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Northern Illinois University
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Inside Scoop

Quick Stats

School Slang
  • Cabrini Grant: Grant Residence Hall
  • The Cereal Box: Zulauf Hall
  • Disabled: DuSable Hall
  • Doof: Food
  • Drunk Bus: The Late Night Ride Service
  • DuSable Dungeon: Basement of DuSable Hall
  • Faraway Hall: Faraday Hall
  • FART Building: Jack Arrends Hall/Final Arts Building
  • HSC (AKA ‘the Giant Phallus’): Holmes Student Center
  • Monty Hall: Montgomery Hall
  • NIU LJ: Northern’s Livejournal community
  • The Paper: The Northern Star
  • Psychomath: The Psychology/Math building
Things I Wish I Knew Before Coming To School
  • Don’t come with a boyfriend or girlfriend
  • Get on birth control
  • Get on the smallest meal plan possible
  • How much peer pressure you will face to drink
  • How much pocket cash you need to live a decent existence
  • How to eat healthy while living in the dorms
  • How to manage time wisely
  • How to use the academic support services offered
  • Never, ever live in a residence hall after freshman year
Tips to Succeed
  • Carefully research your major
  • Don’t go home every weekend
  • Don’t take a 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. class if you can help it
  • Find a competent adviser and map out your class schedule for the next four years
  • Get at least seven hours of sleep a night
  • Go in for help whenever it is offered
  • Go to class
  • Keep up with assigned reading
  • Use the Recreational Center constantly
See how you stack up against students who were accepted to this school . . .And calculate your chances!Register to get started

Northern Illinois Student ReviewsWhat's This?

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Inside Scoop at Northern Illinois University

stacyheliotis

Nursing '15

3.8
B+

Campus Life

Campus life is always fun and you can meet many people. It is nice to be able to study hard throughout the week and then go out on weekends just to have a good time.

May 10, 2012

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Inside Scoop at Northern Illinois University

Britnie33

Nursing '14

2.3
C

Not Much

Northern is like many schools, intern options, decent academics unless in nursing, accounting and maybe teaching. Nothing really makes it stand out; it's in the middle of a cornfield. The only pro is that it's close by and for that reason a lot of people go home every weekend.

Feb 15, 2012

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Inside Scoop at Northern Illinois University

glitzybby

Fashion and Apparel Design '17

4.6
A

NIU Is Just a Great School

I would just like to say, although the media might portray us as some ghetto, trashy, middleclass school I'd like to think we are one of the best schools in Illinois. The diversity on campus is great. You'll see all kinds of people walking around campus and everyone seems to get along. As long as you hang out with the right people you'll be fine. If you're looking for trouble, trouble will meet you halfway but that's at any campus.

Jan 02, 2012

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Page 1 of 5
User rating for Northern Illinois University - Inside Scoop is 4.6 out of 5 based on 14 user reviews.

Facts

Traditions
  • Gay Jam : It wouldn’t be Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Awareness month without this truly wild annual event, which is an extravagant drag show with performances by members of the NIU community.
  • The Grotesque : A gargoyle statue located in the garden east of Altgeld Hall has quite the history. After the first NIU graduation ceremony, it was allegedly struck by lightning. A year later, lightning literally struck the same place twice, and the gargoyle was moved to its current location due to fear for its safety.
  • The Kissing Bench : Under an oak tree near the East Lagoon, the Kissing Bench remains a popular place for young love to blossom and wet lips to meet.
  • Recyclable Boat Race : Another Homecoming Week tradition features student organizations racing flimsy boats made out of recycled materials in the East Lagoon. The fun comes from watching how seriously the organizations take the competition and how ridiculous they look after their boats capsize in the nasty, shallow water.
  • Take Back the Night : The Women’s Alliance leads this protest against sexual violence and rape every year. The group attempts to raise awareness of campus issues by marching down the streets of DeKalb in large numbers while chanting. It is quite a sight to see.
  • William the Goose : A mourned-for murdered bird that was beloved by students and faculty alike. He made NIU’s East Lagoon his home for 15 years until he was killed by a student who was startled while meditating in 1981. A memorial still stands in his honor.
Urban Legends
  • A student once was murdered in a darkened dorm room without her roommate noticing. The killer supposedly left this message: “Aren’t you glad you didn’t turn on the lights?”
  • Otto’s Niteclub and Underground (118 E. Lincoln Highway) is home to a ghost.
  • The “Paul is Dead” rumors regarding the death of former Beatle Paul McCartney originated in DeKalb.
  • The Red Hot Chili Peppers once partied in a small apartment on Lucinda Avenue with several students after a show in DeKalb.

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How do we get our information? Find out here or report an error here. The statistics on our site are from the National Center for Education Statistics IPEDS database.
We update this information twice annually, most recently in May 2012, but it may not be the most recent information available for a particular school.
For additional information we encourage you to visit school websites or contact the schools directly.