WashU vs. USC vs. Northwestern

wildcatalum
Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:23:54 +0000

I think you will thrive at Northwestern. Northwestern has residential living communities where you can live with like-minded students (e.g. living clusters based on academic interests) along with resident professors. The South campus at Northwestern is very conducive to students just like you who prefer low-key environments and hangouts.

The Greek scenes at Northwestern and WashU are similar, with about 40% of students involved in Greek life so there is no meaningful difference in that sense. Furthermore, Northwestern has “nerd” frats which you might be interested in if you want to eventually break out of your shell. Many of the ones I visited were very social but very academic in vibe-- definitely a very nurturing environment and an exciting place to grow for somebody like you. The interesting thing about fraternities at Northwestern is that the guys range from jocks and preps to hipsters and hippies to nerds/intellectuals and somewhere in between (there can a lot of overlaps obviously).

At Northwestern, you will have opportunities to go Downtown Evanston (literally not even a block from South Campus) or Downtown Chicago if you’re looking for a change of scenery. Evanston has multiple coffeeshops and Chicago has even more! Northwestern provides a free shuttle to the Downtown Chicago campus (which is located right next to Magnificent Mile), with shuttles leaving every 20 minutes from either campus. The travel time during non-busy times takes half an hour. I visited Chicago 3 times a week, exploring different coffeeshops on my own to study or with a small group of friends. The most vibrant part of Chicago for young people and young professionals is actually on the North Side of Chicago in Andersonville and Lakeview, about 20 minutes or less from campus. In summary, you can choose to go to Evanston, the North Side of Chicago (20 minutes or less by the “El” train that has 3 stations right on Northwestern’s campus), or Downtown Chicago (half an hour on the free Northwestern intercampus shuttle or 40 minutes by CTA)

I’m confident you can find a niche at Northwestern and thrive. The pre-med competition is also less, which likely means a higher GPA and greater access to resources and internships. Good luck on your choice! Both WashU and Northwestern are great options. But I’m biased and think Northwestern will be a better fit for you. I visited WashU but personally found Northwestern’s campus more exciting, and I came into Northwestern as an introvert.