<p>North2South,</p>
<p>You seem to have a pretty strong opinion without having gone there and somehow you have the same take from “all” of your friends. Yet, actual statistics says NU has 97% freshmen retention rate (similar to other peers) and NU students have been pretty successful in winning scholarships, which need support from the adminstration and faculty. Other than having 4 Goldwater scholars this year and 3 in each of the past 3 years, NU students had the highest # of Fulbright this year and before that, they were among the top-5 3 years in a row before. So I am not even talking about one-time event here.</p>
<p>Not to be a jerk, but I think retention rate and top scholarships are terrible reasons to judge how “involved” or happy people are with there school. Sure 97 freshmen out of 100 stayed for their second year, but that doesn’t mean that all 97 of them were happy with NU. It’s very likely that many of those 97 were not satisfied but chose not to transfer because a) transferring is a pain in the @ss b) they don’t want to admit they’re unhappy c) they just decide to stick it out d) other. </p>
<p>And regarding the Goldwater scholarships, I really don’t believe the school has any influence in one person’s scholarship candidacy. People who are good enough to win those awards will win them wherever they go.</p>
<p>I agree with North2SOuth. Visit the school. Talk to people. Meet professors. Wander through campus. Meet other prefrosh. Meet upperclassmen and decide for yourself, “do they represent what I want to be in four years?” I loved NU on paper but visited last year and hated it. To me, the atmosphere of campus seemed to be just like the weather: cold.</p>
<p>Go where you feel comfortable. These are top 20 schools. Eight spots in the US News and world report rankings are not going to determine whether you are successful in life or not, so you might as well be happy with your school. You only get to go to college once, so make sure you do it right.</p>
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Your view is way too simplistic. They are much more involved than you think and require support from the Fellowship office (aka. adminstration) and faculty (great rec letters). Also, to be considered for scholarships like Goldwater at the first place, you have to have great research experience which involves the faculty. There are tons of undergrad research opportunities and lots of funding to support them. Again, they come from the administration. When I applied to grad schools, all the three NU faculty I asked were happy to write recommendation letters for me (I got into all of the 8 schools I applied). When I was in grad school (which will remain nameless) and do the same for a scholarship application, That prof told me he’s very busy and told me to write a draft! I am not trying to say NU is a happy heaven; but to say its adminstration/faculty are worse than others is inconsistent to my experience and actual stats.</p>
<p>I think NU and ND have a very different “feel” to them. The best advice is to visit. The schools are in fairly close proximity. My S visited NU and although, like others mentioned, it looked great on paper, it wasn’t at all to his liking–to the extent he didn’t even apply.</p>
<p>OTOH-he knew the moment he entered ND it was his 1st choice. ND seems to evoke stronger reactions (either pro or con) than most schools. Visits can validate “gut reactions” that are difficult to quantify.</p>
<p>to the OP, the solution is very simple----go to Notre Dame for undergrad premed and then go to Northwestern for med school. You get the best of both worlds. Northwestern is probably a little more diverse and more international and eclectic, mostly because of the Catholic nature of Notre Dame which tends to produce a more homogenous student body. I got the sense that Northwestern was very divided in its ‘north and south’ campuses, ie the arty liberal arts types don’t hang much with the business and science students. Notre Dame has a very unifying “we’re all in this together” atmosphere. The differences between living in Chicago and South Bend are obvious—if you like the hustle and bustle (and increased expense) of living in/near the city, then NW would be your choice. If you don’t like the idea of being in the city, then the relaxed serenity of ND’s campus is probably for you. Both are great schools with very similar student bodies academically.</p>
<p>@Shankapotamus: Yepp, this is what I ended up deciding upon. However, getting back into NU for grad school is much easier said than done.</p>