My Northwestern Experience

First, I'm a Questbridge Scholar who matched with Northwestern, so I was required to go here by contract. I ranked it because I thought it offered so many different opportunities, because of its location, emphasis on not limiting yourself to one area of study, etc. People at Northwestern were kinder and so willing to help me out/answer any questions during my tour, which made me feel right at home.

I learn a ton each quarter in all of my classes. MMSS is a particularly fast-paced program that's run on the quarter system, a fast-paced system, so it's very challenging but incredibly interesting and rewarding. Coursework is also front-loaded, so I've taken 2 classes for my first major each quarter which has given me an incredible amount of knowledge in a very short period of time.

I took the SAT-1490, ACT-35, SAT subject tests (Chemistry, Spanish, and Math and none of these were good). I also took the AP tests for World History-5, Chemistry-3, English Language-5, English Literature-5, Psychology-5, Physics-3, Biology-3, Calculus-4.

This summer I'll be working as an actuarial intern with Liberty Mutual, so I've had good luck with finding internships. It depends on your major though, some other friends have had more trouble finding internships, but the career counselors here are really supportive and work hard to find opportunities for everyone.

Yes, we have a program called the Summer Internship Grant Program which gives students $3000 to pay for the costs of an unpaid summer internship. I had to find an internship on my own, but the grant gave me the ability to visit Ecuador last summer with a nonprofit.

Tuition, room, board, and other fees total to about $68,000 per year. Tuition makes up most of the cost of attending, but room and board are also substantial. All students are required to live on campus for at least 2 years.

Through Questbridge, I filled out an initial application, was declared a finalist, then I ranked the Questbridge schools I'd be okay with attending if I matched, then my application was sent to the schools I ranked, Northwestern was my 4th choice and I matched. Thus, I pay about $400 per quarter to attend Northwestern.

My MMSS exams are structured differently from the rest of my exams. MMSS exams usually have 3-5 questions all with multiple parts that build on each other. My other exams usually have many more questions (20-80) with a mix of multiple choice and short answer.

Almost all of the faculty that I've taken classes with have gone above and beyond to help me succeed. Classwork is hard, but well taught, and I've really enjoyed my experience at Northwestern.

I live in a residential college, which has been greatly beneficial to me in terms of finding friends and academic support. Again, I've been required to live on campus, so rooming on campus has not been challenging, and my random roommate has been fantastic!