Attending NU a cyberdream for hopefuls

My friend Emily says craziness is in the air: “When winter starts people go nuts. It happens every year.” Dissatisfaction.

The beautiful month of January is the best time to consider why our diplomas will bear the Northwestern seal. Wind chill breeds new life into negativity. Four years ago I received a thick envelope in the mail, screaming congratulations. I was thrilled.

Right now? Eh. Even though I wear my purple proudly, I share some gripes with the cynics. If there were nothing to dislike about NU, this newsprint wouldn’t exist. But as I slide, slip and skid my way through my final Evanston winter, future Wildcats are rejoicing. And at the risk of sounding trite, it’s refreshing.

The college admissions process is out of control. For-hire consultants, standardized-test crash courses and professional essay editors abound. Applicants turn to Web sites like CollegeConfidential.com for school-specific advice. They post essays for critiquing, compare rumors and reputations and cheer each other on.

Since early decision letters were mailed in December, College Confidential’s NU forums have been a hotbed of activity. Two discussion threads stick out: “Northwestern Class of 2008!” and “Rejected.” In case you’re wondering, the former leads the latter by three postings — 27 to 24.

Exclamation points and capitalizations convey the exuberance of the accepted. Lucky7, identified as Vanessa from California, already knows her major and what three dorms she would like to live in — and in what order. She adds, “I’ve visited twice this year already and can’t wait to move in in September.”

James from Chicago, a.k.a. Admitmeplz, says he doesn’t know about dorms yet, but he still cannot believe he got in! He adds that the University of Chicago deferred him, “but WHO CARES? Haha.”

Blueberry praises the forum’s climate: “The best thing is everyone’s enthusiasm … it’s so great how excited people are. I agree with people who mentioned the weather — I’m definitely afraid of it, being from the Southeast, but it’ll be worth it!”

And from the rejection pile, still kind words about NU despite a lot of “this sucks” and “*tear*.” Within an hour of posting my own message on the site — I’m working on a column and would like to hear from some of you — I received five responses. One was from a young man who wanted to help despite his rejection.

“I still love NU,” he wrote, adding that he has already considered transferring from his yet-to-be-determined college.

Sure makes me feel smug over here on Foster Street.

Yes, Blueberry will freeze her stem off next year. Come September, Lucky7 might be feeling quite the opposite in her Foster-Walker Complex single. But for now they’re all excited about the prospect of having what we already do — winter and all.

Someone should be.

So I resisted my urge to console the rejected by revealing NU’s faults. Instead I congratulated the admitted.

And I made sure I used plenty of exclamation points.

Molly Browne is an Medill senior. She can be reached at [email protected].