Northern Illinois University Reviews

Northern is a great...

Northern is a great school—depending on what you're looking for. The Business school is absolutely phenomenal, and is easily in the best building on campus. The social life is great, as long as you're okay with the small town feel.

I really have no point of...

I really have no point of comparison, but I feel that I would have been happier at another college. I don’t like my classes, and DeKalb is such a ghost town sometimes. It’s not an awful place, but it’s hard to be truly happy here.

I love my frat. I’ve made a...

I love my frat. I’ve made a bunch of lifelong friends here. It’s a big commitment in money and time, but it’s worth it if you want to meet new people and always have someone watching your back.

If you don’t know anyone, I...

If you don’t know anyone, I think it’s a good way to get involved. These people aren’t the stereotypes that everybody tends to spread around just because they don’t get it.

Greek life is awesome. It...

Greek life is awesome. It doesn’t dominate the social scene here at NIU like it does on other campuses. I would advise people to check out the Greek system and find out if there is a fraternity or sorority that matches their style, and to not prejudge Greek life based on what is portrayed by TV or movies.

Let me make this clear: Avoid...

Let me make this clear: Avoid Grant at all costs! Grant is the most run-down, cramped dorm on campus. If you can, try to get into Lincoln or Douglas as a freshman. There are floors and wings dedicated to specific colleges, international students, and students in the honors program. You get more room to move around and more closet space, but it’s at the expense of sleeping on bunk beds. For upperclassmen, Stevenson is a great place to live, although it’s so far away from everything that you’re reliant on the buses.

There aren’t dance clubs...

There aren’t dance clubs around here really, and that’s a drag. Not that I would dance with many of the people you see at some of these places.

I think they obviously need to be...

I think they obviously need to be stricter if you look at what happened with the school shooting. I don’t think they were prepared for students to be targets, and it should have been a given considering what’s going on in America today.

My dorm floor was like the...

My dorm floor was like the freaking United Nations, with all the ethnicities represented.

The weather is so extreme....

The weather is so extreme. It’s either too cold or too warm. It’s never just right or normal. My allergies are awful sometimes.

I have such a love-hate...

I have such a love-hate relationship with this place. There are days when I am so happy to be here, and then there are days when I regret ever stepping foot here.

Northern has qualities like no...

Northern has qualities like no other school has. I don’t think I would go anywhere else (except Bradley), but I have liked my stay over the past year and a week.

I am really happy with where I am....

I am really happy with where I am. I am an hour from home, so I can work my part-time job and keep the good pay. I am far enough away to live my own life. I love the people, mainly the people in education. We share the same passion and hope for our future, which makes us click. I love it here. It fits me.

I came from the University of...

I came from the University of Michigan, and I was pretty pleased that unlike that school, NIU didn’t have 80 percent of my classes taught by grad students from countries yet undiscovered by the modern world. There are definitely fewer options when it comes to extracurricular activities or social life, but if you put effort into it you can really get a lot out of the school.

Overall, I have had a positive...

Overall, I have had a positive experience at Northern. I feel it is an excellent academic institution that offers many great opportunities to succeed.

I’ve had my share of fun,...

I’ve had my share of fun, but at times it can get boring here, especially when people go home on the weekend.

I could sit and gripe about 800...

I could sit and gripe about 800 things about this place, but you know what? I’ve had a pretty positive experience here despite all the crap. I feel prepared for what’s next, and I had fun along the way.

NIU is great. I’m perfectly...

NIU is great. I’m perfectly happy here. I wish I lived where it was warmer year round. I have graduated, and I am in the real world now, and I would do anything to go back to college. The lifestyle is so great, and it is definitely what I miss the most. I really miss being able to go out randomly on a Wednesday night, if I choose to. Also, all the people around, and randomly meeting a next-door neighbor for the first time and just hanging out all night with them. Those were great.

Best decision I ever made....

Best decision I ever made. I’ve made the best friends here and have actually learned something along the way. I am proud to have gone here and will miss it desperately.

When you are a freshman, going to...

When you are a freshman, going to frat parties is awesome. But after that, if you don’t join a frat or sorority people usually prefer to go to house parties or bars.

Greeks are definitely a pretty...

Greeks are definitely a pretty huge scene on campus. Greek Row is a popular hangout spot, there’s a lot of Greek events like Tugs, and a lot of University drama revolves around Greeks doing something stupid (such as getting into fights) or something stupid being done to Greeks (such as alcohol moratoriums in response to two non-NIU students fighting on Greek property). My friends seemed to enjoy the system, but I’d advise people to look into each fraternity and see whether or not it offers them what they’re looking for.

Maybe I have my head in the...

Maybe I have my head in the clouds, but there isn’t much of a drug scene at Northern. Sure, students smoke grass and drink a lot, but beyond that there isn’t a lot of hard drug use.

Pot is everywhere. Other kinds of...

Pot is everywhere. Other kinds of drugs aren’t hard to find either.

I don’t see a difference in...

I don’t see a difference in the drug scene from high school to this campus.

Weed was pretty prevalent at...

Weed was pretty prevalent at parties, and it wasn’t unusual to get a whiff of the stuff walking around campus on occasion, particularly in the dorms. Mushrooms apparently aren’t that hard to get either.