$#% Northwestern

[jtshark]

Yeah thats what my premed advisor told me when I said that Northwestern gives deadlines. HE said, "oh I know $#%@ Northwestern." He also said that I don't want to go there anyway. I was wondering what everyone else thinks of the place. Does anyone go there now that can give some insight??

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[UCLAMAN]

Yeah thats what my premed advisor told me when I said that Northwestern gives deadlines. HE said, "oh I know $#%@ Northwestern." He also said that I don't want to go there anyway. I was wondering what everyone else thinks of the place. Does anyone go there now that can give some insight??

out at noon 3 days a week. 2 hours of lecture a day. only 2 hours!!! 6 exams the whole year. only 6!!!! pass/fail. magnificent mile. right next to lake michigan. i live right on the lake with a view of it. the city of chicago. outstanding matchlist. tons of research opportunities(essential for competitive residency programs). receptive administration. great night life. hospital like the ritz carlton.

http://forums.studentdoctor.net/showthread.php?t=121535&highlight=northwestern

check out pages 4, 7, and 10 for pix....read the whole post for some ideas of what people think.

the early buzz for this year's cycle is that NU's secondary is a bich to fill out. my advice...suck it up...its well worth it. and if you need an extension the admissions office will grant you one if you have a legit reason.

 

[jtshark]

I agree, it sounds like a great place to me, thats why I was stunned when my advisor brought this up. Especially in such a harsh way!

 

[velo]

I interviewed there and didn't have a good experience, but that's just me. There were plenty of things I liked about the school, and the administration and faculty seemed great...but I didn't like my fellow interviewees (who would, afterall, be my future classmates) There were about 25 of us, and I found one person who I got along with. Everyone else was condescending, arrogant, and for lack of a better word "mean." I related this to a friend of mine who goes to NW and she told me that it didn't surprise her--she's friends with plenty of people at NW, but she also feels that there's a large population of students who fit the description I gave her.

Just as a disclaimer: everything I'm saying is purely anecdotal, I think NW is a great school and I encourage you to apply...but based on my experiences, its just not for me. thats all.

 

[IllinoisStudent]

I interviewed there and didn't have a good experience, but that's just me. There were plenty of things I liked about the school, and the administration and faculty seemed great...but I didn't like my fellow interviewees (who would, afterall, be my future classmates) There were about 25 of us, and I found one person who I got along with. Everyone else was condescending, arrogant, and for lack of a better word "mean." I related this to a friend of mine who goes to NW and she told me that it didn't surprise her--she's friends with plenty of people at NW, but she also feels that there's a large population of students who fit the description I gave her.

Just as a disclaimer: everything I'm saying is purely anecdotal, I think NW is a great school and I encourage you to apply...but based on my experiences, its just not for me. thats all.

I have similar experiences w/ NW students. Just blatantly arrogant. U can get into NW's undergrad program w/ 80 percentile standardized test scores. and yet they somehow act as they are the cream of the class. It's sad when someone has to identify w/ his or her school to prove smartness.

 

[kiahs]

Agreed I took a kaplan class with some NUstudents very arrogant but we knew way more than them. and they always made it known they were from NU. I think the school just has a big stick up its you know what.

 

[StrngoutAS]

I interviewed there and didn't have a good experience, but that's just me. There were plenty of things I liked about the school, and the administration and faculty seemed great...but I didn't like my fellow interviewees (who would, afterall, be my future classmates) There were about 25 of us, and I found one person who I got along with. Everyone else was condescending, arrogant, and for lack of a better word "mean." I related this to a friend of mine who goes to NW and she told me that it didn't surprise her--she's friends with plenty of people at NW, but she also feels that there's a large population of students who fit the description I gave her.

Just as a disclaimer: everything I'm saying is purely anecdotal, I think NW is a great school and I encourage you to apply...but based on my experiences, its just not for me. thats all.

At the same time, I thought my interview group at NU was awesome compared to other interviews I had at "top10 schools". It's way too difficult, though, to judge what your classmates are going to be like b/c odds are you won't matriculate at the same school as them anyhow. Granted our secondary's not a fill in the box application, it really is small beans in the long process and you can always get an extension as has been discussed *thoroughly* in other threads. Fill it in, check out the school and the city, and it'll hit you in the face as to whether you should go here or not.

 

[velo]

At the same time, I thought my interview group at NU was awesome compared to other interviews I had at "top10 schools". It's way too difficult, though, to judge what your classmates are going to be like b/c odds are you won't matriculate at the same school as them anyhow. Granted our secondary's not a fill in the box application, it really is small beans in the long process and you can always get an extension as has been discussed *thoroughly* in other threads. Fill it in, check out the school and the city, and it'll hit you in the face as to whether you should go here or not.

Once again, I'm just speaking from personal experience, but I had interviews with two other "top 10" schools and NW was without a doubt the worst. Ironically enough, my least stressful and most pleasent interview experience (all schools considered) was at Wash U, and that was the highest ranked school at which I interviewed. I'm citing only anecdotal evidence here, but from what I saw at the interview and what I heard from my friend who goes there, NW students can be a bit arrogant and condescending...even for med students

 

[MissCleo]

yah, to hell wit dem!

 

[CUMD]

With all due respect, people are entitled to their own opinions and can definitely share them with everyone else who is applying. But only the only opinion that matters is that of the applicant, so hearsay can only get you so far.

Apply to Northwestern, see if you appreciate their location and educational philosophy during your interview, and form your own judgments from there. Good Luck!

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

NU (Northwestern University) is one of my top choices. Chicago is great, and I'll tell you what - your going to find c*cksuckers for applicants no matter where you go. And you don't have to hang out with them; Chicago is a big city, and there are plenty of opportunities to make friends outside of medschool, should you choose to branch out a little.

 

[Pinkertinkle]

Does northwestern do group interviews?

 

[Nike]

I was interviewed with three other applicants. The four of us sat on one side of a table and the three interviewers sat on the other side. It really wasn't that bad. PM me if you have more questions about it.

 

[Jason110]

Does northwestern do group interviews?

Yup. Look here:
http://med-admissions.northwestern.edu/process/interviewing.htm

Jason

 

[Pinkertinkle]

Yup. Look here:
http://med-admissions.northwestern.edu/process/interviewing.htm

Jason

Ugh, no thanks Northwestern, I'll leave it to those of you who really want to go.

 

[doctordoodoo]

how have you already interviewed at nu and washu already velocy? are you a reapplicant? i graduated from nu and took a princeton review course with other nu students, loyala, uic, ui, depaul and other students and honestly the only ones who knew a thing were northwestern undergrads. i felt terrible that these other people were actually thinking about becoming doctors.

 

[IndyZX]

The pics in that Northwestern thread have got me pumped up about Chicago. Almost pumped up enough to finish that UChicago secondary... almost.

 

[velo]

how have you already interviewed at nu and washu already velocy? are you a reapplicant? i graduated from nu and took a princeton review course with other nu students, loyala, uic, ui, depaul and other students and honestly the only ones who knew a thing were northwestern undergrads. i felt terrible that these other people were actually thinking about becoming doctors.

no I applied last cycle....right now I'm sitting around bored waiting for school to start in a week or two

by the way, the second half of your post is pretty much what I've been talking about.

 

[VFrank]

I go to loyola and took a kaplan class with some NW students very arrogant but we knew way more than them.

"But we knew way more than them"

And you're calling US arrogant? Don't be so bitter because you applied to NU and didn't get in. And learn to speak English before you brag about how smart you are.

 

[Jason110]

no I applied last cycle....right now I'm sitting around bored waiting for school to start in a week or two

WashU?

 

[velo]

WashU?

yup

 

[VFrank]

I have similar experiences w/ NW students. Just blatantly arrogant. U can get into NW's undergrad program w/ 80 percentile standardized test scores. and yet they somehow act as they are the cream of the class. It's sad when someone has to identify w/ his or her school to prove smartness.

The SAT median for NU are:

Math: 720
Verbal: 710
http://www.ugadm.northwestern.edu/freshman/facts/

I hardly think that's 80th percentile
http://www.eskimo.com/~miyaguch/sat.html

You might want to check your facts

 

[IllinoisStudent]

"But we knew way more than them"

And you're calling US arrogant? Don't be so bitter because you applied to NU and didn't get in. And learn to speak English before you brag about how smart you are.

Typical NW (yea NW and not NU) attitude! Getting into NW ain't that hard. U get 30-32 on ur ACTs and u r in. If u have numbers, they don't even look at extra-curriculars (not that HS extra-curriculars count). Not everyone at NW is smart either. Every school produces its lot of dumba$$es.

It seems that lot of students who choose to attend NW choose it because they believe that it can fill some kind of void in them.

Just think about this:

UChicago is almost as competitive as NW. However, u never see anyone complaining about the attitude of their students.

 

[IllinoisStudent]

The SAT median for NU are:

Math: 720
Verbal: 710
http://www.ugadm.northwestern.edu/freshman/facts/

I hardly think that's 80th percentile
http://www.eskimo.com/~miyaguch/sat.html

You might want to check your facts

my bad on facts...I was in HS a while back and wasn't obsessed w/ standardized test score percentiles. However, I checked their ACT avg. It is 31. I was right on target for that one. I said 30-32.

 

[VFrank]

Typical NW (yea NW and not NU) attitude! Getting into NW ain't that hard. U get 30-32 on ur ACTs and u r in. If u have numbers, they don't even look at extra-curriculars (not that HS extra-curriculars count). Not everyone at NW is smart either. Every school produces its lot of dumba$$es.

I seems that lot of students who choose to attend NW choose it because they believe that it can fill some kind of void in them.

Just think about this:

UChicago is almost as competitive as NW. However, u never see anyone complaining about the attitude of their students.

Ok, you're really, really, really wrong about the "NW" thing, but that's ok because you're an idiot.

Yeah, it's true that lots of schools produce *******es ... so you really have no point there do you? It was a good attempt, thought. Points for effort.

I certainly didn't choose NU because it filled a "void." It's a Big-10 school with smart kids, an active Greek life, and a great biology department. It's seconds from Lake Michigan and 20 minutes outside of Chicago. It's really not too hard to see why someone would want to go here.

I'm really sorry you didn't get in, by the way

 

[IllinoisStudent]

Just think about this:

UChicago is almost as competitive as NW. However, u never see anyone complaining about the attitude of their students.

P.S: It's very wrong of you to think that those who dislike attitude of Northwestern students didn't get into Northwestern. I have nothing against NW. I just don't understand the attitude of NW students.

 

[Harps]

yup

Hmm....you're must be an interesting fella. Most of the people I have spoken to (anecdotal evidence) have raved about their interview experience at NW, while bashing their interviewers at WashU. I guess each to his own. I had a great experience at NU...UCLAMAN remembers It's a great school, where the MEDICAL STUDENTS are not really arrogant....hell medical students at most schools do carry a hint of arrogance....it's to be expected.


My group interview at Feinberg was great...well, unless you were that one guy from Umich. who talked about himself and Umich basketball for nearly half-an-hour..hehehe...I wonder if he got in In terms of location, NU is AWESOME...comparable to Cornell (Upper East side) and Harvard....I prefer small towns, but those who are gung-ho about clubbing, museums, restaurants...the fast life....NU is great.

Fill out the secondary. You MAY be rewarded!

Good luck,
Harps

 

[velo]

Hmm....you're must be an interesting fella. Most of the people I have spoken to (anecdotal evidence) have raved about their interview experience at NW, while bashing their interviewers at WashU. I guess each to his own. I had a great experience at NU...UCLAMAN remembers It's a great school, where the MEDICAL STUDENTS are not really arrogant....hell medical students at most schools do carry a hint of arrogance....it's to be expected.


My group interview at Feinberg was great...well, unless you were that one guy from Umich. who talked about himself and Umich basketball for nearly half-an-hour..hehehe...I wonder if he got in In terms of location, NU is AWESOME...comparable to Cornell (Upper East side) and Harvard....I prefer small towns, but those who are gung-ho about clubbing, museums, restaurants...the fast life....NU is great.

Fill out the secondary. You MAY be rewarded!

Good luck,
Harps

Yeah, just goes to show you its a personal thing. Must people I've spoken to feel just the opposite (NW experience = ) so it really comes down to the person.

Like I said in my first post, I encourage the OP to apply and decide for him/herself...I'm just saying that, for me, the school left a bad taste in my mouth.

 

[UCLAMAN]

Hmm....you're must be an interesting fella. Most of the people I have spoken to (anecdotal evidence) have raved about their interview experience at NW, while bashing their interviewers at WashU. I guess each to his own. I had a great experience at NU...UCLAMAN remembers It's a great school, where the MEDICAL STUDENTS are not really arrogant....hell medical students at most schools do carry a hint of arrogance....it's to be expected.


My group interview at Feinberg was great...well, unless you were that one guy from Umich. who talked about himself and Umich basketball for nearly half-an-hour..hehehe...I wonder if he got in In terms of location, NU is AWESOME...comparable to Cornell (Upper East side) and Harvard....I prefer small towns, but those who are gung-ho about clubbing, museums, restaurants...the fast life....NU is great.

Fill out the secondary. You MAY be rewarded!

Good luck,
Harps

oh man...those were the days...and now 2nd year is almost upon me. yikes!

as far as this arrogance stuff...i'll be the first to admit that i am probably the dumbest medical student on the planet. the majority of my classmates would also be quick to acknowledge that they do not know everything. as far as this pissing contest between uofc and nu undergrads... i dunno how the undergrads act...but u cant compare the undergrads to what the people on the chicago campus(ie Medical students) are like. heck, i have never even set foot on the undergrad campus and neither have many of my classmates! sure we have about 40 honors kids who did undergrad at NU but i don't see them as arrogant at all. they are just like everyone else in the class, always willing to help their fellow classmates.

NU has stirred up a lot of detractors over the past week or two. Gees, the secondary cant be that bad. The NU secondary has had these quick turnaround deadlines for several years now. I remember when I was applying(both years i applied) i too had the quick turnaround. No one on sdn ever complained then. What gives now? Furthermore these due dates arent in stone and extensions are easily obtained. The essays are not bad...just be a little creative and put a little thought into it. the group interview? everyone is so apprehensive about it before they go through it(me included) but is actually one of the better interviews I took part in. With all the group learning that goes on in the school, in retrospect, i see why a group interview where group dynamics are assessed can be useful. Medicine is a field where you will be working in teams for the rest of your life. It makes sense to select individuals who are themselves capable of excelling and also improving those around them in a group.

NU does things a little differently. Small price to pay for a chance to be at a great place to learn medicine. If you realize it is not for you then great, you are better off elsewhere, but before making conclusions just try to make an effort to give the school a fair shake. Like Harps said, you may be rewarded.

 

[gary5]

Northwestern students fill their lack of social skills with attitude. However, when I interviewed, the other applicants seemed to be OK. They seemed fairly smart, but I didn't detect any genius.

 

[Jason110]

The group interviews seem really intimidating in the description on the website. For those who've interviews there, what was your impression of them?

Jason

 

[principessa]

Once again, I'm just speaking from personal experience, but I had interviews with two other "top 10" schools and NW was without a doubt the worst. Ironically enough, my least stressful and most pleasent interview experience (all schools considered) was at Wash U, and that was the highest ranked school at which I interviewed. I'm citing only anecdotal evidence here, but from what I saw at the interview and what I heard from my friend who goes there, NW students can be a bit arrogant and condescending...even for med students

This is funny. I too had fun at WashU. In fact, the best interview experiences I had, in terms of the the other interviewees I met, were at WashU and Hopkins. Go figure! But this really didn't affect my decision that much. I had fun at these schools because there were a few cool people that I wound up talking with quite a bit, and what are the odds that these few people would wind up at that school?

I don't know about Northwestern because I didn't apply there, but I've heard mostly positive things about it. At least give it a shot, people.

 

[SanDiegoSOD]

The group interviews seem really intimidating in the description on the website. For those who've interviews there, what was your impression of them?

Jason

Check out the interview feedback for NU on SDN. Go to the home page, and on the left hand menu bar, click on Interview feedback. You'll find probably 50 of more reports on interviews for NU.

 

[Auricae]

Although the group interview was not my favorite interview (since I did find it a bit intimidating), it also wasn't as bad as I expected. I thought it was kind of a nice departure from the typical interview. There is nothing to worry about. Just be yourself and don't hesitate to speak your mind and take your time. Don't feel rushed by the presence of the other students there.

One tip: when you are asked questions in the group interview, really try to emphasize points about yourself that make you stand apart from the other candidates in the room. Oftentimes, the interviewers will ask one question and just go down the line, asking each person the same question. The last thing you want to do (which many people do in stressful situations), is say, "yeah.. I agree with what that guy said."

As far as the hating going on in this thread toward NU undergrad students, I think people need to calm down and honestly reflect on why they have such strong sentiments. As an NU undergrad, I do not feel that I am "better" than any other college graduate. On the other hand, I am very pleased with the education I received at NU and the people I met in my four years. Although I am the first to admit that the school had its share of jerks, who can't say that about their school?

As far as NU students being more or less intelligent than other college students, who knows! I've met my share of geniuses and idiots here. To NU's credit however, I've met many more intelligent people than the latter. I guess my point is, there are thousands of individuals, repeat individuals that attend NU. Don't reduce all of this diversity into a single, crass stereotype that may or may not be true, and which is based on the handful of NU people you have met.

 

[kiahs]

After careful reconsideration I have edited this post, it's not worth it.

No offense to all the other normal students at Northwestern, never meant to say anything bad or offensive. Actually maybe I should have never said anything it was mean, in any case I aplogize. I wouldn't want the whole to suffer for the actions of a few. Truce.

 

[medstylee]

As an NU undergrad, I do not feel that I am "better" than any other college graduate. On the other hand, I am very pleased with the education I received at NU and the people I met in my four years. Although I am the first to admit that the school had its share of jerks, who can't say that about their school?

As far as NU students being more or less intelligent than other college students, who knows! I've met my share of geniuses and idiots here. To NU's credit however, I've met many more intelligent people than the latter. I guess my point is, there are thousands of individuals, repeat individuals that attend NU. Don't reduce all of this diversity into a single, crass stereotype that may or may not be true, and which is based on the handful of NU people you have met.

Just to defend my good old undergrad, I completely agree with what Auricae has to say here.

To address the original poster's concern - I think you should go ahead and send in the secondary. NU med school is really a unique place and it's in a really great location. NU's deadline is pretty tight, for the secondary, but there are plenty of other schools that impose similar ones. If you have the time/patience, go for it. It should be worth it.

 

[IndyZX]

This thread is ridiculous.

 

[wends]

to the OP, its prolly frustrating for the committee to have deadlines, but dont let that be a detering factor in applying....im going to have to beg for an extension on my extension, but i'll still do it because NU is a great school and I really want to go there.

im kinda surprised that the average stats arent higher...

 

[MeMyselfI]

Just to defend my good old undergrad, I completely agree with what Auricae has to say here.

To address the original poster's concern - I think you should go ahead and send in the secondary. NU med school is really a unique place and it's in a really great location. NU's deadline is pretty tight, for the secondary, but there are plenty of other schools that impose similar ones. If you have the time/patience, go for it. It should be worth it.

What is the deadline date?

 

[VFrank]

What is the deadline date?

It's one week after you receive the secondary to turn in your secondary and two weeks to send in your letters. They will give you the deadlines when they send your secondary.

 

[MeMyselfI]

It's one week after you receive the secondary to turn in your secondary and two weeks to send in your letters. They will give you the deadlines when they send your secondary.

Thanks Wow!!! That's not much time.

 

[DGhiker]

I just had the opportunity to poke around NU on Friday. I was in Chicago for a meeting. I have to say, I was pretty impressed with the city. It was relatively clean and well landscaped and I felt fine walking around by myself (even though I'm a 5 ft tall female). Unfortunately, NU won't set up tours or anything so all I did was go into the admissions office, grab a brochure, and asked the receptionist a question she couldn't answer. So it wasn't all that fruitful, but at least I got to look around and see where everything is. Didn't meet any students though - they all seemed to be in a big hurry to get where ever they were going. I'd welcome an interview though, after being on campus and in Chicago.

 

[velo]

It's one week after you receive the secondary to turn in your secondary and two weeks to send in your letters. They will give you the deadlines when they send your secondary.

Yeah, unless your 2ndary sits in their mailroom for a few days before they send it out to you and by the time you get it you only have 2 or 3 days to fill it out and turn it in....and when you request an extension you get turned down because "the deadline for requesting an extension has passed" (nevermind the fact that said deadline passed before I was even informed that they wanted a secondary from me!)....then after they get it you don't hear a word from them for a month...glad I busted my ass to get it in so quick!

wow...i had a lot of issues with NW

 

[Jalby]

NU has stirred up a lot of detractors over the past week or two. Gees, the secondary cant be that bad. The NU secondary has had these quick turnaround deadlines for several years now. I remember when I was applying(both years i applied) i too had the quick turnaround. No one on sdn ever complained then. What gives now? Furthermore these due dates arent in stone and extensions are easily obtained. The essays are not bad...just be a little creative and put a little thought into it. the group interview? everyone is so apprehensive about it before they go through it(me included) but is actually one of the better interviews I took part in. With all the group learning that goes on in the school, in retrospect, i see why a group interview where group dynamics are assessed can be useful. Medicine is a field where you will be working in teams for the rest of your life. It makes sense to select individuals who are themselves capable of excelling and also improving those around them in a group.

Pre-meds nowadays tend to whine a lot more than they used to. I've noticed that a lot over on the USC thread. People complaining about how they know they should have been admitted. Then a week later they got a rejection.

 

[Wrigleyville]

They sound like a crazy idea, but they are actually lower stress than one-on-one interviews. The focus isn't on you all the time, so you can relax a little bit more.

The group interviews seem really intimidating in the description on the website. For those who've interviews there, what was your impression of them?

Jason

 

[Harps]

Pre-meds nowadays tend to whine a lot more than they used to. I've noticed that a lot over on the USC thread. People complaining about how they know they should have been admitted. Then a week later they got a rejection.

Jalby, isn't that the truth-- just looking at the threads in the pre-med. forum.

-Harps

 

[IndyZX]

Pre-meds nowadays tend to whine a lot more than they used to. I've noticed that a lot over on the USC thread. People complaining about how they know they should have been admitted. Then a week later they got a rejection.

in my day...

 

[freaker]

If ever you get fed up with a Northwestern student, calmly and repeatedly refer to their school as NW. This seems to throw them into an inexplicable outrage that I have yet to comprehend. When they correct you, look at them with a puzzled look on your face and say, "Oh really? I've never heard that before. Everyone else has always said NW."

I had to wait in line to interview for law school with a major a$$ of a kid from Northwestern and calmly drove him nuts with this technique when he started dropping his standardized test scores and talking about his professor praising his thesis. It works a lot better when it's in written form, but it served its purpose there, as well.

It's kind of like asking that annoying kid from Penn what he thinks about Joe Paterno.

 

[velo]

It's kind of like asking that annoying kid from Penn what he thinks about Joe Paterno.

 

[StrngoutAS]

Pre-meds nowadays tend to whine a lot more than they used to. I've noticed that a lot over on the USC thread. People complaining about how they know they should have been admitted. Then a week later they got a rejection.

Man at first I thought I was alone thinking that b/c now I'm on the "other side" of the process but seriously there's been a lot more bitching in like 2 weeks of the application cycle this year than the whole process last year.

People need to get out a little more or something and chill out...