Northwestern students claim pros, cons of university’s academics, social scene

Depending on who's talking, Northwestern University is either a Big Ten academic heavyweight or the red-headed stepchild of the conference.

When the University of Nebraska-Lincoln joins the Big Ten in fall 2011, one of its colleagues will be this small private school with top-rated academics. Northwestern stands out among the Big Ten, and there are striking differences between it and large state schools like UNL.

Northwestern is small and each class's 2,000 students are hand-picked from thousands of applicants. And at some point, perhaps at next year's Huskers and Wildcats game, the schools will have to figure out just which one gets the letters "NU."

"We're balancing a huge move to athletics with top-tier academics," said Andrew Linnehan, assistant director of admissions at Northwestern. "We're rated a top 15 school and get both sides. That makes us unique and stand out among our peers."

The university is located in Evanston, Ill., about 30 minutes north of the Chicago Loop. Its campus stretches 10 city blocks along Lake Michigan and has not one, but two private beaches. On the small campus, giant grey stone buildings are situated close to each other, and students walk along small patches of green space, interspersed with trees.

Northwestern isn't constrained by a land-grant mission like many state schools, and as a result, the school can be both competitive and expensive.

Linnehan, who graduated from Northwestern in 2005, said the school wants to be elite without coming off as elite. Being in the Midwest helps because of the region's laid-back attitude and lack of ego. Plus, Northwestern students know other students who attend top public and private schools around the nation, he said.

Tuition at the private school is $53,000 per year before scholarships, but that doesn't keep students away. So many apply that only 20 percent of applicants are accepted, Linnehan said. Rejected students often go to academic rivals like Duke, Stanford and Vanderbilt.

"The university made a decision to stay this size. We don't have the land or the resources to not be this size," he said. "It's a problem, but it's good for me to have because it's the cream of the crop. And counselors have to tell students that the reality is they could be happy elsewhere."

Northwestern operates on need-based aid, as opposed to UNL's merit-based aid. Linnehan said admitted students have a determined expected family contribution of what they can afford to pay. Northwestern pays the difference between the expected family contribution and the full cost of tuition. At UNL, scholarship awards are based on test scores or the student's qualifications, not how much the student's family can pay.

"That's how we compete with public schools: All scholarships go toward attracting students who want to come to Northwestern," Linnehan said.

Incoming Northwestern freshman are better on paper than those at UNL. Linnehan said there is no minimum GPA or test score to apply, but the average class rank of an incoming freshman was in the top 2 percent. At UNL, the average ACT score is 25, said Amber Hunter, associate dean of the Office of Admissions. At Northwestern, the middle 50 percent of admitted freshman this year scored between a 31 and a 34, Linnehan said.

In addition to high scores, Northwestern students have shown they challenged themselves in high school and cared about academics, which the university believes they will carry that involvement through college.

"We want students to come and contribute outside the classroom," Linnehan said. "Leaders, not followers."

Maame Asare, a junior biology major, fit Linnehan and Northwestern's definition of a top recruit.

Asare, 21, is originally from Ghana, but her family now lives in Romeoville, a Chicago suburb about an hour southwest of Evanston.

In high school, Asare was involved in student government, tennis, national academic bowl and "every possible club" she could join. She said she applied to seven or eight schools, including Purdue, Yale and UIC.

"Once I got into Northwestern, I knew I was going to come here," she said. "I wanted a good school that wouldn't kill me socially. Everything fit together."

Asare met her friend Zahra Barnes, a junior journalism major from Miami, through a mutual friend who lived in the same dorm. Barnes, 21, said she came to Northwestern over schools like Boston College, Barnard and Vanderbilt because of the top-rated journalism school, even though Northwestern gave her the worst aid. Both Barnes and Asare said Northwestern recruited them during an all-expenses paid weekend for minority students.

There are some stark differences in student life and attitudes between the two universities, even though the women claimed Northwestern is a normal school. Mostly, the two were fatigued by schoolwork and were waiting for spring to arrive back on campus. Describing student life, the women had plenty of complaints about their school, which they said was a bonding experience.

At Northwestern, the athletic department is subsidized by student money, and student tickets are free. Despite that, neither Barnes nor Asare attend many athletic events anymore and say sports aren't a big deal.