<p>they call it the "Harvard of the Midwest", but does the name "Northwestern" command such eminence as any of the Ivies, or Stanford/MIT, or even Georgetown or Wash U? </p>
<p>like someone on the Class of 2010 Roster thread noticed, many of the ppl who were accepted did not have the most amazing stats. and although it may be becuase northwestern is a very local college for me--it's only about 45 minutes from my house--it does not seem as "PRESTIGIOUS" as those aforementioned universities.</p>
<p>i know im being very superficial here, but i'm just wondering what you people have to say on the subject.</p>
<p>While no, I doubt Northwestern's prestige is quite that of Harvard, Yale, MIT, ect., I will argue about its prestige. Looking through my 2005 edition of U.S. News and World Report, I will give you a rundown of Georgetown, Wash U, and Northwestern to prove that Northwestern is just as prestigious as those schools.</p>
<p>Georgetown: SAT (25-75%): 1290-1460
ACT (25-75%) 28-32
Overall Acceptance rate: 23%
Early action acceptance: 26% (No early decision offered)
% in top 10% of HS class: 83%
College ranking among national universities:25
Wash U: SAT(25-75%): 1320-1480
ACT (25-75%) 29-33
Overall Acceptance rate: 20%
Early decision acceptance: NA?
% in top 10% of HS class: 91%
College ranking among national universities: 11
Northwestern: SAT (25-75%): 1310-1480
ACT (25-75%): 29-33
Overall acceptance rate: 33%
Early decision acceptance: 46%
% in top% of class: 83%
College ranking among national universities: 11</p>
<p>Clearly all three universities are very comparable, and all top 25 universities nationally. While I can't say, based on the stats, that Northwestern is any more prestigious than Wash U or Georgetown, I can say that it is just as prestigious and ranked by U.S. News higher than Georgetown. Also, clearly it is far easier to get into NU by applying ED. Nearly 1/2 of all that apply ED are accepted...</p>
<p>all i'm going to say in NU is prestigious where it counts. your mailman may think it's in boston, or maybe hasn't heard of it at all, but the people hiring you (especially in journalism, theatre, and other top programs) have.</p>
<p>NU is of course no HYPSM in prestige, but so is anyone that isn't HYPSM. However, it is definitely more prestigious than Georgetown and WashU. You don't need to worry about that.</p>
<p>Peer assessment score on US News is pretty much a measure of reputation.</p>
<p>NU: 4.4 out of 5.0
Wash: 4.1 out of 5.0
Georgetown: don't remember, something like 3.9 or 4.0 out of 5.0</p>
<p>NU is considered one of the "core schools" by top consulting firms-BCG, Bain, Monitor Group, Mercer Mgmt Consulting, while Georgetown/WashU and even some Ivies aren't:</p>
<p>Let me remind you too that much of the prestige of a school is due to the quality/achievements of the students themselves, not just the availability of academic opportunities or the quality of the faculty. So let us Northwestern students keep having those accomplishments that make our school proud and increase its prestige!</p>
<p>i find it pretty amazing that people are bracketting Wash U with the lies of Georgetown etc.. wow WashU's on the rise!</p>
<p>i know that in chicago NU is really prestigious... ut down south here (im at Duke) it isnt all that prestigious. basically i think college prestige varies significantly from area to area. what depends is not the "prestige" but the strenght of the alumni.</p>
<p>interestingly enough.. how come there's no D in HYPSM?</p>
<p>that's ironic coming from someone whose nickname is "im_blue" haha</p>
<p>ppl in the north/west underestimate duke. duke and stanford are tied for 5th place.. so i dont really see where u claim that stanford has better resources?</p>
<p>You can't really base prestige off of the US News rankings. Sure, WashU is actually ahead of NU this year, but even here in Illinois where we are close to both, people are likely to think of University of Washington when they hear WashU. WashU is extremely selective now, but 30 years ago they accepted over 80% of applicants, so it will be a long time before they gain the prestige of a school like Northwestern. Like someone said earlier, their graduates need to start accomplishing some amazing feats for them to become more nationally prestigious.</p>
<p>To the people having the little argument about Duke: Duke definitely is one of the best schools in the country, although as far as prestige goes Stanford is still above it (not by a lot, though). When we are talking about two schools that good, people should be choosing between them based on personal fit.</p>
<p>Duke is a lot more prestigious than i similarly thought. I used to think that NU and Duke were in the same prestige area, but I think Duke is a lil higher, a tad bit.</p>
<p>Prestige is overrated...anyone who knows anything about American educational institutions knows that Northwestern is a great school. It doesn't have the common-man prestige of Harvard, Yale, Columbia, Princeton, MIT, or Stanford, but I'd say its in line with the other Ivies (Cornell, Brown, Dartmouth, Penn). So, I'd say there are what, 6 schools with more "prestige" that NW...and this is coming from someone not even applying there.</p>
<p>Agreed northwestern is a good school, but it still isnt upto the level of brown or upenn (maybe at the same level as cornell and darthmouth)..</p>
<p>And prestige isnt overrated simply because the reputation of a school counts for so much.. From job recruitment to grad school apps.. Northwestern just doesnt have the same reputation as Brown or Upenn does..</p>
<p>Haha... dartmouth and cornell are ivy's too, but thats about it... the ivy distinction is harvard yale princeton top three, then brown columbia and upenn mid, and cornell dartmouth bottom..</p>
<p>Not to say that either are bad schools.. theyre just not as good as the other ivy's</p>
<p>in terms of rankings, northwestern and wash u are way above georgetown. however, wash u is still on the way up; until pretty recently (like last 15-10 years), they were considered a very good school but recognized as a commuter school (read the 2005 us news college report for more on this). georgetown has a great reputation for sfs, like penn does for wharton, but it doesn't neccessarily mean that the school itself has that great prestige for those in the know (they do though haha). northwestern's reputation is excellent; there are a lot of schools with great reputations and prestige that aren't ranked THAT high. just look at schools like berkeley, michigan, virginia, university of chicago, etc. there are also other schools that often times aren't grouped in with such elite names (even though they are excellent schools as well) like rice. honestly, not including those top 6 or so (like harvard, yale, princeton, etc), employers will look at a degree from berkeley or michigan the same way they will look at a degree from northwestern and cornell. they're all excellent schools; pick the one that fits you the best.</p>
<p>when i referred to georgetown and penn, i meant those NOT in the know haha often times when people mention penn, others assume penn state. it's a common problem that penn students often laugh at (some get angry at). all people recognize wharton though; my girlfriend gets a lot of this kind of crap because she's going to be a freshman at penn next year haha</p>
<p>i definately agree with juliusmonkey. i'm from CT, so every time i told a family friend or someone random who asked me where i was going their reply was, "Oh, Boston's a great city!" uh no. that would be Northeastern. which is nowhere near as good a school if we're talking prestige. or i would get a confused look mixed with a smile to cover up their puzzlement because they don't have a clue where that is (this look is similar to the one i get when i tell them my major: THEATRE)</p>
<p>but my teachers and the more business-type, college-aware adults all knew i was going to an excellent school. and in the end that's all that matters. because those are going to be the same people who hire me and help me out in the long run. and everytime i see NU mentioned in Newsweek or some other nationally published media, they don't have to mention our location. it's assumed whoever is reading knows the school. it's the same for Stamford, Harvard, Duke, etc.</p>
<p>and if we're going by U.S. News, we have consistently ranked above several Ivies. that should tell you something.</p>
<p>Haha tophatinparis88, I totally get that too! "Oh, that's in Boston, right?"
Uh, no! :)
I'm majoring in theater too, and everyone thinks I'm going for music education. <em>sigh</em></p>