I would love than to go to this school. Just thinking about getting in is so exciting. Granted, I'm from the Midwest so my perception is probably skewed but before I came to this board, I never realized how much prestige other schools I applied to had. I knew Harvard was more prestigious and maybe Princeton and Yale but Dartmouth and University of Pennsylvania? I really had no idea Dartmouth and Penn carried the level of prestige they do until I came to this forum. So far, I have "likely letters" from Dartmouth and Penn and an admission to the University of Chicago, but given this new lens, I'm thinking twice about Northwestern when it was my first choice by a longshot before along with Harvard. Is this forum just extremely biased or are my perceptions off?</p>
<p>This forum basically has an “Ivy or nothing” mentality, which is completely wrong. A lot of the members here also seem to apply to schools for the wrong reasons, prestige alone. When selecting a school, it has to have the right “fit” for you regardless of its prestige.</p>
<p>Northwestern University is a great school in the US and one of the best schools in the midwest. On a national level, its name isn’t as recognizable as some other schools, but that doesn’t mean it’s not as good.</p>
<p>It also depends on your major you’re pursuing, since of course, despite some school’s prestige, some of their programs may not be as good as less prestigious schools with a stronger program in that particular area.</p>
<p>You should choose your school because you like what it has to offer and not because of its name.</p>
<p>CC is all about “IVY” and labels. Personally, I consider Northwestern more prestigious than Dartmouth, Cornell, and Brown. However, there will always be the “ivy” mentality that preoccupies this site. Most importantly, you must choose the university that offers to you what is most important to you. Northwestern has so much academically, culturally, and socially to offer its students. Look at the whole picture when choosing a college to attend. Zelda - don’t be swayed by chitchat- i hope you get into northwestern and choose to attend northwestern- i don’t think Penn, Dartmouth, or Chicago have anything over Northwestern-</p>
<p>HYP and MIT will generally carry more prestige. Penn, Dartmouth, Brown, Columbia, Cornell, Stanford, Chicago will carry similar levels of prestige nationally when talking general programs in Arts and Science.</p>
<p>Having said that, to people in particular fields - especially potential future employers - selected programs at Northwestern (e.g. Medill, engineering, art history, communications, MMSS, etc.) will often carry one farther than an HYP degree. </p>
<p>Computer science from Caltech or Carnegie Mellon, art history from Williams, architecture from Cornell or Rice, business from Wharton, biomed from Hopkins, hotel admin from Cornell, geology from Carleton, automotive engineering from Michigan, film and media studies from NYU, USC or UCLA etc, etc, etc similarly will be recognized for the standout quality they offer and carry one farther than even the respective high quality general school name would suggest come graduation time.</p>
<p>I have never met anyone in real life at NU who has complained that NU isn’t prestigious enough. I personally think it doesn’t get recognized enough by the average Joe - especially in comparison to U Chicago - but I think that to the people who matter and who know what they’re talking about (employers, grad school admissions officers, etc.), NU is a prestigious school to attend. Especially, as has already been mentioned, in areas such as journalism.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>There are always people who are obsessed with the Ivies, and they are welcome to their obsessions. People who really get it know that NU is in the same sphere both in terms of academic quality and prestige with Brown, Cornell, Penn, Dartmouth, and some top non-Ivies like JHU, Duke, U Chicago and Georgetown (although I personally would take NU over GU and JHU every time). Brown, Penn, Duke and Dartmouth are still harder to get into than NU, but they are in the same league in terms of quality, and if you like Chicago and Evanston (not to mention the Lake), NU beats them on location.
There are only a few universities that are clearly at the next level: HYP and Stanford, and possibly one or two others, plus a couple of small LACs, like Amherst and Williams.</p>
<p>But to get to the OP’s starting point, there might be some “current students” who have issues with prestige, but they don’t represent the student body, and there is no question you would find students unhappy with one aspect or another of every school if you looked for it (even HYPS). Ignore them. Make your own judgment based on how YOU feel about the school; the rest is a distraction, nothing more.</p>
<p>Have you visited Northwestern and the others schools where you have been accepted? They all have a very different feel. In fact, It is hard for me, personally, to see someone who would enjoy Northwestern, actually feeling a fit at Unversity of Chicago. Both great schools but TOTALLY different atmosphere. Go for fit over brand. Also what is your major? Those that have advised to choose by major when given more than one college are correct. (Provided, however it is a good fit). Visit, talk to alumni, professors, current students etc before making your decision. Northwestern has a strong reputation even here in the south, so that is not the issue. Also it seems many UofC students do not get into NU and vice versa. I think these schools, again, have a different environment, desire for a certain type of person and thus they choose their students accordingly.</p>
<p>The core issue is this: in any real sense, does an undergraduate degree from Northwestern (or, for that matter, Cal, or Michigan, or any other supposedly slightly less lofty school) somehow materially limit your future prospects? If not, even when compared to a degree from HYPS (leaving aside my disagreement with the poster who put Stanford in a different category from the others), then what does a fractional bit of perceived “prestige” matter?</p>
<p>I think it would be hard to argue that it is meaningfully harder to get into grad school/med school/law school/top-tier employment with a Northwestern degree vs. one of the Ivies.</p>
<p>Most students here are only disappointed that they got rejected from harvard, yale, princeton, etc. They don’t really care about the other ivies.</p>
<p>Personally, I look at Northwestern as the a Midwest Ivy. Have you seen their acceptance statistics? It is extremely competitive to get in. Some of their programs, such as journalism and theatre, are some of the best in the country. Northwestern may not be quite as prestigious are Harvard or Yale, but it is still one of the best schools in the country.</p>
<p>Someone might be able to make a case that Harvard,Princeton,Yale, Stanford, and MIT are in a class by themselves but, even if that is the case, right after that is the group including Northwestern, Penn, Columbia, Dartmouth,CalTech,Chicago. How much more prestige do you need than that?</p>
<p>if u go to harvard you feel like u are better than other people which is awesome</p>
<p>Never forget that one of the biggest imbeciles in history is a Harvard MBA.</p>
<p>objective: you don’t happen to be talking about our president, are you?</p>
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<p>I was going to ask who you meant but then I realized that the list is too darn long.</p>
<p>No. The current, rightfully elected President is a Harvard Law graduate.</p>
<p>The former, illegally installed, psuedo-president was, somehow, a Harvard MBA.</p>
<p>To the OP,</p>
<p>Help us out…</p>
<p>First you thought that NU was very prestigious. Then because of posts on this forum you worried that NU isn’t prestigious. Now your asking us if NU is prestigious “enough”?</p>
<p>Do I have that right?</p>
<p>oh god. i didn’t know that. obviously didn’t get in because of scholastic merit, that’s for sure.</p>
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<p>lol way to be objective. at least he’s the only one who obtained an mba…</p>
<p>w t f illegally installed? what you PO’d that you didn’t vote for him?</p>
<p>How soon they forget…</p>