Northwestern University
Reviews

I'm Glad I'm at Medill

The Medill School of Journalism is one of the best in the country, and I would definitely do it all over again. Although I don't plan on being a reporter, I know my background in Medill gives me a leg up on Communications majors and I still get to take tons of marketing related classes, with an internship my senior year in marketing. Although the field I'm going into isn't great employment-wise right now, being at Medill will definitely help.

Get from a to B

The transportation is avaiblable - shuttles around campus, to and from Chicago, etc - but it isn't always entirely reliable.

Food Capital of Northern Chicago

There is a huge presence and variety of restaurants in Evanston - it's often called the food capital of northern Chicago or something along those lines. Lots of delicious places to eat. Also some great sandwich places - Panera, Subway, Cosi; cafes - Starbucks, Unicorn Cafe, Kafein; restaurants of all types, ice cream/froyo, etc.

Food Capital of Northern Chicago

There is a huge presence and variety of restaurants in Evanston - it's often called the "food capital of northern Chicago" or something along those lines. Lots of delicious places to eat. Also, there is a CVS very close to south campus for any other needs, and shopping places like Crossroads where you can get cheap, trendy clothing (or winter accessories, etc). In addition, for more exciting endeavors, Chicago is just a train ride away. Overall, Evanston is a wonderful town and anything you might need is readily accessible.

Greek and Chicago

The social life and party scene is run by the greek system predominately. There are options outside of greek, but they are much smaller with "less cool" people. The parties in general are not as much fun on average compared to other schools. There are just not enough people or interest, or as many "cool people" for the party scene to be great. However, it can be fun if you know enough people and go to the right events. Bars and clubs are only good in Chicago, but they're great there with better people funneling from Loyola and DePaul.

I Wouldn't Worry

The security is solid enough. The school is located in a pretty nice area of Evanston. So, as long as one doesn't wonder off too much off campus alone there shouldn't be any problems.

Evanston Is No Chicago

Evanston is the city that Northwestern University is engulfed in. However, the city and the school do not really coexist. Besides a couple options for food Evanston has nothing to offer: no great bars, no great attractions, and poor shopping. So, the best thing to do is to go into Chicago often, anything I need or want to do or get can be found in Chicago.

Love the Quarter System

We have some amazing classes here, and the quarter system allows you to take advantage of them. You take fewer classes at a time, so you get to devote more attention to your classes, but by the time you graduate you have typically taken many more classes than the average semester-system school. It makes it incredibly easy to double major and/or minor and still have leftover room for a few random electives. The quarter system is well worth the oddly-timed breaks and faster-paced classes.

Cold....

It's Evanston. There's a lake right there. The cold here is not a joke, and it can snow a lot. If your classes are far from your dorm, then that really sucks.

Good Variety

I think you can pretty much find whatever type you're looking for. There's a great variety here.

Enjoyed Dorm Life Much More Than I Thought I Would

Cost is a bit high (like everything at Northwestern), but there are a bunch of options for freshman dorms, and I've definitely enjoyed dorm life. South campus is very close to downtown Evanston and humanities classes, while North campus is closer to science classes and also the better gym. Residential colleges provide a nice sense of community, although I know a lot of people perfectly happy in res halls as well.

Too Expensive

The food isn't terrible, but considering what you pay to eat it, it makes more sense to move off campus and make your own food. Sometimes I feel like you're better off being a vegetarian, because the meat can be terrifying, and should usually be avoided. Toward the middle of the year I went on the waffle diet. It was a great decision. I do like that each dining hall is slightly different. It's still exciting to go to Willard every once in a while because they have a really cool buzzer system that makes you feel fancy.

Frat Parties on Weekends and the Keg Dominate Scene

Northwestern is by no means a "party school" but finding big parties is easy on any given weekend. Most of the on-campus party life is based in the frats, but there are almost always parties thrown by theatre groups or at off-campus apartments as well. The party scene may seem tame compared to larger state schools, and rarely gets dangerous or out of hand. In the winter, it dies down a bit, because nobody wants to go out in the freezing weather. People go out to bars (particularly The Keg) on Monday and Saturday nights, and almost everyone is underage. The shuttle system is convenient for getting to downtown Evanston or up to the frats. Northwestern nightlife definitely exists on the weekends, and it's enough for many people, but is not anything special.

Inside Scoop

I came to Northwestern because it has a perfect balance of everything I wanted in a school. Great location (Evanston is a great city and Chicago is 15 min away), amazing academics (especially for journalism), awesome athletics, and manageable size. They also gave me the best FA offer of any school, which was huge for me. I know Northwestern is going to put me in the best spot to achieve in the future and I am going to have an amazing four years in the process. Isn't that what it's all about?

Athletics

We are in the Big Ten, which is awesome for a school of Northwestern's academic caliber. However, you are never going to mistake us for a Michigan or Ohio State. We aren't big enough to fill a 100,000 person football stadium, nor have we been good enough.

That said, football and men's basketball always draws big crowds for big games and NU football has been on the cusp of national ranking for a few years. Our women's lacrosse team is legit too.

NU athletics are great and if you are huge sports fan like me you will still love it here, but because of our size and academic level, sports aren't as big here as other Big Ten schools

The Only Thing Wrong

The food at Northwestern is, for the most part, very tasty. There are many different dining halls scattered all around campus, each one has excellent things about it and not-so excellent things. There is a salad and soup bar at each one. There is a pretty good variety of options at all of the as well. The only thing wrong is that on the weekends they only keep two of the dining halls open, so it tends to be longer lines and farther walks.

Love

the people here are so diverse and its a very college town with tons of stuff to do.

Stingy, but Will Give Financial Aid to Those Who Really Need It!

I have to say that Northwestern's cutoff points for financial aid are pretty harsh. It doesn't work out so well for people who may have a pretty steady source of household income but need some financial aid to cover the rest (i.e. upper middle class)... however, the university definitely works to make sure those who really, really need financial aid WILL get it. It sucks for students who are kinda stuck in the middle, but you do have to give the university props for giving the financial aid to those who really need it.

Evanston Rocks!

There is ALWAYS a new place to try, and Evanston is known as the food hub of the North shore so it definitely doesn't get better than that!

Some Available, but Bring Your Own

Everywhere on campus has WiFi, even outside, so anywhere you bring your own computer you will have access to anything you need. There are some computers for use in labs around campus, but they tend to be on the slow side and are far enough to make it inconvenient.

Great Accessibilty

Great system with NUIT. People are both knowledgable and clear in articulation. Makes you actually want to give a good survey (offered after every phone call).

Inclusive Community

Northwestern has such a sense of community. Right from the first day you feel welcome and included. It's not hard to find a niche, a club, or a group of friends that are perfect for you as long as you put in the effort to find it. Also, no one isolates themselves in there niches. It is totally possible to have friends outside your major, sorority, dorm, or club. The entire campus is extremely friendly and no one is defined by what they do or who they know. It's one of my favorite parts about NU.

Community of Tolerance

People are generally very accepting of different beliefs or lifestyles. Most kids are liberal and there is a pressure to conform to progressive ideas about all topics. For instance, the scandal in 2011 when a teacher decided to exhibit a live sexual demonstration in the Human Sexuality Course, the majority of students were vehemently defensive of the professor's right to do so. Being a dissenter in that case, as I was, was to be labeled a believer in censorship.

Engineering at Northwestern

Overall, I think the engineering faculty and curriculum at Northwestern is excellent. Every freshman in the engineering program is required to take a course called Engineering Design and Communication. It allows freshman to work in teams and develop an actual product prototype for a client. As a part of the class, I learned about how a product is developed, how to communicate effectively with a client, and how to contribute to the success of a team. I think this class provides freshmen with relevant experience that will prepare them for work in the engineering field.

Walking Is Good

Luckily, the dorms and most housing are located fairly close to the campus. However, during winter, Northwestern sets up a shuttle service that will take you to school, which is a nice gesture on their part.