NU Sophomore Taking Questions (contd.)

<p>No, I only asked. I am not work/study eligible either but I still found an on-campus job.</p>

<p>What's SESP? School of Education and Social Policy? Who'd you go to to ask about the research assistant job? What kind of knowledge do those sorts of jobs require? Do you work in a lab with a professor or what do you do exactly? Are there jobs like that available for science majors, bio specifically? Is the best place to go professors or is there some sort of office for that?</p>

<p>Advisors, professors, students, posters.... I had luck when my major advisor told me about a job opening for a professor. Right now, I'm scheduled to work for him again this school year. Maybe I'll get a raise. heh.</p>

<p>Okay, so...I can get a job right away, like during New Student Week? Is that even possible? XD</p>

<p>Hmm...another question...what banks are nearby? I'll probably have to open a checking account near NU. I have a savings account with Harris bank...would it be better to just open a checking account with them?</p>

<p>I would recommend US bank, as it is the bank which is tied to the university and also to your student I.D. It also has several ATM’s around campus, and a branch inside the university center. Also, you can get a job during NSW, but it will be more difficult than waiting until the entire campus returns.</p>

<p>Haha, I just realized that now I’m a Northwestern sophomore taking questions!</p>

<p>Yup, kk19131 said it perfectly. I still have two bank accounts (US Bank with the school and my Credit Union back home). The US Bank account will be much more convenient on-campus. </p>

<p>Now I'm a Northwestern Junior taking questions! I may have to retire from this gig, and let the young folks take care of it, eh?</p>

<p>I was wondering if you know anything about a society called Basiliaz or Deru. I know Deru is not-so-secret, but i can't find anything on the other. The Order of Basiliaz is sorta like Skull and Bones at Yale I guess, but probably not as influential, as is evident by Bush and Kerry being members.</p>

<p>Are the desk chairs supplied by NU fairly comfortable? My son is at Notre Dame and they supply a straight-back, 4-leg oak desk chair. No swivel, casters, or padded seat - he was advised by upperclassmen to bring his own chair. I get the impression that it won't be necessary at Northwestern. Is that true? I was told that University-supplied furniture can't be removed from the room, so my daughter will also have to consider space. Advice?</p>

<p>Northwestern's chairs are very similar to the ones you've mentioned. You are not really allowed to take them out of the room. Some students have brought their own chairs for their own comfort. I just brought a pad so that the chair wouldn't be so uncomfortable. Don't get too luxurious becuase the rooms are not that big, especially if he has a single.</p>

<p>Thanks, tenisghs! I work for an office furniture manufacturer so I'm pretty picky about my desk chair. Luxury isn't really an issue - it's more the comfort of the seat/back and there are some small ones that are good. Maybe I'll send a chair pad with her and let her decide about a new chair later. We're relatively close (Michigan) so it wouldn't be much of a problem to get it there. No word yet on room type or roommate. She should find out this week.</p>

<p>I found the chairs supplied by the school to be AWFUL. However, I didn't realize quite how bad they are until I got a real desk chair and compared it with the school-issued ones. I would recommend getting a cheap desk chair - mine was less than $60 bucks, but worth every penny. It makes all the difference when you are just lounging in your room to be sitting in something comfortable rather than a couple of hunks of 2x4s and a torn-up cushion seat. I just stashed my old desk chair somewhere in the dorm and retrieved it at the end of the year.</p>

<p>Hi, I've been perusing this site for a few months now and just now decided to join. I'm a Junior from a competitive public High School in New York. I've been looking at a bunch of medium to large schools in other parts of the nation, as I'm not interested in staying near home. The main ones are: Vanderbilt, U Michigan, Emory, Washington St. Louis and NU. I probably won't get in regular decision to NU so... I have a few questions about NU - which I'm seriously considering for ED:</p>

<ol>
<li>Is it a very clique school? HOW clique? Are kids willing to have friends in different groups?</li>
<li>Are brand names a very big deal?</li>
<li>How big is school spirit? (Considering the general success of the sports teams in the Big 10)</li>
<li>What is THE main downside of NU, if you HAD TO say. Haha, please don't give the dreaded response, which comes in several forms including: "I don't know", "No majoy downside", "No downside" etc.</li>
<li>Is Evanston a good college town?</li>
</ol>

<p>Thank you very much.</p>

<p>well, i haven't started yet, but this is from the impression i got after visiting there in april, working there my junior year, and living in the chicago suburbs for 15 years.</p>

<ol>
<li><p>people have told me it's not very clique-ish, but at the same time, you're not going to know all 2-3 thousand people in your class. it's definitely very diverse. you got your drama people, your techy people, your bio people, your musical people, your punkish rockstars, your asians, your blacks, your whites, etc. in general, college is just more laid back in regards to friends and stuff... less drama, at least i hope so.</p></li>
<li><p>well, i think the stats is like 75% of the students come from household incomes of 250k + or something like that. so they're definitely middle class / upper middle class. but again, it's not like people are gonna look down on you because you're not wear gucci, prada, or armani. at least i could hardly care what you want to wear.</p></li>
<li><p>haha, actually, the major sports in hs (ie. football, basketball, etc.) is not one of northwestern's assets. but i think there's school spirit. they have a clock tower that lights up purple when the football team wins. in the spring, the school plants purple flowers haha. it's not like notre dame where 100% of the student body goes to the football games, but i'm sure it's not completely dull either.</p></li>
<li><p>well, from what i've heard from the alumni (i don't trust the words of the current students as much on this aspect), it was never much of a party school in the past. but that could be a good thing, cuz then you find a balance of school and partying. the cops are hardcore. and there's no parking space. </p></li>
<li><p>evanston is your typical college town. movies, shops, restaurants. i used to walk into town every week to grab lunch when i was workin at a lab there. the movie theatre is pretty nice. the bars are not enticing from what i've heard, but whatever, chicago's right next door. it's a relatively safe town, but i've been warned to stay away from certain areas after dark, and especially walk with a friend.. some people have been mugged before.. but that's the case in practically every college campus including harvard.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>glamourbaby19 - Thanks much for the opinion on the chair. I'll definitely get one for her. I know I don't like sitting in a wood chair, even with a cushion, for any length of time!</p>

<p>swtvtgyrl, thanks a lot for that response. very in depth and helpful. are you a student? prior student? or going to be there? anyone else can give info from a different perspective?</p>

<p>Mary - you're welcome! I think Office Depot and Office Max will ship chairs for free if your D is willing to put it together herself.</p>

<p>TBB- (I will be a sophomore at NU this year)
1. I wouldn't say Northwestern is as cliquey as high school, but there are very defined social groups. The North-South campus divide is particularly apparent. However, if YOU make the effort to get to know different types/groups of people, you can easily combat the cliques.
2. As much as I hate to say it, brand name clothing is kind of a big deal. No one really judges your clothes, but since most of the kids at Northwestern come from a certain economic bracket, their wardrobes tend to reflect this income. North Face, Lacoste and Seven Jeans are particularly popular.
3. School spirit is somewhat strong. By no means does the whole campus go to all the football games, but the students aren't entirely LACKING in school spirit either. For obvious reasons, the lacrosse team is increasingly popular lately...
4. The main downside to NU is, well, the classes, I guess. I know that sounds stupid, but the things I love most about Northwestern have nothing to do with anything academic. I love the people - the students there are some of the best people I've ever met. Many things about NU will irritate you from time to time (the weather, the nasty food, the unrelenting schedule of tests and papers...), but you get over it and realize the good things about Northwestern. Each person has their own likes and dislikes about the school he/she attends, so it's hard to say what are the best and worst parts.
5. Hmmm...the question to which I have the most mixed feelings and the least definitive answer. Evanston is a good college town in that there are many restaurants and a good movie theater. When the weather is nice, it's enjoyable just walking around "downtown" Evanston in the evening. Chicago is "right next door," but most students find that they don't visit Chicago nearly as much as they want to because downtown Chicago is a GOOD 40 minutes on the El, and most students find that they don't have the time to give for nearly an hour-and-a-half of travel plus whatever time they would want to spend downtown. The bars and clubs in Evanston are nearly non-existent (All except The Keg, our local..."bar" I guess you'd call it... which many NU students visit 3+ nights a week). Like swtvtgyrl said, there are many places in Evanston that you shouldn't walk around alone at night, but who wants to walk around alone at night anyway?</p>

<p>im an incoming freshman. so what i said is just from visiting during previewnu, doing research there, and living in the chicago area.</p>

<p>great answer, glamourbaby! Thanks especially for the details, finally got an insider's look and learned some things i didn't know about NU...</p>

<p>What is the social atmosphere at allison like and is there a mix of different people or is it just all theater majors? Also do alot of the people go up North to party or do they stay down south?</p>

<p>I seem to be spending quite a lot of time on CC lately (oh the laziness of summer...) so I guess I'll answer yankees' question first:
Allison is a great dorm. My opinion is that it is the most diverse dorm on campus. For the most part, the people are very normal and not very clique-ish. Anywhere on south campus there will be a high percentage of theater majors, but Allison is def. not overrun by those who favor the dramatic. I found that a lot of the people who lived in Allison and Willard went up north to the frat parties and also went to the theater fundraising parties down south. People will walk up north for the big parties, the ones they know will be good, but won't necessarily schlep all the way up there for something that might be ok.</p>