<p>Northwestern is very well known and respected in the midwest. Many prefer NU to UChicago because of its location (Evanston’s safe suburb vs UC’s high crime). </p>
<p>Also, having lived abroad, in the US midwest, south and on the west coast, I know that NU is highly respected around the world to not only to the academically educated, but also to talented artists and sports followers. The general public from certain areas may not be familiar with it, but, they probably haven’t heard of Williams, Amherst, Dartmouth, Wash U St Louis, Pomona, or even Cal Tech, even if it was in their home state and/or a neighboring state! The Harvards and Johns Hopkins will always be famous because they just are. But does it really matter if your local Tennesee drycleaner hasn’t heard of your school? Not really. What matters is future graduate schools and future employers. The top schools are known. It won’t matter so much if you agree to the rankings. What matters is if the rankings matter to those who will hire you. It may be the difference on whether you get your foot in the door for that interview. </p>
<p>U Chicago uses an intense marketing campaign and since they offer Early Action instead of Early Decision (that Northwestern offers), there will be many who apply to UC as a non-binding back up to other elite universities in case they don’t get in anywhere else with similar financial aid. You can’t compare that admissions stats on these two schools because they are so different.</p>