<p>as i make a decision here, i am really concerned about NU's reputation. On CC, everyone seems to bash it, in favor of UChicago. There are ppl saying that Cornell --> NU is like a bad move, like going down, instead of up. What is the deal? Is it b/c NU has so many undergrad divisions, whereas UChicago is just one strong liberal arts college. My other question....what is the alumni network like...is it strong across the country?</p>
<p>someone plz explain this pretty wide disparity as well
for UChicago
Middle 50% of
First-Year Students Percent Who
Submitted Scores
SAT Reasoning Verbal: 680 - 770<br>
SAT Reasoning Math: 670 - 760</p>
<p>Northwestern</p>
<p>SAT Reasoning Verbal: 650 - 740<br>
SAT Reasoning Math: 670 - 760</p>
<p>30 points in verbal is not "wide disparity". You have to remember NU has schools of music/education/communications that tend to admit those with a bit lower score. Music school cares more about your music background/preparation and programs like RTF, dance, and theater in communications care more about your ECs in those areas than SAT score. I am pretty sure McCormick+Weinberg+Medill would be pretty dead even with UChi in terms of SAT scores.</p>
<p>Cornell --> NU isn't necessarily "going down", depending on your major. I thought you wanted to do econ and NU > Cornell in that. Hey, I thought you weren't happy at Cornell. If NU is a better fit, it's an upward move!</p>
<p>I don't know about middle 50% of students or statistics like that, but NU is ranked #12 on US News top colleges and UChicago is #15....I also have heard that UChicago is pretty stuffy and the students spend all their time studying and have no fun...Also, UChicago is in the city, which seems awesome, but I think I might feel unsafe being at a school IN the city. Northwestern has a gorgeous campus on the beach with a view of the city and the Metra only takes 20 minutes to get downtown from Evanston. Can you tell I go to Northwestern? As far as NU's rep in the midwest...it's been called the Ivy of the Midwest. I absolutely love Northwestern. I'm leaving to go home on Friday and I'm so sad....the classes are amazing, the people are incredible, and the campus is beautiful. I've heard that the alumni network is quite good and I'm not surprised. I know people here from almost every state. Northwestern is basically amazing if you ask me!</p>
<p>Northwestern is a pretty cool place to be. However, the rep. outside the Midwest is almost nonexistent...</p>
<p>I hear Northwestern has a great alumni network accross the country.
- U chicago disparity may exist because standardized test score are not THAT important there. Its the only school I know that looks more at your essay than ur SAT/ACT
-US News rankings shouldnt be over anaylized.
- To an average person who doesnt know too much about colleges, Northwestern is much better known. But if u talk to someone who is really acadmic and knows their stuff they'll say chicago is better
-Also, it depends on program. Chicago has great economics, math, physics, while Northwestern has the worlds best journalism program.</p>
<p>Whoever said Northwestern's reputation outside the midwest is nonexistent is grossly exaggerating. When I sent out my application to the NU summer music program, the guy at the post office said "Northwestern? that's like the Stanford of the midwest!"</p>
<p>Thanks to its great film and theater programs, Northwestern has great rep in the entertainment industry here in Los Angeles.</p>
<p>U chicago disparity may exist because standardized test score are not THAT important there. Its the only school I know that looks more at your essay than ur SAT/ACT</p>
<p>U Chicago has HIGHER scores.....idk what u were referring to</p>
<p>"I don't know about middle 50% of students or statistics like that, but NU is ranked #12 on US News top colleges and UChicago is #15....I also have heard that UChicago is pretty stuffy and the students spend all their time studying and have no fun...Also, UChicago is in the city, which seems awesome, but I think I might feel unsafe being at a school IN the city."</p>
<p>kmac14-</p>
<p>First of all, no one should take rankings seriously. UChicago is known throughout the world, and people think very, very highly of it.</p>
<p>Students at UChicago are "stuffy"? I live on the campus and will be attending next year, so I know many people here, and none are "stuffy." Hard workers? Yes. Serious about their studies and classes? Yes. Do they have fun? Yes, they do, although granted not as much fun as at other schools. I audited an intermediate-level class at UChicago this year, and the workload is intense. But students love that, and that is why they came here. It is a quirky environment.</p>
<p>And yes, UChicago is officially is the city, yet it is not in the Loop; it is about a 15 minute drive south in the neighborhood of Hyde Park. Being situated there, the ambience of the school is that of a close-knit community rather than that of coldness, skyscrapers, and bars. Safety issues of Hyde Park have been debated, yet I feel comfortable walking around by myself late at night. Of course, neighborhoods surrounding Hyde Park are iffy, though students do not visit them and have no reason to do so.</p>
<p>bball87 if youre gonna make your decision based on prestige and reputation or scores then that's pretty messed up. you are obviously not having a great time at cornell, which is a very prestigious school- what makes you think NU would be better? higher SAT scores? it's an individual thing- I got into Cornell (eventually) and NU. I chose NU because I found it better for me. Apply to harvard- i here they have good sat scores there.</p>
<p>Among people who matter (employers, primarily) NU has an excellent reputation anywhere you go. It might not elicit the same kind of awe among regular people that Harvard of Princeton would, but you don't really care about them anyway. ;-)</p>
<p>And even more than that, NU, for some reason that makes no sense to me, has a huge reputation outside the United States.</p>
<p>bball87 the fact that you're even asking this question means you have doubt on NU. If I were you I would be content with Cornell. It's a great school, with great a great alumni network and amazing research opportunities. What school are you in at Cornell anyways? If you're in CAS I'd say Cornell to NU is a step down. No offense to NU or anything, I'm just stating my honest opinion.</p>
<p>i am in CAS...i would be in weinberg at nu...i just wasn't happy there (it's in the mid of no where). I really like the fact that northwestern means flying out of a major/very accessibly airport.</p>
<p>According to Princeton Review and U of Chicago Admission Reps I have spoken too, The University of Chicago believes that a student's grades, course selections, extra-currics, essays, talents, and recomendations are all more important than his or her test scores. Students need to submit scores, and they are considered, and the reason why the scores so high is because typically only top students would even consider applying to a place as academically focused as U of C. A friend of mine with a 35 and a 3.8 didn't get into U of C because of his essay and ECs, which werent even that bad.</p>
<p>bball87,</p>
<p>Like I said, if one wants to compare NU and UChi in terms of test core, one should compare Weinberg's, not other colleges', with UChi's since Weinberg is the one that has similar disciplines to UChi's. Given Weinberg's score is usually the second highest among all NU's colleges, I'd say its score should be pretty comparable to UChi's. This shouldn't be anything new to you as Cornell has pretty much the same situation: the students at the ILR and HA usually have lower scores while those in CAS/Engg have higher. Different colleges within NU look for different types. The music/education/communications schools definitely don't look at test scores as important as UChi or NU's Weinberg/McCormick. Medill, although supposed to be harder to get in than Weinberg, actually has slightly lower test score than Weinberg because Medill doesn't care so much about the math score but they want people with substantial journalism related ECs or background in writing.</p>
<p>As far as reputation and alumni network and how they affect your futher career go, I honestly think your future success depends more on YOURSELF than where you graduated from. Last I checked, more grads from NU are now Fortune 500 CEOs than Cornell and UChi, if that makes you feel better. FYI: Wisconsin is the one that has the most number of Fortune 500 CEOs (normalized by student population, it ties with NU)!</p>
<p>bball87 what's your major? That can be the deciding factor between UChicago and NU.</p>
<p>where are you from, also? </p>
<p>i am from MA, which is admittedly 1000 miles, give or take, from chicago. but, just yesterday, in a store parking lot, someone asked me where i was going next year. when i said northwestern, they were extremely impressed. </p>
<p>i guess it depends on the person, but academic prestige/big 10 athletics have given northwestern a name, even in my part of the country.</p>
<p>i am thinking poli sci and econ, and u chicago wins in both...but i am scared of the life of mind</p>