<p>I'm a sophomore affliated with WCAS (Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences) and SESP (School of Education and Social Policy). While I have not declared my major officially, I'm interested mostly in African-American Studies, History, Sociology, Economics, Political Science and finally Social Policy (public policy). If you have any questions about those fields, I can give some advice on the departments and other college-related information.</p>
<p>Any advice on campus life, academics, Evanston/Chicago are also welcomed. DO NOT ASK ME ABOUT YOUR CHANCES OF ADMITTANCE. I will ignore you.</p>
<p>Freshmen, prospective students are welcomed to ask me questions!</p>
<p>Also: I will only post on a weekly basis. I will reply to all posts every Friday night. So if you post on Monday, dont expect a response from me until Friday. Sorry for the long wait but I have to keep up-to-date with my studies.</p>
<p>Tenisghs -- I remember you were unhappy at one point last year. I see you decided to stay and I hope that means you now are enjoying NU more.
I'm particularly interested in how you think a young woman of mixed race, who wants for the first time to be around African-American students and to explore that part of her heritage, might find it socially? Would she be able to mix easily with all groups on campus? How difficult would it be there to major in something like African American studies and still do well enough in some pre-med courses to get into medical school? Is pre-med there cutthroat?
Thanks!</p>
<p>how's the work load at NU of a TYPICAL student? (not premed or prelaw...)</p>
<p>are the students happy there? ]</p>
<p>College2004, </p>
<p>Social life is whatever you make of it. There are so many things to do here at NU that it will be impossible for me to state it all. Check out Northwestern's Student Home Page (HereAndNow - <a href="http://hereandnow.northwestern.edu/%5B/url%5D">http://hereandnow.northwestern.edu/</a>) and browse through what we have to offer. Many NU students love this school. I personally feel grateful to be here. The workload is doable and as long as you balance work and playtime with friends and activities, you will do well here.</p>
<p>Most NU students take 3-4 courses every quarter although some (like me) may take 5 courses (an overload) to fulfill major, academic and study abroad needs. I am trying to complete a double major so I have reasons to take 5 courses this quarter (and possibly winter quarter).</p>
<p>[I'm particularly interested in how you think a young woman of mixed race, who wants for the first time to be around African-American students and to explore that part of her heritage, might find it socially? Would she be able to mix easily with all groups on campus? How difficult would it be there to major in something like African American studies and still do well enough in some pre-med courses to get into medical school? Is pre-med there cutthroat?]</p>
<p>Sac,</p>
<p>Many people of mixed race/biracial backgrounds assimilate well into the NU atmosphere. There are mentor programs (you may talk to upperclassmen here of multiracial descent about their experiences). I know many involved in black student affairs or other cultural programs. I'm African-American but also affliated with the Hispanic Student Affairs program. </p>
<p>Why do you want to major in African-American Studies? The pre-med program is pretty intense as you have to pass certain pre-med courses (chem, bio, etc.). As for African-American Studies, I have taken three courses in the department so far and I love them all. We have a new female professor from Michigan State who is planning to implement a doctoral African-American Studies program by 2007 here at NU so that's a lot of excitement. </p>
<p>As for the pre-med track, it is very competitive as you have to pass certain pre-med courses (Chem, Bio, etc.). You do not have to major in Biology to be pre-med or receive acceptance from medical schools.</p>
<p>Don't worry, there are many Black students at Northwestern (although I would like to see more), and MANY, MANY ways for you to meet them; from special dinners with other Black students, to cultural activities in the "Black house", Northwestern offers its Black students several chances to meet and socialize.</p>
<p>I too am curious as to why you want to major in A-A studies. What about it sparks your interests? Moreover, pre-med is very, very difficult, epically the organic chemistry requirement; be sure that you are ready for such a path before you choose it, and good luck!</p>
<p>Thanks for the responses. I was raising the questions on behalf of someone in my family rather than myself. I think she might actually be better going off to a less competitive school, because I'm not sure her high school prepared her well enough for organic chemistry at Northwestern. But she wants to be in a city, to be able to have a more diverse group of friends (she's grown up in a mostly white part of the country) and to explore more about being African American. Any suggestions of schools she might add to her list?</p>
<p>Your sister/cousin can explore African-American studies courses without declaring a major in the field. There is always a minor or just taking courses as electives. Right now I'm just taking AAS courses that not only fit my major but benefit me. It's amazing how much we don't know about African-American history and culture until you take a course. The undergraduate years is for a broad liberal arts education and postgraduate studies for specialization and career aspirations. </p>
<p>The competition here at Northwestern is very high. I know a group of friends who took organic chemistry at schools like Harvard or during the summer where/when it was easier. I'm not a pre-med/engineering major, and I have courses that are difficult for me even if they are "soft subjects." No matter what, I am always learning and that's what counts.</p>
<p>I don't know other schools to recommend since any school in the same caliber as Northwestern will be difficult regardless. Have her assess her needs and preparation with a counselor or teacher and they can tell which schools fit her needs. Also make sure whether they want to be pre-dental, pre-pharmacy, nursing, etc. and have her look at schools that offer those programs.</p>
<p>How tough is it to double-major? Do a lot of students double major or major and minor? How is the diversity? Not just African-American (as I am myself) but of all the different races?</p>
<p>I'm not sure about the exact statistics of who double majors (~20%), but it's not that difficult at Northwestern, especially within Weinberg (CAS). NU has adjunct majors (Legal Studies, International Studies, Urban Studies, as examples) that can compliment majors and don't require a lot of courses and restrictions. This is what makes Weinberg totally worthwhile.</p>
<p>I know a few people who are double-majoring AND minoring (good luck to them!) but most people, IMO, do the major/minor route. Some only graduate with one major. You only need a major to graduate. Minor is totally optional. Just to keep in mind that those who do double-major came in with lots of AP/IB/college credit to place into sophomore standing during their freshman year (like me) or they take summer classes during college (which is an additional expense if you depend on financial aid.)</p>
<p>If you truly have personal passions and career goals for a double-major, by all means pursue it. Look at the undergraduate catalog to see if you would like to take all classes offered. If you can't finish it, you will always graduate with a minor in the field. Don't do it if you want to have resume advantages. So many people do double-majors nowadays it's not even "special" anymore.</p>
<p>If you are in the Music or Engineering school, you can qualify (apply) for the 5-Year Degree Program with CAS sothat you're not trying to squeeze all your classes into four years. Many students are in this program.</p>
<p>Tenisghs, where are you finding all this personal attention? I only have one class under 240, and I'm in Intro to Soc. so you know that is huge. I want to find smaller classes to take Winter Quarter. I'm a freshman in Communications and so I don't even have a freshman seminar and can't take one either. Is there anything I can do besides only taking foreign language classes?</p>
<p>Anyone applying who really belives they want to go to a small school DO NOT COME HERE! I really wanted to go to a small school, NU is the biggest school I applied to and the only one over 2,000 students. I'm regretting it now. My friends at small LAC's are having a great time there with the connections to their profs. I was looking at the prospect of transfering to a smaller school today but you have to get prof. recommendations and things like that, which is kind of hard when you've only been in school for a month and there is no reason for all but one of your professors to even know your name. Anyway, just a warning. NU is a great school, just not the right one to look at if you want small classes at all for the first two years.</p>
<p>My largest class at Northwestern during my freshman year was Introduction to Sociology (600 students) and smallest class was my foreign language (7 students.) On average that year, I had classes that averaged 50 students, which is pretty small compared to state schools. It depends on which classes you take, your major, and whether you're pre-med/pre-law/pre-business. Even my Calculus classes never exceeded 40 students, and the discussion sections had split 20/20 students. I've had friends at state schools where their math classes were over 100 students. Now that's a scary situation.</p>
<p>This year, as a sophomore, my largest class is Econ with only 160 students. My other two are 80 and 35 students. One involves a discussion section of 20 students. My smallest class is 15 students (300-level Political Science elective). The small classes do exist. It depends on your schedule and how you choose your courses: The lower-level, introductory courses will always have more students (but also depends on popularity of the major) than upper-level, narrow-focused topics. More popular majors will always have more students enrolled in their courses. That's normal for all colleges.</p>
<p>Northwestern does have small class sizes. You have to seek those courses (CAESAR/CTECs) if you want more personal attention from your professors. In my class of 80 students, the professor already knows my name just because I went up to him and had a conversation with him related to the course (this is a 300-level course). A lot of it has to do with assertiveness. But as a general rule of thumb, if the class exceeds 100 people, personal attention will be small to non-existent. Professor will see you as a number and is best to not engage in a conversation when he probably has other things to do. (I experienced this by taking two different courses with the same professor from 160 students to 35 students. Surprise: more engaging and friendly and encouraged class discussion. He already knows me and a future letter of recommendation on my list of professors.). </p>
<p>You're only been at Northwestern for a month! I was in the same boat as you during my first month at NU how I felt the atmosphere was isolating. By spring quarter, I knew everyone and my teachers started to pay more attention. A lot of it has to do with my own intiative to be outspoken and assertive for my needs. It's too immature for you to label the school as too big. If you think NU is too big, you would surely be lost at UIllinois, UMichigan, UWisconsin, etc. Harvard, Duke and Stanford are the SAME SIZE as Northwestern.</p>
<p>Tenisghs,
How accessible are your profs? How frequently are classes taught by TAs? Do you sense that your profs genuinely want to be in the classroom, or do they seem to be eager to get back to their research? I'm trying to help my daughter choose between attending a research university versus a LAC and I'm concerned about some of what I've been reading here and in your older thread about large class sizes and being shut out of courses. I'm surprised that TAs are involved at all (nothing against them, as I was one myself many years ago :) ), given the price tag. Thanks for your input!</p>
<p>Tensghs,
I posted my previous question after reading your older thread and I see that you've already addressed one of my concerns pretty clearly regarding professor accessibility. I have to say that I'm disappointed that students feel that they may need to keep their distance from the prof because s/he may have more important things to worry about! But I would still like to know how frequently TAs teach courses or discussion sections?</p>
<p>When I looked at colleges, I judged what type of majors they offer and the size of the school. I knew immediately I wanted to attend a research university because they tend to offer more interdisciplinary majors (I have mutliple interests) than smaller LACs, and sometimes (although I wouldn't recommend this criteria in selecting schools) the best professors in their fields teach at research universities. So if you have questions about anything in class or about a particular research they're doing, it's all a matter of a) speaking up in class or after class hours b) attend their office hours by appointment.</p>
<p>One of the majors I may declare would have not been at a LAC because it's interdisplinary in material. I went to a small high school so I can understand why you prefer the LAC environment. Northwestern for me is a perfect size between Michigan and errr...Oberlin, for example. Classes that are taught by TAs are usually the lower-level, introductory courses like Chemistry, Psychology and Economics. Rarely will it be a 300-level or higher course unless it is popular among the students to take and it's usually only one TA with the class size capped not to exceed 100 students.</p>
<p>The more popular the major is, the more likely you will have a TA. Not all TAs here are evil. They email important information (we have a system here called Blackboard) to remind us of certain deadlines. But most of the time, the professor emails us regarding a course. One of my history TAs already knows my name. Many (depending on the department) take the extra effort to remember our names and know our faces in my TA discussion class of 25 students. We had to fill out notecards with our names, where we're from, our major and our favorite city and talk about ourselves in a round-table fashion, for example. I feel certain departments here at Northwestern taking TAs very seriously since many (but not all) will become future professors.</p>
<p>If the TA seems neglectful or rude, don't take it personally. This is not high school where they must know you, especiallly if it is Calculus (a math distributin course). The TAs are not doing your recommendations. Freshman year is a time of getting certain distribution requirements out of the way so it does feel intimidating and frustrating by the number of larger classes. However, as you progress at Northwestern and choose your major/interests, the classes remarkably become smaller. I DO recommend taking courses with professors in smaller settings even if it's a 300-level course and you're a freshman. It can be your second or third class with him. S/he will notice you and think highly of you if you're modest and interested in the material.</p>
<p>Supermodel, you do not have to be a Dance major/minor to join dance-related clubs and activities. I have a friend who is in FUSION and she's not a dance major! The tryouts can be brutal, but if you have what it takes, they may enroll you. Hope this helps!</p>