Northwestern University Top Questions

Academics are outstanding at NU. Its why we go there. Even in large classes, professors make an effort to learn names, TAs always know your name, and in small classes, its all a given. Professors don't usually hang out with students outside of class, but they all have office hours and are really accessible. There are some amazing classes at NU. Like Spring 2013, I took a Philosophy of Religion class that was amazing. It was so good that on the last lecture of the class, my professor got a standing ovation from the class. How often does that happen? However, since academics are great, students have to work hard and study a lot to compete. Its not busy work, and your really learning loads. The quarter system allows us to take more classes at a faster pace, which is great, but it does increase the workload. The studying definitely pays off though. Class participation is really common in literature, philosophy, politics, or language classes. And in science and math classes, everyone is asking great questions that have come up from studying. This also carries outside class. The conversations I have had with friends outside of class have been some of the highlights of my time at NU. NU's majors are rigorous but really encourage learning while preparing you for a job. But ultimately, its what you make of it. NU has amazing resources to help you succeed in this rigorous, competitive atmosphere, but you leave here with great lessons and prepared for the next step in your life.

As an economics major, which is one of the most popular undergrad major, I've taken a slew of large lecture classes in my major (mostly intro courses). But as with most schools, class size dwindles as you get more advanced. For distribution requirements, I've taken a combination of large and small classes. Some of my most rewarding courses have been 8-person classes that fulfill one of my liberal arts requirements. If you're coming as a social science/humanities major, you'll find that distribution requirements are pretty easy to fulfill--even in the sciences. In my major, and many of the engineering majors, students are typically assigned 3-8 problem sets per quarter, which can usually be completed in groups. Students use office hours more heavily surrounding due dates and exams. While the curricula of many of the departments cater to academics, the more practical majors provide a strong community for students seeking internships/careers (as opposed to more education). In my personal experience, economics professors have been very understanding of upperclassmen who are going through job recruiting during the school year.

As an economics major, which is one of the most popular undergrad major, I've taken a slew of large lecture classes in my major (mostly intro courses). But as with most schools, class size dwindles as you get more advanced. For distribution requirements, I've taken a combination of large and small classes. Some of my most rewarding courses have been 8-person classes that fulfill one of my liberal arts requirements. If you're coming as a social science/humanities major, you'll find that distribution requirements are pretty easy to fulfill--even in the sciences. In my major, and many of the engineering majors, students are typically assigned 3-8 problem sets per quarter, which can usually be completed in groups. Students use office hours more heavily surrounding due dates and exams. While the curricula of many of the departments cater to academics, the more practical majors provide a strong community for students seeking internships/careers (as opposed to more education). In my personal experience, economics professors have been very understanding of upperclassmen who are going through job recruiting during the school year.

From my experience with both the biology and the english department, the atmosphere surrounding academics at Northwestern seems to depend greatly upon what you're majoring in. The first couple years of a biology major, for example, will involve never setting foot in a classroom with fewer than 200 students. In these entry level classes it is easy to feel bogged down by anonymity, and for some this makes taking anything away from these classes a greater challenge. In addition, a large number of the entry level science classes teach in a style that can be conducive to cramming and then forgetting everything taught at the end of the course. However, this is hard to avoid at any school of a decent size and is bound to be encountered a few times if you are studying science. Once you make it past this hurdle, the classes become smaller, the learning setting more intimate, and the professors more passionate about what they are teaching. Yet, it is important to note that the vast majority of biology majors at Northwestern are there as a prerequisite to applying to medical school. As such, if you are planning on going into a different field it is, at times, harder to find good advice about how to do so. From my experience with the English department, on the other hand, the overall objective appears to be much more inclined towards education for its own sake. In addition, there are fewer intimidatingly huge lecture courses and it is easier to form bonds with the professors as such. What's important to remember is that your enjoyment of a class and what you take away from it is largely your own responsibility here: participation and intellectual stimulation vary greatly from individual to individual. As such, there are students that fall upon the full range of the spectrum, from the minimal participant to the competitive grade-grubber, and every step in between.

Northwestern academics can be challenging, but awesome. I like that a lot of our curriculum is built around hands-on activities. The university encourages students to use what they've learned through student organizations and often require external work experiences in order to graduate. We often joke about NU students bringing academics into their everyday lives and having philosophical conversations on Facebook and in dining halls. One of my favorite parts of our curriculum is the flexibility to take courses of interest and not just because of requirements. There are so many options and large parts of the curriculum are about exploring and knowledge for the sake of knowledge. I've also had very involved professors that have invited students over for holidays, who commit to personal mentorship, provide personal telephone numbers, advise student groups, and are sources of employment. I've definitely had my share of courses I didn't enjoy, but I survived them and had professors who were as accommodating as possible.

My favorite class so far has been my second freshman seminar, Food in Literature. We got to read the most interesting and diverse readings ever! Classes here do not seem horribly difficult material-wise, but they do require A LOT of work. Students here are expected to keep up or else the quarter system will kick your butt. I do not see my professors as much as I should outside of class, and that is definitely something i want to work on. Northwestern is known for its "premeds" which drive me insane, because they usually go crazy fighting for grades and are so competitive. I can't say much about the English/Social Studies side of things, but the science education here is way more focused on getting into med school than it is on actual learning.

Northwestern has strong schools in journalism, engineering, music, theater, liberal arts and more. The academics are definitely rigorous but not overwhelming. Don't be intimidated by higher level classes, even in departments you aren't familiar with. These classes have less students and are often focused on a more specific topic, which I find more interesting than the typical "Intro to...." classes. In journalism, class sizes tend to be smaller and we really get to know our professors well. Several of my professors have been great mentors for me and I know I can always go to them for advice or just to chat, even when I'm no longer in their class. At Medill, we are more of a pre-professional school than Weinberg, the college of arts and sciences. However, our requirements are such that most of our classes are taken through Weinberg and it's common for students to double major or minor in a Weinberg department. Medill wants to prepare us for a professional journalism career and has a fantastic career services program, but also emphasizes the important of being well-rounded people and journalists by forcing us to take an array of Weinberg classes.

I'm in the School of Education and Social Policy (the smallest and coolest undergraduate school), but I take a lot of classes in Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. This is what I've experienced. Yes, people study. A lot. People still know when and how to take a break and relax, though. I've had lots of really intellectual, cross-disciplinary conversations outside of class. People can be competitive in certain majors, but I've found my classmates to be completely willing to help each other out. Everyone has lots of opinions, and no one is shy about expressing them in class. My professors have been very willing to meet with me individually. Only one of my classes last semester was a large lecture (all my other professors know me by name), and in that class we had a 15-person discussion section that met once a week. My classes have been interesting and engaging. I've learned a lot that I feel I will be able to use later. My assignments have mostly been worthwhile.

Academics at Northwestern are difficult but manageable. A lot of your experience depends on your major. Anybody who takes organic chemistry is miserable, but that goes for any university. I have had a very light load this quarter, because I am taking a lot of distribution credits and introductory courses. This means larger classes and less personal encounters with professors, but also less work. In the coming quarters, I'll take higher-level courses which are smaller, more intimate and more difficult, but also more valuable. There is not a lot of competition at Northwestern, at least, not in a negative sense. Students are very encouraging to each other and often meet outside of class to talk about an especially difficult reading or a tricky problem set. I have some friends who actually bribe each other with candy to do their physics homework, which generally works. Northwestern's core requirements (for most of our departments) are somewhat extensive. We have to take classes in many disciplines such as natural science, formal studies (math and logic), historical studies, values and ethics, social and behavioral sciences and (for most) foreign language. I like this, because it promotes well-roundedness, but some students just despise these classes (called "distros"). However, some of these requirements can be filled by high AP and IB scores, and we have a lot of leniency in which class counts for what. For example, I like science, but I'm not especially good at it, so I used a linguistics class (Sound Patterns of Human Speech) to count toward a formal studies credit. There are usually ways to make these distribution credits double-count toward your major, too. They also do not hamper students' ability to complete majors, because Northwestern runs on the quarter system. The quarter system basically means we have 3 "quarters" during the school year and one optional summer quarter during which students often study abroad or complete internships if they don't go home. Students typically take four or five classes per quarter, which allows us to take more classes than students at other universities by the time we graduate. Quarters last about ten weeks and culminate in "Reading Week" during which time most classes are cancelled so students can finish paper and projects and study for final exams. (Alternatively, students procrastinate all week and then don't sleep all weekend, which works, too.) Professors are generally very willing to meet with students outside of class. Northwestern legend Gary Morson, who teachers 600 students Russian Literature most quarters, often makes time to meet with groups and individuals if need be (and sometimes just because). Of course, there are exceptions. My English Literature professor still hasn't returned the e-mail I sent two months ago, but in general, our professors are very willing to be helpful outside of class, and if they are not available, the TA's are. Majors are generally geared toward practicality and employability. The New York Times recently published an article that ranked Northwestern students as the #6 most employable grads from around the world (as seen by American business owners). Students in the School of Education and Social Policy (my school) are required to student teach or complete a quarter of "practicum" relevant to their major before graduating. Engineering students work on real-world jobs and sometimes co-op. Foreign language and religion classes take field trips to culturally-relevant sites. However, if you love learning just for learning's sake, there are a lot of students here who do and learn things just because, and that's always okay, too. The quarter system allows for a lot of flexibility if you feel the need to sample a lot of different things.

The intro classes are usually somewhat large, especially classes that have the best professors (Intro to Fiction, Intro to Russian Lit, Intro to Psych). My favorite class here has been Intensive Italian because it was a small class of 10 people and we learned so much in the space of one quarter. My professor brought us food often, which is always great. Also, any language class at Northwestern is pretty much fantastic.