Northwestern ED

[Anonymous]

lots of ed and rd from our school. good luck everyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP has said more than once now that they would be willing to go full pay. Why keep bringing up the cost?

not the PP but is a Northwestern Degree worth $336,00 +

That said, my nephew goes there and is full pay. My brother is counting the days until he graduates this December.

I went there and truly hated some things about it.

I couldn’t afford to pay $336,000 for my kid to go there.

But it’s a great, well-known school, in a beautiful and convenient location, and of course it’s worth that for a family that can afford it. A student who’s a good fit will have a great experience, and it seems likely that a fairly ordinary alum will earn $1.5 million to $3 million over the course of a career. The University of Illinois or UVa might be a better deal for many students who pay in-state tuition, but Northwestern is probably cheaper for many students who’d be paying out-of-state tuition for good state flagships.

[Anonymous]

As a Northwestern alum who loved my time there, I truly do not feel the school is worth what they are charging now. Couple that with how much preference they give to rich ED kids and we strongly discouraged our two kids from applying.

[Anonymous]

how much preference they give to rich ED kids

Unfortunately, quite a few schools now do this. My DD has NU on her list so I'm interested in experiences and perspective from recent alums, pros and cons.

[Anonymous]

Recent alum here (yes, I'm young... young for DCUM) and I absolutely loved my experience at Northwestern. Financial aid was generous, and not many of my friends applied ED (I did not).

[Anonymous]

Can you share your thoughts on the quarter system, experience regarding ease of access to the classes you wanted, research and internship opportunities?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP has said more than once now that they would be willing to go full pay. Why keep bringing up the cost?

not the PP but is a Northwestern Degree worth $336,00 +

That said, my nephew goes there and is full pay. My brother is counting the days until he graduates this December.

I went there and truly hated some things about it.

I couldn’t afford to pay $336,000 for my kid to go there.

But it’s a great, well-known school, in a beautiful and convenient location, and of course it’s worth that for a family that can afford it. A student who’s a good fit will have a great experience, and it seems likely that a fairly ordinary alum will earn $1.5 million to $3 million over the course of a career. The University of Illinois or UVa might be a better deal for many students who pay in-state tuition, but Northwestern is probably cheaper for many students who’d be paying out-of-state tuition for good state flagships.

NU grad here. Both of us went there. Our combined annual HHI is now north of $5mm/year....NU changed my life. Best decision I ever made.
I also received financial aid (way back then). Not as generous as it appears now, but it helped.
Cannot stress how transformative the atmosphere, academics, peers, faculty were for a girl from nowhere who knew no one important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you share your thoughts on the quarter system, experience regarding ease of access to the classes you wanted, research and internship opportunities?

Quarter system wouldn't work for my kid, which is why they skipped all the schools that use it. It is otherwise a fantastic school that would have likely been a top choice.

[Anonymous]

NU is a need based school. No matter ED or RD, if your family income under the threshold’s, your student will receive some form of financial aid.
NU will have a new president next year. Hopefully, she will be great at raising fund, as much as the current president, and keep NU strong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NU is a need based school. No matter ED or RD, if your family income under the threshold’s, your student will receive some form of financial aid.
NU will have a new president next year. Hopefully, she will be great at raising fund, as much as the current president, and keep NU strong.

The EFC is not realistic for doughnut hole families (especially with more than one kid).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can you share your thoughts on the quarter system, experience regarding ease of access to the classes you wanted, research and internship opportunities?

I'm the recent alum commenting again - apologies in advance for the very long answer ahead.

Quarter system: Granted, I didn't have a true point of comparison since I never attended a semester school (though my high school was on the semester system), I really loved the quarter system. I loved that each quarter had a very distinct vibe (fall, winter, spring), with different things to look forward to each quarter. It almost felt like I was getting more out of college, if that makes sense. The obvious upside is that you have so much more leeway to take classes, double major, minor, dabble in certificates, etc. The downside is that midterms start up at around week 3-4. For most students, it'll require above-average time management skills.

Registration for Classes: Very easy and straightforward. Sometimes you might have to, say, wake up early to register for a specific class, or get on the waitlist and email the professor directly, but I didn't know anyone for whom registration was a problem. In fact, I honestly didn't even know class registration could be such a huge issue until I heard horror stories from friends at places like Berkeley or other larger schools like NYU.

Research: Again, really easy, and the university goes out of its way to make research opps for undergrads as accessible as possible. I knew kids who had landed research positions within the first few weeks of freshman year if they were looking for it. Super easy to work directly with a professor, land a lab position, do an independent study (and get funding for said research), etc.

Internship opportunities: Most students will put in the legwork here on their own, but again, the university puts out a lot of opportunities for students to pursue internships. Two schools, Medill and SESP, require their students to do an internship during one quarter, usually their junior year, and connect you with a site (called "journalism residency" and "practicum" respectively). Medill, especially, has some fantastic opportunities through JR - major media companies and places like Instagram and LinkedIn. Anecdotally, there's also a great program called Chicago Field Studies which connects students with companies in Chicago to intern during the off-season. Had a friend my sophomore year who interned with Goldman during her winter quarter through CFS.

All in all, I loved my time at Northwestern and have such fond memories. Now that I'm a few years out, I also have a newfound appreciation for the particular brand of... down-to-earthiness/relative lack of pretense of my friends from NU. All are smart and have that Midwestern work ethic down pat, but they tend to wear their learning lightly, if that makes sense. Due to the structure of the university, there's also a true diversity of academic/career interests at NU, and I count engineers, journalists, working artists, doctors, academics, and (of course) legions of consultants/reformed consultants among my close circle of friends from college.

That said, I know how privileged I was to attend a school like Northwestern, and how lucky I was to be in a position where I was able to enjoy it and take advantage of its opportunities so fully, so I don't want to be too effusive. Northwestern was the perfect school for me, and it's an amazing place for many, many kids, but it can be difficult, and it certainly isn't utopia for 4 years. Northwestern leans pre-professional, and there can be a buzz of "busy-ness" around campus, with students always trying to figure out their next move. Winters can be brutal, but the fall and spring are truly beautiful (and I always encourage students to spend one summer term on campus/in Evanston - they call it Heavenston for a reason).

Again, I apologize for the very, very long response (probably way more than you asked for... kudos if you actually read this), but best of luck to your kid if they end up applying, and to all other applicants!

[Anonymous]

Our neighbor's son is at Northwestern right now and loves it. The whole family are fans. We're keeping an eye on it for sure. Anyone know how popular/competitive it is among applicants from DMV?

[Anonymous]

I apologize for the very, very long response (probably way more than you asked for... kudos if you actually read this

Your response was excellent. Thank you for taking the time!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I apologize for the very, very long response (probably way more than you asked for... kudos if you actually read this

Your response was excellent. Thank you for taking the time!

Agree. Junior DC looking at NU and this was very helpful. Thanks!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP has said more than once now that they would be willing to go full pay. Why keep bringing up the cost?

not the PP but is a Northwestern Degree worth $336,00 +

That said, my nephew goes there and is full pay. My brother is counting the days until he graduates this December.

I went there and truly hated some things about it.

I couldn’t afford to pay $336,000 for my kid to go there.

But it’s a great, well-known school, in a beautiful and convenient location, and of course it’s worth that for a family that can afford it. A student who’s a good fit will have a great experience, and it seems likely that a fairly ordinary alum will earn $1.5 million to $3 million over the course of a career. The University of Illinois or UVa might be a better deal for many students who pay in-state tuition, but Northwestern is probably cheaper for many students who’d be paying out-of-state tuition for good state flagships.

What do you do that makes $5 million/year? What field?

NU grad here. Both of us went there. Our combined annual HHI is now north of $5mm/year....NU changed my life. Best decision I ever made.
I also received financial aid (way back then). Not as generous as it appears now, but it helped.
Cannot stress how transformative the atmosphere, academics, peers, faculty were for a girl from nowhere who knew no one important.