<p>Hello all,</p>
<p>I'm applying to NW RD for this year. I haven't visited so just wondering, how's the campus? Is it too big or too small? Is it a fun place to be? Pretty? etc.</p>
<p>Longest walk to my classes is about 15 minutes. 15-20 minutes to the frats or off-campus houses for parties. It’s a pretty good time, but the parties aren’t nearly as intense as, say, UW-Madison. The people are pretty awesome, though. It’s not too difficult to get from place to place, but a bike’s still helpful. The campus buildings have a lot of different architecture. Classic masonry and ivy buildings here, ultramodern glass and steel there. I think it looks nice enough.</p>
<p>Let me know if you have any other questions.</p>
<p>NU is the smallest campus in the Big Ten, as as the prvious poster said, 15 minutes to walk from North to South. However, if you live North, and want to go to Evanston - take the bus, or do a 30 minute walk - and you don’t want to be walking winter Quarter.</p>
<p>Do a google, or MapQuest walk from Tech to Edzo’s. You can also do a Google Earth and walk from address to address, especially if you haven’t visited. </p>
<p>NU also the prettiest campus in the B1G - it’s right on the lake*. </p>
<ul>
<li>Good in Fall and some of Spring term… wintrerrrrr - not so much. But you will get over it and be stronger for it.</li>
</ul>
<p>good luck</p>
<p>The campus sounds really cool! I think being right by the lake would be amazing. And 15 minutes sounds like a pretty solid time for going class to class.</p>
<p>I’d say Northwestern’s campus extremely pretty in an unconventional way. It doesn’t look quite like the typical collegiate Gothic campus (think Yale, Princeton, Chicago), but there are definitely some nice, older stone buildings scattered around campus. The area around Sheridan/Chicago roads is extremely photogenic with the Arch, Harris Hall, University Hall, the Chapel, and several other Gothic-looking buildings making up a really nice view. You might have seen it in some brochures or on the web.</p>
<p>There’s a LOT of architectural variation though. Some might find it jarring and unattractive, others eclectic and interesting. I personally think the campus looks beautiful, especially with how green it is. There are trees everywhere.</p>
<p>Another thing to consider is that NU’s campus is long. Much of the campus is concentrated on a mile-long road (Sheridan), rather than organized around a central quad or anything like that.</p>
<p>The lake is absolutely gorgeous, and I’d say that NU is afforded some of the nicest views of the Chicago skyline. It’s honestly a view that’ll never get old. Of course, fall and spring/summer are the best seasons to enjoy the view. It’s absolutely phenomenal when the skies are clear and the weather’s nice.</p>
<p>And of course, there are the beaches! There’s a south beach, a north beach, as well as a beach a little bit off campus (only about a five minute walk from the northern border of campus) which is also really nice.</p>
<p>Evanston’s a REALLY great place to live for four years, although very tame compared to other college towns. There are so many first-rate restaurants here, you’ll never get bored. And if you do, you can make the short trip into Chicago!</p>
<p>People sometimes understate the importance of Chicago when talking about NU; one of the common arguments is that NU students often don’t get the chance to go into the city as much as they’d like. I’m what you’d call a typical NU student – I’m involved across campus, I go out every once in a while, and I enjoy my classes – but I still find a lot of time to go into Chicago and have fun. It’s really, really awesome, and a great resource, too.</p>
<p>Honestly though, I find that NU’s campus can be pretty polarizing. There are people who absolutely love it and think it’s the most gorgeous college campus they’ve seen, and then there are those who think it’s ugly and would prefer a more typical-looking college campus.</p>
<p>You can find other opinions here <a href="http://www..com/IL/NWU.html%5B/url%5D">http://www..com/IL/NWU.html</a> :)</p>
<p>oh sorry, thats a bad link. just search Northwestern in studentreview.com</p>
<p>Northwestern is really pretty especially in the summer. I’ve been there for about 4 summers including 2012. I can’t go into too much detail but if you look at some pictures and watch a video or two you could see its beauty.</p>
<p>"…there’s a LOT of architectural variation…"</p>
<p>I think they hit pretty much every style between the 1800s and today, with only a few gaps. It’s actually ridiculous how much variation there is. Some of the buildings are gorgeous, some of them are ridiculously ugly. Goes equally for academic buildings and dorms, though none of the dorms are terrible. </p>
<p>Get a windproof jacket, and be prepared for that week of frigid temperatures that we’re having right now. Other than that week, a wool coat, hat, gloves, scarf–typical winter fare–will see you through the worst. Oh, and boots. I use unlined Bean boots, and they’re great. Wool socks for winter, regular socks for rain.</p>
<p>It’s true that if you’re in the northmost dorms, it can be a solid half hour down into downtown Evanston. I can’t recommend a bike enough. Get a bike if you come here. It cuts down travel times by a ridiculous amount, and I’ve never had issues with snow, ice, etc. They advertise for winter bike storage–don’t bother. Cover your bike with a tarp or a special bike cover, or hide it in your room over break. It’s a godsend to have a bike for winter quarter, especially if you’re crossing campus for whatever reason.</p>
<p>Being by the lake is awesome. There’s a boat house that rents out kayaks, boats, and such, and the lakefill’s really nice when it’s not busy being cold as… a really cold thing.</p>
<p>A few points, I don’t go to NU, but I’ve seen pictures of most of the major buildings and I don’t see any of them as ugly. Even tech and the main library look cool to me.</p>
<p>NU needs a packing list for people from warm areas 
I’ll be relying on my parents’ expertise from living in Michigan.</p>
<p>I think instead of a bike, I’m just going to rely on the bus if I ever have to get to North (If I’m in South like I want), rather than use a bike. I just think that with the walk being as short as it is, I wouldn’t use it enough to make it worth it.</p>
<p>The boat house is actually going to be knocked down and replaced by a much nicer, bigger boat house. It’s one of the big construction projects coming up if you look on NU’s site.</p>
<p>Quick bit: I’ve managed to catch the shuttle about twice so far. I find it a lot easier to use my bike or walk, than try to get to the shuttle stop at the right time. It has the world’s most inconvenient schedule. That said, it’s pretty easy to get a bike when you get on campus, so you can definitely wait and see whether you actually need it. [The</a> Recyclery: Community Bicycle Project with Used Bikes [Chicago and Evanston, IL]](<a href=“http://www.therecyclery.org%5DThe”>http://www.therecyclery.org) for a cheap, reliable bike.</p>
<p>Packing list: Bring everything that will keep you warm, and then some. Including long underwear. Especially long underwear. And a scarf and hat. Everything else is probably common sense. Actually, box that stuff up and have your folks ship it somewhere around thankgiving. Oh, wool socks. Bring wool socks, they’re the best. But actually.</p>
<p>Haha. I’ve worn shorts once so far in January here, so it will be very different, haha. At least I’ll get to do stuff in the snow, whereas my friends here won’t get any snow in college.</p>
<p>Is there a gym on campus or do you have go into the city?</p>
<p>[Fitness</a> & Recreation : Patten Gymnasium](<a href=“Northwestern University Recreation - Official Athletics Website”>Northwestern University Recreation - Official Athletics Website) is a link to info on Patten, which is the main gym. There’s other athletic facilities, and I believe they might be building a new one, but I believe Patten is the main one.</p>
<p>Patten Gym is NOT the main gym. It’s a very old gym. The main gym is near the lake on North Campus and is called SPAC. [Fitness</a> & Recreation : Henry Crown Sports Pavilion](<a href=“Northwestern University Recreation - Official Athletics Website”>Northwestern University Recreation - Official Athletics Website)</p>
<p>Ah, well. I stand corrected. Thanks for pointing that out! I definitely will be working out, but I think that I’ll probably stick with outside of the gym stuff, haha. I definitely want to take advantage of the boat house resources!</p>
<p>There’s also Blomquist.
[Fitness</a> & Recreation : Blomquist Recreation Center](<a href=“Northwestern University Recreation - Official Athletics Website”>Northwestern University Recreation - Official Athletics Website)</p>