Northwestern University Top Questions

What are your classes like?

Karen

You typically take 4 courses per quarter, and we have 3 of those so 12 classes in total. The quarter system is both good and bad because I do enjoy taking more classes than I otherwise would have, and I find it very manageable to take 4 at a time, and I like switching my schedule around more frequently. The biggest downfall of the quarter system is that we end in June, which means less time for summer internships or jobs, and sometimes it can be tougher to find internships if employers have hired people on semester systems that have already started. Classes move quickly on the quarter system, which I like, but I know some people find it hard to keep up, depending on the class. I find that each class is generally very good, some more challenging than others, but most are pretty enjoyable.

Rose

I like my classes a lot. The professors I've had so far are genuinely interested in their subjects, and a lot of them have real world experience in their subjects. For instance, my Childhood and Adolescent Development professor was a practicing child psychologist. Discussion is emphasized and is usually really interesting. People ask hard questions, too--more than once, my professors have had to stop and think for a while before answering. Class doesn't always end at dismissal, either--people leave while continuing to talk about the lecture.

Amber

Most of them are pretty enjoyable - within the journalism curriculum, there is a lot of flexibility for us to explore what we're interested in. This past quarter my classes included Media Law & Ethics; Food and Fashion in Contemporary Media; Contemporary Issues in PR and Intro to Integrated Marketing Communications. Next quarter I'll be taking International Journalism; Food, Politics & Society; Magazine Feature Writing; and Accounting & Finance.

Ellyn

Classes usually take place either Monday, Wednesday, Friday (Sometimes Friday is a discussion section with the Teaching Assistant) and are 50 minutes or are held Tuesday Thursday and are 1 hr and 20 minutes. My largest class is English 213: Intro. to Fiction since it's a rather popular class on campus. Lecture consists of the professor analyzing the text we've been assigned and showing clips from popular movies that help us to understand the abstract concepts he's discussing. He encourages us to watch movies that relate to the novels and makes the entire experience really fun. Other classes, like Childhood and Adolescent Development are pretty dry and are straight lecture from Powerpoint; however, they're not unbearable and the professor posts the slides on Blackboard anyway.

Grace

My classes have been easier than average this quarter. I have two classes that have about 70 people in them that are just basic introductory courses. Most of the homework is reading. My favorite class is definitely first year Polish. That class only has 13 people in it, so it's a much more intimate environment, and it feels really good to finally connect with my heritage. Too bad it's the only class that doesn't count for any of my graduation requirements.

Katherine

Classes typically meet for three hours a week. They are either large lecture classes or small discussions.

Lauren

Classes are difficult (surprising? not really). Liberal arts classes can expect a TON of reading that you will promptly fall hundreds of pages behind in because the quarter system is insanely quick. But the classes are really interesting and I've had great experiences aside from some of the basic requirements courses..