<p>My dd and I visited both, and she summed up the difference like this. Northwestern is very proud of and focused on the famous people who went there, U of C is very focused on and impressed by the intelligence of the people who go there. NW guides and adcoms brag about David Schwimmer, UofC adcoms brag about the core and the intellectual community, the guides brag about their scavenger hunt team. Both are great schools in/near a great city. We met very out gay kids at both, who had good reports of their communities.</p>