Northwestern University Top Questions

Absolutely not.

No.

Yes and no. There are always going to be kids who fall under distinct categories/stereotypes while there are going to be those who very much surpass or trail off, out of the social norm. Life tip: Don't believe, act upon or make stereotypes or judgments on anyone. It gets you no where in life and more often than not, those people who MAY have come off as a certain "type" of person or student is bound to surprise you.

What makes Northwestern a difficult school to summarize is that all of these are true, but in different ways. Northwestern is characterized more than other schools by insular campus cultures. That is, it is rare for theater majors to hang out with athletes, rare for frat boys to hang out with the studious Asians who seem to make up a silent majority on campus, etc. So, while all of these stereotypes are true, they cannot be generalized; in my experience, dedicated 'frat boys' are rarely socially awkward, while the said silent majority of Asian engineering and computer science majors cannot often be described as upholding the 'play-hard' end of the 'work-hard-play-hard' relationship.

Unfortunately that is true. Not in all cases though. Since our school is on quarters, students have to stay on top of things more.

I would say there's definitely a dichotomy on campus between North and South Campus. The engineers and hard science students are mainly on north campus and include many men. South campus are more of your liberal arts buildings and so that's where people with those majors tend to be. As far as relationships are concerned, I feel like that is probably true for most people in college.

Yes if you're pre-med or econ...otherwise no.

We definitley study, there are a lot of asian kids, but most importantly NORTHWESTERN IS FUN! Northwestern should be known for its great balance between academics and social-ness.

People seem to be ambivalent about Northwestern's position among other colleges because it exists in an odd position as a top school overall--particularly in journalism, creative writing, and its drama program--yet it is not one of "the" top tier schools. In places outside of the Midwest, some haven't heard of Northwestern, including me until I began looking at colleges. However, while not all of the academic departments are absolutely outstanding--which they could hardly be at any university--Northwestern has many strong departments, a large number of diverse programs aimed at helping students develop their academic passions, and a fantastic student campus that is at once determined and ambitious while also being passionate and socially-active. These attributes make it unique and, in my opinion, one of the top schools around. While the campus, which stretches lengthwise along Lake Michigan, is certainly divided into a North and South Campus with certain students on one side and others on the opposite side, there is a lot of fluidity between both sides of campus. Those who live on North Campus are not the only party-goers, to which those who make the 15-minute walk from South to North Campus every weekend can attest. Many engineering, math, art, drama, and social science students live on the side of campus opposite to the side that houses their classes, though a majority may choose to be closer to their classes on the side of campus stereotypically relegated to students of their "type." The same is true for athletes, who can be found on both sides of campus but more often on North Campus, because their athletic training takes place in the facilities on North Campus.

Kinda. Obviously everyone at Northwestern is smart and cares more about school then students at state schools, so we don't go out and party as much as they do. But, it's not like all we do is study. If I wanted to, I could probably go out 4 or 5 nights a week, but my grades would be terrible. You have to balance studying and partying when you go here.