If you can to learn, you will. The professors don't spoon-feed information - instead, they give you the tools to learn the subjects yourself. Also, just hanging out with people (students, and sometimes students hang out with professors) helps you learn; generally, the students here are smart, and so casual conversation topics sometimes teach just as much as a class lecture.
Do you enjoy the experience at your school?
Northwestern offers so much to students that it seems like too much. There's plenty of different social scenes (Greek life is a big one, but you don't have to be in a frat or sorority to be social), plenty of arts and entertainment, hundreds of student groups, opportunities for work, research and internships, volunteer groups, easy transportation, great dorm life... The professors I've had were generally really accessible, too. Again, the problem with all the NU offers is that it's hard for someone to have a job, be in a sport, be in ten extracurriculars, double major, volunteer, do research *and* have a normal social life without getting three hours of sleep and having no time to eat or relax.
A problem I've encountered is that the course listing is difficult for freshmen. Upperclassmen and declared majors get class registration priority, so freshmen and undeclared majors have slim pickings when it comes to classes. I haven't met anyone who got into all the classes they wanted to.
I'm ambivalent about the quarter system - it's nice that you only have to take four classes at a time, but when you take a class you like, it's upsetting because it's over so quickly. It's also nice that you get to go back to school in September, but on the other hand, you have to stay around until June.
It's really easy to get distracted with all of Nortwestern's small faults when you get used to all it has to offer.
Do you feel you’re getting value for the money you’re spending on college?
It's an expensive school. My financial aid was great, but I imagine that the people who pay five times as much as I do still enjoy it here. It costs a lot to go here, but there are plenty of perks, like the shuttle services that go to Chicago, shopping centers in Evanston, and across the big campus (the Evanston campus is like almost mile long), the meal plans and fairly decent dining halls (there are six dining halls, but there are a lot of retail locations like Starbucks where you can use your meal plan), the nice dorm life (rooms can be small, but the buildings are nice and generally have a lot of social events)... A lot of people rationalize the price by saying that they're paying for the Northwestern name on their diplomas, but the school would probably be worth it even if it wasn't so prestigious.
Do you have any tips for prospective students?
Push yourself if you can, but do it for the right reasons. The people who enjoy their time the most here aren't the ones who just got straight A's to get into college - they did well because they enjoy doing well. Try to be well-rounded, but maybe concentrate your interests on whatever college you're interested in (for example, those going for the theater program should participate in high school productions if possible, those in engineering should get good grades in math, etc.) Don't limit yourself because you think you can't do it all!
Which types of students will excel at your college?
'Type A' students who like people and aren't shy fit in best here, but plenty of people that I've met here are happily aloof, or they're are average students. If you're great at sports, even better because we have talented teams, but most of the people I know don't play on any teams. Really, there are too many different types of people to generalize all of them; I think most people have found their niche at NU.
If you can to learn, you will. The professors don't spoon-feed information - instead, they give you the tools to learn the subjects yourself. Also, just hanging out with people (students, and sometimes students hang out with professors) helps you learn; generally, the students here are smart, and so casual conversation topics sometimes teach just as much as a class lecture.
Northwestern offers so much to students that it seems like too much. There's plenty of different social scenes (Greek life is a big one, but you don't have to be in a frat or sorority to be social), plenty of arts and entertainment, hundreds of student groups, opportunities for work, research and internships, volunteer groups, easy transportation, great dorm life... The professors I've had were generally really accessible, too. Again, the problem with all the NU offers is that it's hard for someone to have a job, be in a sport, be in ten extracurriculars, double major, volunteer, do research *and* have a normal social life without getting three hours of sleep and having no time to eat or relax. A problem I've encountered is that the course listing is difficult for freshmen. Upperclassmen and declared majors get class registration priority, so freshmen and undeclared majors have slim pickings when it comes to classes. I haven't met anyone who got into all the classes they wanted to. I'm ambivalent about the quarter system - it's nice that you only have to take four classes at a time, but when you take a class you like, it's upsetting because it's over so quickly. It's also nice that you get to go back to school in September, but on the other hand, you have to stay around until June. It's really easy to get distracted with all of Nortwestern's small faults when you get used to all it has to offer.
It's an expensive school. My financial aid was great, but I imagine that the people who pay five times as much as I do still enjoy it here. It costs a lot to go here, but there are plenty of perks, like the shuttle services that go to Chicago, shopping centers in Evanston, and across the big campus (the Evanston campus is like almost mile long), the meal plans and fairly decent dining halls (there are six dining halls, but there are a lot of retail locations like Starbucks where you can use your meal plan), the nice dorm life (rooms can be small, but the buildings are nice and generally have a lot of social events)... A lot of people rationalize the price by saying that they're paying for the Northwestern name on their diplomas, but the school would probably be worth it even if it wasn't so prestigious.
Push yourself if you can, but do it for the right reasons. The people who enjoy their time the most here aren't the ones who just got straight A's to get into college - they did well because they enjoy doing well. Try to be well-rounded, but maybe concentrate your interests on whatever college you're interested in (for example, those going for the theater program should participate in high school productions if possible, those in engineering should get good grades in math, etc.) Don't limit yourself because you think you can't do it all!
'Type A' students who like people and aren't shy fit in best here, but plenty of people that I've met here are happily aloof, or they're are average students. If you're great at sports, even better because we have talented teams, but most of the people I know don't play on any teams. Really, there are too many different types of people to generalize all of them; I think most people have found their niche at NU.