the beautiful northwestern campus eh?

Colleges & Universities Northwestern University
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<p>communication isn’t neccesarily a problem, but the administration listening to students may be. i’m not too sure. The administration did say that they decided to alarm all of them because a security company advised them to do so. However, they also said, initially, that they would work with students and the company to work out with a solution. They have said that there will be an appeals system to remove alarms from doors, but they haven’t said anything about how the system will work, or how much weight the appeal has on their decision. i’ll keep you guys posted about it.</p>

<p>as i said before, the communication isn’t that big of a problem, you will be able to get issues heard, mostly through ASG (associated student government). You’ll have a representative for your dorm or for several dorms at ASG, and you just bring your concerns to them. OTher than that, there’s no “formal” way of communicating with admins (that i know of, it’s not that important to me right now)</p>

<p>I feel that i can’t answer the “am i glad i’m here” question without being biased. I never really wanted to cometo NU, i was accepted to my first choice school (UCSD) and its in my home state and warm weather, etc. i ended up choosing NU for the fact that its smaller and has a great name ie more opportunities for me. And i do think that i’m relatively happy here, but it is difficult to keep up. I’ve been used to keeping up by intuition and some casual studying, but now, i feel like i’m working a lot more yet still lagging behind others.</p>

<p>one thing if you’re consdering NU, our football team hasn’t been too good. and we’re not that spirited (ie against U of I, we only had about 150 or so people in the beginning of the game from NU watching, and most of them were marching band). It’s really quite depressing seeing more Ohio state fans in our home stadium than NU fans.</p>

<p>but, going back to your question, i think i can safely say (for now) that i am glad that i’m here.</p>

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<p>Hmmm…difficulty in keeping up?</p>

<p>Would you say that this has more to do with the overall difficulty of the school or do you think that it is moreso just the higher standards expected by the average college?</p>

<p>…not that I have a choice to back out now. I was accepted early decision and will definitely attend NU, but the fact that you labeled some classes as “weeding out” students frightens me.</p>

<p>I know this is a horrible question to ask, but how difficult do you think it will be for the average student to keep up?</p>

<p>Thanks</p>

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<p>this probably makes me sound like some pompous bigheaded guy, but i’m not the average student. In high school was able to cruise along without studying much. The “average” student, esp if he/she gets into NU, probably is already set with good study habits/methods. Chances are , you’ll be in a better position than me.</p>

<p>in terms of keeping up, its a little bit in both columns. Northwestern is a very difficult school by virtue of just being northwestern. (organic chemistry’s supposed to be one of the hardest orgo courses in the world; apparently nu no longer accepts transfer orgo credit, and they used to accept harvard)</p>

<p>however, there will be problem sets. Especially if you’re an engineer, you’ll probably be up late on sundays for ea1, and thursday nights for ea2. I will suggest, though, if you’re an engineer, be in a dorm with other engineers who you’re friends with. Working on problemsets with friends is a LIFESAVER, and they help keep you sane when you’re working on those hw’s.</p>

<p>one thing to keep in mind-the higher standards are expected of all students.</p>

<p>and i really wouldn’t worry too much about the weeding out classes. there’s always ways around those classes-studying on your own, taking the course with a different prof, or during a different quarter.</p>

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<p>As a freshman, how would one know which profs or which quarters are the “weeding out” ones so as to make different choices?</p>

<p>i am still appreciating your input but find it very discouraging. I wish others would weigh in with their opinions on the overall NU experience. Like I said, it’s an expensive, windy, cold place to come if the administration doesn’t care about the students, you are expected to go to class in horrific weather (I daresay it is the worst weather of the big 10 by virtue of the wind on the lake so I’d have expected some compassion for students walking to class when the buses aren’t even running!) and there’s what sounds to be little school spirit. It doesn’t sound like much fun, actually, and there ought to be a balance in college.</p>

<p>Can anyone else comment on the overall experience?</p>

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<p>Well, when I was there, the most famous weed-out course is Orgo. But I didn’t really hear the chemistry/physics were bad. I didn’t take them as I took those at WashU, so I may not be an expert on it. But premed courses are hard everywhere.</p>

<p>Overall, NU has a pretty good grade inflation, so it’s not like all courses are graded harshly.</p>

<p>As for students attending football…NU fans are no different from fans in peer institution like Stanford or Duke. They go to the games when the team is doing well and don’t if the team sucks. They are “fair weather” fans and they weigh the opportunity cost (going to football vs studying…etc). If the team is winning or good so the game will be competitive and therefore the experience will be fun enough, then they would forgo the opporunity to do others. If they are that hard-core sports fans, they wouldn’t have gone to NU at the first place; they would have gone to schools like Michigan. I don’t think Dukies watch Duke’s football. Similarly, the football attendence hasn’t been good for Stanford except the Big Game (but NU doesn’t really have a rivalry like Stanford with Cal).</p>

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<p>wintersilk: talkig with upperclassmen helps. also ctecs are a great resource, they include overal professor ratings for each quarter the class is offered. They talk about time spent outside class working, level of intellectual challenge, etc, and then theres space for comments by students.</p>

<p>Again, i dont want to scare anyone away from NU, as i think it’s a great place to be, but it does have room to improve. i think a lot of the NU experience is that the people are so different, as its one of the big institutions in the middle of the US, pulling a lot of people from everywhere. The people i meet at NU are sweet =)</p>

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<p>bvr100 - Pretty much all of your complaints are applicable to other schools as well (not to mention that your opinion is also shaped by your own personal experience - where others would have had different experiences).</p>

<p>Was it really necessary for the adminstration to cancel classes due to some snow? After all, pretty much all the students WALK to class.</p>

<p>

</p>

<p>This statement has me wondering how closely tuned in you actually are to the university.</p>

<p>Prior to this past year - the Wildcats have been pretty decent in FB (going 5-3 in the Big10 for 3 years straight and going to 2 bowls). </p>

<p>While this past year was a disappointment, it was not unexpected since the 'Cats lost their HC, the OC and 4-year starting QB and heir-apparent to a pre-season injury (starting 2 different frosh QBs, the 1st frosh also went down w/ an injury in game 3, really hampered the O).</p>

<p>The 'Cats should go to a bowl this year (as long as the starting QB and RB remain healthy) and should have a shot at a Big10 title in '08 (only concern is the O-line).</p>

<p>And while Ryan/Dyche gets a lot of opposing B10 fans (due to the relatively small alumni pool in the Chicagoland area) - tailgaiting has always been a fun tradition on Saturday mornings and the student section is usually pretty full.</p>

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<p>k&s,
I think bver simply described what he/she observed. He/she wasn’t at NU while they had good teams and missed those years where there were good attendence. But I do think it’s fair to say NU fans on average don’t view fb as big of a deal as those students in other Big 10 schools. It’s a little ivy like in this regard.</p>

<p>bver,
I think most NU students don’t go to all the games (because NU students are on average more academically oriented). They pick and choose and a game against the worst team in the Big10 (U of I) is very low profile. If you go to games against OSU, Michigan, and Wisconsin, there will be more people as it’s much more fun to see an upset against the powerhouses. As you probably know already, the courseload and pressure to keep up mean many students don’t usually have the whole Saturday free. Some students may have more free time but many of them are involved in many ECs. NU students seem to be constantly busy for something, regardless if it’s academically related or not. After those ECs, some social, and time wasting here and there, there’s usually not a lot of free time left. So going to fb may take a back seat for many.</p>

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<p>Sam Lee wrote: “As you probably know already, the courseload and pressure to keep up mean many students don’t usually have the whole Saturday free. Some students may have more free time but many of them are involved in many ECs. NU students seem to be constantly busy for something, regardless if it’s academically related or not. After those ECs, some social, and time wasting here and there, there’s usually not a lot of free time left. So going to fb may take a back seat for many”</p>

<p>Do you guys have any fun??? </p>

<p>It sounds to me like it’s so demanding there that you might as well go to an IVY and get the benefit of name recognition. The work load sounds like it might be equivalent without the same level of prestige. Thoughts?</p>

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<p>wintersilk- I’ve posted a previous thread below that seems to address precisely your concerns.</p>

<h2>eli 12-28-2005 02:27 PM </h2>

<p>Are students happy at Northwestern?</p>

<p>I am a parent of a high school senior applying to Northwestern - and many other schools. I know the school is highly rated. We have been there, and it is beautiful. One thing worries me. All of the guidebooks I have seen about colllege seem to stress for Northwestern how hard the students there work and how busy they are. Comments to the effect that the students love their experience there/are happy seem in short supply compared to what I read about other comparable schools. How happy is the average student at Northwestern? </p>

<h2>rocketpixy 12-28-2005 05:18 PM </h2>

<p>I have found that in general, we are a very happy student body. In fact, the general upbeatness I saw in students was one of the reasons NU was my first choice. NUers seem to have a great sense of balance…we work hard, but we play hard too. People are very passionate about what they do, which drives them to work their butts off, but there is also a very relaxed, laid-back atmosphere. </p>

<p>Not to say that there won’t be some friday nights you spend in the library and some weeks you have 3 huge papers and a midterm due and you barely sleep, BUT as a freshman here I’ve never felt overwhelmed so much of the time that it’s an issue. </p>

<p>NU is also a great place for students that LIKE to be busy…we’re a school of overachievers, so everyone is involved in plenty of activities in addition to their classes. I’m happiest when I’m taking a dance class and building the set for a play and attending seminars and planning an event…etc etc. I definitely still have plenty of time to hang out at the dorm too, but I wouldn’t recommend NU to students who are happiest with lots of “down time”.</p>

<p>So to sum up: NU is tough, and the students are busy, but students generally like that, and so most people are relaxed and happy. (at least those I’ve met). </p>

<h2>nan 12-28-2005 07:43 PM </h2>

<p>eli, I also wondered about the happiness level before my daughter started attending NU this year. I can now report that she is extremely happy, even though she’s working harder than ever. The atmosphere seems to be unusually supportive and cooperative, rather than being cut-throat competitive. There seems to be an attitude that they’re all in it together wanting each other succeed. </p>

<p>Even though my daughter is very busy with her school work, she still manages to have a lot of fun. People on her floor have formed a tight community and they’re very good at entertaining each other in between all the studying. It looks to me like they’re having a blast.</p>

<p>From what I hear, there’s plenty of support for students who need extra support in any way, but I haven’t heard of anybody needing it yet. </p>

<h2>crypticism 12-28-2005 09:11 PM </h2>

<p>I second all that has been said so far, especially, “People are very passionate about what they do, which drives them to work their butts off, but there is also a very relaxed, laid-back atmosphere.” That really sums it up, in my opinion. (I’m a freshman) </p>

<h2>ndhawk 12-29-2005 01:45 AM </h2>

<p>The majority of people are happy at Northwestern, if you know what you want then it’s easy to get involved with those types of things and meet those types of people. If you’re undecided about everything and don’t have very many things you want to do, I could see you being less happy though. I know a few people that weren’t happy their first semester here since they had a hard time meeting the people they wanted; that usually clears up soon though since there is really a ton of diversity in the different personalities here. I’d say you have to be somewhat outgoing to be happy here though, the student body can tend to be exclusive, i.e. every one usually hangs out with their group of friends and aren’t normally willing to hang out with people they’ve just met. Oh, and you definately have to enjoy what you’re studying to be happy here.</p>

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<p>thank you, werner5482. It does help to get some different opinions. Thanks for going to the trouble ~ and it does make me feel somewhat better. </p>

<p>I’m definitely looking for balance. Willing to work hard, but also want to have time to have some fun, pursue other interests. It’s obviously a school of over achievers which is its own thing and you know that when you apply. That’s why I hope there are admits from across the application spectrum. Too many on the high end of the scale in one place could make for one dimensional experience and that doesn’t interest me so much.</p>

<p>I guess it’s like everything else…it is what you make it. I just want to be sure I’m not buried in books for 4 years with no time to foster friendships, no time to take in Chicago, no time to enjoy whatever Evanston has to offer, no time to play…</p>

<p>Yeah, thanks again.</p>

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<p>wintersilk,</p>

<p>We do have fun and if one wants to take it a little easier, it can be done. But many “choose” to challenge themselves and be busy. For example, almost everyone of us from Hong Kong did two majors. We could have done one and would have a much easier time. Currently, about 1 out of 12 students do a BIP (business institutions program) minor. But if one does just one major and it’s not engineering, I don’t think it’s difficult to find good balance provided you are motivated. The engineering majors have a tougher time but that’s hard everywhere. As a whole, I don’t think NU is as bad as schools like MIT or Swarthmore.</p>

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<p>I have to say I am extremely happy at Northwestern! I feel like due to the fact that Northwestern is not an Ivy League, some people always try to find reasons why it would have been better to not attend Northwestern, but to either go for a more well-known ivy or a less stressful state school. There is only one thing I can say to that- GET OVER IT!
NU is an incredible school! We have so many top rated programs: Econ, History, OrgChem, Journalism and School of Comm (said to be the best undergraduate schools for those two majors nationwide!!!), HPME just to name a FEW! Everyone who has a halfway decent GPA at graduation can be sure to get amazing job offers! Who cares what an ignorant East coast (no offense) guy says, and whether he knows the school. The people who need to know do, and that’s all that matters.
As for balancing work with fun, it is definitely possible. I work hard during midterms, but I never found it very hard to maintain a good GPA and still go to 1 or 2 parties a week. People are overall very happy, because there is no cutthroat competition, and you’re free to pursue whatever you want without any pressure- If you ask me, that’s the best situation you can ask for, and it’s a vital part of being truly happy.</p>

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<p>SLee - if you noticed, bver stated that the FB team “hasn’t been too good”, which doesn’t imply sometime during the “dark ages” which was over a decade ago (plus, what relevance would the past have with the experience of students today?) - and even during the “dark ages” students knew how to have fun - throwing marshmellows (now banned) and pulling down the goalposts after a win and dunking it in Lake Michigan.</p>

<p>While NU FB isn’t going to reload every year like the powerhouse teams which don’t have recruiting limitations - the 'Cats have provided some of the most exciting comeback wins (and a couple of devestating losses) in recent history (which is why they are commonly referred to as the “Cardiac 'Cats”).</p>

<p>I have to disagree with your assessment of the UoI game. While the Illini have been real crappy the past few years, the game, nevertheless, is regarded as a rivalry game and students get up for that game (esp. since bowl game invites are often on the line, and with the recruiting job Zook has done at UoI, it’s only going to get better).</p>

<p>Wintersilk -

</p>

<p>You can’t base what your experience would be on the basis of what a few people have posted here (including me).</p>

<p>Are there people who seem to spend an inordinate amount of time in the library studying? Sure (just as you would in any other top university). But there are also plenty of people who spend a lot of time having a good time.</p>

<p>I can attest to the fact that the guys on my floor in my fraternity (well, pretty much everyone in my fraternity) partied hard (I’m talking Thurs nite thru Sun morning) and they all seem to have pretty well for themselves (3 are doctors, 4 others went to top law schools and 3 to top B-schools).</p>

<p>Even the guys who were engineering or physics majors managed to party pretty hard.</p>

<p>Dorms such as Bobb-McCulloch and Elder (even though they are situated in the North and predominantly have the “techies”) are known to be the “party” dorms.</p>

<p>Don’t worry about the “fun.”</p>

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<p>k&s,</p>

<p>Regarding if the U of I game is rivalry game, I think it really depends on who you are talking to. For some people including you, that’s a rivalry game. But many, including myself, don’t think about U of I at all, let alone consider them as a rival. In fact, there was a discussion on who is NU’s real rival on CC a while ago and there was no consensus–nobody, Chicago, Michigan, Illinois, or even WashU…If many consider Illinois as the rivalry like Stanford/Cal, then I guess it was really pathetic that so few people attended that game. Some people get up for the game like you said but they represent small portion of the student body. bver said the attendence was poor for that game this year and I was just trying to explain why many didn’t show up for it.</p>

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<p>i saw above that there was somethign about competition–it seems to me that a lot of northwestern is focused on collaborative work, and that there really is not that much cutthroat competition. I think a lot of people work really hard to do well, not to be better than the others.</p>

<p>In terms of football and such, the fact that NU lacks a true rival (from what i’ve gotten from upperclassmen) is probably a reason why spirit is low. I think another problem is just the way the campus is shaped–its a long strip, with dorms in the far north and far south. The rock, what a lot of people call the heart of northwestern, is too far away for us north campus people to regularly go to to socialize and rally and such (unless you’re really active) and when it’s cold, nobody wants to go out. This year Chevy had a promotion where two kids stayed in an Aveo for a week, and they had this competition at a bunch of schools. NU was basically demolished in the competition, as people just couldn’t go out because it was much too cold for people to walk to the car just to watch the marching band play or to see some acapella group sing.</p>

<p>wintersun: you’re worried about fun and friendships? i’d like to recommend the res college system You get to know basically everyone in the dorm, and they sponser abunch of activities in chicago (this quarter they went to see Wicked, Bulls game, went bowling, etc) and you get to meet some faculty fellows. There’s rarely a week where nothing is going on and nothing “fun” is happening.</p>

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<p>SLee - **"Regarding if the U of I game is rivalry game, I think it really depends on who you are talking to. For some people including you, that’s a rivalry game. But many, including myself, don’t think about U of I at all, let alone consider them as a rival. In fact, there was a discussion on who is NU’s real rival on CC a while ago and there was no consensus–**nobody, Chicago, Michigan, Illinois, or even WashU…If many consider Illinois as the rivalry like Stanford/Cal, then I guess it was really pathetic that so few people attended that game. Some people get up for the game like you said but they represent small portion of the student body. bver said the attendence was poor for that game this year and I was just trying to explain why many didn’t show up for it."</p>

<p>Uhhh - we’re talking about FB rivals and Illinois is arguably NU’s biggest FB rival (winner gets the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk Trophy, in-state school and pretty even series).</p>

<p>The next biggest rival is probably Wisconsin - (Illinois/Wisconsin animosity, and a pretty even series of recent history - the 'Cats have gone .500 against Alvarez coached Badger teams).</p>

<p>bver - “In terms of football and such, the fact that NU lacks a true rival (from what i’ve gotten from upperclassmen) is probably a reason why spirit is low.”</p>

<p>Now that’s a silly argument. What happens to “spirit” the other 5 home games when a school isn’t playing its rival (or when the rivaly game is scheduled as an away game that year)?</p>

<p>“Spirit” has to do with winning. There was plenty of spirit in 1995, 1996, 2000, 2003 and 2005 (btw, if the game against UoI in 2005 had been in Evanston, there would have been plenty of spirit at Ryan - the 'Cats were playing for a better bowl).</p>

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<p>hehe…this thread has gone from campus aesthetics to student life and now to definition of rival. ;)</p>

<p>k&s,</p>

<p>Because NU’s rivals changes depending on whether you are talking about academics (Chicago), football (illinois), or swimming (Michigan)…, NU doesn’t have a true rival. If Illinois is NU’s rival in all aspects, then even students who don’t particularly watch football normally will show up in that game. But the fact NU lacks such kind of rival is the reason why NU doesn’t have a big crowd in the football game against U of I like Stanford have in their Big Game against Cal. </p>

<p>bver,</p>

<p>Because NU has plenty of fair-weather fans (NU isn’t alone in this, Duke/Stanford are just like this; probably many Duke students don’t start watching basketball until they are in college but they are happy to ignore football), you will see plenty of spirit when the team is winning. You just have to be patient and wait and hopefully we will have a winning season soon. :)</p>

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<p>So - I guess Mich students/alums think that dOSU is their rival in everything else, in addition to FB.</p>

<p>As for Stanford’s rivalry with Cal - Stanford only sells about 3,000 student tix for the “Big Game” (I’ll bet the student attendance was down drastically last year since Stanford was pretty horrible).</p>

<p>And isn’t UNC generally regarded as Duke’s rival? I’m afraid there aren’t too many students attending those FB games either.</p>

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<p>Don’t forget - the 11 am starts for games is a killer on student (and overall) attendance. Attendance rises significantly with afternoon (2:30) and esp. evening (6:00) starts.</p>