Northwestern or UChicago

brebeuff
Sun, 06 Dec 2009 21:19:51 +0000

Both are first and foremost liberal arts institutions so neither has “pre-law” or “pre-business,” though both have sizable numbers with professional ambitions (judging from previous years’ #s going into business/law/med schools). NU has a Kellogg Certificate program but the University’s refusal to offer a full-fledged business undergrad major is testament to its strong commitment to the liberal arts. For every major in NU except maybe engineering, at least half of your class will be liberal arts classes. NU’s distribution requirements are more flexible than Chicago’s core, but choosing between the two approaches is really a matter of personal preference.

Both are reaches for you. The consensus seems to be though that UChicago will value self-presentation (quirky, “intellectual” essays) more while NU places more emphasis on numbers, teacher recs, and ECs.