Is Northwestern the ideal school?

[Anonymous]

Click on the various headings to explore career resources available to all NU students:

https://northwestern.edu/careers/who-we-are/nca-faq.html

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Maybe if you’re rich. The kids I know who went were UMC and felt out of place. Lots of big money, expensive private school, daddy buys me every luxury and convenience kind of money. Not like daddy pays my rent. Like daddy picks me up in a private plane and spent $100,000 on my dressage horse kind of money .

You are going to find kids like this at every selective private college. Middlebury, Chicago, Wash U, Brown, Williams, the list goes on.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really wonder about some of you people who call a school like Northwestern "quirky"

+1

[Anonymous]

My kid had zero problems with the quarter system at NU. The info is always pretty fresh in your mind in the quarter system, unlike semesters, which drag on & on, & you can barely remember the early material when the course ends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For some, my kid and I would hate the Greek life, architecture, and weather, but for some, it’s the best fit possible.

Here’s a thought: maybe let the kid decide this once he or she is there?

[Anonymous]

Yes everyone should apply ED!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was #1 on my kids list, until we visited. He decided not to apply within a few minutes of stepping foot on campus. He said not one student looked happy, all had heads down. I insisted we go on the tour anyway, which we did, but even I thought that didn't help.

Think the student profile will change this year. And maybe even for foreseeable future.

They are going very deep into WL (again today); recent kids coming from previously committed to schools like Wisconsin, Michigan, UCLA, USC, Tulane, Middlebury - all social, normal kids.

Lots of WL admission overlap btw Brown, Vanderbilt, UCLA (OOS) and Northwestern this year. Let’s see what happens.

How could you possibly know this? You speak with such utter confidence. Making really specific statements with no actual basis in fact —unless you are head of NU’s admissions and see everyone’s folder.

There are a lot of private college counselors on here. I can confirm some, but not all, of this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The student body is heavily quirky. My very smart but mainstream, outgoing kids (jr and sr) toured and didn't see their people at all. This was the same report given by many of their friends when they also visited.

Your mileage may vary and every kid is different so do your research in person! We really wanted to like it---we liked many things but ultimately my kids gave it a strong veto.

+1

I also heard every kid is high stress over achiever and/ or quirky. And I mean high stress in an unhealthy way, which I did t want for my child.

One of child’s friend’s transferred into engineering program at Maryland. after year one of Northwestern. Happier at UMD.

Depends on the kid.

Northwestern engineering is tough, particularly due to the quarter system.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Unfortunately, many of the posts in this thread painting NU in a negative light seem to be written by the same writer.

The main takeaway from this thread is that the Ivies are concerned about competition from Northwestern. This is understandable. Both Northwestern University and the University of Chicago are outstanding schools which offer easy access to one of the best cities in the country.

Agree.

The tone is very telling.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Was #1 on my kids list, until we visited. He decided not to apply within a few minutes of stepping foot on campus. He said not one student looked happy, all had heads down. I insisted we go on the tour anyway, which we did, but even I thought that didn't help.

Think the student profile will change this year. And maybe even for foreseeable future.

They are going very deep into WL (again today); recent kids coming from previously committed to schools like Wisconsin, Michigan, UCLA, USC, Tulane, Middlebury - all social, normal kids.

Lots of WL admission overlap btw Brown, Vanderbilt, UCLA (OOS) and Northwestern this year. Let’s see what happens.

How could you possibly know this? You speak with such utter confidence. Making really specific statements with no actual basis in fact —unless you are head of NU’s admissions and see everyone’s folder.

There are a lot of private college counselors on here. I can confirm some, but not all, of this.

You are a private college counselor?

Or you are just pretending to be one?

[Anonymous]

Explain further this deep insight you have into authorial voice and tone of other anonymous posters in this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nonetheless, it is fair to state that Northwestern University has a lot of driven, hard-working, conscientious, brainiac students who are serious students.

Northwestern is not the ideal school for one seeking a rah-rah party school atmosphere dominated by ostentatious Greek social life.

NU is composed of more grad students (probably 55% of the total full-time student population) on two stunning campuses. While the architecture may not be uniform, both the Chicago setting (medical & law school) and the Evanston setting (undergrads, MBA Kellogg School, and many other graduate programs) are spectacular.

Northwestern University is a serious school with Big Ten Conference athletics. NU's overall endowment (#13 overall) places it in the top ten in the country when three system wide endowments are placed aside (UTexas system, U Texas A&M system, & UC System wide endowments) --so it is also a wealthy school.

https://northwestern.edu/recruit/our-students/

NU students do now socialize with U Chicago students/student organizations which is a fairly recent development.

The quarter system keeps kids busy & sober. NU is not a party school, but it is social in a low key fashion.

Any recommendations for kids that: (a) do want this; AND (b) are highly academic (4.0/1500+/high rigor)?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nonetheless, it is fair to state that Northwestern University has a lot of driven, hard-working, conscientious, brainiac students who are serious students.

Northwestern is not the ideal school for one seeking a rah-rah party school atmosphere dominated by ostentatious Greek social life.

NU is composed of more grad students (probably 55% of the total full-time student population) on two stunning campuses. While the architecture may not be uniform, both the Chicago setting (medical & law school) and the Evanston setting (undergrads, MBA Kellogg School, and many other graduate programs) are spectacular.

Northwestern University is a serious school with Big Ten Conference athletics. NU's overall endowment (#13 overall) places it in the top ten in the country when three system wide endowments are placed aside (UTexas system, U Texas A&M system, & UC System wide endowments) --so it is also a wealthy school.

https://northwestern.edu/recruit/our-students/

NU students do now socialize with U Chicago students/student organizations which is a fairly recent development.


The quarter system keeps kids busy & sober. NU is not a party school, but it is social in a low key fashion.

Any recommendations for kids that: (a) do want this; AND (b) are highly academic (4.0/1500+/high rigor)?

I think Dartmouth might fit the bill. It is very fratty and kids are academically talented. (Perhaps not the most intellectual though. Heading to Wall Street rather than to PhD programs)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nonetheless, it is fair to state that Northwestern University has a lot of driven, hard-working, conscientious, brainiac students who are serious students.

Northwestern is not the ideal school for one seeking a rah-rah party school atmosphere dominated by ostentatious Greek social life.

NU is composed of more grad students (probably 55% of the total full-time student population) on two stunning campuses. While the architecture may not be uniform, both the Chicago setting (medical & law school) and the Evanston setting (undergrads, MBA Kellogg School, and many other graduate programs) are spectacular.

Northwestern University is a serious school with Big Ten Conference athletics. NU's overall endowment (#13 overall) places it in the top ten in the country when three system wide endowments are placed aside (UTexas system, U Texas A&M system, & UC System wide endowments) --so it is also a wealthy school.

https://northwestern.edu/recruit/our-students/

NU students do now socialize with U Chicago students/student organizations which is a fairly recent development.


The quarter system keeps kids busy & sober. NU is not a party school, but it is social in a low key fashion.

Any recommendations for kids that: (a) do want this; AND (b) are highly academic (4.0/1500+/high rigor)?

I think Dartmouth might fit the bill. It is very fratty and kids are academically talented. (Perhaps not the most intellectual though. Heading to Wall Street rather than to PhD programs)

Also Penn's Wharton School. Duke. Fratty, play hard, work hard.

[Anonymous]

Michigan.