We like to say Northwestern is all about connections: the relationships people build here, the links we draw between in-class material and the real-world settings around us, the disciplines students interweave thanks to the flexibility of our curriculum and quarter system, the “L” train rides that connect Evanston to Chicago, and the “ah-ha” moments you’ll discover at the intersection of ideas. At Northwestern, you’ll tailor your college journey to your own highly individual set of interests, but you’ll take that journey in a community that deeply values collaboration, support, and lasting friendships.

 

As we settle into another academic year and admissions cycle, I’m thinking about how the college process, at its best, can also be about connections—if you allow it to be. It’s easy to see this process as a means to an end, one where you dutifully demonstrate what you’ve done throughout high school and how well you’ve done it to get that big acceptance envelope. But from a substantive standpoint, that approach is a missed opportunity to get something meaningful out of applying to college. And from a strategic standpoint, it won’t serve your candidacy especially well, either.

 

Instead, think about it this way: you’re connecting the dots between your experiences thus far, particularly how you’ve learned and grown throughout high school, and how you envision yourself thriving in college. You’re connecting what makes you tick—your interests, your values, your talents and intellectual passions—with the programs of study, extracurricular pursuits, and pre-professional opportunities likely to excite you and keep you ticking. You’re assessing how your own complex identity might connect well, or not, with different campus cultures and communities.

Maybe you’ll connect with inspiring strangers your age from around the world on college tours. Maybe you’ll connect more deeply with your family as you endure long car trips to visit colleges. Maybe (hopefully!) you’ll connect with yourself in new ways as you imagine all that you can do, learn, gain, and become in college.

 

We hope you’ll connect with us, too. When we engage with prospective students like you—through emails, online panels, visits to your high school, information sessions, mailings, 1:1 “Purple Preview” Zoom conversations, video tours, live chats, hyper-GenZ social media posts I don’t fully understand, and so on—we don’t see it as marketing or recruiting. Put another way, we don’t see those interactions as a means to an end, one where we share glossy stats and photos, and you apply. Instead, we see opportunities to explore, to teach, to unpack ideas alongside you, to help you experience what it’s like to learn and grow at Northwestern.

 

If you are reading this as a newly minted high school senior, we’re giving you a brand new way to connect with Northwestern this fall: Alumni Conversations. These one-on-one conversations are designed to enhance your college search as you seek authentic insights into a best-fit community. And you’ll find our alumni network is hyperconnected and incredibly generous. They represent an incredible range of perspectives and experiences that will help you understand how your goals for college and beyond connect to the opportunities and experiences made possible by Northwestern. Read more about Alumni Conversations HERE.

 

We are cheering you on as you start the school year and can’t wait to connect soon.

 

Sincerely,

 

Liz Kinsley
Director of Undergraduate Admission