UChicago or Northwestern?

Applying to College
1

<p>I'm a female junior at a competitive Jewish private school on Long Island and my top choice is Georgetown, where I'm applying EA. However, if I don't get in, I want to consider UChicago or Northwestern, but my mom will only let me apply to one school on the Midwest. Which one should I apply to based on the below?</p>

<p>Average: so far 92 this year, 93 last year, 94 freshman year (all APs and honors every year)
SAT: 760 CR/680 M/680 W (taking them again and expecting to get math up to 720-750 and writing up to 800)
4 on AP Euro
Extracurriculars:
Choir and Chamber Choir-Soprano I/Soloist (9-11)
Private Voice Lessons (NYSSMA level 6-perfect score freshman year, 96 on All State last year) (7-11)
Music Conservatory-Advanced (9-11)
Piano lessons (advanced level of playing but haven't done NYSSMA in high school) (5-11)
Debate Team-cocaptain and Texas Yeshiva-League Debate Semifinalist (10-11)
Mock Trial-witness (I'll be a senior advisor and probably a lawyer next year)
School newspaper-editor (10-11)
Traveling Math Team (best of the math team) (10-11)
Fresh Ink reporter (I write for the teen section of Jewish Week) (10-11)
Anti-Bias Committee (10-11)
College Bowl (JV, 11)-starter
Intel-working on a social sciences research project
Over 100 hrs of comm service
Peer Tutor (9-10)
Writing/Poetry Club (10-11)
JCC Teen Theater Club (9)
Various musical theater productions (9-10)-leading roles
Community service trip to Israel/Israel Awareness Committee
Peer Drug Educator (11)-this position's actually really competitive at my school
Summers:
going into 10th-adv. musical theater program at Usdan-lead in show
going into 11th-intern at Jewish Book Council-called me one of the best interns they ever had</p>

<p>I antipate writing great essays because I've had some really cool experiences in the past few years, including auditioning for American Idol.</p>

<p>I'm not a big partier and I don't really drink or do any drugs. I have absolutely no interest in Greek life. I'm hoping to major in international relations and minor in biology. Jewish life's a pretty big factor. I'm also into the whole urban campus thing.</p>

<p>Thank you!</p>

2

<p>It makes no sense to me that your Mother would only let you apply to 1 midwest school…</p>

<p>Why wouldn’t you apply to any midwest school you wanted and see where you get accepted to keep your options open? Whats so wrong about applying to Northwestern and Uchicago? I’d say send apps into both and see how it turns out. You can only go to one school in the end anyway…</p>

3

<p>Musical theater, newspaper editor/writer, music consevatory & debate = Northwestern University. But most students quickly & clearly know which of the two schools is a better fit. If you visit, you will know.</p>

4

<p>My mom’s being really annoying about applying far away. She’s trying to discourage me from doing it, so she’s only letting me apply to one school outside of the East Coast. I’m not allowed to visit until (if) I get in either.</p>

5

<p>I wanted to go to Northwestern for quite some time, but after visiting and applying both schools, I realized that I’d love to go to UChicago a lot more.</p>

<p>Greek life is pretty prominent at Northwestern btw.</p>

<p>And I agree with the above posters…Do some more research and decide for yourself.</p>

6

<p>My parents were the same way, I applied regardless. I also would talk about it to the point that they became comfortable with the idea.</p>

<p>It makes much more sense to be happy when college is such a great investment. If your mother still will not let you then apply regardless.</p>

<p>Best of luck, I hope all goes well for you.</p>

7

<p>Your mother should feel MUCH better about Northwestern:
It is in a very safe area and very close to Skokie, a Jewish neighbourhood of Chicago. And there are a lot of Jewish kids in Northwestern.</p>

8

<p>

</p>

<p>But not stereotypical and exclusive (non-greeks can often attend their parties; greeks and non-greeks are friends with each other). Also, non-greeks have plenty to do on/off campus.</p>

9

<p>IMO, the two schools are very very differnent. In fact, the only thing they have in common is that they’re both in Chicago. And, since Northwestern is really in Evanston, even that isn’t true.</p>

<p>I think what you need to do is figure out what kind of school you want – large? Small? Urban? Suburban? Rural? Heavy focus on sports? Or not? And take it from there.</p>

<p>A hundred years ago, I went to Northwestern. Two good friends from high school went to UofC. Very very different! They were very different that I was, they had very different experiences, and we are now doing very different things.</p>

<p>And to echo what someone else said above – apply to a bunch of midwestern schools (if you think you want to go to the midwest) and pay the app fees yourself, using money orders. </p>

<p>However, note that since you are interested in a Jewish environment, you may ultimately prefer one of the coasts. There’s NYU (huge Jewish population), Brandeis (well, duh), UPenn (ditto), Tufts, and so forth. Lots of really good schools to choose from.</p>

<p>Good luck.</p>

10

<p>My parents are more interested in the super-Jewish environment than I am. I actually have a list of 14 schools I’m interested in, but I’m only allowed to apply to 10, and one midwestern. I know I want an urban school with a population between 4000-15,000. The campus should definitely be politically active. I don’t want to apply to too many reaches because I don’t want to be discouraged by the rejections I know I’ll get.</p>

11

<p>The two schools are so different that you shouldn’t have any difficulty deciding which one is better for you. Let me give you a quick lesson but by checking out the websites the decision should be pretty easy.</p>

<p>UChicago: 5000 undergrads, much more intellectual, less partying, more world-renowned faculty, located on the South Side, specializes in social sciences, not much of an athletic emphasis</p>

<p>Northwestern: 8000 undergrads, less intellectual, more partying type of atmosphere, faculty good but not as famous as Chicago’s, in Evanston (northern Suburb), specializes in everything, Big Ten athletics (although not very competitive w/in conference)</p>

12

<p>@ comptinedunautre</p>

<p>Apply to Northwestern. Your interests have much more in common with that school than UChicago. There is a good sizable Jewish student population there too. Skokie is also next door if you want to visit and volunteer in the local North Shore Jewish community.</p>

13

<p>I actually originally planned on applying to UChicago and not Northwestern. So, I went out to Chicago to visit UChicago, but since I was there, I decided to visit Northwestern as well, just for kicks. </p>

<p>After visiting…let’s just say that Northwestern is now among one of my top choices. The schools are completely different. Like someone else said earlier on this thread, once you visit, you will know exactly which school is the better fit for you. UChicago is for the more quirky, “nerdy” student, while Northwestern is for the more common, “down-to-earth” student [sorry if I am offending anyone with these terms, I just don’t know how else to say it]. </p>

<p>While you may be mad that your mom is only letting you apply to one of these schools, it really only makes sense to apply to one or the other since they are so different. To me, it looks like Northwestern is a better fit for you, but in the end, only you can decide.</p>

14

<p>Everyone’s been telling me Northwestern and it’s been one of my top choices since forever. I just started looking at UChicago at the advice of my college guidance counselor; but I guess if I only have one choice, I should go Northwestern.</p>

15

<p>If you like Georgetown, Northwestern sounds more similar (especially with the suburban/city balance, the student body, the size, the pre-professional presence, and the sports, NU sounds great to me for you).</p>

<p>I should mention that I’m a Chicago student who spent some time frolicking on NU’s campus a few weeks ago (I happened to be in the area and I thought I’d stop by, just to see how a different school does things). Here were my general reactions:</p>

<p>1) Evanston’s a great college town, because everything you could ever want is right there, though I think it’s more of a city than a town. Hyde Park is a beautiful neighborhood and there are things about it I wouldn’t change for anything… but it would be nice if we had a movie theater showing first-run movies. As of right now we don’t really have a grocery store, either. I dislike that posters immediately dismiss the campus and the neighborhood as unsafe because it’s on the South Side, as campus security is strong and as long as you use your head, your likelihood of running into crime is no higher or lower than anywhere else in the city.</p>

<p>2) Though UofC is in Chicago, Northwestern is closer to a lot of northside neighborhoods, so travel to them is easier from NU. At the same time, Chicago is closer to the Loop, and because of the lack of activity in Hyde Park, many students are encouraged by necessity to explore the city. Which I like. I feel like if I were in Evanston, I might not ever leave, which would be a shame. But at the same time, if you don’t like the idea of a city school, I don’t think attending NU would bother you a bit. And if you do find yourself craving a city… you’ve got the Noyes and Davis stops on the purple line, a quick transfer at Howard to the red line, and you can get wherever you want to.</p>

<p>3) NU’s campus is more spread out, as (my impression is) their student body. I semi-eavesdropped on NU students as I wandered around campus. I felt that there were a lot of students who seemed to me that they would fit right in at the UofC, but there were also a lot of students who seemed that they wouldn’t at all. NU has a lot of cute college co-eds who looked like they could have been the prom kings and queens of their high schools. I don’t think UofC has many prom queens/kings, though my friends and I go on and on about who on campus we find absolutely beautiful. I guess the “beauty” is a little bit different. NU kids tended to be, on average, way better dressed.</p>

<p>4) I like the people I know at NU; I think they are really smart, cool people, and I’m sure that had I gone, I would have found a home for me there. When I chose the UofC, though I chose it because I felt that it would offer me my home more expressly. What I thought was “homey” is difficult to explain in a sentence or two, but I was looking in particular for an academic and un-glossed environment, and that’s where I think UofC really excels.</p>

16

<p>apply to both without telling your mom.</p>

17

<p>You sound so much like a friend of mine’s daughter, that I have to say this: I hope Tufts is on your list. It could be the best fit of all.</p>

18

<p>It actually is. If I don’t get into Georgetown EA, I’ll either apply there or Northwestern ED II.</p>

19

<p>quick question, which is better if i’m interested in science–bio, chem, pre-med…?</p>

<p>also, comptinedunautre, you should ask u of chicago to send you “the life of the mind” or something like that. it’s a book for prospective students, and it was really insightful for me.</p>

<p>i don’t know much about northwestern..i heard they have a 7year medical program that might interest me.</p>

<p>you should try to get into contact with kids from your school who might be attending each school…if you know any.</p>

<p>anyways, good luck!</p>

20

<p>This is the kind of thread that turns out every three weeks.</p>

<p>Please search the forum before posting anything.</p>