User Profile
am2729
Northwestern University '11
Majoring in Psychology
Member since 8/10/2009
B+
different than the hype
This is a weird school in that people have a lot of assumptions about it. People range from geeky to blandly average to really attractive, and though complaints about guys abound, attractive guys DO exist in places a majority of girls aren't thinking to look. A lot of freshman and sophomores seem to feel that everyone either doesn't date, or is in long distance relationships like they are. That ends around sophomore winter break and once people grow up the scene changes significantly, and people want the consistency of (probably serious) relationships. Yes, hookup culture will always be popular, especially in the Greek system - but being smart actually doesn't guarantee ugliness or awkwardness, and most people I know have found no shortage of interested people.
Apr 13, 2011
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A-
I'm surprised people are surprised
ok, yeah, NU has lots of white people, but I can safely say I've interacted with a sizable number of people from different ethnicities, races, economic statuses, and sexualities. I live with a few girls representing 4 races among us, though I never considered that until I wrote this. I think the 'cliques' of minority groups are just people who want to hang out with similar others, but for a lot of people, sharing a minority status isn't really a priority and other group memberships (ie greek life, friends, teams) are stronger. NU doesn't seem to have a policy to selectively admit for the sake of appearing diverse, though, and some schools are doing it on purpose, so there's that.
Apr 13, 2011
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C
Sucks on AND off campus
NU is pretty awful for strictness, and a lot of it has to do with Evanston's district of resident whiners who don't think they should tolerate student lifestyle to exist in their neighborhood. Enforcement itself is spotty: on campus, frat basement busts ranged from nonexistent to weekly; off campus, I rarely see cops from welcome week to dillo day. Don't be loud, and you likely won't get caught, but the fear (and over-occupancy eviction threats Evanston likes to issue) seems to keep true raging parties to a minimum.
Apr 13, 2011
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C
not great. not even good
Evanston is not a shining example of a safe town, despite the amount of self-righteous people who inhabit it as full time residents. My street has had a number of robberies this year, and assaults happen. It is sort of unwise to walk alone here, especially if you are a girl. The fact that most off-campus students are limited to pretty faraway housing and often enter their places through dim alleys really doesn't help, but most people know this when they move next to Chicago. People travel in packs. To be fair, our health services are actually pretty good.
Apr 13, 2011
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A
really good
I've yet to meet someone without a netbook or a laptop, so I can't really vouch for the actual quality of computers because honestly most people really need to have their own here (and they usually do). It's just part of the student culture. If you ever need something specialized though, it's easy to get it at the library. NU owns subscriptions to every research database I've ever needed. Wireless is EVERYWHERE now, and it's usually really good and functional, very few calls to IT.
Apr 13, 2011
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