<p>Hi fellow Wildcats. 
Yesterday I was talking to high schooler who’s interested in applying to NU. (He did well in HS, on the SATs, and seemed like he’d do well at NU too.) I answered most of his questions; however, I didn’t know how to respond to, “what schools are similar to Northwestern?”</p>
<p>Any thoughts…? In terms of academic strengths, social life, etc. (Ideally both.)</p>
<p>i have the same problem with this question. i dont really have a definite answer b/c NU is pretty unique but i would say maybe Penn and Duke for both characteristics.</p>
<p>washu (this has to b 10 characters long)</p>
<p>The interesting and, to me, attractive thing about NU is that it is so many things to so many people. I would say that NU has no peer because it is so different. It’s a big 10 school with big 10 athletics (we’re not Ohio St in basketball or football, but we just won our 3rd consecutive women’s lax nat’l title, are back in the women’s college world series, made it to the elite 8 in men’s soccer, and finished in the top 5 nationally in men’s swimming, and wrestling). In that sense, you can compare us to most state schools, though we don’t have quite as much school spirit as the super-state schools like Ohio State, Texas, Michigan, or Penn State.
We are also in a great college town, so you coudl compare us to UVA & Charlottesville.
We also have our own step on the El, so we can get into Chicago in under an hour (and can see the skyline from campus!). So we’re close to Columbia.
Academically, we’re comparable to Duke, Wash U, Rice, Hopkins, Columbia, Dartmouth, Cornell, UChicago, and their likenesses.</p>
<p>If you want a campus, a college town, access to a major city, big-time athletics, and big-time academics, then this is the place for you.
I hate to distort your question into a rant on why NU is great, but I really think it’s unfair to find a peer. People often use Duke as a peer. According to most rankings, Duke is slightly higher than NU, but that easily changes based on what major you are interested in. Aside from our relatively large size and access to a major city, I’d tend to agree…though I do prefer Evanston to Durham.</p>
<p>I think it doesn’t reflect too favorably on NU to compare ourselves in any way to Ohio State, Texas or Penn State. We’re not “like” those schools just because some people at those schools and some people at our school play sports.<br>
I love NU, but I think it’s silly to say it has no peer. I think the peer schools that you listed are pretty much it. I would also add Penn and Georgetown to that list.
Statistically speaking, where does NU most cross-recruit with? Does anyone know?</p>
<p>Well from what i’ve seen this year, there’s a lot of cross-recruiting with Cornell, Duke, UMich, UChicago and WashU. I think it is fair to say that these are peer schools, or close to them at least.</p>
<p>Among the top 20 schools, NU’s drama dept. is matched only by Yale’s… In that way – along with strengths in diverse academic areas, and gothic buildings designed by the same architect – Yale is similar to NU. (Granted, Yale’s stronger overall.)</p>
<p>Wash U, Duke, and Michigan come into mind.</p>
<p>I find it a bit troubling to write off UT-Austin or Ohio State as schools that are in no way peers to NU. Also, if you actually read what I wrote, you would note that I said that we do NOT have the same school spirit as those schools. And there is a significant different between simply “having” football teams like the Ivies and having football teams that routinely are on national television and pay the best teams in the country every week.
As for my allusion to having no peer that wasn’t meant to put NU above any other school. It was meant to point out that it truly is a unique combination of a lot of factors.
I agree with adding UPenn to the list, though it is slightly harder to get into.
I disagree with Georgetown because the culture of the schools are so very different. According to WSJ, 27% of NU students went to private schools, which is one of the lowest numbers of any elite institution. Georgetown is 51% private, and of those it is almost exclusively catholic prep schools. Georgetown is very much a product of the “old-boy” environment and caters to that group very well. Though not a defining characteristic, Georgetown does incorporate faith more than most others. While academics may be similar, the type of person who enjoys NU is not the type of person who enjoys Georgetown.</p>
<p>And there is a significant different between simply “having” football teams like the Ivies and having football teams that routinely are on national television and pay the best teams in the country every week.>></p>
<p>Significant difference in what? To whom? The football players, maybe. Me as a Northwestern student? Not a bit of difference. I chose NU because of the superb academics. I went to football games to socialize and have fun on the weekends; why would it possibly matter to me whether that game was on TV, or who it was against?</p>
<p>It matters to most of the 40,000 fans in attendance. It matters to the students and alumni who care about football and like to cheer for a winning team, or at least a team that tries at a very high level. I’m sorry that you don’t take pride in having a D-1 football team, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t matter.</p>
<p>Pizzagirl,</p>
<p>NU alums do organize socials for Bowl games…etc. They may not be “important” but they can be a lot of fun.</p>
<p>Overall, it’s Stanford and Duke, followed by Penn and Cornell.</p>
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<p>Pizzagirl - the level of excitement playing in a major conf. is totally different from that of the Ivies or a mid-major, not to mention, playing in a bowl game and being nationally ranked.</p>
<p>There’s a reason why the Purple travel well for bowl games.</p>
<p>It seems similar to cornell and michigan.</p>
<p>yeah, look at cornell and michigan</p>
<p>also upenn seems to have a similar campus environment, but much more east-coasty</p>