Preview NU Visit/Parent's Perspective

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northwestern University
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<p>W and I visited NU with S on monday/tuesday. Here are a number of impressions. Preview NU was well-run, however, first day was much too much emphasis on info sessions in Norris (student) center and not enough emphasis on getting around campus and seeing what makes NU NU. If the admittee is definitely going to NU, then the sessions were helpful. However, if the admittee is like my S (choosing between there and wustl), the sessions got a little tiresome. I think that sentiment was shared by many that are still in "choosing" mode.</p>

<p>Campus: The campus is very pretty, but it is not charming. It sits right on Lake Michigan and has a lot of green space. The buildings themselves are, for the most part, non-descript, although there are some older prettier buildings. It's almost like many of the buildings were designed purely with function in mind and without any sense of trying to make the exterior look "college-y". However, the access to the lake, the grassy areas, lots of trees, etc., do make it very pretty. The campus was also larger than I was expecting.</p>

<p>Students/Faculty: The students were very outgoing and friendly. I did get the sense that kids were definitely "focused" on their studies. I also got the sense that many, many kids are taking advantage of the trimester (I'll discuss later) system to experiment with different course studies. As well, many are double-majoring (again, praising the trimester system that lets them take "more" courses during a school year). My S stayed in a dorm overnight and he really enjoyed the experience. It definitely influenced him to the positive on NU. The faculty is very strong and I definitely had the impression that they are accessible and eager to develop relationships with their students. </p>

<p>Food: College Food. We ate in the Norris Center for lunch. It was ok. For people that like Sbarro, there's one there. For us Starbucks addicts, there's one also. There's various dining rooms in various halls throughout campus, but nothing really made an impression on me.</p>

<p>Residential: There's no specific freshman and/or underclassman area. Dorms are, for the most part, located on the south and north end of campus. The key themes for choosing are: if you want to be part of the fraternity scene and you're into a party atmosphere, then North Campus is where you're going to head to. If you have a desire to be close to Evanston, then you're going to want to be on the South Campus dorms. South Campus dorms are much closer to the liberal arts buildings. North Campus dorms are much closer to engineering/tech buildings as well as Sports Complex (for students). Keep this in mind during the winter because everyone acknowledges that NU is cooooollllldddd in the winter with the wind coming off Lake Michigan.</p>

<p>Sports: The Crown Sports complex is very complete and very big. Students have indoor tennis, basketball, tons of weight machines, aerobic machines, classes, huge pool, etc. It was a great complex, the only bad thing was that if you're in the South dorms....it's a long trudge over there (again, keeping in mind, winter). The stadium and basketball arena are about a mile away, we did not get a chance to go over there and see it. </p>

<p>School Spirit: We were told several times that it was strong. Our tour guide said that when she first arrived four years ago, she wished it was stronger, but that it has really bulked up in the last few years. Also, we met a cheerleader on one of our dorm tours and she was really big on the idea that the school's spirit is strong. While football and basketball are not strong "Big 10" programs, I definitely had the impression that the student body likes to turn out for the games. As well, always an indicator, plenty of students were walking around wearing Northwestern sweatshirts.</p>

<p>Evanston: We stayed in Evanston while S was overnight in dorms. Evanston is nice in that it gives the students a place to hang out off of campus. It's the so-called "dining capital" of the North Shore and there are bars, stores, etc. It's about 5 blocks by 4 blocks. Again, right off the south side of campus, but a "walk" from the north side of campus.</p>

<p>Chicago: I'm biased on Chicago. I think it's a fabulous city and there's no doubt in my mind that it's great that students have access to it. However, it's still 10-12 miles from campus, so, while kids go in, it's not like they're going in all the time. There's an "el" stop in evanston that goes downtown. Also, NU runs a shuttle that goes back and forth between Evanston campus and downtown campus. While it's great to have access to Chicago and some students will use it as a selling point for NU, I don't think that should be a variable in the decision-making process. It's close enough to have access, but not close enough that it's a regular part of an NU student's life (at least, in my opinion).</p>

<p>Trimester System: This is a tough one. There's the "being on a different schedule than friends from home" variable. That being said, the pluses are that you get to take a more varied course load (if you choose) because you're taking more courses in an academic year. There's less chance of a "boredom" factor because the "quarter" moves fast. The flip side is that there's more academic pressure because things are moving faster and some would say that it always feels like it's time for midterms.</p>

<p>My S is still undecided between NU and his other final choice. We are revisiting that school on monday/tuesday and then he's making a decision (clock is ticking!).</p>

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<p>Thanks for the great write up. My son and I will be visiting next Monday-Tuesday (and he is also in the choosing mode; final visit! yeah!).</p>

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<p>"Trimester System: This is a tough one. There's the "being on a different schedule than friends from home" variable. That being said, the pluses are that you get to take a more varied course load (if you choose) because you're taking more courses in an academic year. There's less chance of a "boredom" factor because the "quarter" moves fast. The flip side is that there's more academic pressure because things are moving faster and some would say that it always feels like it's time for midterms."</p>

<p>the quarter system does kind of suck for the first reason you listed. you will rarely catch all of your friends at home during most of the breaks, and if you do it will probably be only for a short perod of time. The main times you are at home, no one else will be, and the times you are at school, everyone will be home. However, i consider northwestern a good enough time that it's not as big of a concern as it would be at a school that is unpleasant to be at.</p>

<p>The up-side to this, i don't really count the "boredom" factor, is that if you have a rough couple of weeks because you are tired, partied a lot, family problems, whatever, it only effects one quarter's worth of grades and not an entire semester and thus 50% of your GPA for the year, which is a big plus for a future in getting a job, getting into grad school, etc. You get a "fresh start" more often.</p>

<p>The "always feels lke it's time for midterms" phenomenon is less of an academic stress, i feel, and more of "wow.. this quarter is almost over." it helps the year go by really quickly, all of a sudden you realize you have midterms this next week and that means your quarter is 50% over and you barely even realized it. You don't think you have covered enough material to take a midterm but somehow you have (which can also be a plus because you are only tested on as much material as they could teach you in 4 weeks or so... ie: not much) so the midterms tend to not be that difficult; very manageable amount of work. But in general, it just makes the quarters, and thus the school year, seem to go by much more quickly, i know because i transferred from a semester school last year, where the year just seemed to "drag on" and you just began to feel really lethargic and anxious for everything to just be over, but at the same time apprehensive of impending tests while in the moment there was nothing to do.</p>

<p>There is none of that with a quarter system, no worrying about impending midterms because "impending" probably means next week, not eight weeks from now while in the meantime you do nothing and wish school could just be over.</p>

<p>Just my description on how it actually feels to be on the quarter system.</p>

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<p>Two comments -</p>

<ol>
<li><p>There are a no. of pluses to the Q system - the biggest probably being that 1 bad grade (or a couple) isn't going to kill your gpa.</p></li>
<li><p>NU FB is never going to reload every year like Mich., dOSU or PSU - however, NU FB has become a very competitive "middle of the road" team - where going to a bowl game is to be expected, not to mention challenging for a B10 title every recruiting cycle or so.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>With regard to recruiting, it seems to be gaining momentum under Coach Fitz - which bodes well for the future.</p>

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<p>As a parent of a current NU freshman, I found mtldad's observations interesting. Last year, my son had been accepted to 8 schools and went to the accepted student days at 4 of them including both wustl and Northwestern. While he like the layout of the Wash U campus better, especially the quad where the dorms are, he found the students much more competitive and tense. He stayed with a friend from high school, instead of being with just other admitted students, and spent a lot of time meeting Wash U students in the dorms and dining halls. </p>

<p>While he had the same mixed reaction to Preview NU that mtldad expressed, ultimately he chose Northwestern and is exceedingly happy with the school.</p>

<p>No doubt, the quarter system has its own learning curve. Getting behind in a class or putting your social life first will cost you. But the kids seem to figure that out pretty quickly. Most of them were strong students in high school - they're up to the challenge and they came to NU with good study habits and a love of learning.</p>

<p>And like many students, my son is determined to double-major and even add a minor because it's easy to get all the classes in. It's a parent's dream to hear your kid be excited about choosing a major and feeling confident he can get the work done. And my son's experience is probably typical of many freshman. He's already considered and dismissed three different majors because he's been able to take so many courses this year and test the waters. He's now settled on a real interesting combination, mostly because, with almost 12 college course under his belt, he's learned a lot about himself as a student and what engages him.</p>

<p>For what it's worth, Chicago has been a big part of his college experience already. He goes into the city at least once a month and quickly got comfortable with the area mass transit. And after doing a service project in St. Louis over spring break, he came back to NU even more appreciative of the nice balance between suburban Evanston and having Chicago, a really thriving big city, right next door.</p>

<p>There are lots of great opportunities at Northwestern, both for work and play, but maybe not as "overt" as things that ooze school spirit. On the other hand, Dance Marathon raised over $700,000 this year - which means there were an awful lot of kids working behind the scenes and ann awful lot of kids showing up on the dance floor. Probably the happiest kids are the organized self-starters who know how to take the initiative --whether it's to seek out a certain professor or seek out the fun (which there seems no shortage of, even in the bitter cold.)</p>

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<p>my personal perspective</p>

<p>I chose NU over Wash U about 6-7 years ago. I will not lie: the prestige element influenced me. In this day and age, it matters a lot. Wash U is phenomenal but when it comes to name recognition, it just simply doesn't match up with its selectivity. Sad, but true. And I was interested in corporate America. What that meant was that I needed a well recruited university. Northwestern is MUCH more recruited than Wash U is. NU is on the "target" list for almost every major consulting and banking firm out there. Wash U does not compare.</p>

<p>In terms of campus aesthetics, Wash U was prettier. I also thought that the semester system was a BIG plus whereas quarter system had some ups and downs to it (downs, mostly being additional work).</p>

<p>Just as a pointer to the poster, I would not let the arrangement of an orientation influence such a major decision. A note about Wash U. They really want to get kids enrolled in there. They will go to extraordinary means to get a kid enrolled. Once the kid enrolls, I am really not sure how the administration treats the students. Good luck.</p>

7

<p>As a follow up to NU Grad- Wash U. screws over its students at every turn it can. My sister is a graduating senior, and while she's been very happy with her experience there and her choice of school (she only applied to about 3), she's had frequent problems with faculty and administrators, not to mention student services.</p>