please cheer me up /:

Colleges & Universities Northwestern University
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<p>First, I love Northwestern and I really am grateful to have gotten in.</p>

<p>Now, I stayed on the Georgetown waitlist because in all honesty, it was my number one choice. I found out today that they are not accepting students off the waitlist from the GU school I applied to, and I am kind of sad.</p>

<p>I wrote a few letters, sent updates, grades, and rec letters, but their yield was simply too high.</p>

<p>So I will be attending NU this fall, which is great, I know-- but to help cheer me up, can anyone help convince me to be happy I’m not going to Georgetown?</p>

<p>**I’m not trying to start a hate thread, I’m just unbelievably down about the news ) :</p>

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<p>northwestern: </p>

<p>a better school</p>

<p>ranked higher </p>

<p>higher prestige</p>

<p>higher graduate school placement</p>

<p>more recruiting done on campus (ie better job placement)</p>

<p>nicer campus</p>

<p>no religious classes</p>

<p>better location (i would say the city of georgetown is nicer than evanston, but chicago > dc as far as social life goes)</p>

<p>more laid back students</p>

<p>that being said, georgetown is sick, i’m sorry you didn’t get in, but you have no idea how sweet northwestern is, just wait until you get here</p>

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<p>Northwestern owns Georgetown. 'nuff said.</p>

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<p>unless you applied to SFS at Georgetown, Northwestern owns everything else they have to offer. just forget about it and focus on Northwestern and once you get there you will feel like you couldnt imagine yourself anywhere else.</p>

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<p>Here’s one for you, since I’ve lived in Washington D.C. as well as near Chicago. It has to do with the surrounding community, since I don’t know the colleges themselves, but others students can speak for that part.</p>

<p>Washington, D.C. is a government town; Chicago is a complete city. Chicago has a deep sense of community that D.C. cannot match. A lot of the population in D.C. changes every four years, as governments change and people move in and out. It’s overall more of a “gray town” while Chicago is so rich in ethnicities, cultures, neighborhoods. </p>

<p>I know that the actual neighborhood of Georgetown is charming, but the rest of D.C. isn’t. There are huge institutions that are national tourist sites, such as the war memorials or Smithsonian, but it’s hard to relate to them as a year-round resident. By contrast, Chicago is full of niches where you can find your favorite thing or place and it becomes “yours.” Whether it’s the summertime food festival on the Lake, a club or theater troupe, or some favorite Impressionist painting you can “adopt”, I think a person can bond with Chicago’s cultural resources much better than D.C. I have no stats, but my anecdotal experience is that more students from Chicago schools stay afterwards to work and live there forever, unlike D.C. where, if you haven’t found work in government, you might as well move on or go back home after college. Chicago is either more beloved or has more work options after college, is the only way I can explain it. But fewer D.C. students become D.C. lifetime residents. </p>

<p>I wish you luck. Chicago is a wonderful city with a real sense of community. It has all the diverse museums, symphony etc. that New York City offers, but without the attitude some find obnoxious in NYC. It’s more down-to-earth in Chicago, but very sophisticated at the same time. </p>

<p>Finally, Chicago summers are perfect while D.C. is hot and humid. So that really affects college students espec in September, May and June, even if you don’t stay in the college town for the summer. A hot, muggy dorm is impossible for studying or enjoying life. Chicago summers are MUCH better than D.C. summers; and yet Chicago winters are only somewhat worse than D.C> winters. I’d rather live north. (grew up in Baltimore)</p>

<p>Does your screen name indicate you love Musical Theater? If so, Chicago is excellent as a theater town, at every level.</p>

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<p>MTGoddess, are you feeling any better yet?</p>

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<p>feeling better- thanks for all the responses guys
With people like yall, how could NU not be amazing? [:</p>

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<p>MTGoddess, I am a parent and have heard so many stories just like yours. I’m sorry that you didn’t get into your first choice school; Georgetown would have been awesome, just in different ways. There were so many applicants this year in all schools that, in many cases, I think it just became a numbers game. </p>

<p>This could be an urban legend, but someone told me that there were so many qualified applicants to schools this year that some admissions officers ended up making 3 piles for applications in order to get some diversity in the class. One pile was of the strongest applicants, one of highly decent applicants and one pile was of those who definitely met the criteria for admission, but were not the stand outs. </p>

<p>The applications themselves were stacked in their respective piles on a table, in no particular order. The ad coms then took an equal number from each pile to create their freshman class, thereby leaving some of the “best” and some of the most “decents” on the table and officially rejected - while some of the “meeting basic criteria” got in. There were several denials at my son’s high school that were shocking. My point here is not to take it personally.</p>

<p>I have talked to many parents who have kids who were disappointed in the past by not getting into their first choice. Once they got settled into where they were accepted, they really couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. I expect that to be the case for you, too. </p>

<p>Best to you. I expect you will love NU. It’s an amazing school!</p>

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<p>Goddess - - one word…CHICAGO! It’s such a great place to live. We lived there for 3 years and were transferred 12 years ago, and yet I still think about how wonderful it would be to move back. 12 years and i still miss it. Northwestern is a fantastic school - you’ll get there and never look back! Cheer up and good luck!</p>