Northwestern University

“A world-class private research university where intellectual ambition meets the shores of Lake Michigan.”

Northwestern University is one of America's premier private research universities, consistently ranked among the top ten national universities by US News & World Report. Located in Evanston, Illinois — a vibrant college town on the western shore of Lake Michigan just 12 miles north of Chicago — Northwestern offers students the best of both worlds: a picturesque, cohesive campus with genuine big-city access. Founded in 1851, Northwestern has grown into a comprehensive research institution with twelve undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools, and a faculty that includes Nobel laureates, Pulitzer Prize winners, and MacArthur Fellows. The university is especially celebrated for its distinctive combination of academic rigor and cross-disciplinary flexibility, allowing undergraduates to explore multiple schools and fields simultaneously. At Northwestern, undergraduates choose from six schools at the time of application: the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, the School of Communication, the School of Education and Social Policy, and the Bienen School of Music. This structure means students benefit from the culture and community of a specialized school while having full access to Northwestern's broader academic ecosystem. The quarter system — rather than semesters — keeps the academic pace energetic and allows students to explore more diverse coursework across their four years. Notable signature programs include the highly selective Integrated Science Program (ISP), the Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences (MMSS) program, and the renowned Medill journalism curriculum. Campus life at Northwestern is defined by a culture that prizes intellectual engagement alongside a rich extracurricular landscape. With over 400 student organizations, a storied athletics tradition as the only private university in the Big Ten, and beloved traditions like painting The Rock, Dillo Day, and the Dance Marathon that has raised over $23 million for charity, Northwestern fosters a deeply involved student community. The lakefront setting — with access to the beach, sailing, and sweeping views of Chicago's skyline — gives the campus a distinctive beauty. Meanwhile, Chicago's world-class internship market, cultural institutions, and global companies sit within a 30-minute train ride, providing Northwestern students with extraordinary professional and cultural opportunities that few university settings can match.