<p>Clearly your dad has a fine intellect, as demonstrated by his razor wit and clever offspring. :D</p>
<p>He’s also a random fountain of trivia (not pop culture, but every other type). On a tour of GA Tech for my brother, they gave free tickets (which we didn’t end up using) for whoever could answer what kind of car the car they charge in on is. The only guess everyone else had was Model T (which the original one was), but it was actual Model A. Of course my dad got it right.</p>
<p>I think ISP proved the tipping point for our son. The program allows ~30 freshman to study a very unique curriculum (among top schools only Princeton offers anything similar and NUs program was the original) and get great access to research PLUS they have their own house (not to live in but for study groups, hanging out, computer labs, some classes, etc). The program sounds challenging to me, but it seemed ideal to our S. </p>
<p>Good luck to everyone out there finalizing decisions before May 1st!!</p>
<p>@MomCares, if you had been to the ISP session, then you must have heard our S speak 
He had volunteered to be on the ISP open house sessions. Go Cats!</p>
<p>@NorthwesternDad - Sounds like we may have! If so, congratulations on having a S who is not only very bright but also quite articulate. Maybe our S will meet him next year if he isn’t graduating.</p>
<p>S is only a sophomore…so, most likely!</p>
<p>So… for new WildCats, why did YOU choose Northwestern over your other alternatives?</p>
<p>Incoming freshman here:</p>
<p>Academics:
- Quarter system: more classes, opportunities to explore, double major, minor, etc. Also means you’ll never have to study over breaks, since each quarter ends right before vacation (huge perk over other schools).
- Amazing journalism, music, communications, engineering schools (in addition to the main arts & sciences): I love both music and journalism, so NU gives me the opportunities to take classes/major/minor in those areas. It also means there’s more diversity in the student body academically, which is something I’m excited about.
- Unique interdisciplinary opportunities and special programs: five year dual-degree programs, Brady scholars program, Integrated Sciences Program, Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences, etc. No other school has programs like these, and they’re incredible. MMSS is pretty much exactly what I was looking to do in college, and it was a huge draw for me.
- Miscellaneous: Small class sizes (7:1 student/teacher ratio I think), great research opportunities for undergraduates (especially freshmen), outstanding faculty that make themselves available. </p>
<p>Non-academic:</p>
<ul>
<li>Sports/School Spirit: I’ve always been a huge sports fan, but I didn’t realize how much it meant to me until I visited schools that actually had Division 1 programs (Duke, NU, Michigan, etc.) It made a huge difference to me whether or not I could devote an entire Saturday to my school’s football team, and I wanted the people around me to at least care about the school’s teams. When I visited other schools, I saw plenty of people wearing other schools’ apparel, which I thought was crazy, but everyone at NU was wearing purple.</li>
<li>Location: I wanted a school that was urban enough to afford significant and meaningful opportunities to explore the city, but not too urban that there was a lack of campus life. NU provides the perfect balance, with a beautiful campus, access to a small city in Evanston, and access to a thriving metropolis in Chicago. I can grab a bite with friends a few minutes away, but I can still go attend concerts and sporting events downtown with minimal hassle. I also happen to have family ten minutes away, which is nice.</li>
<li>Diversity: For the true college experience, I wanted to have exposure to people of all different races; socioeconomic backgrounds; religious, political, and ideological beliefs; sexual identities; and pretty much every other measure of diversity. NU provides that better than most other schools can, which says something about the school.</li>
<li>Size: Large enough to provide everything you’re looking for, but not too large that you get completely lost. Theres always a community you can identify with, whether it’s your floor or your entire dorm, a fraternity or sorority, a sports team, a cappella group, theater production, newspaper staff, or your academic school. There are so many opportunities to leave your mark.</li>
</ul>
<p>I could list so many more reasons, and I left a bunch out. I think it’s truly a one-of-a-kind school.</p>
<p>This thread might help answer the questions just posed by @impressionistic.</p>
<p>Thank you, MomCares, for alerting me to this thread’s existence. :)</p>
<p>No problem! Lots of people come and go on these boards, so many who posted here might not be around to answer your questions now. If you have specific questions about why folks chose NU I’ll bet those here will be happy to chime in.</p>
<p>Best of luck with your upcoming application process!</p>