Northwestern University Top Questions

Northwestern is not as liberal as we portray ourselves to be. There is hardly any student activism and segregation is a big problem. Northwestern as the ivy league of the midwest is a pretty fair assessment. Many students come from a wealthy background but not the majority.

Yeah.

Although I would definitely say this isn't a party school, I've never been bored here. I think what's great about Northwestern is that, though it's a small school, almost everyone finds their niche and interests within it. If you like to be social, it's pretty easy to find something to do on any night of the week.

For the first one- only during the day. And on weekdays. For the second one- depends on who you're talking to.

In some ways, they are. Northwestern caters mainly to economics students when it comes to careers, and the theater population is definitely huge. But we actually aren't nerds at all - I go out just as much as friends at state schools, and because we go out in Chicago, the experience is definitely heightened. The money stereotype is harder to pinpoint as accurate or not - there is not a ton of variation among my friends, for example, most are fairly wealthy, with the exception of a few.

Some more-so than others. For the most part, every kid you meet here is intelligent. Whether they let on, or act otherwise, they are at least fairly intelligent and academically motivated. There are absolutely a ton of Jews, Asians, and rich spoiled kids, but the student body is diverse enough so that you get a pretty good mix of kids. Also, despite the inherent social awkwardness of about 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student body, a small sect of the fraternity and sorority scenes are similar to a toned down version of a state school greek social scene. They drink, go out, smoke, skip class, but all on a smaller scale, and while each of them still subconsciously worries about succeeding.

NO! Before I moved in, I would complain to my friends from high school about Northwestern's reputation for being a non social (no parties/bad parties) university. It is not true! I enjoy the social life at NU. There are plenty of parties and they are more tame than state school parties.

for the most part, yes

To an extent, but they are really just generalizations

I feel like there is some fragment of accuracy to these stereotypes, as with all stereotypes. But at the same time a lot isn't really true. I am from CA and this was my dream school, I didn't apply to any Ivy Leagues. Also, although the social scene here may be smaller than at some other schools, those of us that do go out love to party and there is never a lack of things to do. I think we may even party harder than most schools because we work so hard that we want to let loose and party really hard. I could easily find a party/bar any night of the week. Also there ARE actually hot, hip people here. Not everyone is Midwestern (no offense, my stereotype is that Midwesterns are ugly and unhip). And people do have sex!!

Yes. We may not be the best at football or basketball, but we continue to be competitive as the only private school in the big ten.

yes

Northwestern definitely is pre-professional, grade-deflated and prestigious. Northwestern students definitely embody the "work hard, play hard mentality". They hit the books Sunday through Thursday, but take the weekends off to have fun. Northwestern students are a little less goal-oriented than they're made out to be, many don't know what they're going to do once they leave and chose Northwestern because it is strong in many different areas and has a rather amiable atmosphere. Many believe Northwestern is frat-dominated, but that depends on the view of what frat-dominated means. 40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the student body may be in Greek organizations and Greek life is definitely strong on campus, but it is by no means the only social outlet at NU and non-Greek rarely, if ever, feel pressured to join the frats. The social atmosphere at NU is varied and diverse, and students tend to be very respectful and open to other's choices; there is no one prevailing "campus culture". NU is grade deflated in some areas but not others. Science classes are particularly harsh, as even honors sections of some classes are curved to a C+ or a B-.

Sometimes, but there are a lot of us who are neither spoiled nor rich. Even if there is an occasional person like this, the overwhelming atmosphere of NU is really friendly and welcoming.

yeah pretty much

NO!!!

Every university has both overly self-important academics and complete idiots obsessed with the social scene. Overall Northwestern is a blend of the best of both of these worlds were you can take what you'd like from each and create your own experience.

Absolutely. But you have to be intense to survive here. And it's not a bad intense, just goal-oriented. But nearly everyone is indeed preppy.

I think that a little bit of each of these stereotypes exist in NU students, but we are much more complex and diverse than they make us out to be. Everyone has something quirky or interesting about themselves that makes them stand out.

Yes. But there are other people who are not nerdy and don't try to be the shit. They are called the normal people.