Thoughts on Northwestern?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^ this exactly. My DC is a rising senior at NU, and loves the school for all the above reasons. DC is a very independent, motivated, organized student who is pre-med, thriving in a stem double-major while enjoying a great social life, extracurriculars, and attending all the Big 10 sports events, as well as going into the city regularly for more sports, museums, and live music. We're from the DMV, and I would never have predicted that NU would be such a perfect fit. (For me, the only downside is that it's far away.)
Agree with all the previous posters that the quarter system is not for the faint-hearted. Academically, it's very intense, so know what you're getting into (in fact, we've dissuaded our other children from going that route).

Not sure being close to Chicago, a failing city, is a good thing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ this exactly. My DC is a rising senior at NU, and loves the school for all the above reasons. DC is a very independent, motivated, organized student who is pre-med, thriving in a stem double-major while enjoying a great social life, extracurriculars, and attending all the Big 10 sports events, as well as going into the city regularly for more sports, museums, and live music. We're from the DMV, and I would never have predicted that NU would be such a perfect fit. (For me, the only downside is that it's far away.)
Agree with all the previous posters that the quarter system is not for the faint-hearted. Academically, it's very intense, so know what you're getting into (in fact, we've dissuaded our other children from going that route).

Not sure being close to Chicago, a failing city, is a good thing.

And DC isn’t failing?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:^^^ this exactly. My DC is a rising senior at NU, and loves the school for all the above reasons. DC is a very independent, motivated, organized student who is pre-med, thriving in a stem double-major while enjoying a great social life, extracurriculars, and attending all the Big 10 sports events, as well as going into the city regularly for more sports, museums, and live music. We're from the DMV, and I would never have predicted that NU would be such a perfect fit. (For me, the only downside is that it's far away.)
Agree with all the previous posters that the quarter system is not for the faint-hearted. Academically, it's very intense, so know what you're getting into (in fact, we've dissuaded our other children from going that route).

Not sure being close to Chicago, a failing city, is a good thing.

And DC isn’t failing?

Of course it is! It also has a democratic mayor

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:UPenn, Duke, Columbia, Yale, UChicago > Northwestern = Cornell, Johns Hopkins > Vanderbilt

(UPenn, Columbia, Yale) > UChicago > (Duke, Northwestern, Cornell) > (Johns Hopkins, Vanderbilt)

Ivy fetish?

Realistically for undergrad, it's UPenn, Duke, Columbia, Yale > UChicago, Northwestern, Johns Hopkins > Cornell, Vanderbilt

Yale > Columbia, Wharton > rest of Penn, Chicago, Northwestern, Duke > JHU, Cornell > Vanderbilt

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure a NW ED is a good strategic choice. it's really difficult to get into from the DMV (a hair away from impossible) Also, if you're coming from private you better be a URM. 2023 admits from DC privates were about 10/10 URM.

He's at a public where not a lot of people have historically applied to Northwestern. He would prefer UPenn or Duke for ED but thinks they're too selective, do you know what DMV chances are for those instead?

DMV chances for all of those are slim. Northwestern will even interview your kid and still reject them.

People seem to love or hate it. I think it’s a great campus. My oldest child thought it was awful. We know one student there who didn’t like it because there were too many very wealthy, entitled, spoiled kids. This person regretted going, almost transferred but decided to stick it out for the name on their resume.

Ummm, almost all of the T20 schools are filled with very wealthy, entitled spoiled kids. It's not unique to Northwestern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Impossible to get into..but an amazing school with incredible teaching, beautiful lake side and safe campus/ 25 min from downtown Chicago, incredible STEM/humanities programs. Student body is much more intense with double/triple majors but it’s a dream school for most.

Agree.

Student body is friendly, low key, and hardworking. Not really much of a privileged student vibe as another poster suggested.

It has no more of a privileged vibe than any other T20 school or any other school that is highly rejective and has an $80K+ price tag.

Even 30 years ago, there were entitled brats as well as many friendly, low key and hardworking kids. Easy to find your group.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Impossible to get into..but an amazing school with incredible teaching, beautiful lake side and safe campus/ 25 min from downtown Chicago, incredible STEM/humanities programs. Student body is much more intense with double/triple majors but it’s a dream school for most.

Agree.

Student body is friendly, low key, and hardworking. Not really much of a privileged student vibe as another poster suggested.

How can you dismiss that person’s experience? How familiar are you with being middle class there?

Not PP, but I attended there as LMC student ages ago. And have know many recent students as well. The privileged vibe is no different than any other elite school with a $80K price tag.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Heard that many students dislike the quarter system at Northwestern.

And many students love it. It is fast paced but it allows you to double/triple major or single major and to double minor in things. It's a place where you can double major in two unique areas (think music and engineering/CS or theater and engineering/CS) that many schools do not allow. Lots of really smart kids following their interests and the quarter system allows you to take more courses in your 4-5 years (many double majors do require a 5th year---as not much overlap with theater and CS or music and CS)

But it's not for everyone---it is incredibly fast paced.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what to make of it, DS likes it but also likes a number of other schools more. He's considering EDing for "strategic purposes" since it seems a bit easier to get into than some of his higher choices. Is Northwestern more akin to schools like UPenn, Duke, Columbia, and Yale, or more akin schools like Cornell, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, and UChicago?

Northwestern = Duke

For undergrad Penn, Duke, Columbia, Yale > Northwestern

Columbia and Yale for sure, but Northwestern/Penn/Duke are considered peers at the UG level at both my firm and in my social circles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what to make of it, DS likes it but also likes a number of other schools more. He's considering EDing for "strategic purposes" since it seems a bit easier to get into than some of his higher choices. Is Northwestern more akin to schools like UPenn, Duke, Columbia, and Yale, or more akin schools like Cornell, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, and UChicago?

I think that, in terms of the students and classroom experience, it’s probably more like a cushier University of Wisconsin than any of the schools on your list.

It’s a big, polite, Midwestern, sports-supporting tough, very practical school, not a haven for nerds like Columbia. Johns Hopkins or the University of Chicago; not courtly, like I imagine Vanderbilt might be; not cold and isolated, like Cornell; not New York-ish, the way Duke and parts of Columbia seem to be; and not really as pre-professional as Penn seems to be in a hard-edged, suit-wearing.

It has a lot in common with Wash. U. and Emory, on paper, but it’s like the expensive, high-quality but ultimately soulless Adobe Stock photo that Deloitte put on its interesting new report; Wash. U. is like the dreamier watercolor version, by an artist with a short entry in Wikipedia; and Emory is like the oil painting version, done by the artist who painted the portraits of all of the board members at Daddy’s bank.

If I wanted to apply to a school that was like Northwestern, but have a much better chance of getting in, I’d apply to DePaul if I loved Chicago; the University of Wisconsin or the University of Minnesota if I wanted big, solid, friendly, research-focused university in the Midwest; or maybe a place like Syracuse University, Fordham, or the University of Miami if I wanted a comfortable, practical private university with some name recognition and without an insanely low acceptance rate.

But if I had high stats and wanted a bit more prestige, but without extreme admissions insanity, I’d aim for Boston College, Boston University or Northeastern.

Spectacularly wrong.

+1. That poster has no idea what they're talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To use a favorite DCUM term, its an Ivy-reject school

Not exactly. They definitely lose a lot of students to ivies but they likely win a majority of cross-admits against Cornell at least.

In my experience they win a decent amount of cross-admits against Dartmouth as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not sure what to make of it, DS likes it but also likes a number of other schools more. He's considering EDing for "strategic purposes" since it seems a bit easier to get into than some of his higher choices. Is Northwestern more akin to schools like UPenn, Duke, Columbia, and Yale, or more akin schools like Cornell, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, and UChicago?

OP: Your groupings suggest that alack of familiarity with Northwestern, Cornell, Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins, U Chicago, U Penn, Duke, Columbia, and Yale. Eight of the nine universities are on the same level academically, although it does vary by major. And, of course, geography and campus cultures differ.

College Transitions states that Northwestern University's overlap schools are:

Cornell, Duke, U Chicago, U Michigan, and U Penn.

Northwestern's overlaps as reported by Northwestern are:

Duke, Stanford, U Penn, Yale, U Michigan, Princeton, WashUStL, and Harvard. (Cornell, U Chicago, JHU, Vanderbilt, & Columbia are not on this list.)

For engineering majors, Northwestern, Michigan, Duke, and U Penn are similar.

For theater majors, Northwestern is superior to Yale, but similar regarding liberal arts.

Academically, Northwestern is superior to Vanderbilt as suggested by The Fiske Guide To Colleges which gives Northwestern its highest rating of 5 Pens versus 4 for Vanderbilt (the scale includes 4.5).

Columbia & Chicago are different due to each school's respective core curriculum.

A high percentage of small classes (under 20 students each) is reported by Columbia (if Columbia's figures can be trusted), U Chicago, Northwestern, Princeton, and Harvard.

Chicago & Northwestern report the lowest percentage of classes with 50 or more students at 6%. Duke is at 7%; Yale reports 8%. Princeton, Columbia, & U Penn report 9%; Harvard is at 10%; Vanderbilt reports 13% of classes have 50 or more students and only 57% of classes have fewer than 20 students.

Class sizes are based on pre-Covid reporting.

Regarding academics as well as class sizes, the only outlier on your list of nine universities is Vanderbilt.

[Anonymous]

Northwestern is good, but not great, school. Nearby Chicago is not doing well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Northwestern is good, but not great, school. Nearby Chicago is not doing well.

The violent crime in Chicago is mostly in certain areas so it is not a problem. Similar to living in NW part of DC.

[Anonymous]

It seems Chicago is declining at a much faster rate than DC