Northwestern University Top Questions

The Greek system is HUGE here, and I do mean huge. My roommate and I were the only girls on our floor not 'rushing', and even though we weren't interested in joining a sorority we felt extremely on the outs. There are a ton of very active and vibrant theatre boards, but there is more marketing/planning/behind-the-scenes work that goes into them than actual performance and acting. A Capella is big as well, and there is an acclaimed daily newspaper on campus (I have my own problems with the way that it runs, but won't go into detail here). It is definitely a pro that the school is big, because it gives way to a large number and eclectic mix of activities. Even though some groups are smaller than others, you'd be hard-pressed to find an interest that wasn't fulfilled by a group at NU.

We've got so many activities and groups that everyone is able to come together based on interests. If you want to party, there's probably one happening at the time if it's a Thursday through Sunday night. If you like drinking coffee and having intellectual discussions, you've got plenty of people to do that with. Downtown Chicago is about a 20-25 minute drive, which isn't bad. There are so many options aside from that, though, that you can choose from depending on how far you want to go from campus.

Greek life is the most popular student groups at Northwestern, no doubt about that. But, if Greek life is not for you, there are still many different ways to get involved on campus. Some of the other popular groups are Wildside and Homecoming, both of which work to bring a lot of student pride and involvement in Northwestern Athletics. Attending athletic events has also been growing in popularity as both student pride in Northwestern has increased, and as Northwestern sports teams have continued to get better and better. Personally, I am involved in several student groups on campus, including Wildside and Homecoming. I have also been getting involved with a group that has just started up on campus that puts on some really cool events weekly nights for students to take part in. We had a widely popular 90's bingo night with great prizes, and a hugely successful laser tag on the Lakefill event (the Lakefill is a beautiful stretch of land running right along Lake Michigan that students will often hang out on to study and relax).

Personally, I am not involved in Greek life, but I have many friends who are. Fraternity and sorority events make up the bulk of their social life during freshman and sophomore year. However, students also get heavily involved in other activities. There are a few publications to write/do admin work for. There are also a ton of cultural clubs that put on annual shows. Also, we have a productions company that is involved in bringing live artists, speakers and movies for free (or at a subsidized cost). Underclassmen not involved in the Greek scene typically go to house parties (hosted by upperclassmen). Upperclassmen go out in Evanston, or neighborhoods closer to downtown Chicago.

There are several large and popular student groups on campus. The largest is Dance Marathon, which is an organization that puts on Dance Marathon, which is where students raise money to dance for 30 hours to support organizations that change every year. A&O is a popular group, which puts on movies and brings in artists for concerts and comedians to perform. Another large group is Mayfest, which organizes Dillo Day, which is NU's annual all day music festival, which always occurs in May. Mayfest also organizes events in May that lead up to and build excitement for Dillo Day. The concerts and comedians A&O put on are extremely popular. Dillo Day is also extremely popular, as it is just about everyone's favorite day of the year, and is even known of around the country. Greek life is also a prominent part of Northwestern, as about 40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of students are Greek. The group I have been most involved is my Jewish fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi. I have been the Recruitment Chairman and I just finished my term as President. I have truly loved holding leadership positions in AEPi. I valued and enjoyed spending time to fulfill the missions of my fraternity, as well as taking steps to make sure my fellow members can most enjoy their time in the chapter. I also met most of my closest friends by joining a fraternity, although a large number of close friends came from my dorm and classes I took freshmen year, as well as the other groups I am involved in. Even though Northwestern is considered a school where students only study, people want to have fun as well. Monday and Saturday nights are the big nights to go out during the week. People do go out on other nights, but not as popular as the two nights I listed. Additionally, there are frequently fraternity and sorority invitation-only social events during the week, which are very fun. If one does not want to drink, there are many activities to take part in. In the fall, there are football games almost every weekend, and in the winter about one home basketball game per week. The theater community is also very involved, as there are shows of some sort every weekend. There are also some traditions at Northwestern. Some were mentioned above, such as Dillo Day, which is probably the most fun. Another tradition is to paint the Rock. There is a Rock in south campus that student groups paint to advertise the group or an event they're putting on. Almost every group paints the Rock at some point. Additionally, every Sunday before finals week starts, at 9PM, the Primal Scream occurs, where students go outside and yell to vent their frustration for the upcoming week.

Dance Marathon is a HUGE deal on campus and everyone tries to experience it at least once before they graduate. It's literally 30 hours non-stop dancing to raise money for a charity. People go crazy over it. Also, Greek life is a big deal on campus.

As a freshman, greek life appeared to be the most dominant force on campus, and a vast majority of my fellow dorm-mates wound up rushing our getting involved in similar ways. However, if the idea of a sorority/fraternity doesn't appeal to you, it's good to know that there are plenty of other ways to have a social life. A large majority of my friends I've made because we're all biology students and have made it through a number of classes together. However, events such as Dillo Day, Primal Scream, and even networking via facebook have also provided me with a number of very good friends. The biggest social force in my life, though, would have to be the co-op that I've been living in: we live together, we cook together, we study together, and it's been a wonderful opportunity to meet a variety of people. Outside of campus, one can explore downtown Evanston. Granted, you will discover almost everything that the city has to offer fairly quickly, but there are some nice things none-the-less. There are a large number of coffee shops to cater to the student crowd, as well as pub-dining for those who want a slightly classier drinking experience than the infamous Keg. However, you should be prepared for most things to be a bit on the expensive side. From my experience, Chicago is a useful distraction, but most students only go into the city once a month at most. It's a good destination for special occasions, but the cost of the L and the fact that the purple line to campus doesn't run at all hours is often a fairly steep deterrent for most students.

Greek life, Associated Student Government, and the school newspaper groups, Global Engagement Summit are the biggest groups I can think of. But every group is good if you're interested in their mission. In terms of student life, people are generally friendly. Doors open, good conversation. There are tons of events on campus, but depending on you're friend group you may or may not take advantage of them. Unless you're a complete individual, which is totally cool too--I go to shit without my friends all the time. The dating scene sucks. You go have sex with someone, and then you do it enough times to say you're dating. It's kind of stupid. Wish it was better. I met my closest friends in my dorm freshman year. One of them I met online and we bonded over our love of partying. It was great. Dillo Day, Dance Maraton, and the Fall Blow-Out Concert are our three big events. Dillo Day is definitely the best one. Basically a fun filled day of concerts and drinking--yum. Depending on the person, people can party either everyday or only on the weekends, but most go out at some point. Overall, the Northwestern experience is so diverse and loaded, you can make it into whatever you want. Think of it as a giant SIMS game where you are the main character--only there isn't some evil dude controlling you on the other end of the screen.

There are a LOT of service-oriented student groups on campus. Dance Marathon is one of the biggest. Participants get people to sponsor them to dance for 30 hours straight. Last year, DM raised more than $1,000,000 for the Children's Heart Foundation. One of the most creative organizations on campus is, in my opinion, the Living Wage Campaign, which advocates for the various campus service employees--dining hall workers, cleaning staff, etc--trying (successfully) to get them to be paid a "living wage." There are dozens of a capella groups, theater groups, and club and intramural athletic teams, Fraternities and sororities are very popular and active, but also easily avoidable (especially if you live on south campus). One group I've been involved in is the Freshman Urban Program, a pre-orientation program during which incoming freshman explore and volunteer in various Chicago neighborhoods under the supervision of older students the week before orientation starts. I met many of my best friends through FUP, and I highly recommend it.

Northwestern offers so much, that in my experience it's difficult to feel out of place. People sometimes have a difficult time finding "their" group but there are available once you really look. Regarding racial, religious, LGBT, socio-economic and other groups there are very different make-ups on campus. NU's multicultural community has a lot of support and very conscious students. There are ways to explore cultural areas and feel comfortable maintaining practices from home while exploring others. Minority recruiting needs work, but there are a lot of students who work hard to make minority students feel comfortable. Religious groups are well-supported. Evanston has the highest number of houses of worship per capita than any other town in America. I found a great religious community within my race and lived in an interfaith housing community during my first two years as well. The LGBTQ community at Northwestern is respected and open. I have never heard of experienced negative attitudes toward the LGBTQ community. We have gay pride celebrations, drag shows, and a publication recently wrote a story about a transgender student that received national attention. Most students are open-minded and at the least respectful. We have a number of countries around the world represented and different parts of America as well. Socioeconomic status can be difficult to determine. Tuition is expensive and a touchy subject, so often students don't talk about family backgrounds. Sometimes they are apparent based on students' experiences, but it definitely runs the gamut.