Northwestern University Top Questions

I feel like i pretty much covered it all.

It sucks taht everyone is smart. It sucks that we dont have alot of minorities. it sucks that we dont have time for anything other than school work b/c of the quarter system, and northwestern is stingy as hell in its money...we keep the school going, they should be more willing to help us with financial situations.

The sorority quads are pretty.

The actual is beautiful- even in the winter when it is cold and covered with snow- it is still a lovely place to be!

The people at this school are far too interested in their future and not in making the most out of their college experience.

The girls are broke.

Most people who go to this school will say that the social life is pretty lame. But I have visited friends at other comparable schools (BC, Notre Dame, Penn) and NU is definitely more fun. The Greek life is definitely the center of the social life on campus, but you don't have to go Greek to have fun. Also, the social scene at NU is definitely based on going out to bars, so get a fake ID before you come if you can. The best part about it is that you can go out hard on a Thursday night and then wake up and go to class to hear an awesome professor lecture on Friday (if you aren't too hungover).

Kingdom Hearts II is incredible, and there are no parents at college to limit the amount of video games you play. Think about it!

Evanston (the town surrounding Northwestern) is not a bad place, with plenty of restaurants, but definitely try going into Chicago.

I like Northwestern.

Northwestern is a great school for a well-rounded person who is okay with being stereotyped about athletics and social life.

I think that I have rather fully summarized the campus. Northwestern is an amazing place that I encourage everyone to attend!

Northwestern rock.

I think that New Student Week is one of the most important weeks for Freshman, so it is in the University's best interest to make that week an absolutely incredible one for the incoming classes.

Northwestern is a catch-22. It's the "Ivy League of the Midwest" and has some amazing facilities, classes, and some of the smartest people in the world teaching and as students. But that also means intense competition for grades (do NOT expect those straight A's you got in highschool-learn to love B's. Or even be happy with a C once in awhile.) It also means professors who cannot relate to their students and do not teach difficult subjects well, yet they expect you to understand the material at the level they do. You can meet some great people, but there are plenty of socially backwards people that you can't connect with. When I look back at Northwestern, I wish I had gone somewhere else. The only good things I got out of it was meeting my boyfriend and having a diploma that says Northwestern on it, which always impresses people. But seriously, that's it. I hated a lot of my time there.

Northwestern students will complain the most about the weather. During the fall, you will meet alot of people. Come winter time though, you will barely see people around because it is so cold outside. Once springtime rolls around, you will see those old faces again. Northwestern is an awesome school. I don't regret coming here at all. I have had the best 4 years of my life here so far.

most people here suck. they're all pretentious assholes who can talk circles around you and use better vocab words than you, but couldn't walk if you pushed them into a fucking moving sidewalk.

I love it here. Northwestern's awesome. Best decision I've made.

I think the caste system in place in the Greek system is ridiculous, and I'm not even in a sorority. I mean, there are the "cool" frats/sororities, and they exclusively hang out with each other. It's like they're playing high school. Suddenly a freshman girl gets into TriDelt or Kappa, and she's too good to go get drunk at an "undesirable" frat that she's been frequenting all fall quarter. I heard Theta sends their list of possible pledges to SigEp for approval - come on! Even in my journalism class, the TriDelts only talk to the Lodge guys, and the Theta girl works with the SigEp guy. It's hilarious, and I refuse to buy into it. Especially because the people in "cool" frats and sororities are usually the most boring, bland people I've ever met; and the guys and girls in the less desirable houses usually have good senses of humor and take themselves less seriously. I dropped out of my sorority last year when I realized what a caste system Greek life truly is. It's really disappointing - I thought NU students would be above that.

Ok, basically I really like this school in general. My issues are 1. I have yet to have a really great professor. So so far, I am not impressed with academics 2. My dorm has some very lazy and loud people. I probably would have been better off somewhere else, or at least better off on a different floor of this dorm. Other than those main issues, I think the campus is gorgeous and has lots of good classes (although I would like to see some more fun ones, like classes on the Beatles, or Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, etc. You know, those classes you read about in the paper that they offer at the big state schools). The people are very nice in a genuine way, I like the architecture for the most part, and there are tons of opportunities on and off-campus. Including groups to be involved in, shows to see, events to attend, sponsored trips downtown, etc.

I think I would be much less stressed at a state school, but my education wouldn't be the same. The people wouldn't be as goal-oriented either, which has its pros and cons. It was hard to adjust to people with totally different backgrounds who just didn't understand you. I do think a lot of kids are too materialistic and care less about understanding themselves and discovering your own self then about getting the best grade and partying as much as possible. Relationships are to get connections for the future not about finding wonderful people who make you happy and improve your character. The relationships are a bit lacking but you just have to find the right people that get you.

I hope you weren't expecting a ton of responses.

If you're hesitant to apply, don't be. Northwestern is all about diversity, and there are so many types of different people here (academic, financial background, ethnic) that anyone has a fair chance. If you want to go here, apply. Who knows?

If you're a guy, don't expect to come live on North campus and be overwhelmed by all the amazingly attractive college girls running around campus. They aren't there. The only really attractive girls at this school live down south because they're in a sorority, or they're a theater major. The only cool guys at this school live up North because they're in a fraternity, or they're not a theater major. This causes a pretty funny social split, and when you talk to an attractive girl at NU she'll tell you there are no cute guys (we're all up North). Cool guys from NU will tell you there are no attractive girls at NU (there really seriously are not that many, and the small numbers of them really do flock down south for the most part).

NORTHWESTERN IS THE BEST! The school is beautiful and the classes are amazing. Everyone should go to Northwestern.

I love Northwestern!

DON'T GO TO NORTHWESTERN!!!

The food is pretty good and some dorms (Willard, Slivka come to mind) are absolutely amazing.

Location is great, campus is beautiful. The members of the faculty in any field are all involved with studies, projects, performance groups, etc. that are important and influential. They have real life experience and great qualifications. You never run out of people to meet. Good times.

The culture of north campus is wild and involves lots of drinking and hooking up. The south campus culture is very artsy and there are not a lot of attractive boys.

Northwestern's campus is linear and runs from North to South along the lake. North campus, because it includes the fraternities where a lot of parties occur, is known for being more attractive to students who want to go out. Bobb-McCulloch is definitely the "party" dorm. Elder is also a good place for freshman who are looking to meet people who want to go out and have fun but are still new and a little timid. As a freshman, I would say that living on North campus has made nights and weekends at Northwestern much easier as a lot of the parties Freshman attend are at the fraternities. However, I have many friend who live in south campus dorms that still make it up to the fraternities very often and have very successful social lives.

Northwestern is not a love fest. OK Go! came, and the lead singer asked if NU was a place for lovers--the entire audience screamed out, "NO!" And it's not. People get drunk and have random hook-ups a lot, but very few people date seriously. Maybe it is a Midwest thing, but the atmosphere around NU is tepid at best, although usually friendly.

John Lavine is the worst thing to ever come to the Medill School of Journalism.

Northwestern is about a hundred times cooler than its stereotype lets on. This is a school for fun, social kids who just happen to all be very smart.