Northwestern vibe

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NU is for nerdy kids these days and certainly not “rah rah.”

Do you have a child there? I do. It is stupidly Greek for many kids. Plenty of kids at the ER regularly for drinking too much - if that’s what you want, you have it. Personally, I wish my child was in an environment where the social life is not led by a fundamentally racist and sexist institution. I wish the campus was more politically engaged too. It’s a very apathetic set of kids. Astounding given the times we live in. My kid is happy to be clear. This is all my beef! But for parents looking for the combo of bright kids/good academics/Greek system/apolitical this is a great choice.

How bad is the hazing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yes, what is the latest at Northwestern? Are there any freshmen parents who can comment?

I think traditionally it was mainstream work-hard, play-hard but more recently has gotten very quirky and not-fun (no one goes to football games, grinds 24/7, super competitive with each other for any resources and the party scene has moved to U of Chicago, etc) but then I've heard that Northwestern corrected this a bit this past cycle and admitted more mainstream kids.

What is the word on the street from current parents, preferably those with freshmen?

Thank you!

What does this even mean (bolded?)

Do you really think admissions officers are sitting around that giant conference table and saying things like, "You know, Joe, we've gotten too many weirdos in the last few years. Not good for the reputation. Let's look for more mainstream kids."

Yes.

Idk, most of the AOs these days are pretty weird themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NU is for nerdy kids these days and certainly not “rah rah.”

Do you have a child there? I do. It is stupidly Greek for many kids. Plenty of kids at the ER regularly for drinking too much - if that’s what you want, you have it. Personally, I wish my child was in an environment where the social life is not led by a fundamentally racist and sexist institution. I wish the campus was more politically engaged too. It’s a very apathetic set of kids. Astounding given the times we live in. My kid is happy to be clear. This is all my beef! But for parents looking for the combo of bright kids/good academics/Greek system/apolitical this is a great choice.

Yikes... What????

DP. I have a kid at NU and I don't know what the heck that PP is talking about. Greek exists there, but is not predominant.

And kids go to ER for drinking at any university, whether there is Greek life or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's traditionally called the Northwestern 400.

400 kids in the freshman class are social (give or take), hang out together (downtown clubs or the Deuce), go on SB together to Mexico or DR, study abroad in the same places in Spain, Copenhagen or Florence (last year it was Spain), host off-campus parties in apts (and darties for football in the fall), etc.

I think this year, students estimated its closer to 500. So not really a huge change....maybe a bit around the edges? But yes, there weren't enough Greek bids, and 2 frats coming back this year and 2 sororities.

Agree there is much less activism on campus.

Pretty small cohort, but very unified when you combine with the other classes and upperclassmen. Maybe it feels more like a SLAC?

Can't imagine the Duke and Vandy #s are all that different? How big are the pledge classes there?

This sounds terribly claustrophobic and depressing. My kid goes to a southern school known to be social and the kids go all over for study abroad, not all to the same city, not even all to the same continent. Or perhaps you have it wrong.

You clearly know nothing about NU, so why post? What southern city does your DC frequent that is as cool as Chicago? NU has it all - academic prestige, Big 10 sports, world class theater/music/journalism, amazing campus, quick access to a major city and phenomenal job placement (if you can withstand the winter). Go visit before passing judgement.

Prob GT....lame weirdo she is. Thanks for calling it out. We need to out these trolls.

I'm not the poster you are responding to here or the one that posted what you are responding to above. I posted earlier, my DS was accepted to NU last cycle and we toured it and there was a lot he liked about it and he loved the lake setting. It's obviously a great school so not sure why anyone would say anything negative about it. The new football stadium area is beautiful btw. For my kid, I think a lot of it had to do with him wanting to get out of the Midwest. Not everyone is going to be the same. My kid wanted to got to a school that was at or near the top for his major, Biomedical Engineering and wanted to go to school in a warmer climate. In the end it came down to UT-Austin, NU and GT. All had similar Urban vibes and all schools he loved in different ways . Yes, ironically, and not the poster above but he picked GT and loves it. Evhanks. He already got aan eryone is different and will have their own journey and preferences. Good luck.

Your explanation makes perfect sense to me and helps me understand how some kids pursue fit and a stronger program in their major. Before you wrote this, I was scratching my head too but now I get it and I'm glad to hear it worked out well for your kid.

Thanks. He already got a summer internship back here in the Upper Midwest and GT was a big reason.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:yes, what is the latest at Northwestern? Are there any freshmen parents who can comment?

I think traditionally it was mainstream work-hard, play-hard but more recently has gotten very quirky and not-fun (no one goes to football games, grinds 24/7, super competitive with each other for any resources and the party scene has moved to U of Chicago, etc) but then I've heard that Northwestern corrected this a bit this past cycle and admitted more mainstream kids.

What is the word on the street from current parents, preferably those with freshmen?

Thank you!

What does this even mean (bolded?)

Do you really think admissions officers are sitting around that giant conference table and saying things like, "You know, Joe, we've gotten too many weirdos in the last few years. Not good for the reputation. Let's look for more mainstream kids."

Yes.

Idk, most of the AOs these days are pretty weird themselves.

Have you worked in an admissions office? The directives come down from the Provost, VPE and the Dean (qualities to look for; IP; holes to fill; etc). Obv the Dean does the final class shaping, but you have to try and fill what they are looking for. Note it looks like they are increasing the class size to 2100. Wasn't it 2000 last cycle?
https://admissions.northwestern.edu/docs/northwestern-early-decision-context-2025.pdf

You can see some of the priorities here based on dedicated resources (FGLI; Intl; Transfer)
https://www.enrollment.northwestern.edu/about/undergraduate-admission-titles-only2.pdf

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's traditionally called the Northwestern 400.

400 kids in the freshman class are social (give or take), hang out together (downtown clubs or the Deuce), go on SB together to Mexico or DR, study abroad in the same places in Spain, Copenhagen or Florence (last year it was Spain), host off-campus parties in apts (and darties for football in the fall), etc.

I think this year, students estimated its closer to 500. So not really a huge change....maybe a bit around the edges? But yes, there weren't enough Greek bids, and 2 frats coming back this year and 2 sororities.

Agree there is much less activism on campus.

Pretty small cohort, but very unified when you combine with the other classes and upperclassmen. Maybe it feels more like a SLAC?

Can't imagine the Duke and Vandy #s are all that different? How big are the pledge classes there?

This sounds terribly claustrophobic and depressing. My kid goes to a southern school known to be social and the kids go all over for study abroad, not all to the same city, not even all to the same continent. Or perhaps you have it wrong.

You clearly know nothing about NU, so why post? What southern city does your DC frequent that is as cool as Chicago? NU has it all - academic prestige, Big 10 sports, world class theater/music/journalism, amazing campus, quick access to a major city and phenomenal job placement (if you can withstand the winter). Go visit before passing judgement.

Prob GT....lame weirdo she is. Thanks for calling it out. We need to out these trolls.

I'm not the poster you are responding to here or the one that posted what you are responding to above. I posted earlier, my DS was accepted to NU last cycle and we toured it and there was a lot he liked about it and he loved the lake setting. It's obviously a great school so not sure why anyone would say anything negative about it. The new football stadium area is beautiful btw. For my kid, I think a lot of it had to do with him wanting to get out of the Midwest. Not everyone is going to be the same. My kid wanted to got to a school that was at or near the top for his major, Biomedical Engineering and wanted to go to school in a warmer climate. In the end it came down to UT-Austin, NU and GT. All had similar Urban vibes and all schools he loved in different ways . Yes, ironically, and not the poster above but he picked GT and loves it. Evhanks. He already got aan eryone is different and will have their own journey and preferences. Good luck.

Your explanation makes perfect sense to me and helps me understand how some kids pursue fit and a stronger program in their major. Before you wrote this, I was scratching my head too but now I get it and I'm glad to hear it worked out well for your kid.

Thanks. He already got a summer internship back here in the Upper Midwest and GT was a big reason.

I'm the poster you're responding to. Your example is what more dcum parents need to read. It is not about prestige or bragging rights or whatever - if a kid has ambition and drive they will find their path no matter where they go. Not looking for specifics, but how did GT help your freshman find an internship?

[Anonymous]

If you want a school that effectively balances the academics of a T10, with the feel of a traditional “rah rah” campus - you have 2 choices: Duke and Northwestern. Great schools, great vibes, great students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you want a school that effectively balances the academics of a T10, with the feel of a traditional “rah rah” campus - you have 2 choices: Duke and Northwestern. Great schools, great vibes, great students.

Michigan as well.

[Anonymous]

Not Michigan. It’s a great school but can never have a top 10 academic feel because they have to admit a large portion of in state kids and they aren’t as competitive.

[Anonymous]

Plus 40,000 students can never feel as academically elite as 7000 or 9000 like Duke and NU. Apples and oranges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not Michigan. It’s a great school but can never have a top 10 academic feel because they have to admit a large portion of in state kids and they aren’t as competitive.

I’m sorry but this is BS.

Michigan’s academics are every bit as good as those other schools.

And don’t crap on in state kids. My husband went to Michigan from Pioneer HS. He graduated with honors.

Look at Michigan’s department rankings, as an indicator of faculty and research quality. They’re ranked as high or higher than Northwestern and Duke in nearly every department.

[Anonymous]

Michigan is a great school, but the mid-size privates are not comparable to large state schools no matter how good they are. It feels very different, the size difference is massive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Michigan is a great school, but the mid-size privates are not comparable to large state schools no matter how good they are. It feels very different, the size difference is massive.

I’m not talking about feel.

The question was about academic strength.

Michigan’s undergrad programs are outstanding:

Top 5 engineering
Top 3 business
#10 comp sci
#15 Econ
#5 psychology
#1 nursing

Etc.

I know DCUM can’t handle the idea that a state school could rival a private university, but it’s just facts.

Some kids won’t like how big Michigan is, but its academic strength is absolutely elite.

[Anonymous]

Michigan is a fantastic school. And at the top of its class the academics are absolutely as good or better than many top 10 schools. But I agree with above posters that you can’t compare them as equals because with 40,000 students and rules about admitting in state residents the bottom will be lower. Just a different experience. Not worse. Maybe better in many ways. But not the same environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not Michigan. It’s a great school but can never have a top 10 academic feel because they have to admit a large portion of in state kids and they aren’t as competitive.

NP. Agree. Its not the same as a private school. It can't be.