Northwestern University Top Questions

Here are a few: 1. The quarter system makes the workload absolutely crushing and it's difficult to get a good GPA. In my experience, totally false. People seem to think that universities with quarter systems are very fast-paced because they cover 'just as much as a college with a semester system would'. I just don't think this is true; classes only run 10 weeks, but I've found even with the more difficult 300-level courses, and even taking an extra class a couple of quarters, that it's a totally reasonable amount of work and I had plenty of time to pursue activities and friendships outside of class. Some days I even wish I had more work (but I'm weird that way...) 2. It's all about sports and Greek life. Well, "all about" is a tad much, but...for the most part, both are pretty big. 3. Everyone is totally preprofessional and more focused on their career after college than the college experience itself. TRUE, TRUE, TRUE. If you get anything out of this review, please take away this bit of information. It's not necessarily a good or bad thing, depending on what you're looking for (For me, though, it was bad). The majority of students come to Northwestern knowing their career track and exact plan of attack, and there is little deviation from this plan. I have had a couple of conversations with students who didn't even give much thought to their true passion or consider that they might change their mind. (Exact quote: "I don't really like math, but I'm majoring in it because I know it'll eventually get me a good and high-paying job"). If this is your kind of philosophy, you will fit in nicely here and you will get exactly what you're looking for. Someone more concerned with having four years of self-discovery, broadening their knowledge and open to changing their mind along the way, may find themselves suffocated by NU's pre-professional system.

There are really two extremes when dealing with stereotypes at NU. On one side you have a lot of hard working kids focused on performing well in school. These honestly range from engineers to american literature majors and are about 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of the students on campus. The other side of the spectrum are a bunch of kids who just like to party. Hard. And this is about 60{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} of campus (Of which, probably 1/2 is greek). SO, 90{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} study hard and 60{4a082faed443b016e84c6ea63012b481c58f64867aa2dc62fff66e22ad7dff6c} party. Notice the overlap? The great thing about NU is everyone there is involved in a lot of things and still has a chance to have a good time. With events like Dance Marathon (a 30 hour dance in late March) or Dillon Day (an all day music festival in early June), its hard not to party at NU and still be a part of what makes Northwestern University #12 academically in the country. *Almost all of the stats are complete speculation based on my perception of life at NU. But hey, thats a students perception. But the #12 ranking is from U.S. News and Report.

From the outside, it might seem like Northwestern is full of nerds. However, the community is actually very vibrant. It's true that we all care about doing well here, but many student's passions lay outside the academic sphere. Once you start to get to know people here, you'll find that most students have a lot more to talk about than just their schoolwork. As for other stereotypes, Greek life is prominent on campus, but not overwhelming. When it comes to partying, I some have friends who go out every weekend(and several weekdays), and other friends who never go out. It's impossible to describe all Northwestern students with one label(except, you know, Northwestern students) because we come from so many different backgrounds and have such different dreams.

You know, I don't know that there is a definitive stereo type of students here at Northwestern. But if there were one, it'd be about the Engineering students at McCormick. We've got brilliant students, and our undergraduate engineering program is stellar, which is why people seem to think Engineering students study all day. NOT the case. Sure, the campus culture is pretty academics-focused, but the engineering student body can have its own share of slackers, just like any other. As far as Greek life is concerned, we're pretty big on it, but you'll hardly ever feel like you need to be a part of it in order to be a part of campus. If you want to "go Greek," great. If not, great too. It won't really matter; you'll have plenty of friends anyways.

The stereotypical Northwestern student would include someone who is highly focused on academics, who's social life most likely revolves around our Greek system. They aren't into college athletics, but rather choose to focus on networking, schoolwork, and keep a decent social life through their fraternity or sorority. I would say that, on the whole, this stereotype is fairly accurate, but it is not hard to find people who do not fit this mold. Many students do choose to go Greek, but many of my friends are also not Greek, and we all maintain a strong social life. Also, athletics has been growing quickly at Northwestern, with our football and basketball programs improving over the past few years, so it is becoming more and more common that students with social lives will attend most, if not all, of these sporting events.

Northwestern students get a bad rep for erring on the side of nerdy and anti-social. However, this is a pretty big and academically diverse school. True, a lot of the more rigid academic programs (i.e. Pre-Med, Engineering) leave less room for socialization, many Northwestern students maintain relationships with people they meet through classes and the robust selection of extra-curricular activities.

Theatre kids/Rich North Shore Chicago kids/future corporate America kids/Nerdwestern

The stereotype that I've heard most is that Northwestern students are pretentious and privileged. Now, I will admit that I hadn't heard of any actual stereotypes for Northwestern students before coming here. Being from Texas meant that a fair number of people who I talked to had no idea where or what Northwestern was. Since then I have gathered this impression of the Northwestern student body from friends I have at various other Chicago and midwest institutions. While there is certainly some validity to this (with a tuition as high and a equally lofty national ranking, it's almost inevitable), I have never found the negative connotations of such a stereotype to be true. For example, while I have met people who certainly come from more affluent backgrounds than I do, I have also met the opposite and have found both to be equally approachable and welcoming. The same goes for the implications of pretentiousness.

Now, I will admit that I hadn't heard of any actual stereotypes for Northwestern students before coming here. Being from Texas meant that a fair number of people who I talked to had no idea where or what Northwestern was. Since then I have gathered this impression of the Northwestern student body from friends I have at various other Chicago and midwest institutions. While there is certainly some validity to this (with a tuition as high and a equally lofty national ranking, it's almost inevitable), I have never found the negative connotations of such a stereotype to be true. For example, while I have met people who certainly come from more affluent backgrounds than I do, I have also met the opposite and have found both to be equally approachable and welcoming. The same goes for the implications of pretentiousness.

There are two stereotypes that I think people associate with Northwestern--that we're total nerds or that we just really like to party. As a matter of fact, the slogans "Nerdwestern" and "Northwasted" are both purchasable on tee shirts in the Evanston area. I don't think either of them is necessarily accurate, though. Sure, there are some people here who go crazy on weekends, but I also have a LOT of friends who don't drink. Lots of people here are "nerds," in a sense, but not traditionally so--everyone is just really interested and passionate about the things that they're studying and the activities they're involved in. It might sound cliched, but I think Northwestern is a little undefinable. We have theater, dance, and music programs, but we also have a prominent engineering school. We have future journalists and teachers and doctors, but everyone is more than that. So many people have multiple (and sometimes seemingly unlikely combinations of) passions. We really do have all types here, and I think that makes Northwestern an un-stereotypable campus.