Northwestern v UChicago

[Anonymous]

Any other thoughts/comments on safety at U Chicago??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NU parent here. NU used to be a place with a lot of really smart/serious students but also quite a few “ordinary” smart/social/athletic kids mixed in. As the acceptance rate has dwindled down to single digits, it seems like there are more of the former & fewer of the latter.

It’s much closer to the U of Chicago stereotype (serious academics, little fun) than it was 10+ years ago.

A lot of NU students have high school friends at U of Mich, & when they visit them in Ann Arbor they reportedly find a balanced mixture of brains & fun that they had hoped to find at NU.

Michigan alum with a current NU student and I agree with the above. For what it is worth, the NU admin is aware that there needs to be more social opportunities on campus since Evanston is not like Ann Arbor and doesn’t offer much in the way of the sports bars and student centric restaurants etc. They are currently building a really nice outdoor space on the back of Norris (student center) that will have a pub/restaurant for the students to go to as well as fire pits, etc all taking advantage of their amazing lakefront property. The whole campus is stunning and they clearly have a lot of money and are financially sound. My DC not a huge partier but they do have Greek life for those who want it. I think UChicago and NU both attract similar types of students nowadays so vibes are likely pretty similar but NU location can’t be beat!

when will this work be done?

from our private, the social/smart extroverted kids chose Duke, Cornell, Vanderbilt and Michigan OVER Northwestern last cycle. The kids that ended up at Northwestern that we knew are introverted - haven't been to a football game this year with no plans to attend.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NU parent here. NU used to be a place with a lot of really smart/serious students but also quite a few “ordinary” smart/social/athletic kids mixed in. As the acceptance rate has dwindled down to single digits, it seems like there are more of the former & fewer of the latter.

It’s much closer to the U of Chicago stereotype (serious academics, little fun) than it was 10+ years ago.

A lot of NU students have high school friends at U of Mich, & when they visit them in Ann Arbor they reportedly find a balanced mixture of brains & fun that they had hoped to find at NU.

Michigan alum with a current NU student and I agree with the above. For what it is worth, the NU admin is aware that there needs to be more social opportunities on campus since Evanston is not like Ann Arbor and doesn’t offer much in the way of the sports bars and student centric restaurants etc. They are currently building a really nice outdoor space on the back of Norris (student center) that will have a pub/restaurant for the students to go to as well as fire pits, etc all taking advantage of their amazing lakefront property. The whole campus is stunning and they clearly have a lot of money and are financially sound. My DC not a huge partier but they do have Greek life for those who want it. I think UChicago and NU both attract similar types of students nowadays so vibes are likely pretty similar but NU location can’t be beat!

It's not about having more fire pits. it's about admitting students who aren't grinders!!!

This. I think they admit the wrong students too.

[Anonymous]

^^^How do you get to be a top 10 institution without the brightest students??

[Anonymous]

The Norris project is scheduled to open in fall of 2025.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NU parent here. NU used to be a place with a lot of really smart/serious students but also quite a few “ordinary” smart/social/athletic kids mixed in. As the acceptance rate has dwindled down to single digits, it seems like there are more of the former & fewer of the latter.

It’s much closer to the U of Chicago stereotype (serious academics, little fun) than it was 10+ years ago.

A lot of NU students have high school friends at U of Mich, & when they visit them in Ann Arbor they reportedly find a balanced mixture of brains & fun that they had hoped to find at NU.

Michigan alum with a current NU student and I agree with the above. For what it is worth, the NU admin is aware that there needs to be more social opportunities on campus since Evanston is not like Ann Arbor and doesn’t offer much in the way of the sports bars and student centric restaurants etc. They are currently building a really nice outdoor space on the back of Norris (student center) that will have a pub/restaurant for the students to go to as well as fire pits, etc all taking advantage of their amazing lakefront property. The whole campus is stunning and they clearly have a lot of money and are financially sound. My DC not a huge partier but they do have Greek life for those who want it. I think UChicago and NU both attract similar types of students nowadays so vibes are likely pretty similar but NU location can’t be beat!

when will this work be done?

from our private, the social/smart extroverted kids chose Duke, Cornell, Vanderbilt and Michigan OVER Northwestern last cycle. The kids that ended up at Northwestern that we knew are introverted - haven't been to a football game this year with no plans to attend.

Northwestern actually had an over yield this year, more students than dorm rooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NU parent here. NU used to be a place with a lot of really smart/serious students but also quite a few “ordinary” smart/social/athletic kids mixed in. As the acceptance rate has dwindled down to single digits, it seems like there are more of the former & fewer of the latter.

It’s much closer to the U of Chicago stereotype (serious academics, little fun) than it was 10+ years ago.

A lot of NU students have high school friends at U of Mich, & when they visit them in Ann Arbor they reportedly find a balanced mixture of brains & fun that they had hoped to find at NU.

Michigan alum with a current NU student and I agree with the above. For what it is worth, the NU admin is aware that there needs to be more social opportunities on campus since Evanston is not like Ann Arbor and doesn’t offer much in the way of the sports bars and student centric restaurants etc. They are currently building a really nice outdoor space on the back of Norris (student center) that will have a pub/restaurant for the students to go to as well as fire pits, etc all taking advantage of their amazing lakefront property. The whole campus is stunning and they clearly have a lot of money and are financially sound. My DC not a huge partier but they do have Greek life for those who want it. I think UChicago and NU both attract similar types of students nowadays so vibes are likely pretty similar but NU location can’t be beat!

when will this work be done?

from our private, the social/smart extroverted kids chose Duke, Cornell, Vanderbilt and Michigan OVER Northwestern last cycle. The kids that ended up at Northwestern that we knew are introverted - haven't been to a football game this year with no plans to attend.

I am surprised that fun kids would choose Cornell, especially after last year.

Duke, Vanderbilt and Michigan are not surprises though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any other thoughts/comments on safety at U Chicago??

Am I worried about my kid there, of course but we also live in a city where the crime rate is higher than Chicago so I guess it is all relative

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^How do you get to be a top 10 institution without the brightest students??

This! Do you think that when they have kids who have done really well in high school applying such that they could fill their class twice over, they should select a class from the next academic tier of applicants? Nobody is coasting through high school with stellar grades and test scores without effort.

[Anonymous]

I like both schools very much, I think the student body is likely far more similar today with Northwestern becoming more “serious” and U of C less. During our tour at Northwestern the guide mentioned all the swag they give trying to entice kids to attend the football games.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^How do you get to be a top 10 institution without the brightest students??

This! Do you think that when they have kids who have done really well in high school applying such that they could fill their class twice over, they should select a class from the next academic tier of applicants? Nobody is coasting through high school with stellar grades and test scores without effort.

No, I disagree. There are a huge number of kids who have the scores and grades to do well. Probably 5 kids for every 1 spot at these schools.
Some universities preferentially choose the ones who also did bench science research during every summer of high school, had 2 school-year internships, founded a company that generated $10K in profits and are on the board of 6 non-profits. Others take the kids who were the soccer captain and the newspaper editor.

Both kids have the smarts for these institutions but #1 is a super grinder and #2 is not.

Vanderbilt is far more likely to take kid #2--they are known for their random admissions. Chicago also ends up taking kid #2 from many private high schools because from private schools they are a destination for the smart kids under the top 10% (the type B smart kids).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I like both schools very much, I think the student body is likely far more similar today with Northwestern becoming more “serious” and U of C less. During our tour at Northwestern the guide mentioned all the swag they give trying to entice kids to attend the football games.

You can't admit a student body that never attended a football game in high school (as they were too busy working at NIH or completing 8 internships) and then expect them to relax and be big sports fans in college. This isn't rocket science.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like both schools very much, I think the student body is likely far more similar today with Northwestern becoming more “serious” and U of C less. During our tour at Northwestern the guide mentioned all the swag they give trying to entice kids to attend the football games.

You can't admit a student body that never attended a football game in high school (as they were too busy working at NIH or completing 8 internships) and then expect them to relax and be big sports fans in college. This isn't rocket science.

The student football tickets at NU all sould out in minutes, with lines of kids waiting outside for general admission.

Is it Notre Dame or Alabama intensity? Of course not.

But there are definitely plenty of kids at NU enjoying their college experience, including football.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I like both schools very much, I think the student body is likely far more similar today with Northwestern becoming more “serious” and U of C less. During our tour at Northwestern the guide mentioned all the swag they give trying to entice kids to attend the football games.

You can't admit a student body that never attended a football game in high school (as they were too busy working at NIH or completing 8 internships) and then expect them to relax and be big sports fans in college. This isn't rocket science.

The student football tickets at NU all sould out in minutes, with lines of kids waiting outside for general admission.

Is it Notre Dame or Alabama intensity? Of course not.

But there are definitely plenty of kids at NU enjoying their college experience, including football.

For clarity, I wasn’t claiming otherwise, I don’t know one way or another, the guide was just really enthusiastic about all the swag they give out at games.

[Anonymous]

On safety at U Chicago: they now have a service that provides door-to-door van rides. It is probably a 5min wait -and is free and already has tens of thousands of rides tracked since the start of the school year. So this is hugely successful. Also they have installed cameras everywhere, following feedback last year from the parents. I am super pleased with Dean Hale and my kids feel safe on campus.