Driven

Introduction
Ever see that MTV show "Driven?" If they did one on an I-Banker, Journalist, or Doctor, it would take place at Northwestern. Students at Northwestern are incredibly stressed out, incredibly motivated, and incredibly smart. Our favorite Facebook groups include, "I pay 40,000 dollars to be starved, stressed, and sleep-deprived," "My friends went to state schools and get a 4.0 while my GPA tanked a long time ago", and "Students for relocation of Northwestern to California." But, if you're the kind of person that lives on caffeine, can deal with competition, and like brand names--from clothes to your school name, NU is perfect for you. There are some really cool people at Northwestern, some brilliant professors, some awesome activities, and except for when it's -20 degrees there's no place better than Chicago.

Campus Life and Social Life
We have this amazing dive bar at NU called the Deuce. The Deuce is a sketchy bar right inside the Chicago line, so the pesty Evanston cops that have written a ticket to just about everyone on campus don't bother us there. Other than sketchy dive bars on Thursday nights, social life for underclassmen is relegated to frat parties, where you cram in a hallway at your favorite frat and fight your way to the keg. If you go to these after the middle of your Sophomore year, you have a problem. Once you turn 21 (or get a piece of paper that says you're 21), downtown Chicago is an awesome place to go out. There's also some crazy club sports teams that make life a lot more fun while giving you a good workout, like the sailing team, the crew team, and the frisbee team. Most of these people never did these sports before college, so they're really easy to join. If you want any sort of social life, just like at any other college, join some sort of club or activity because in the end, there's always enough events for those to go to. NU's number one fundraising activity is "Bar Night." That being said, don't be shocked if you can't get your friends to go to some of these events because they're doing their homework. That will happen. A lot. Advertisement
Academics
Kiss that 4.0 that you needed to get into NU goodbye the minute you walk through that arch. All academics except for communication studies (athlete classes) are really hard and take a lot of work--but by Junior year, they become worth it. People in Tech and Pre-Med definitely work a lot harder than most people, but people in Medill or in Theater do so many extracurriculars in association with their major that it's almost the same. Professors are sometimes really cool, but often the focus is more on the fact that they're brilliant than on their students. The workload is tough, but you eventually learn how to handle it, or you switch majors.

Student Body
The typical student might have been the biggest dork in high school, but you'll never know, because we were all dorks in some way, shape, or form in high school. Students are from all over the country and there are a lot of international kids too, which makes it really interesting. A lot of people come from money and aren't afraid to say it, talk about it, or talk how they're going to make it, but there are definitely some who aren't that pretentious. NU is really varied and no matter what kind of person you are, you can probably find a group of people like you.

In Closing...
Northwestern is great if you learn to love it. There are a lot of personal, academic, and social challenges to get past, but once you find your niche it is the best place ever.