<p>I did very average in a very competitive high school. I had a 3.4 unweighted gpa, 2030 sat, and a 30 on the act. I decided to go to Tulane because I thought it would be a good balance of academics and socializing. However, now that I'm here, the vast majority of kids seem to only care about socializing. I know people who go out all seven nights of the week, and that is not something I'm interested in. I want to transfer out of this school because I feel like the type of students at Northwestern are more like me and the academics are obviously more highly regarded. I wanted to know what I have to do to transfer to Northwestern. I'm also currently in Mock Trial, Sports Business, and Intramural soccer as well at Tulane. </p>
<p>Sorry to burst your bubble, but the the “type of students” at Northwestern are, according to what you’re describing, very similar to the type of students at Tulane. I’m transferring out of Northwestern because I found that my intellectual and creative mindset wasn’t being stimulated at all outside of the classroom.
Northwestern has some outstanding classes and professors, but I’m sure Tulane does too. Outside of class, at least from what I’ve experienced, there are two types of students:
- Extraordinarily dedicated students in the science field who spend every waking second studying/in labs. They don’t have time for or interest in creating any sort of a social life.
- Kids whose trust-fund parents made damn sure to get their precious little babies into an elite school by getting them ACT prep, extracurriculars, etc. The kids THEMSELVES are at Northwestern but could care less about a life of the mind and would have no problem holing up in a frat basement getting drunk and dancing for the next four years. They may be nice, but if I bring something up of substance/academics into a conversation outside of class I get eyebrow-scrunching, confusion, and stares.</p>
<p>College life is what you make it of, get away with those parties and do your own thing. If you can’t get away with party temptation, move away from campus.</p>
<p>We have two kids at NU (senior and sophomore) and having met many students over the years I respectfully disagree with abcdefg1’s generalizations. Our Science kid (ISP) also is in a jazz band, active in his frat, plays soccer and sees lots of shows on campus and around Chicago. Our Theatre kid has doubled in history and her arts peers are highly intellectual and interested in the larger world. Both of them, and their friends, seem to have created an ideal balance between academic rigor and socializing. </p>
<p>Best wishes to you wherever you land!!</p>