Northwestern | Northwestern University | Best College

Quick Stats

633 Clark Street
Evanston, IL 60208: [map]

Phone: (847) 491-3741

2011-2012 Tuition

$41,983: tuition and fees

Students

8,443: enrolled

48%: male /

52%: female

Admissions

Jan. 1: application deadline

23.1%: accepted

More Information

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U.S. News Rankings

Ranking score and category

U.S. News rank	Category Name
#12	National Universities

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Summary

Northwestern University is a private institution that was founded in 1851. It has a total undergraduate enrollment of 8,443, its setting is suburban, and the campus size is 231 acres. It utilizes a quarter-based academic calendar. Northwestern University's ranking in the 2012 edition of Best Colleges is National Universities, 12. Its tuition and fees are $41,983 (2011-12).

What began as farmland and swampland in the 1850s became the Northwestern campus and the city of Evanston, Ill. Northwestern University is a Division I school in the Big Ten athletic conference. Northwestern's women's lacrosse team has won multiple NCAA national championships. The school has approximately 250 campus organizations fulfill students' varied interests. Freshmen are guaranteed on-campus housing if requested in their applications. The school's 11 residential colleges offer thematic living quarters for social and academic programming. Northwestern's main campuses are located along Lake Michigan in Evanston and Chicago. In 2008, Northwestern opened a third branch in Doha, Qatar.

Of Northwestern’s dozen schools, nine offer undergraduate programs and 10 offer graduate and professional programs. Northwestern’s highly-ranked graduate schools include the Kellogg School of Management, the School of Education and Social Policy, the School of Law, the Feinberg School of Medicine, the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, and the Interdepartmental Biological Sciences Program. Northwestern’s Medill School is known for its strong journalism graduate program. Northwestern’s Dance Marathon, created in 1975, is one of the largest student-run philanthropies in the country and has raised nearly $9 million for Chicago-area charities. Notable alumni include President Obama’s Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel; U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens; actor, writer and director Zach Braff; comedian Stephen Colbert; and Tony Award-winning actress Heather Headley.

School mission and unique qualities (as provided by the school):

Northwestern University offers unusual flexibility combined with a wide choice of academic concentrations. In addition to over seventy established majors, students can choose or design non-traditional combinations. A broad range of field experiences, internships, and programs combining work and study are part of the education for a large percentage of the students. Because Chicago is only thirty minutes away, students have the cultural advantage of the music, theatre, museums, sports, and entertainment of a world-class city to enrich their undergraduate experience.

General Information

School type	private, coed college
Year founded	1851
Religious affiliation	N/A
Academic calendar	quarter
Setting	suburban
2010 Endowment	$4,726,940,000

Applying

When applying to Northwestern University, it's important to note the application deadline is January 1, and the early decision deadline is November 1. Scores for either the ACT or SAT test are due January 15. The application fee at Northwestern University is $65. It is most selective, with an acceptance rate of 23.1 percent.

For more information about the tests, essays, interviews, and admissions process, visit the Applying to College knowledge center.

Selectivity	most selective
Fall 2010 acceptance rate	23%
Application deadline	January 1
SAT/ACT scores must be received by	January 15

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Academic Life

The student-faculty ratio at Northwestern University is 7:1, and the school has 75.0 percent of its classes with fewer than 20 students. The average freshman retention rate, an indicator of student satisfaction, is 96.5 percent.

Class sizes

Student-faculty ratio

7:1

4-year graduation rate

86% - High

Five most popular majors for 2010 graduates

Information not available

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Student Life

Northwestern University has a total undergraduate enrollment of 8,443, with a gender distribution of 47.8 percent male students and 52.2 percent female students. Northwestern University is part of the NCAA I athletic conference.

See what students are saying about life at Northwestern University.

Total enrollment	19,389
Student gender distribution

Undergraduate men who are members of a fraternity	N/A
Undergraduate women who are members of a sorority	N/A
Collegiate athletic association	NCAA I

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Campus Info & Services

Northwestern University offers a number of student services including nonremedial tutoring, women's center, placement service, health service, and health insurance. Northwestern University also offers campus safety and security services like 24-hour foot and vehicle patrols, late night transport/escort service, 24-hour emergency telephones, lighted pathways/sidewalks, student patrols, and controlled dormitory access (key, security card, etc). Alcohol is permitted for students of legal age at Northwestern University.

Students who have cars on campus	N/A
Health insurance offered	Yes
Students required to own/lease a computer	No

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Paying for School

At Northwestern University, 46.2 percent of full-time undergraduates receive some kind of need-based financial aid and the average need-based scholarship or grant award is $28,910.

Paying for college doesn't have to be difficult or devastating. Go to the Paying for College knowledge center to get advice on raising cash and reducing costs.

Tuition and fees	$41,983 (2011-12)
Room and board	$12,780 (2011-12) - High
Financial aid statistics

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Student Reviews Ratings data provided by Unigo

One of Northwestern's very best features, apart from its outstanding academics, is its campus and location. The campus is large, spacious, and perfectly groomed in the spring and summer (but watch out for the atrocious winters!), and the administration has even filled in a mile-long stretch of Lake Michigan and created "The Lakefill," an island park of sorts complete with soccer fields, walking trails, and incredible views of downtown Chicago across the lake. Additionally, the rest of Evanston is a boon for students. Filled with an astoundingly varied set of restaurants and bars, Evanston offers the perfect tool for college students, and the 30 minute El ride to downtown Chicago provides a great buffer against distraction. Unfortunately, Evanston is one of those college towns that pretends it is not; while it is not readily apparent in day-to-day life, the City of Evanston and Northwestern University's administration fight constantly over taxes, student jaywalking, and other typical college town transgressions that they would be better off merely accepting. An interesting thing about Northwestern is that the diversity and polarization of the student body, combined with a consistently terrible athletics program, leads to a large lack of school pride. Attendance at the football games is good, but not representative of that of other Big Ten schools, and why should it be? Defeat is generally promised even before the game has begun, so the atmosphere is often less than invigorating. The same goes for basketball, Northwestern's other Big Ten sport.

Jacob Junior

A great thing about Northwestern is its size. I feel like I am always seeing people I know, but it never feels confining. Another thing about Northwestern is that while it is a good academic school, its name doesn't have the same cache as the Ivies or Stanford, Duke etc. When I tell someone I go to Northwestern, there is a strong chance they haven't heard of it, and many of my classmates report similar experiences, especially those from the East Coast or the South. I don't see this as a positive or a negative quality. In a typical day, I'm liable to bounce all over campus, hitting classes, the library, the gym, the student union, my dorm and my fraternity house all in one day. Evanston is an interesting college town. Its got tons of great restraunts like Buffalo Joes, Flattop Grill, and staples like Chipotle and Chilis, but it only has a handful of bars frequented by students. Its not all about the college in the way places like Lawrence, KS, Athens, GA, or Ann Arbor, MI are. Many normal residents call Evanston home and some of it is quite upscale. Also, Northwestern makes a concerted effort to reach out into the community and provide services to its youth and other citizens. Its proximity to Chicago is convienent. While Evanston is relatively safe, its not completely isolated either. There have been some instances of crime, but its nothing to worry about as long you are aware. Northwestern's administration is fairly aloof. I never have contact with them, but the academic advisors and some other services offered by the university are fantastic. Unfortunately, school pride is not too prevalent at Northwestern. I think that while most people are happy here, a lot of minor griping goes on and our lack of success in the revenue sports hurts our ability to create school spirit. While we have been tremendously sucessful in some of the other sports, it doesn't generate much student interest.

Danny Sophomore

Evanston is definitely one of the greatest assets about Northwestern. Though the suburb is a bit snooty, it has a large variety of fantastic ethnic restaurants and an excellent survey of stores that you don't have to travel to Chicago for. CVS and Whole Foods are the closest grocery stores because Jewel-Osco is a bit of a hike away, which can be a pain, but CVS has many of the typical student grocery items needed. The El is also a very convenient and close connection that can take you to Chicago in only about 30-45 minutes, depending on where you want to go. Most students tend not to take advantage of Chicago's proximity as often as they would like to because there are so many things to do on campus. There are always plays, a capella showings, dance group performances, or skit comedy acts occurring during any weekend of the year, and they are great for a weekend night event with friends. In addition, there are tons of student groups to get involved with, especially socially-active ones. Dance Marathon (DM) is probably the hugest event on campus, with hundreds of students participating in a 30-hour dance to philanthropically benefit a different organization each year. Nearly everyone on campus gets caught up in the excitement of helping out DM each year. The atmosphere of involved people is another one of the great things about Northwestern, although it does present a problem for many students in that they want to be involved in more things than they can be involved in. Though football games tend to be farely well-attended and well-tailgated, there seems to be a critical awareness of Northwestern's susceptibility to sports failures, which leads to a lack of school pride at athletic events. No one is ever exactly diehard about Northwestern sports, though there are a few very committed fans. When Northwestern plays well, the student body becomes much more fervent about its school's athletics. Additionally, no one attends as many basketball games as they do football games.

Laura Senior

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* Overview details based on 2010 data

Northwestern University

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Summary

General Information

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