<p>Title says it all.
I think it'd be nice to have a realistic view of the schools that I'm applying to, so, I'd love to hear about the "bad" things about Northwestern.</p>
<p>(thread taken from goldysocks)</p>
<p>The wind, the fact that we don’t get any t-shirts/freebies with our acceptance letters, the north-south divide [it’s exaggerated but exists to a certain extent nonetheless] and that most of the football games are at 11 in the morning.</p>
<p>Prateek, did you transfer to Columbia?</p>
<p>For me, the only major downside is that there’s no track team or even a track club. This is a pretty big downside for me, but I came to NU anyway because everything else makes up for it (mostly).</p>
<p>Imo, the wind isn’t a big deal if you bundle up, which can admittedly be a pain sometimes.</p>
<p>I do wish we got more freebies with our acceptance letters, but at least we get stuff when we come to campus. And I didn’t get many freebies with any of my other acceptance letters, so it’s not a huge deal. And definitely not something to base your college decision off of.</p>
<p>The lack of a solid core curriculum in Weinberg. There are certain core classes that I think everyone should be forced to take. These classes should be difficult, too. Weinberg students would benefit from this because (a) they’d receive a broader and more rigorous education (b) they’d be on a fairer playing field in terms of G.P.A.</p>
<p>As it is, Weinberg’s distribution requirements are a joke. Most of the areas can be fulfilled by taking stupid classes that one would ordinarily expect to see at State U, not Northwestern U. A perfect example of this is Natural Disasters fulfilling a science requirement. First of all, a class like this doesn’t even touch upon the core principles and methods of scientific inquiry. Second, it’s not fair that a student (like the American studies guy who ends up graduating Magna Cum Laude come graduation) can Ace an easy class like this while another student’s GPA falls because he/she challenged themselves and took Chemistry I to fulfill the science requirement. </p>
<p>Yet another downside of the distribution requirements is the lost bonding experience that comes from students having to suffer through core classes together. I mean, look at the McCormick freshman. Those students bond over the shared experience of taking their required classes like EA.</p>
<p>I do not know why (although I could speculate) the requirements are so lax, but I’d really appreciate it if someone could fill me in.</p>
<p>^There’s a book called “Choosing the Right College”. The author gave very high marks to U of C while being very critical of many other top schools (e.g. Harvard, Duke) for their distro/core. U of C and Columbia are the only ones that have core, as far as I know. Based on his/her tone, NU probably got a B while others got B-/C+/C. I don’t know the answer but NU is not unique or the worst among top schools.</p>
<p>I remember reading in the daily that Weinberg’s distros scored a D from some organization(vague, I know…).</p>
<p>I’m more from the open curriculum camp and want the distribution requirements to be looser, though it’s not bad.</p>
<p>I would also like:
-a 24-hour study space on campus (currently, libraries are open til 3)</p>
<p>-a more centrally located student union (ideally take over Jacobs Center).</p>
<p>-more school-wide events taking advantage of Chicago (like the NU Six Flags day coming up this fall and NU Day at Wrigley).</p>
<p>-free printing and free laundry</p>
<p>-tunnels underground so you don’t have to walk outside during winter</p>
<p>That’s all really… we’re spoiled and pampered otherwise.</p>
<p>^ When I was a current student, the library was open until 2am (Core). Be thankful they extended hours!</p>
<p>Northwestern doesn’t have a track team!!! I am very surprised. They’re in the Big 10!</p>
<p>^ Ah, yes. Being a track athlete, this was… disheartening. </p>
<p>Also Norris needs to go.</p>
<p>But I like what Morty’s doing to get the school cohesiveness going - concerts, Six Flags, another “Lisa’s” down south…</p>
<p>@oceanangel: Yes, I did.</p>
<p>I am hopeless at track so that really doesn’t matter much!
I like the open curriculum so no problem there too!
The library being open only till 3 is a bummer!</p>
<p>@brebreuff: I would support all of your suggestions! Especially the last two!</p>
<p>@prateek: Why the hell does Norris need to go?</p>
<p>^b/c norris is literally a dump. they did renovate it last year but it doesn’t help much when the whole building is structurally and aesthetically flawed.</p>
<p>I know I’m weird, but I actually kind of like Norris. It’s unique. <em>shrug</em> Although I wouldn’t mind if they got new furniture for the lounge by the bookstore. What decade is that from? The '60s, maybe? The lounge in the library is the same way. But other than that, I like Norris.</p>
<p>@hahlolk: I know, right?! They’re the ONLY Big Ten school that doesn’t have a track team. There’s not even a track or other track equipment to use. :(</p>
<p>I definitely support the tunnels idea for winter.</p>
<p>I agree with Prateek - I’m glad they’re trying to get more unity going among the student body.</p>
<p>Prateek, if you don’t mind my asking, why did you transfer to Columbia? The reasons you gave in your original post - the wind, the lack of freebies - hardly seem like reasons for transferring. What was so bad that you left NU? Or was it that Columbia had a program that NU didn’t, or something?</p>
<p>“Or was it that Columbia had a program that NU didn’t”</p>
<p>Exactly. That was, literally, the only reason.</p>