Anonymous wrote:Northwestern. How is this even a question.

Anonymous wrote:
If safety is a concern, then Northwestern is the wiser choice.

Best to visit both schools, but do not visit South Chicago after dark.

Anonymous wrote:Actually, Chicago quarters are 9 weeks, not 10, which makes it really tough. They did it so that students could do internships that started early June. If they take 3 courses in the quarter, they can go out. If they take 4 courses, it is a real grind and they go out less. But my kids at U Chicago do go out to dinners or parties every weekend.

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Anonymous wrote:DC is at one and has friends at the other. Both kids are very happy, but they are different. Just check out the crow at at Northwestern football game vs a UChicago game. UChicago has a lot of frat parties if your kid wants that. Schools are also different in that UChicagohas one liberal arts school with a shared core curriculum experience. Northwestern has kids studying different things in different colleges like engineering vs journalism vs music vs liberal arts. What’s great about NU is that they let you have majors across the different schools so you’re not “stuck”. My kid loved both but they’re different enough that yiur kid will like one more than the other. The friends at these schools can meet up easily at clubs downtown.

How does the crowd at a sporting event differ? Is one nerdier?

There really is no sports scene at all at Chicago. There sometimes is at Northwestern for both football and basketball. But students check out in a heartbeat if it's going to be another desultory losing season. It's not Michigan or Notre Dame. These days the vibes have kind of shifted at the two schools. Northwestern is traditionally the fun school. Chicago was where "fun went to die." But the roles seem to have reversed. Northwestern is now the lonely grinder school. And Chicago is the more fun one. From what I'm hearing in recent years, that seems to be generally true. Chicago has really picked it up. And Northwestern has dropped the ball. In terms of vibe and fun and cheerfulness. But these are just feelings. Experiences will vary.

Our extended family has had 2 students at Northwestern and one at Chicago , grad yrs '23-'27: both have the grindy vibe of serious students who study a lot yet both also have fun/social groups. The average kid goes out about once a week, more at the start of the semester. Out can be frats or can be dinner/club/movie thing in town/city or close to campus. Our immediate family has a current ivy kid and one recent ivy grad, Penn and Brown: the vibe is very similar at those schools as it is at the midwest schools: serious students who do all the things yet also go out weekly. None of them are recruited and 3 of 4 of them are in a stem major, the other poly sci/prelaw. All found that being with many academically focused peers was stimulating yet initially quite challenging to adjust: they were all at or near the top of their high schools and used to being stars. Seeing the outcomes these schools produce is eye opening: a large % go into top jobs and elite/ivy professional schools.

They only go out once a week? Are they studying all the time?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is at one and has friends at the other. Both kids are very happy, but they are different. Just check out the crow at at Northwestern football game vs a UChicago game. UChicago has a lot of frat parties if your kid wants that. Schools are also different in that UChicagohas one liberal arts school with a shared core curriculum experience. Northwestern has kids studying different things in different colleges like engineering vs journalism vs music vs liberal arts. What’s great about NU is that they let you have majors across the different schools so you’re not “stuck”. My kid loved both but they’re different enough that yiur kid will like one more than the other. The friends at these schools can meet up easily at clubs downtown.

How does the crowd at a sporting event differ? Is one nerdier?

There really is no sports scene at all at Chicago. There sometimes is at Northwestern for both football and basketball. But students check out in a heartbeat if it's going to be another desultory losing season. It's not Michigan or Notre Dame. These days the vibes have kind of shifted at the two schools. Northwestern is traditionally the fun school. Chicago was where "fun went to die." But the roles seem to have reversed. Northwestern is now the lonely grinder school. And Chicago is the more fun one. From what I'm hearing in recent years, that seems to be generally true. Chicago has really picked it up. And Northwestern has dropped the ball. In terms of vibe and fun and cheerfulness. But these are just feelings. Experiences will vary.

Our extended family has had 2 students at Northwestern and one at Chicago , grad yrs '23-'27: both have the grindy vibe of serious students who study a lot yet both also have fun/social groups. The average kid goes out about once a week, more at the start of the semester. Out can be frats or can be dinner/club/movie thing in town/city or close to campus. Our immediate family has a current ivy kid and one recent ivy grad, Penn and Brown: the vibe is very similar at those schools as it is at the midwest schools: serious students who do all the things yet also go out weekly. None of them are recruited and 3 of 4 of them are in a stem major, the other poly sci/prelaw. All found that being with many academically focused peers was stimulating yet initially quite challenging to adjust: they were all at or near the top of their high schools and used to being stars. Seeing the outcomes these schools produce is eye opening: a large % go into top jobs and elite/ivy professional schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is at one and has friends at the other. Both kids are very happy, but they are different. Just check out the crow at at Northwestern football game vs a UChicago game. UChicago has a lot of frat parties if your kid wants that. Schools are also different in that UChicagohas one liberal arts school with a shared core curriculum experience. Northwestern has kids studying different things in different colleges like engineering vs journalism vs music vs liberal arts. What’s great about NU is that they let you have majors across the different schools so you’re not “stuck”. My kid loved both but they’re different enough that yiur kid will like one more than the other. The friends at these schools can meet up easily at clubs downtown.

How does the crowd at a sporting event differ? Is one nerdier?

There really is no sports scene at all at Chicago. There sometimes is at Northwestern for both football and basketball. But students check out in a heartbeat if it's going to be another desultory losing season. It's not Michigan or Notre Dame. These days the vibes have kind of shifted at the two schools. Northwestern is traditionally the fun school. Chicago was where "fun went to die." But the roles seem to have reversed. Northwestern is now the lonely grinder school. And Chicago is the more fun one. From what I'm hearing in recent years, that seems to be generally true. Chicago has really picked it up. And Northwestern has dropped the ball. In terms of vibe and fun and cheerfulness. But these are just feelings. Experiences will vary.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is at one and has friends at the other. Both kids are very happy, but they are different. Just check out the crow at at Northwestern football game vs a UChicago game. UChicago has a lot of frat parties if your kid wants that. Schools are also different in that UChicagohas one liberal arts school with a shared core curriculum experience. Northwestern has kids studying different things in different colleges like engineering vs journalism vs music vs liberal arts. What’s great about NU is that they let you have majors across the different schools so you’re not “stuck”. My kid loved both but they’re different enough that yiur kid will like one more than the other. The friends at these schools can meet up easily at clubs downtown.

How does the crowd at a sporting event differ? Is one nerdier?

There really is no sports scene at all at Chicago. There sometimes is at Northwestern for both football and basketball. But students check out in a heartbeat if it's going to be another desultory losing season. It's not Michigan or Notre Dame. These days the vibes have kind of shifted at the two schools. Northwestern is traditionally the fun school. Chicago was where "fun went to die." But the roles seem to have reversed. Northwestern is now the lonely grinder school. And Chicago is the more fun one. From what I'm hearing in recent years, that seems to be generally true. Chicago has really picked it up. And Northwestern has dropped the ball. In terms of vibe and fun and cheerfulness. But these are just feelings. Experiences will vary.

This is certainly the narrative Chicago boosters are driving.

I have no connection to either. But we did tours of both with DC. Applied to neither. I know you can't take too much from a tour, but Northwestern did seem surprisingly... grim? And Chicago for being notoriously the high stress, fun-less school, was surprisingly... warm?

It was surprising. I thought Northwestern would be perfect, but ended up liking Chicago much more. But DC wasn't feeling it at either, and applied and got in ED elsewhere. But I do think Chicago is the more lively school these days.

You can't take too much from a tour.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is at one and has friends at the other. Both kids are very happy, but they are different. Just check out the crow at at Northwestern football game vs a UChicago game. UChicago has a lot of frat parties if your kid wants that. Schools are also different in that UChicagohas one liberal arts school with a shared core curriculum experience. Northwestern has kids studying different things in different colleges like engineering vs journalism vs music vs liberal arts. What’s great about NU is that they let you have majors across the different schools so you’re not “stuck”. My kid loved both but they’re different enough that yiur kid will like one more than the other. The friends at these schools can meet up easily at clubs downtown.

How does the crowd at a sporting event differ? Is one nerdier?

There really is no sports scene at all at Chicago. There sometimes is at Northwestern for both football and basketball. But students check out in a heartbeat if it's going to be another desultory losing season. It's not Michigan or Notre Dame. These days the vibes have kind of shifted at the two schools. Northwestern is traditionally the fun school. Chicago was where "fun went to die." But the roles seem to have reversed. Northwestern is now the lonely grinder school. And Chicago is the more fun one. From what I'm hearing in recent years, that seems to be generally true. Chicago has really picked it up. And Northwestern has dropped the ball. In terms of vibe and fun and cheerfulness. But these are just feelings. Experiences will vary.

This is certainly the narrative Chicago boosters are driving.

I have no connection to either. But we did tours of both with DC. Applied to neither. I know you can't take too much from a tour, but Northwestern did seem surprisingly... grim? And Chicago for being notoriously the high stress, fun-less school, was surprisingly... warm?

It was surprising. I thought Northwestern would be perfect, but ended up liking Chicago much more. But DC wasn't feeling it at either, and applied and got in ED elsewhere. But I do think Chicago is the more lively school these days.