<p>What's the party scene like at Northwestern? Is it difficult for freshman to find a party? Im trying to decide between Boston College and Northwestern and although partying isnt a main concern, I would still like insight into the campus life. When i visited BC the campus was basically dead, is that common at NU as well?</p>
<p>No, Northwestern has a very lively campus from what I’ve heard. NU is a much better school than Boston College; there’s no comparison between the two.</p>
<p>No, NU has a very lively social life. I’m not really sure why you’re thinking of those comparisons, since you’re from Illinois.</p>
<p>I am from Illinois but I have always been interested in BC. I know that NU is ranked higher but I still view them as highly comparable schools. They are both known for high academics, they are located on the outskirts of major cities (the location is something that i really like), and they are both considered just a step under ivies. When i visited BC it was for their honors day, so it was a saturday morning. I know to take that into consideration, but BC lacks a greek life and i have heard that it is rather hard to get into parties if you are a freshman there. I was just wondering if there was a similar problem at NU.</p>
<p>If i get into NU (crossing my fingers), it will be very hard to chose between the two. One thing that i have heard is that a lot of classes at NU are taught by TA’S, and that a lot of these TA’s are foreign and hard to understand. Any insight there?</p>
<p>"a lot of classes at NU are taught by TA’S, that a lot of these TA’s are foreign and hard to understand. Any insight there? "</p>
<p>You need to go back to your original sources. According to my D, TAs assist Profs - they do not teach. In 4 years, my D had zero hard to understand Profs, except for when she did study abroad in Edinburgh. Sometimes thar was a wee bit a problem ya ken?</p>
<p>I guess it depends on your classes. I heard this from a friends parents. They said that their niece was a premed student at NU (i am interested in pre med with a math major) and that at times she had TA’s that were hard to understand. What major is your D?</p>
<p>mchs12,</p>
<p>TAs generally don’t teach classes. As nugraddad said, they assist professors in grading lab reports/homework assignments. It really doesn’t matter if they speak very clearly since they are not lecturing; many TAs are foreigners and they do usually speak with accents. But given that NU’s graduate programs are highly ranked, these students must have done well for their undergrad and on GRE. Their English shouldn’t be too bad.</p>
<p>At least in my major (Philosophy) all my TA’s spoke perfect english, though one or two had accents.</p>
<p>Also, agree with Sureblah. Your characterization of NU as “just a step below the Ivies, like BC” is misinformed. NU is in a clearly defined tier above BC, on the same level or superior to many Ivies. BC, while an excellent school, is not of the same caliber.</p>
<p>BC has a more Catholic preppy vibe, which is reflected in the student body. Generally, if you like that vibe, you should look into other schools like it, such as Notre Dame and Vanderbilt. The scene at NU is very different- it’s much more diverse in every sense and has a much more vibrant Greek life and arts scene. It is not preppy at all. The students are also noticeably stronger academically.</p>
<p>Even though I was not a part of Greek life, I highly recommend joining one. The perks can be enormous in ways you may not even realize as a student. Networking, for example, is now the primary way most people will find jobs. Greek life=easy access to powerful networks. You can form your own networks through non-Greek organizations, of course, but they typically don’t have the same national reach that national fraternities/sororities do.</p>
<p>Perhaps during winter quarter, when fraternities are pledging. I’m in a fraternity and I’ve seen a marked shift from completely open parties to “alright don’t invite any randos”.</p>
<p>To get more engaged in the social scene, I’d highly recommend Greek life, but that’s not to say other organizations don’t have events. It is true that 3-5 fraternities are the only ones NOT on probation and that Chi Psi (Lodge) was kicked out a few weeks ago, but if you don’t want to deal with hazing, there are fraternities (mine included) that have socially-oriented reputations with zero tolerance for hazing.</p>
<p>You’ll have fun. But I will say that if you compare state school Greek to our Greek, the state school will be far more fratty. We have fraternities, but not all of them are frats.</p>
<p>Having come from a large public school for undergrad, and worked at a few other universities for research a couple of summers, NU is a lot more social than I would have expected.</p>
<p>It’s no ASU (I was there for 3 months over the summer, and there were always parties spilling onto Mill Ave. any day of the week), but NU is much more a party school than its peers. If you really want to highlight the differences, compare Northwestern and its only real midwest peer, U of Chicago (WUStL would actually be just as large a contrast, though).</p>
<p>Aside from the statistics listed above, I feel as though there are definite differences between NU and BC. I lived right near BC for several years when I was in graduate school. It is MY feeling that while BC is definitely on an upward trajectory, it is one of those schools where the reported stats of students don’t match up with the level of selectivity. In other words, it is becoming an incredibly popular campus, for all of the reasons mentioned above, but also because many good students see it as accessible and as a match school, so right now they are getting a surge of applicants. I am not so sure that the level of academics have yet caught up to match the level of selectivity, if that makes sense. It is a very popular school right now. It is my belief that NU has a longer standing history of superior academics and that more and more students are figuring that out so its selectivity is increasing for different reasons, with a different subset of applicants. Just my opinion.</p>
<p>I always thought that BC was a more popular school than Northwestern and received more applicants. There must be some reason for this. It is certainly a “hotter” school than NU. Let’s be honest, neither NU or BC equal to Ivy quality. They are both excellent schools though and parents should be proud for their kids to attend these schools. I have heard that BC is a very fun school. Don’t know about NU. Nu has a greater (very high) Asian population and BC is more preppy. Many other non-Ivy schools such as Emory, Tufts, etc. provide excellent educations on par or better than NU.</p>
<p>You are funny classclown. I am assuming from your name that you’re just kidding. If not check out post #7 above. BTW if you look at 3rd party resources with respect to Tufts and Emory you’ll find that they also are not rated as highly NU. Anyway, I see you are either a Tufts student or seeking admission there. Nothing wrong with that, it’s a fine school. Good luck!</p>
<p>lol. Rollins I see that you are a NU student or seeking admission there. I beg to differ about Emory or Tufts not being equal with NU. I also believe that BC is a “hotter” school than NU. Don’t get me wrong, I grew up in Evanston. NU is a top 25 school. It is not an Ivy League school though. That is what I was basically saying…</p>
<p>
Tulane and NYU received more applications than Stanford & Harvard. So by your reasoning, Tulane & NYU must be hotter than Harvard & Stanford.</p>
<p>Facts:
NU is on par with at least some of the Ivies in:
- endowment
- prestigious external scholarships
- recruiting from top MC firms
- college rankings
- prestigious national awards to faculty
…etc. </p>
<p>Same can’t be said for Tufts. Still a fine school though.</p>
<p>Hi Sam. By “hotter” I mean a faster rising trend. NU is a great school, it’s just not on par with most, if not all, Ivy League schools for jobs and reputations. It is well known in Chicago for jobs, but not as well know on the east and west coasts.</p>
<p>I would say that Emory and Tufts have equal reputations in all areas but the Midwest, especially for jobs. The same may even be true for BC on the east coast. Sure, it is easy to generalize but one must look beyond that and polls like USNWR.</p>
<p>It’s not on par with most Ivies for jobs and reputations?</p>
<ol>
<li>Harvard</li>
<li>Stanford</li>
<li>Yale</li>
<li>University of Cambridge</li>
<li>Columbia</li>
<li>Northwestern</li>
<li>MIT</li>
<li>Oxford</li>
<li>HEC Paris</li>
<li>University of Chicago</li>
</ol>
<p>These are the top ten schools that the world’s most influential and successful companies choose from. </p>
<p>Do some research before you throw out misinformed statements like that.</p>
<p>What do rankings have to do with the party scene?</p>
<p>I am seeing very biased replies from only Northwestern grads or students…hmmm. In the Midwest, Northwestern is definitely a powerhouse. I will grant you that. Not as much on the east and west coasts. Just ask 10 people on the street in each state and you will see what I mean about reputation. Forget the one or 2 polls cited. I stand by this…NU does not carry the same reputation as Ivy League schools…especially when it allows many athletes in with low grades and scores compared to athletic index used by the Ivies (and schools like Emory, Tufts, Rochester)…plus the party scene at Northwestern is not that great, especially given that Evanston was a “dry” town until recently…Also, purple colors??? lol.</p>