Northwestern University
Picking a college is like picking a home for yourself. You have to fit its budget and it has to fit yours. There is always a possibility to transfer, but it is harder than it seems. All the guides and college tours aside the best feedback is to talk to the friends, students and the residents living around the campus. Yet, most of the time we are not lucky enough to find people who are close enough to be frank about their experiences.
I had a great time at Northwestern because I already had close friends attending the school there. I jumped right into a great comfort zone. Despite its academic excellence, I wish someone warned me about these few points on NU before I made the happiest transfer of my life from Carnegie Mellon University. Here are my takes on my college as an international undergrad:
- Beware of the quarter system. It means you will have three shortened semesters per year with equally intense schedules. 3x the huge stress of having finals. 3x the stress of getting into the classes you want with the recommended professors. School will start in September. You will say farewell to all your semester friends at the end of August as they will start the school year earlier. The summer will be over, but you will have another 3 weeks to kill without great weather or social life. The Christmas vacation will be tougher as you will be required to start classes right after new year’s. Your semester friends will be back home relaxing and partying until the end of January. Comes May, 90% of the college life will be done for the year, but you will wait until June to start the summer vacation.
- Northwestern has a really weak international crowd. Kellogg is better in that aspect, but the graduate life might be too mature/serious before your junior year. If you assume you will get the chance to have friends from all over the world at NU you are most likely mistaken. You might find a few Turks, French, Arabs and Indians here and there, but most of the time will be hanging out with American friends from the Midwest who have never been to Europe or Asia, let alone your country. You will be bombarded with basic introductory questions like “Where is your country located?” and “How long is the flight there?”
- Although Northwestern is full of fraternities and sororities, it is not entertaining like Brown, Syracuse or UVA. People come here for engineering and most live by it for 4 years. Do not expect a lot of weekend campus parties.
- Getting a job in the East Coast (a.k.a. New York) will be tougher at and after Northwestern as all the career fairs and recruitment will focus on Chicago and the rest of the Midwest.
- Winter time at Northwestern can be compared to the North Pole. Your eyes will want to cry but your tears will be frozen before they make it to your cheeks. The cold Michigan wind will give you migraines, but the snow will give you some of the most amazing scenery along the campus and Evanston. Scarves, gloves, hats, multiple jackets and hand warmers will be common accessories.
Going through all the above, you have to keep in mind that I haven’t been the most active or successful undergrad in school. I hang out with my friends from home most of the time, not giving much of a chance to expanding my social network. That was my mistake and I know that I would try harder if I were to go back a few years. I would have also focused only on the classes I was passionate about (that means skipping the multi-dimensional math classes) to keep the grades high and boost the GPA. Maybe then the job search in New York would have been easier. Still in all the instances when I gave it a try, I found myself struggling more in the points I listed above. I had to point them out.
Once you are aware of these 5 points, you should expect one of the most amazing campuses in the U.S. constructed right beside the Michigan Lake. I believe Northwestern needs no introduction when it comes to prestige and academics. If you have room in your schedule, take the Undergraduate Leadership Program. It will give you a completely new vision that will apply to your life post-graduation. You should also know that Evanston is a great town to be in school with luxurious off-campus residences, good restaurants, a few dive bars and a great movie theatre. If you are looking to shop or go more urban, the Old Orchard Mall and downtown Chicago are both minutes away by car or train.
Completely biased post… Sorry you were in the engineering crowd. Enough said. I transferred from Syracuse…and want to talk about the North Pole? That place was pure misery! not to mention COMPLETELY ANTISOCIAL.
Hey Annabelle, I transferred to NU from Carnegie Mellon and it was the best decision I ever made. True that Syracuse winter is great for hypothermia, but I guess we can refer to Evanston’s as an milder icebox. The reason I refer to Syracuse as a “social” campus is because I have 3 very close friends from there who kept telling me about the great times they had. I have never visited but those comments got stuck in my mind. Glad to meet someone who feels differently. NU is OK in social, but wait until you see Brown or UVA. Then you’ll understand what I am talking about.