Northwestern University Top Questions

One of Northwestern's very best features, apart from its outstanding academics, is its campus and location. The campus is large, spacious, and perfectly groomed in the spring and summer (but watch out for the atrocious winters!), and the administration has even filled in a mile-long stretch of Lake Michigan and created "The Lakefill," an island park of sorts complete with soccer fields, walking trails, and incredible views of downtown Chicago across the lake. Additionally, the rest of Evanston is a boon for students. Filled with an astoundingly varied set of restaurants and bars, Evanston offers the perfect tool for college students, and the 30 minute El ride to downtown Chicago provides a great buffer against distraction. Unfortunately, Evanston is one of those college towns that pretends it is not; while it is not readily apparent in day-to-day life, the City of Evanston and Northwestern University's administration fight constantly over taxes, student jaywalking, and other typical college town transgressions that they would be better off merely accepting. An interesting thing about Northwestern is that the diversity and polarization of the student body, combined with a consistently terrible athletics program, leads to a large lack of school pride. Attendance at the football games is good, but not representative of that of other Big Ten schools, and why should it be? Defeat is generally promised even before the game has begun, so the atmosphere is often less than invigorating. The same goes for basketball, Northwestern's other Big Ten sport.

Northwestern is an all around academically focused school. For the majority of students, academics is the priority. This means that you will often find people studying instead of partying on the weekends. But at the same time, many Northwestern students seem to live by a "study hard play hard" philosophy. In the winter time, when you need a break from the books, drinking is a favorite pass time.

Northwestern is located near the city, which is very nice. Northwestern's social scene, however, is lacking. A lot of committed students, and a couple of intense frat guys, make for an interesting/awkward mix.

I think the size of the school is perfect. It's large enough to have the assets of a large university, but small enough so I can recognize people on the streets

Northwestern is a relatively small school with a great student body. Everyone is nice and smart, and people also like to have unconventional fun that does not include going to frat parties every weekend. The greek scene can be a bit overbearing sometimes, but once you get your mind out of Evanston and start finding what there is to do in Chicago, the social experience is that much better. People do their own thing here, and everyone is involved in campus in some way, shape, or form. The administration at Northwestern is similar to any other competitive school's.

I think Northwestern is the perfect school for someone who is looking for a highly competitive institution that has a small-school feel. Along with having the same academic reputation that ivy schools have, Northwestern is not nearly as pompous as students from other top-ten institutions- here, people have realized that everyone is smart and thus the novelty has worn off. Evanston is a great little town, though not completely student-friendly; it's expensive, small and isn't really open past 11 pm.

I believe that Northwestern has the perfect combination of small town campus with big city atmosphere. Due to our proximity to Chicago, we can access the night life nearly any day. We also have the perfect balance of class work and activity. Many individuals are thoroughly involved on campus with the multitudinous organizations that suit almost any desire, while still maintaining focus on education within the classroom setting. I personally enjoy the mix between Winter and Spring, as the dreary Winter months, which last too long, make the Spring that much more appreciable and wonderful. It is also fantastic being a part of the Big Ten athletic conference, even though we frequently do not do well in major sports like football and men's basketball. Merely, seeing the other teams encourages a competitive atmosphere. The biggest drawback is cultural diversity. Even though students come from all over the United States and world, for that matter, there is very difference in socioeconomic background. I think that fact alone has a severely negative impact on the college experience.

People who know Northwestern, what kind of school it is, are impressed when I tell them I go to Northwestern University. If they don't know how good of a school Northwestern is, they ask, "isn't that a Bible college in Minnesota?" It kinda gets annoying.

Northwestern is way too small. Or maybe it isn't to small, but it just feels way because so few of the people here go out. There is what we call the "Northwestern 500," which are about 500 students that go out religiously on Mondays, Thursdays and whenever else they can When you go to the Keg, you only see these students, and it feels like all of you every singly person there, not to mention intimate details of their life: who the last person they hooked up with is, what greek house they're in, who their friends are, etc.

I think the best part about Northwestern is the campus. It's beautiful. The size is just about right. People usually don't know what Northwestern is or they are incredible impressed. It's the perfect type of college town. There is lots of school pride, and we have lots of alums come. Students hate the weather in the winter though.