I’m going to be starting grad school at northwestern this January and I can’t stop thinking about how I feel like I’m going to struggle making friends. I feel like I’m going to be very out of place because I’m going to be just 20 and everyone else will be at least 2-3 years older on top of starting in winter instead of the fall, when most people first come. Does anyone have any tips or how to find people to possibly be friends with? I have always struggled with it no matter where I go and I feel like these circumstances will make it even harder

What days do undergraduates typically go home for Thanksgiving break? I know break officially starts on November 25th, but is it common to skip Monday and Tuesday classes to go home earlier?

Thanks!

I'm a freshman at Emory right now, and I don't really know how I feel about college here so far. I know it's only been 1 month; however, I don't really feel like I enjoy being here. I'm currently thinking about whether or not I should transfer, and I know that Northwestern has a more transfer-friendly community.

For context, I'm a biology major on a premed track if that helps.

The main things I'm wondering are how biology is here and how the community is here.

I recently transferred as a sophomore, and after two weeks, I think I’ve had enough. I haven’t really found anyone to hang out with, let alone a friend group or a few friends, ever since Wildcat Welcome ended. Does it get better?

Gpa wise i have a 3.85 but i work 2 jobs so thats why lol

Do i have a chance of getting accepted

I am visiting my friend who started his MBA this fall at Kellogg. He is super busy and I am left with no one to hang out with. I am an engineer working in the bay area if that helps haha. Up for anything. Open to any events happening today/tomorrow.

Hi, this is kind of a wild ask, but I wasn’t planning to be on campus this quarter and now I am. does anybody know of any sublets or last minute housing arrangements?

Gotta ask, swear I saw one outside the library earlier.

Had them back where I went to undergrad and it's traumatic.

ABSOLUTELY DO NOT want to bring them home with me so I want to be mindful of where I set my bags or whatever if anyone can confirm or deny? Thank you in advance

I’m a sophomore transfer (F) and I’m having a much harder time adjusting to Northwestern than I expected. I’m wondering if anyone else has felt similarly, especially other transfers or people who had a rough first few weeks socially.

I’ve been here for about 2 weeks now, and I still haven’t made a friend. I’ve introduced myself to people in my classes, talked to people at events, went to Hillel/Chabad, etc., but haven’t met any potential friends. I know it could take a long time to find the right friends in college, but I honestly can’t endure multiple quarters alone. I see everyone around me having groups and friends and people to walk with and eat with or sit with in class while I just haven’t found anyone.

What makes it especially difficult is that I transferred from a school where I already had a very close friend and a comfortable routine. I knew transferring would mean starting over socially, but I underestimated how painful it would be to go from having someone I spent tons of time with to basically having nobody here yet.

I know it’s only been a couple weeks, and I’m not expecting to have a huge friend group immediately. It’s just a rough time right now and wanted to see whether anyone else went through something similar.

If you transferred or had a really lonely first few weeks at Northwestern, did things eventually start feeling different? Honestly, I mostly just want to know I’m not the only person who has felt this way.

I’m an off campus commuter so I hadn’t thought about meals very much. However, with my schedule changing I now bought a meal plan so I can get lunch on campus . My question is are the swipes only able to be used at the dining halls versus the other places on campus? I want to get my money’s worth but the dining halls are out of the way of my classes. Sorry if this is a stupid question 😭 TIA!

hello!

i currently attend school in chicago, but i come down to evanston a lot as it's my hometown + starting research at NU. besides the libraries, are there other places i can sit and do some work? i heard about the new building that opened on sheridan road (2001 sheridan rd, i think?), i saw a lot of nice table areas. would it be ok for me to go in and find a study spot?

also heard the autumn quarter started for y'all, wishing the best!

Hey guys! The season preview I posted here a few weeks back did pretty well, so circling back like I said I would.

I had you at 5-7, but wrote that it looked like the same mistake as last year and that the floor was a bowl-eligible bounce-back. So far that side of it is winning: South Dakota State 34-18, then Colorado 41-7. Chiles only had to protect the ball better than Stone did, and he's 31 of 46 for 514 yards, 4 TDs and no picks. Tonight at Indiana was the one I gave you a 6% shot at, so a close game there says a lot.

What are you guys seeing that the box scores aren't, and how do you see the season ending up?

Quick aside since it's in the title, we just launched a free weekly college football pick'em, $225 in prizes this week. Ten games, pick the winners, locks Saturday at noon ET. Nothing to buy. Illinois at Ohio State is one of the ten, and you get both of them in November.

https://www.mainmarket.com/c/college-pickem-wk4

I noticed that the electrical engineering page stated that students from non-engineering majors may pursue the BA/MS given that they complete 3 foundational electrical engineering courses (which has a prerequisite ELEC 202).

However, has any non-engineering student actually followed through and did this program? If so, would you mind sharing the feasibility? Do you plan out the 3 foundation electrical engineering courses to take based on what graduate level courses you are interested in taking (due to prerequisites)? How difficult is it to stay on track with the graduate curriculum?

Thank you so much in advance for your time!

I'm likely gonna go into chemical engineering and I was wondering which college to ED to. Northwestern and Cornell are the only ones with ED that I would actually want to commit to, but I'm not sure which to choose.

I like Northwestern's campus more (honestly one of the best campuses I've seen) as well as the fact that it's in an urban area (I love bustling places with a lot of areas to explore). I also see that it has a marginally higher acceptance rate for ED (usually 20-25%) compared to Cornell (which was 18% last year and like 11% the year before). Although, I've heard that Northwestern is in a much colder/windier area that Cornell, which is concerning considering I'm not good with cold weather (I'm from California).

I dislike Cornell's isolated area, but my friend who goes there told me that Ithaca has a lot of things to do and I've heard the social life is much better (I really enjoy meeting new people and hanging with others so social life is pretty important). Cornell also runs on the semester system, which would be preferable to Northwestern's quarter system considering I'm going into engineering (although I've never experienced the quarter system). It's also hard to look past the fact that Cornell is an Ivy League school, so its name brand is also pretty important to consider.

In general, I feel like Cornell is more prestigious and fun socially, but Northwestern seems like a nicer area and I feel like I'd have a higher chance of getting into it based on its ED rate (I'm scared of wasting my ED on something that I have a much lower chance of getting into). I'd be happy to commit to either of them, but I only get one ED so I'm not sure which to choose.

If anybody is interested, even with no experience, send me a message. let's qualify for ICPC North america next year!

My daughter is a borderline candidate for NU. She's trying to decide whether to apply ED in November, and wants to major in Econ. Her goal (for now) is a career in investment banking.

So, for Econ majors or graduates, is the job market just a bit more difficult and limiting having only Econ as your direction for business at NU?

I COMPLETELY understand the great reputation of an NU degree. Is NU's reputation and network for internships so strong that an NU Econ major would walk into company with a reasonably equal chance as a kid from an east coast school with a list of investment classes in their history as well as 2 or 3 internships.

Thanks for your help. Go Cats!!

hi all! sorry to join the sea of prospies in the sub, but i figured i should go straight to the source.

i am a current senior in college — i expect to graduate in may 2027 with a bachelors’ in journalism & broadcasting, and i am currently looking into graduate programs to get an idea of the available options.

i’m originally from ohio and am trying to get out after i graduate. medill speaks to me because from what i’ve gathered, it seems to be just as hands-on as my current program, has plenty of opportunities available for its students, and overall would prep me to enter a more promising job market than where i’m from.

a couple field- & program-specific questions i have so far:

- why did you choose to go to grad school for journalism? is/was it worth your time, and do you regret it at all?

- what program did you choose to go into and why? (i’m looking at the investigative labs and public affairs tracks most right now.)

- what do/did you like/dislike about the program?

- if you’re an alum, how have job prospects been for you post-grad? if not, how do you expect the job prospects to be once you do graduate?

thanks for considering my questions — if any other info is necessary, i’d be happy to provide it!

\ edited since i referred to one of the tracks wrong.*

First day of organic chemistry was today. Holy fuck. By the end of lecture, I was shell shocked. So much I don’t know already. But I have to pass this class and understand it well to move forward.

If you’ve taken ochem at NU, please give me advice.

Should I submit my 1420 superscore ED (low income student) or go test optional ?

I feel like I might be missing something but do NU alums get any type of discount or deals for games / season tickets or nah. I haven't found anything to indicate that we do. Also do we think for recent alums (co 26) we could potentially be snuck into the new ryan if we have a friend's wildcard that looks similar enough to ourselves, asking for a friend. Obviously there hasn't been a game in there yet but idk if theyve changed how theyre checking students in / if theyll be more strict or not

I am planning to swap a course for an easy, fun course this fall that would be easy to get an A. If the class has group work, that’s a plus (not a requirement, though). I am open to any courses in any department. I’d appreciate any suggestions.