<p>My sister is an alumni and called it Darwinian-survival of the fittest. She loved her time there though and said there was some collaboration but overall vibe is competitive. I attended summer quarter and found no collaboration and just competitiveness, however, some of the students were not regular NU students (about 50/50 split that quarter). Northwestern, to me, lacked some heart and soul but a lot of competitive kids don’t mind that.</p>