Northwestern University Top Questions

Residential colleges on campus are a great way for students to bond because they organize activities for members. Sometimes getting into one of these depends on the luck of the dorm room draw though. Other dorm housing groups become very close as well. In most dorms, doors are either left open, or fellow floor-mates have the privilege to open the doors of their friends without knocking to start up a conversation. The dorm is where many close friends form during freshman year. Studying is a priority to many students, but not on all days of the week. The weekend, and sometimes Thursdays, become nights when students go out and party, though they'll come back early and not drink if they need to get something done for the next day. Partying is certainly not the only thing to do on a weekend though. There are many drama, dance, or singing performances every weekend, a movie theater and great restaurant locations are close to campus, and many simply hang out and talk or watch a movie on a weekend night. Going off campus is definitely another great activity. Shopping, dining, seeing concerts and other performances, or partying in Chicago are all great options for weekends too Fraternities and sororities are a large part of the campus, but they are not typical of Greek organizations on other campuses. They are not characterized by lots of partying and superficiality. Instead, they tend to be places for strong friendships to form and leadership positions to be found. They offer balanced sociality, friendship, leadership, and even career development. While about 40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of campus is Greek, those who aren't Greek certainly don't lose out. They can find groups that offer similar benefits in their dorms or other social groups on campus.

Theater and Dance marathon are really big. What you do when you go out kinda of depends on where you live. North and South campus are like two different worlds.

as part of the 35{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} who go out, we have a nice culture. all of us are in a greek house (except for theater majors), and we have something planned for every night of the week. monday - the keg tuesday - rest/hundo wednesday - hundo/mcfaddens/creme thursday - hundo/duece friday - union/house parties saturday - parties sunday - hundo/rest as you can see, going out to bars is where the scene is at. cause if we try to throw big parties they get busted. parties are at your favorite frat house or with your group of friends in an off campus house.

Ethnic organizations and community service groups seem to me to be most popular. In my dorm, which is a small and close community, some students leave their doors unlocked when they're not there because fortunately they don't really have to worry about theft. I only have my door unlocked or open if I'm in my room. There are thefts in other dorms, and recently - though this is rare - there have been robberies or, in one case, a man was walking into dorms at night and watching girls as they slept (their doors were unlocked). Athletic events are popular, but varsity athletic events are mostly popular among varsity athletes who go to each other's teams' events. For non-athletes, intramurals are popular. Guest speakers and theater are very popular. There's always something going on for each of those. The dating scene - there are some exaggerations about the choices, especially for girls looking for guys, because NU doesn't attract athletes the way some schools do. Dating isn't a big focus, but people who have more active social lives date more as one would expect. It's been said that there are either casual hookups or relationships where the couple is practically married. I'm not sure if this is true or not. My closest friends are from my dorm or the fencing team. If I'm awake at 2 a.m. on a Tuesday I'm studying or doing a little bit of e-mailing, Facebook or reading the news. traditions/events - painting the Rock to advertise groups or events; New Student Week, Homecoming, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Dance Marathon, Dillo Day People party every weekend at fraternities or off-campus. Fraternities and sororites are popular and a common way to meet people if one is a partier, but they're not as big as at other schools. Last weekend I was studying for finals. Saturday night without drinking - see a play or movie, go to an international restaurant in Evanston (they are many and diverse), go to a museum, theater, Navy Pier or festival in Chicago

Everyone does their own thing in term of organizations. I'm involved in Grafitti dancers, which is a lot of fun, but also a lot of work and time commitment. Its hard to be involved in a lot of stuff because each thing really takes up your time. Not a lot of doors are open. I feel like on North campus, people aren't that into going to events, cause south campus is so far, but people definitely support their friends. My closest friends are on my floor, hands down. I wouldn't know about the dating scene since I have a serious boyfriend I met here, and I lot SOOOO lucky. I am not awake at 2:00 A.M. on a Tuesday! maybe a Monday, which is keg night, but with 9:00 am classes every day I like to sleep. People really vary in partying. Some people go out and drink 4-5 nights a week, some not at all. Saturday night, w/o drinking, you can go to a show, which there are a lot of, of just chill with friends. Going off campus is hard, especially if youre on north campus. FRat/sor. stuff is pretty big here, and it can be fun if you have the time for it.

There are tons (TONS!) of guest speakers at NU. Very few people have time to date here... Parties occur on most weekends; however, not during tense times like mid-terms and finals. During tense times, a nervous energy overruns the campus. Fraternities provide the North side of campus with a social life; Chicago/Evanston provide the South side of campus with a social life. Students are fairly attractive, if somewhat nerdy looking.

Noone parties very much around here, some people drink keg beer but that's about it. The frats and sororities are VERY important and do everything in terms of social events. If you are not in one, you are certainly excluded and out. If IM awake at tuesday at 2am im partying down in chicago with friends, but if a typical northwestern student is awake they are pulling an allnighter studying away for no reason. Everyone is so stressed out and uptight about work here all the time.

A cappella groups and dance groups are really popular on campus. Sports teams (varsity and club) are pretty popular too. Also, about 40{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the campus is Greek. You definitely don't have to go Greek to have a social life though. There's plenty to do for those who (like me) chose not to join the Greek scene. If you want to go off campus, there's a ton of restaurants and a movie theater in Evanston. Also, it's not too difficult to get into Chicago. It's only $2 to take the El, which is like the subway except its an elevated train.

Dance MArathon and Greek Life are the most visible groups on campus. Frats and sororities are a huge part of campus, but the sororities are, in many ways, not like the stereotypical sororities. Frats are pretty much like what you'd expect but a little watered down. Also, there are a lot of theatre people, and a ton of opportunities to see good shows. Not that many people date, they hook-up. Different people party from every day of the week to not at all - you can find friends either way. I met my closest friends in my dorm and in my sorority. Without drinking, you can still go to parties, go to Chicago, go to the movies, or see a play/musical/comedy group.

The campus offers something for everyone really. There are a ton of theater companies and shows are going up almost every weekend. There are the general supply of frat parties, which are pretty standard and good if you like that sort of thing. Most of the time it is easy to find something to do around here to relax and if you can't, there's always Chicago to visit. Greek life makes up a lot of the social life here, but it's not all encompassing. It's definitely easy to find friends outside of the fraternity/sorority system, and those who are in the system can form close friendships with non brothers/sisters.