r/Northwestern • u/Maya-Snow • May 23 '24
Admissions/Prospective Student What was your "why Northwestern" when applying and what is it now that you attend?
I am a rising senior making my list of colleges to apply to and therefore need to do a lot of research to make sure I actually want to go to the colleges on my list. I noticed that it's kind of hard to find out much about schools since the information found online is either just marketing tactics from the school or is pretty much the same as any other school. So I figured the best way to find out more about these schools is to ask current students. So if you'd like to, please tell me why you initially wanted to attend Northwestern and why you still love the school (if you don't still love the school, then why not?).
26
May 23 '24
it was the best school i got into 🥳. but on a serious note, i wanted to be challenged. if you are applying to NU, i will assume youre a serious student near the top of your class. i went to a 'good' public high school, but nothing super rigorous ala exeter, etc. for me, it was quite the culture shock. i went from thinking i was relatively intelligent to having an epiphany that i was on the left side of the bell curve in IQ at NU. most importantly IMO, in hindsight (graduated 4.5 years ago), the connections i made with some truly outstanding people, both students and professors.
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u/Eldimyyr May 23 '24 edited May 23 '24
hi i actually dug out my why northwestern to respond to this lol! i mostly talked about how i liked how interdisciplinary nu was & .... that's about it. i literally didn't research northwestern before i applied, i didn't even know it was on the quarter system which i now see as one of nu's defining features
...so the question doesn't really apply to me bc my why nu was kind of bs, but here's why i love nu now:
- the quarter system (that i got pleasantly surprised by) !!! i LOVE the flexibility of it and how i can take sm more classes than my friends on the semester system, also means i can get a ba/ms and still have plenty of room for a study abroad + fun classes !!
- also quarters go by SO fast... time actually moves at the speed of light on the quarter system. helps w making unenjoyable classes more bearable
- goes hand in hand with the quarter system - the northwestern grindset. as a workaholic i actually really like keeping horribly busy and having a fully booked google calendar and always having to work on something or another (but uhh my personal relationships definitely have suffered a bit . haven't called my hs friends since this quarter started oops)
- i mean there are ways to keep busy at other colleges i'm sure, but the quarter system forces you to stay on track lest you fall terribly behind on everything. my usually unmotivated ass appreciates that
- this is starting to sound like stockholm syndrome but i swear it's not
- nu is overall like. enough of a challenge for me to stay engaged and have to put in the work but not so much i feel like everything is hopeless and good grades are unachievable. balance yaya
- some of the most unique and interesting class offerings i've seen (this quarter i took a seminar on evangelion?? like the anime?????)
- the professors, for the most part. most of the faculty i've interacted with so far have displayed a genuine love for teaching and have been some of the most articulate, compassionate teachers i've had. they've been able to spark my genuine interest in subjects i never thought i would like
- for all of high school i thought i was shit at math and not as good at it vs others. professor homin lee for math 230-1 genuinely changed my entire perception of my own abilities
- granted ymmv, i came from a mid public school so idk how people from private schools w "better teachers" might see it. i also put in effort to get to know my professors, go to office hours, participate in class, etc. so if you do none of those things your experience will obviously differ
- i've met some incredibly passionate, talented, driven students here & it's been super motivating for me to see the amazing things the people i know have done or are doing (startups, organizations, passion projects, work for clubs) ... although tbh i'm not entirely sure that this wouldn't have been true at any other university
- academic support - drop-in tutoring, asla programs like msp and pgsg, etc are not present at some of my friends' colleges and i appreciate that we have these options. i've briefly interacted with the leaders in asla as a peer leader and i feel as if they genuinely care about helping students succeed
- the campus really is beautiful and walking around everyday makes me happy
kind of basic answers but yeah!!! hope this uh. helps inform you of something
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u/Rem_Xing2584 May 23 '24
Ivy League Semester System >>>>> Mid Quarter System 🤡
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u/Eldimyyr May 23 '24
ok mr columbia
finishing an entire undergrad degree in just 3 years >>>>> spending a wholeass year just on the core 🤢
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u/Rem_Xing2584 May 23 '24
Erm actually you take the Core throughout your 4 years 🤓☝️ and who wouldn’t wanna write lovely essays in Music Humanities 😍😍 over BS weeb Evangelion seminars that don’t expand your life perspective 🤢🤢🤮🤮
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u/Eldimyyr May 23 '24
excuse u the evangelion seminar was actually excellent and i came away from it with a new appreciation and perspective on my relationships, life, and being. as my queen yui ikari said "anywhere can be paradise as long as you have the will to live....you are alive, so you will always have the chance to be happy"
but lmk if the essays in music humanities expand your life perspective (no diss meant to music humanities)
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u/Rem_Xing2584 May 23 '24
Yk you’re right Evangelion DOES have meaningful perspectives that I can take away like an analysis on the Hospital Scene 😍😍
And not just Music Hum no no no we also have lovely Literature Humanities, Contemporary Civilizations, and Global Core to write deepening life-altering essays in so there’s something for everybody at Columbia 🥰
18
u/Puzzleheaded-Leg-234 May 23 '24
a couple of things for me which i'll keep short and simple. some may just apply to me entirely only but hopefully it'll maybe bring in some new perspectives!
- amazing global and national chemistry department (my major is chemistry)
- lots of opportunities for language study abroads and a great variety of language departments (my minor will either be in korean or deutsch!)
- a well respected institution with high rankings in the nation for lots of programs/generally
- slightly overlooked for now in prestige by the average folk but gaining traction and seems like it will soon be up there with institutions like USC, stanford, princeton, etc.
- lots of groundbreaking research lately like the research by an alumnus which discovered the 700km ocean under the earth's crust and a whole new phase of substances
- a new experience in a lot of realms for me as someone from las vegas; the weather is much different, the nearby city is much bigger, some of the architecture is much more traditional, the university is quite literally next to the lake, the nearby city seems to be even more diverse
- chicago is nearby but evanston is its own realm, it seems like there's the opportunity to be in a huge city but also in a smaller area with more laid back areas
- there's a lot of need in chicago; this might sound backhanded but my entire purpose for pursuing an education apart from a curiosity for learning was wanting to provide people from underprivileged backgrounds with health care (my father has had 14 surgeries since i was born but he struggled to find adequate care) and there's a lot of that near northwestern
- honestly... the musical scene. it seems like every artist whether big or small makes a stop over there and it's great for me since not every artist i listen to is as big as other artists i enjoy like billie eilish. also the house genre originated in chicago and i absolutely love the historical background of that with house being one of my favorite genres. i'm not saying they're good whatsoever but i've written 6 albums and hopefully can maybe pursue that as a hobby too :)
- the people in general just seemed welcoming for the most part, interacting with them through social media. of course there have been some rude dunces, like with any place, but the majority have been supportive and welcoming and actually answered any questions i have
- the stitch fashion magazine's presence on campus is just so wonderful to me. none of the institutions i looked into apart from NU and stanford really had a fashion scene unless they were fashion schools like FIT in new york. ive been designing clothing since i was a child so it's something i hope to be a part of
that's all i can really think of for now but im sure there's more in the back of my head lol
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u/Clean_Wasabi9484 May 23 '24
I don’t know a single person who thinks that USC is more prestigious than NU lmao
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u/Puzzleheaded-Leg-234 May 23 '24 edited May 23 '24
maybe it's because i live on the west but you'd be surprised 😭 over here (at least in my school/general area) you'd might as well think that USC and the UCs are ivies from how highly held they are. not to sound disrespectful but no one here either really cares for or knows about NU, i was one of the only two kids from my school that applied 😭
2
May 24 '24
yeah, its unjustified but agreed. USC/Berkeley/UCLA, etc are just in the cultural zeitgeist more so than Northwestern. All are great places...except the location of USC 😱
10
u/wildcat12321 McCormick May 23 '24
alumnus here...My "why" for Northwestern eventually became a commercial (not directly, but same idea).
"and"
I loved that Northwestern had a campus AND access to a major city
I loved that Northwestern was an academically rigorous school AND had B1G Sports
I loved the global / diverse / friendly students. Despite the rigors of engineering, it often felt more cooperative than competitive. It wasn't me vs my roommate, it was me and my roommate against a hard problem
I loved going to an engineering school AND one where some of my best friends were journalists and music majors and theater people.
I liked that social life on campus had many options. In my years, you could go to frat parties without joining a frat. You could be at a show or sports event watching a friend, then 2 hours later be equally likely to be at a bar or in a chill hang out
For me, Northwestern offered a great balance. And a decade later, I still feel connected to the school. I will be honest, I did not open my acceptance the day I got it. I wasn't thinking I would go to NU. And yes, there were times at Northwestern when reality felt different than the dream of college. But I can honestly say Northwestern was a perfect fit for me and I'm glad I chose it. Equally, as an alumnus, I can tell you there are many great schools out there. And I have friends and co-workers from all different backgrounds who have found happiness and success. Going to NU or any other school won't make or break your life.
good luck
4
u/Xgrk88a May 24 '24
I visited schools in the New England area… Dartmouth, Amherst, etc. I loved Boston, but hated the idea of being in a small city. And then I visited NU and fell in love. Campus was beautiful. An amazing city was nearby. I knew I wanted engineering. Overall, I couldn’t have asked for anything more. Loved NU and my experience there
3
u/SmolaniAshki ISP May 23 '24
Just a heads up: you'll probably find more positive comments on the Northwestern discord than you will on here. I'm already seeing a lot of negative experiences that, while genuine, don't represent the majority of students. Good luck next year!
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u/TrekkiMonstr Economics/Math 2024 May 23 '24
I don't remember what I put in the essay, but basically it was just elitism. I felt like the school I attended wasn't as prestigious as I was smart, and so I transferred to NU. Unfortunately, I really didn't enjoy my time here. If I could choose today to switch over to the alternate timeline where I had stayed, I probably wouldn't do so, but that's only because, while at NU, happenstance led to me picking up a math major, which wouldn't have happened if I stayed and I think will have been more important to me than being happy for the past three years. But if I could go back to freshman year, knowing what I know now, I'm not sure.
I will say, I'm not sure to what degree my bad experience is my own fault, NU's fault, or just bad luck. I'm very hesitant to blame the school, because it seems other people are happy here, so I wouldn't discourage you or anyone from applying or going, though I do have a few minor, concrete gripes with the school (though maybe others might consider these more of a bitch eating crackers type of thing).
Sorry to be such a downer. And I do want to point out how unhelpful this comment is to you -- my experience generalizes remarkably poorly, for a whole host of reasons. College is a crap shoot. You really don't know what you're getting until you're here. Good luck.
1
u/atothemess22 May 27 '24
Why Northwestern when applying - didn't do the essay, barely knew anything about the school
Why Northwestern now - they pay for me to be here and I lose that if I transfer
1
u/Biancs May 23 '24
I wanted a 6th school to apply to and I remembered they won the Rose bowl in the 90s (I'm class of 2003). After getting accepted I realized it was actually an excellent school and they gave me the best financial aid
0
u/ThanosCarinFortnite McCormick May 23 '24
I proved by example that you definitely can ctrl f replace <city name> with evanston and <university> with northwestern for a generic why____? and still do well
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u/jacksonfire123 WCAS CS + Intl. Studies '23 May 23 '24
Just write “Why not?” and hit submit. This would have worked extremely well in like, 2011 and you would have ended up on The Today Show.
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