jmcomicÂþ»­

I attended Northwestern University. It is a beautiful campus. I had a wonderful experience with extracurricular activities during my time there, including a cappella and greek life. I was a Psychology major and went on to get a Ph.D. in Learning Sciences and I now work in EdTech. My education prepared me for my career in some ways, but in other ways I wish there were other career options that were validated at the University. Often it felt like academia, consulting, and investment banking were viewed... Read More as the only valid paths.

A traditional "University" education with a broad background and a wide range of experiences isn't for everyone. In Engineering, it's sometimes even discouraged in favor of a high-tech, tightly focused program in STEM and STEM only. But for me, the sort of wide exposure I received at Northwestern made me a better engineer. I learned all the technical things, sure, but I also learned how to communicate and collaborate with people outside my technical program. For me and my career, that was worth it... Read More

Northwestern is a fantastic university that sets you up for success wherever you go. Especially in the world of finance, the school is well regarded as a top institution and can help you get your foot in the door wherever you choose. I will say, the lack of Greek life and more formal organizations made it hard for me to really find my group of people. The quarter system is also very fast paced so proceed with caution on that front. Overall, I don't regret my decision to attend Northwestern since... Read More that's where I met my now fiance.

Northwestern is a highly resourced institution both in terms of infrastructure, particularly for biomedical research, and from a financial standpoint. Additionally, faculty are among the most advanced experts in their fields and students are some of the brightest in the country. This opens the doors for many opportunities for networking, collaborations, and inspiration. This school could prioritize student well-being significantly more. Additionally, leadership is could be more progressive and less... Read More sclerotic.

The M.S. in Leadership for Creative Enterprises should be ashamed of the amount of the money they charge for such a subpar program. There are some incredible faculty and you get to say you went to Northwestern, otherwise you leave with essentially nothing for your portfolio, professors clearly don't communicate as some classes are extremely similar, and the tuition stays the same despite the resources and perks of the program being seemingly cut by the quarter. Many one-year Master's programs are... Read More cash grabs, but MSLCE could at least not make it so obvious. Especially because the program is for 'leadership' and classes hinge on previous professional experience, they have no business accepting so many recent undergrads who will not contribute to or benefit from the program, but are accepted because they have the funds to pay. Communication from faculty is poor and feels disorganized, making the program feel like an afterthought. Upon graduating, students who choose to do a thesis do not get to present their hard work or defend their thesis anyway, making it feel like the guise of a graduate program rather than an actual graduate program. While you can do some incredible networking and meet some great people through the program, for 1/10 of the price you could just attend industry events, seminars, and networking events for the same outcome. Faculty did not listen to the student body's complaints in real time, so hopefully public critiques will encourage them to make actionable change for future students if this program wants to survive.

My experience with Northwestern has been more triggering than anything I have experienced in my academic career.
Ironically, they have the best recruitment known to man. They provide a feeling of belonging and caring, and then you start to attend.
My program has been chaotic and unfulfilling for myself and many others in the Counseling online program with Northwestern.
They do not care about your personal concerns, life goals, changes in your experience, none of that matters as long as they can cash... Read More your check every 10 weeks.

In this environment, post COVID, we deserve more as students. Whether online or in person, and we are fed apathetic leaders with more showmanship than leadership.
I am ashamed to be connected with this university. If I had not invested so much of my time, I would run for the hills.
Save your money and your pride, so somewhere where you are valued beyond a check.
Note: they pride themselves on how much it costs to attend, and they have no plans of reducing that burden.

I recently completed my Online Master of Science in Data Science at Northwestern University's School of Professional Studies, and I want to list out things I wish I knew before applying to this program. First, there are other Data Science Master Programs at a significantly lower price. My final price at NW was about $60,000 while other schools offer the same program for about $10,000. In my opinion, Northwestern University's Online Master of Science in Data Science program is about the same quality... Read More of other schools. For example, I did my undergraduate studies at BYU-Idaho which is a small 4 year university in Rexburg Idaho, and my online courses there felt about the same quality as Northwestern University's. However, it was at a fraction of the price. You are paying for the name at Northwestern, not the quality. Second, You have to take at least 2 courses to qualify for financial aid. I did this program full time while most others do it while working full time. So, if something comes up, and you need to drop to 1 course, you have to pay out of pocket. Just something to keep in mind. Third, there is not much professor student interaction. However, I think that is true for all online programs. Just something to keep in mind. A lot of the professors have other jobs or projects they are working on, so they don't have much time for one on one's. Fourth, there career services are only geared towards on campus students. They don't have career services geared towards online students. For example, the virtual job fair only has 1 or 2 data science opportunities, and they are for onsite positions. 90% of the students in the Online Master of Science in Data Science program already have a career, so they didn't create a career services geared towards just online students.

I graduated a long time ago so my perspective is that of someone who is now mid-career as a physician/med school faculty member (at another Big 10 medical school). I loved my time at Northwestern University. I felt the university was a good balance between a large enough school where there were enough different types of people on campus to find my "community," but small enough that once you got into the upper level undergrad classes, you didn't feel like a nameless student. It was expensive to attend... Read More for sure. If you are purely breaking things down from a financial standpoint, I believe most private universities are not "cost-effective." However, I did feel being a graduate of Northwestern University provided automatic name recognition. Students were generally kind and supportive, without the "cut throat" competitiveness my friends encountered at the Ivy Leagues or other big name universities. I will provide the advice that my success in my career largely stemmed from being a nice, collegial person, not because of where I graduated from, per se. I do think that because I was happy with my Northwestern experience (financial burden aside), it helped to get me through the stress of medical school (where I was miserable because it was a cut-throat top 5 institution). I did feel the rigorous classes at NU also provided strong writing skills and ability to handle challenging courses. I also liked a lot of my professors, who were approachable even if they seemed intimidating during lecture and exams.

I recently graduated from Counseling@Northwestern and I will echo the reviews that mention regret. For me, the selling point of this particular program was the "dedicated placement team" that promised to find practicum/internship sites for students. I felt that the placement team actually made things quite difficult for me, and in many cases, prolonged the student experience indefinitely by not finding sites within a reasonable time frame (if at all). Aside from this, the overall tone of my cohort... Read More was one of overwhelm, disappointment and frustration. To quote one of my peers, "This is a grad program, yet we're treated like high-schoolers with no life experience." There is a student-vs-admin vibe throughout the process, and an attitude from administration that the institution is infallible. I suppose it is true that no program is perfect, especially considering all of the moving parts that becoming a counselor entails. But, when you factor in the cost of this particular path compared with what you get, the actual value can be assessed. Now that it is over, I am glad to have a degree that allows me to do work that is meaningful. I am grateful for my friends and colleagues that I have met during my time in the program, as well as a handful of amazing professors that continue to be pillars of support. However, if I had to do it over again, I can easily say that I would choose a smaller school, maybe public, to save money, time and my own mental health.