Northwestern University

Northwestern University, my alma mater, is a Big Ten school (a collegiate athletic conference in the Midwest) that also has a strong academic culture. Since I attended this university, I can describe its lesser-known strengths and weaknesses in detail. This post will be longer than my usual ones.

I was born in Glenview, right next to Evanston, where Northwestern University is located. From a young age, I thought of Northwestern as the school where the smartest older students went, and I always had a strong admiration for it. Looking back at my childhood photo albums, I noticed that I wore a lot of clothing with the Northwestern logo, even as a kid.

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Excluding UPenn, Northwestern has a much more pre-professional atmosphere than the nearby University of Chicago or the Ivy League schools. Many students aim for medical school, dental school, law school, or business school, or they aspire to work in finance. The campus is located in Evanston, a relatively small city, giving it more of a suburban university feel. The campus stretches along Lake Michigan, making it beautiful in the spring and fall, but the winters are brutally cold and long.

The temperatures are already low, and the proximity to the lake results in strong winds, so it’s common to find ice forming inside your nostrils during winter (this is not an exaggeration). The snowfall is also quite heavy.

This is a typical winter at Northwestern

One of Northwestern’s longstanding traditions is the “primal scream”, which happens at 9 PM on the Sunday night before finals week. At this time, students scream at the top of their lungs from wherever they are to relieve stress. The entire campus echoes with their voices.

This tradition represents Northwestern students well—they work hard but also know how to laugh at their situation and not take things too seriously.

Like the University of Chicago, Northwestern follows a quarter system, which means a heavy workload with constant assignments and studying. (It might have felt even harder for me personally.) However, despite the demanding academics, the overall atmosphere is not overly stressful.

The most iconic landmark of the school is its Arch, which serves as the university’s main entrance.

Starting from the third week of the quarter, midterms (which are major exams) or mid-term papers (for humanities students) start rolling in, and they continue until finals. When students meet up, they often joke about who is struggling the most, which helps lighten the mood.

Northwestern is regarded as one of the most elite schools in the Midwest, along with the University of Chicago. The campus architecture is a mix of old, classic buildings and modern structures, all lined up along Lake Michigan.

​ The campus is shaped like a long rectangle, and while I haven’t visited many other universities, I remember thinking that it was smaller than I expected. The left side of the red line on the campus map consists mostly of dorms, while the right side contains academic buildings.

There is a noticeable difference between the north and south ends of campus. The north side is where students in STEM and business-related fields take classes. The Technological Institute (commonly called “Tech”) is the largest building at Northwestern, and it serves as the hub for engineering and science students.

Technological Institute and University Hall

​ The south side is home to humanities, journalism, and arts students, with smaller buildings compared to the north side.

If you go further north, you’ll find Ryan Field and Welsh-Ryan Arena, where athletic events are held.

Northwestern students have a tradition of shaking their keys at the start of football games.

The north side of campus has a more social and athletic atmosphere, with students actively participating in parties and sports events (especially within fraternities and sororities). ​ The south side students tend to go out to Evanston or Chicago for entertainment, and they lean more toward arts and culture. On warm days, students can be seen engaging in outdoor activities. You’ll find people playing volleyball on the sand near the lake (which feels like a beach), biking, or just reading on the grass.

Lake Michigan

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About half of the students at Northwestern belong to Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences (humanities and sciences). ​ The other half are enrolled in:

McCormick School of Engineering & Applied Sciences School of Education & Social Policy Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications Bienen School of Music School of Communication

In addition to undergraduate programs, Northwestern has law, business, and medical schools, as well as graduate programs.

Students feel a strong affiliation with their respective schools rather than with Northwestern as a whole. Medill, for example, is considered one of the top journalism programs in the country, and Medill students take great pride in their school. ​ Northwestern has several unique interdisciplinary programs like ISP (Integrated Science Program), MMSS (Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences), and HPME (Honors Program in Medical Education)

Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University

HPME is a combined medical program with a highly selective admission process. Accepted students spend three years in undergrad and then automatically transition to Feinberg School of Medicine, which is located in downtown Chicago, not Evanston. ​ On campus, there are also filming studios for journalism students and Radio/Television/Film students, numerous video editing rooms, and an equipment cage that provides everything needed for film production. As a side note, when the RED camera, which is widely used in filmmaking today, was first released, Northwestern University was the first among universities to own two units while I was attending. This highlights how much the school prioritizes multimedia resources.

The radio programs run by Northwestern University students are known as the best among student programs across the United States.

Similar to Johns Hopkins University, students in the music school can participate in a five-year Dual Degree program, allowing them to major in both music and another field.

The School of Education and Social Policy is dedicated to students studying education and social policy. Except for Vanderbilt University, which offers education studies, Northwestern is the only school where students can study policy and education together.

Each school has a set of mandatory courses known as distribution requirements, and their objectives are generally similar. All Northwestern students must take courses in science, mathematics and technology, individual and social behavior, history, ethics, humanities, and the arts.

Unlike other schools that operate on a quarter system, Northwestern students typically take four courses per semester. (Most quarter-system schools require students to take three courses per term.) Engineering students have the option to take up to five courses, and non-engineering students can also take five courses with special permission. I personally took five courses in several semesters.

Taking four courses in a short semester can feel overwhelming for students coming from high school, especially since Northwestern does not use a credit system but instead counts courses directly. For this reason, I wouldn’t recommend first-year students to take multiple difficult courses in their first semester unless they are highly capable. I advise freshmen to first establish their own schedules and routines, get used to the school’s academic pace, and then gradually take on more challenging courses.

Almost all undergraduate courses are taught by full-time faculty members. While introductory courses, especially in STEM fields, tend to have large class sizes, 79% of courses have fewer than 20 students.

One-third of students participate in a study abroad program in one of 50 countries.

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For many Asian American and international students, the University Library serves as both a study space and a social hub.

University Library

Since many Asian students major in engineering, MMSS, or other rigorous programs, they spend long hours in the library. Some practically live there. ​

Northwestern University Library "Core"

The “Core” section of the library, in particular, is a popular spot for Asian students. During finals season, the library operates 24/7, and it becomes a second home for many. Late at night, students would sometimes blast music and dance in the middle of the Core.

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Most graduates go into business-related fields, with many entering finance or consulting. Other common career paths include education, technology, and communications.

The student body consists of 17% Asian Americans, 6% Black, 13% Hispanic, and 5% multiracial students. Northwestern also provides need-based financial aid for U.S. citizens and offers athletic scholarships.

Elder Hall. 리모델링 되어서 제가 다닐 때와는 많이 다르네요.

​ 52% of students live in on-campus dorms or apartments. Freshmen should consider living in freshman-only dorms, as upperclassmen already have established friend groups. I stayed in Elder Hall, and the friends I made there remained close throughout college.

Many Korean international students move off-campus into small apartments or large complexes like Park Evanston and Evanston Place. Those who stay on campus often live in Foster-Walker Complex (“Plex”).

(왼쪽부터) Park Evanston, Evanston Place, Foster-Walker Complex

Students in Greek life live in fraternity or sorority houses. 32% of men and 40% of women participate in Greek life, which plays a major role in campus social events.

Campus Events

Evanston에 있는 한국 사장님이 운영하시는 일식당 Kansaku. 밤이 되면 한국식 주점으로 변신(?)했습니다.

Dance Marathon is a charity event where students dance for 30 hours to raise money.

Dance Marathon

Dillo Day is a major music festival, featuring artists like Kendrick Lamar, Steve Aoki, and Nelly.

Dillo Day

The Rock is a campus tradition where students guard and repaint a large rock for promotional purposes.

Various student groups paint the rock in their own style to promote their events or causes, and then hand out flyers to students on their way to class. To earn the “right” to paint the rock, they must “guard” it for 24 hours before painting it at night. To do this, students even set up tents and camp in front of the rock, even in the cold winter, to protect it.

There was even a rumor that cameras were installed to ensure this tradition was upheld, though I’m not sure if it was true. When I was in school, there was an incident where students painted the rock without staying overnight to guard it, and it actually became a pretty big issue.

Similarly, along the shore of Lake Michigan, students leave their mark on rocks before graduating.

At Northwestern University, very few students own cars. The campus itself is small, and parking spaces are quite difficult to secure, so most students get around by walking or riding bicycles. However, just south of the school is Evanston, where students can visit restaurants, bars, and other spots outside of campus. Chicago is also relatively close, about a 20–30 minute drive away.

On the way from campus into Evanston, there is a Burger King that is notably open 24 hours—a rarity in the area. When I was a student, it became a popular spot for students who had been drinking on weekends, especially when bars closed. As a result, it often had long lines, almost like a nightclub, with security guards stationed outside to maintain order. The scene—students lined up late at night with security at the entrance—looked so much like a club that people jokingly called it the “BK Lounge.”

There was even a widely circulated rumor among students that this particular Burger King in Evanston had the highest sales of any Burger King in the entire U.S. While I’m not sure if that was actually true, it was definitely a well-known story on campus.

1740 Orrington, 버거킹

​ Northwestern is a unique university. It has Ivy League-level academics but also the athletic culture of a Big Ten school. In that sense, it is similar to Duke, Stanford, or Vanderbilt.

As an alumnus, I strongly recommend Northwestern. ​

​ Acceptance Rate: 8.5%

SAT Math Scores 25th percentile - 730 SAT Math Scores 75th percentile - 790

SAT English Scores 25th percentile - 700 SAT English Scores 75th percentile - 760