<p>Is it nonexistent?</p>
<p>I will be a light drinker/ light partier, but at the same time, I anticipate that I would like to have free time to hang out with friends. Do people at Northwestern do more than study?</p>
<p>Also, with regards to studying, is it impossible to get good grades if you don't study 24/7? </p>
<p>For a high achiever in high school, are A's at NW only for those who got 2400's and 36's?</p>
<p>I will answer your questions, but before I do, I will direct you to the lovely "search function"- there are TONS of threads on this point.</p>
<p>No, NU's social life is not non-existant, especially if oyu're not inimical to joining a fraternity (or at least going to them, 40% greek). Bring a fake ID, because the bar scene is big too. You will have plenty of free time or not, depending on how hard the classes you choose to take are (Engineer?), how involved you are in clubs, and honestly how smart you are- I don't spend all that much time studying, but I know many people who spend twice as much time to pull down the same grades.</p>
<p>Obviously that means you don't need to study 24/7, but there's definitely classes and periods of hte term (the frequent midterms) where you will need to put socializing in hte backseat to studying.</p>
<p>A's are fairly easy to get if you put in the work and are pretty smart. If you barely got in to NU stats wise, prepare to struggle. If you rocked your way in, it should be an easy 4 years.</p>
<p>i completely agree with arbiter213, some people work very hard to to get b+'s, and some people do very little work (at least until the night before midterms/finals), and get A's</p>
<p>I got a 34 on the ACT (after a few takes) and was ranked in the top 2% (6 out of 400) at a fairly competitive private high school. I plan to study economics. Will I be struggling to get B+'s? I have scored 5's on every one of the AP's I have taken with moderate amounts of study, except for the Physics B one, which I scored a 3 on b/c I studied for about 30 min.</p>
<p>^I'm sure you would be fine.</p>
<p>Grades depend HIGHLY on major. For Econ...you will have to put in some work. Also depends on teachers.</p>
<p>i had an overnight the social scene seems pretty boppin. bars and frats are big</p>
<p>I don't mind work, I understand sacrifice, I just hope I wont have to study 24/7 just to get a B. I hope A's are possible in Econ; just allow them to be possible. I can work, but I'd also like a social life. Is this possible?</p>
<p>Haha yes, of course it is. NU students are great about partying...more than you'd think, actually (I still am surprised at the number of my friends who go out every Monday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday EACH week), but they crack down when they need to. Especially around midterms/finals. And I only suffered through the intro econ classes, but A's were definitely possible in them (I was about the same as you in HS and I managed A- and A, and the first one was one of the first classes I took at NU).</p>
<p>i'd say northwestern probably has the best social life in the top 15</p>
<p>the other schools that can make a case are </p>
<p>princeton (eating clubs, strong school bond)
cornell (social scene similar to northwestern's but it's in the middle of nowhere)
dartmouth (really close campus)
penn (lots of drinking, i have heard, but in the middle of the ghetto)</p>
<p>obviously i'm biased but i would say for these reasons, northwestern probably has the best social life of the top 15 schools.</p>
<p>and to more specifically answer your question, yes, it is fun here, people aren't studying all the time.</p>
<p>OP - the social life is probably the last thing you have to worry at NU.</p>
<p>You can party 7 days a week if that's what you like.</p>
<p>i'd say penn is probably the most competitive in terms of social life. on-campus atmosphere is pretty similar while it also has the convenience and attractions of having a large city next door.</p>
<p>^yeah, I wish NU had a large city next door...</p>
<p>
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i'd say penn is probably the most competitive in terms of social life. on-campus atmosphere is pretty similar while it also has the convenience and attractions of having a large city next door.
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</p>
<p>sorry, try again.</p>
<p>...suggests NU doesn't have a large city next door.</p>
<p>haha i didn't realize this would actually cause an argument. </p>
<p>but, i was responding to elsijfdl's post about possible competition for northwestern. i was saying not only is penn's on-campus atmosphere similar (to northwestern's) but it also has a large city next door.</p>
<p>not sure what's so difficult to understand.</p>
<p>i'm going to northwestern. do you REALLY think i wouldn't correct a statement that made it seem like there wasn't a city next door?</p>
<p>Yah, grammatically that construction works like a "not only...but also". I'm also gonna go ahead and point out that Chicago >>>>>>>>>> Philly, as someone whose two halves of their family are from, respectively, Chicago and Philly.</p>
<p>But you're right, Penn and NU are very, very similar.</p>
<p>Really? Oh. :( I haven't visited NU yet, but I hated Penn when I visited because it seemed SO cutthroat competitive. Is this the case with NU? Please be honest.</p>
<p>No, that'd be the main difference. At the end of the day, we're not an Ivy- in the best possible way. And we're in the midwest, not the Northeast.</p>