Questions for CURRENT or RECENTLY GRADUATED Northwestern students

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northwestern University
1

Hello Wildcats,

I am a rising senior and my college search/application process is in full swing. I know that everyone loves wherever they end up, so in order to figure out where my best fit is, I’m trying to figure out what the pros and cons are of each school I’m looking at. I would appreciate if students who are currently or have recently attended Northwestern could take a few minutes to answer the following questions: [ul]
[] What are the political leanings of the student body as a whole? Liberal, conservative, mixed?
[] How often do students go into Chicago on weekends and such? Is it common to go a few times per month or do people mostly stay in Evanston?
[] I know Greek Life is HUGE at NU, but I’m not really into it. How much pressure is there to participate/join? Will I be able to find a social niche without being involved in Greek Life? To what extent do people make friends through clubs/other activities?
[] What are your 2-3 favorite AND 2-3 least favorite things about Northwestern?
[/ul]Thank you so much, and GO 'CATS!

2

Hi 2016senior2020,

That’s a good way of looking at colleges, probably smarter than what I did lol.

In my opinion, the students at Northwestern are somewhat politically mixed, likely more so than a lot of other colleges (that is, there are more conservatives and fewer liberals at NU than what I perceive to be “normal”), as I see it, due to there being more students from richer families at NU than at many other colleges. Liberals are still the majority, though. There is also a vocal progressive / social justice community, but I have no idea how the size of said community compares to those at other schools. In addition, there is a very strong Jewish community at Northwestern, and they make their political voices heard especially around Israel-related issues.

The amount that people go into Chicago varies incredibly. There are people who go down there every weekend, and those who have only gone around once or twice in two years. It really varies person to person or social group to social group. If I had to guess, I would say the average is once a month, but that is a total guess. I, personally go about every two weeks when weather is nice, and once a month when it isn’t, so average of once every three weeks.

Greek life ain’t that huge in my opinion. There is a little pressure if you live in certain dorms, but it isn’t that palpable elsewhere. You will certainly be able to find a niche if you don’t fit in; I certainly did. FYI, one alternative to Greek life where you still live in a house and form a welcoming community with other people is the MOSAIC Co-op system (mosaiccoop.org).

Favorites:
The MOSAIC Co-op!
The professors; I’ve only had one bad professor, and most of the rest have ranged from good to fantabulous! Go to office hours or departmental meet-ups.
Everyone is so smart! You can have an intellectually engaging discussion with almost anyone you meet. And most people are nice, too.
The surroundings: any direction that isn’t due South has b-e-a-utiful scenery for Suburbs. And to the South is an awesome city (in many respects). Go explore! Far!

Anti-favorites:
The weather. You come in as its starting to get bad and leave like three weeks after it starts to get nice. And the winters. Ick.
Dining hall food, or: the reason I was finally able to get over the hump and become a vegetarian. It costs $$$ and tastes rather meh. Maybe I’m biased though, since I came from a foodie family.
People are nice, and smart, but more than often students self-segregate by race and economic status. Its weird.

Hoped I helped! And remember, this is only my opinion formed by my very specific experiences at NU over two years, so take my words with many grains of salt.

3

As for political leanings, we’re definitely fairly liberal. Especially in terms of social issues, the school is highly liberal. You’d be hard-pressed to find students who did not support gay marriage, legalization of marijuana, etc. I am from the south though, so maybe it just seems highly liberal because where I come from. Overall people are very tolerant of other opinions though. Sometimes a vocal minority can be obnoxious towards those they disagree with, but overall students respect each other’s opinions.

Chicago visits highly depends on the person. I go probably like 2 or 3 times a quarter, although I’ve been going a bit more recently. It’s not too tough if you want to, it’s just a matter of being dedicated enough to hop on the El or Metra and ride for 40 minutes to an hour to get downtown. In the winter, you probably won’t want to go in that much, just because walking around downtown can get extra cold, at least in my opinion, maybe because the skyscrapers form wind tunnels? That’s pseudoscience I just made up though haha.

I’m not in a social fraternity, although I am in an honors fraternity. We don’t have a house, don’t host parties, so it’s not really “Greek life.” I never felt pressured to join. My roommate asked me once if I wanted to join his fraternity, and I said nah, and he was cool with that. To be honest, I have a lot of friends and acquaintances without greek life. Organizations, your residence hall, from meeting people while eating, classes, etc. Some people say that they think greek life is necessary for friends, but I’ve not had issues, and have plenty of friends who aren’t greek with lots of friends. MOSAIC is pretty cool. It’s not my kind of thing, but very cool. You’ll find plenty of niches if you try.

Favorites

  • The people. Not just students, but professors too. I’ve had lots of great professors, with a few mediocre ones thrown in. None I’d say were terrible. I have a wide range of friends. I know people who will probably win National Championships, Nobel Prizes, Pulitzers, Oscars, etc. It’s amazing seeing the different things people can like. Frat bros who love physics and theater. Gaming nerds who excel at intramurals and are on dance teams. All sorts of crazy combinations of awesome people.
  • Sort of related, a lot of opportunities. Lots of work study jobs, research positions, student organizations, intramurals, museums, restaurants, etc. You can do practically anything.
  • Chicago. I know I said I don’t visit all that much, but Chicago is great. Honestly my favorite city that I’ve visited, not that I’ve visited THAT many.
  • I know you said 2-3, but I’m just gonna add a small one. Campus is beautiful. I mean, sometimes when the snow is melty, the weather is gray, etc. it doesn’t seem like it, but it truly is an amazing campus.

Least Favorite

  • People can be too focused on their groups or their academics to have any fun. I’ve talked to a few people who agree that people are usually either studying, at something for their group, or they’re at an event. It’s hard to find time to just play a game, watch a movie, etc.
  • Dining hall food gets old. I’m not gonna say it’s bad, because it’s better than most schools I visited. But you start to see the same thing over and over again. I put things together to make it work. Hot sauce, or take some veggies from the salad bar, or mix meals, etc. It’s fine, but it’s nothing to write home about.
  • I’m sure there are other things, but nothing major comes to mind.

I am gonna comment on one thing @thatrunnerkid said. People do self-segregate to some extent, but it’s not that hard to break. I’ve got some friends with millionaire parents, some with nothing. I’ve got plenty of friends of different races, religions, etc. As long as you make even a slight effort, you won’t have trouble with this, at least in my experience.

4

What are the political leanings of the student body as a whole? Liberal, conservative, mixed?

Overwhelmingly liberal.

How often do students go into Chicago on weekends and such? Is it common to go a few times per month or do people mostly stay in Evanston?

I’ve noticed that it is really easy to get caught up in the bubble of Northwestern and just staying on campus. It really depends on who you ask. Most students north campus will have a social life dominated by partying because it is farther from Evanston and Chicago, closer to the frats, and that’s where the athletes are. I would say once every month or every few months is typical becuase there generally isn’t that much time to do an entire trip to Chicago.

I know Greek Life is HUGE at NU, but I’m not really into it. How much pressure is there to participate/join? Will I be able to find a social niche without being involved in Greek Life? To what extent do people make friends through clubs/other activities?
I wouldn’t say there is pressure to join or participate. But you could possibly feel left out at times because NU has a pretty strong party scene. To the point that students were not going to wildcat welcome events and the university had to cancel all of the parties. Most people however make real friends through clubs and classes and activities. You dont have to drink and no one will force you

What are your 2-3 favorite AND 2-3 least favorite things about Northwestern?

Favorite:
-Academics;
-like minded and intellectual peers who know how to have fun;
-attractive athletes tbh (they are available! They are just kinda hard to get to if you dont know the right people),
-Wildcat Welcome- No college has anything even remotely close to as comprehensive and interactive and wildcat welcome. You can see where your money goes.

Least favorite: Divide between north and south campus,
-Dining hall hours

5

What are the political leanings of the student body as a whole? Liberal, conservative, mixed?

The school is very liberal, though, being a theatre major, I’m surrounded by mostly liberals most of the time anyways. We did, however, just have Newt Gingrich come to speak, which was a nightmare (http://dailynorthwestern.com/2015/11/17/campus/newt-gingrich-visits-nu-says-students-wasting-their-time-protesting-racism/), and receive a standing ovation, so it may not be quite as liberal as I previously thought, but it still is.

How often do students go into Chicago on weekends and such? Is it common to go a few times per month or do people mostly stay in Evanston?

As a theatre major, I go into the city a lot more than the rest of the student population, simply because of the vast quantities of theatre available. So I go multiple times a month, I have no idea how many times normal students go. Though you really don’t have that much of a reason to leave Evanston either, it’s a great place and there’s tons of stuff to do.

I know Greek Life is HUGE at NU, but I’m not really into it. How much pressure is there to participate/join? Will I be able to find a social niche without being involved in Greek Life? To what extent do people make friends through clubs/other activities?

Greek life is huge at Northwestern, but there’s not really any pressure to participate. Though it’s a lot different than Greek life at other schools because it’s very inclusive, and people you wouldn’t expect to be in fraternities are. That being said, I’m not Greek, and I’ve made plenty of friends just through activities I’ve done and the people I live with. If you’re really worried about making friends, join a res college, they’re really nice.

What are your 2-3 favorite AND 2-3 least favorite things about Northwestern?
Favorites:
-Wildcat welcome. Like someone else said there’s no other place that does something quite like wildcat welcome. It’s really great, because you’re forced into a group of people that have the same major for a week, and they generally become your friends, so it’s really nice to have people to hang out with right off the bat. Then there’s the actual activities, such as the sexual health, identifies, and drugs programs, which sound really boring, but they were honestly one of my favorite parts
-Location/campus. The location of Evanston is amazing. You have easy access to Chicago and there’s a ton to do around Evanston. The campus is relatively small, but it’s not at all crowded and they have some really beautiful buildings and views. There’s two beaches on campus, which is really nice, and the lakefill is simply beautiful at night.
-Quarter system. It messes up your plans with friends from other schools, but you can take more classes and you get through them faster.

Least favorite:
-The food. While the food tends to be a lot nicer than other places, the hours suck. I’ve had to deal with “lite lunch” all this quarter, which basically just means leftovers and salad bar. Just, plan your schedule accordingly.

6

What are the political leanings of the student body as a whole? Liberal, conservative, mixed?

NU is a decidedly liberal school. There is balance on economic issues (I’m in the economics department, and many of my peers are in the socially liberal/fiscally conservative camp, including, to some degree myself), but on social issues, nearly everyone is progressive.

How often do students go into Chicago on weekends and such? Is it common to go a few times per month or do people mostly stay in Evanston?

It’s kind of a problem that students in general don’t go into Chicago more, due to the cultural opportunities that it offers, but I’d say that the people that I hang out with do once every week or two. Evanston has everything you NEED, so unless you’re doing things that only Chicago offers (i.e. performances, etc), there’s little incentive to go.

I know Greek Life is HUGE at NU, but I’m not really into it. How much pressure is there to participate/join? Will I be able to find a social niche without being involved in Greek Life? To what extent do people make friends through clubs/other activities?

People make lots of friends through clubs, at least some of which are Greek-ish in terms of how tight they are (usually acapella and the big groups like A&O). However, Greek Life here is different than at most schools. I can’t speak to sororities, but my impression as a freshman is that there’s legitimately a fraternity for every type of person (SAE/Pike more traditional, Delta Chi more intellectual and less party, FIJI bohemian). So I would recommend being open to joining.

What are your 2-3 favorite AND 2-3 least favorite things about Northwestern?

Favorite:

  1. The people! These are generally “normal” kids who happen to be very smart. Party scene is great, professors are wonderful.
  2. Proximity to Chicago (lots of cultural influence possible)
  3. Balance between urban cosmopolitanism (social justice, musically inclined, strong in theater and other performing arts), Big Ten Midwestern school spirit (school colors, tailgates at off-campus houses, partying), and Ivy League-level academics (arguably more difficult due to lack of grade inflation… My intro Macro class this quarter was curved to a 2.7)

Least Favorite:

  1. Somewhat lack of intellectualism (a byproduct of number 1 favorite thing)
  2. Gratuitous difficulty of some academic programs (i.e. MMSS, Engineering), and comparative lack of rigor in others

Good luck! I love this school and hope you find the right one for you!