Reply to Is Northwestern the ideal school?

Forum Index » College and University Discussion

Reply to "Is Northwestern the ideal school?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I too hate it when parents describe students as "quirky." It just screams mean mom sorority girl energy. The University of Alabama sorority system exists for these people.

That being said, [b]I think a lot of parents have the Northwestern in the 90s in mind when they think NU might be a good fit for their kid. That's the school of Stephen Colbert and Julia-Louis Dreyfus and fun, smart kids. Stanford has the same issue. These were fun students being quirky in exciting ways in 1998.[/b]

But times and admissions have changed. I am 100 percent guilty of this. We visited Northwestern, and the experience just seemed cold. The student welcoming center or whatever that's called and the lake and the boats are all very nice in September. But I grew up in Canada, and I know what Lake Michigan is going to be like from October to March. The rest of the campus is underwhelming. Chicago is not far, but it is a journey. And I found Evanston unremarkable. The students are quite serious. I think a quarter system is a grind, and every prospective student needs to internalize what that's about. I think NU is great for students that want to dual major in disparate subjects. It's a good place for serious students. NU is very good in everything - from journalism to engineering, which is unusual even among the best schools. But everything is about vibe and aura these days, and that didn't feel great at Northwestern. I actually thought UChicago was the more grounded and humane school.

I don't like to say anything negative about any school, but at this level you are looking at everything. My kid noped out after the visit. It might very well be an administration issue. On paper, NU has everything going for it. But people really need to visit and see if a winter in Evanston and a quarter system is right for them.  [/quote]

I’m an alum and was also guilty of thinking of NU as it was when I attended. Like many good schools, the student body has changed and is much more intense and strivery than it was when I attended. I don’t think it is as much fun. It’s sad to me because I loved my time there. My kid was a firm no after the tour. But I think it was the right choice- especially at the exorbitant cost to attend now.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics