March 26 was a “big day” for high school senior Joey Capuana. The New Jersey resident checked his college application status online and was excited to be admitted to both Northwestern University and Duke University.
Two months earlier, Capuana had been admitted to the University of Southern California with a scholarship covering half of his tuition. He received no financial aid from NU or Duke, making an already difficult decision even more frustrating.
“I never really thought about the money situation,” Capuana said. “I thought I would just get to pick whatever school I liked the most.”
Similar sentiments can be found throughout NU’s prospective class of 2013. Due to the faltering economy, many students are largely basing their decisions on tuition costs.
Anjli Lodhavia of Illinois is positive she would have chosen NU over other schools had she “come across this decision five years ago.”
“With the scarcity of cash, Northwestern doesn’t seem to have much to give to those middle-class families who have just enough to get by,” she said.
Beyond costs, admitted high school seniors say they have been focusing extensively on academics and their personal priorities in the decision-making process.
Carrie Heckel wants to pursue studio art in college. The New Jersey resident was recently admitted to NU and the Rhode Island School of Design. She is struggling to decide between academics and art.
“I know I can do both at both schools, but I have a hard time prioritizing one over the other, so I don’t know whether to go to a school known for academics or artistic excellence,” Heckel said.
Capuana is also taking NU’s prestige into consideration over USC but cited the unfavorable Evanston weather. Weather is a hot topic for the new freshmen, who created a Facebook thread called “What to wear at NU” for advice on how to “brace for those -40 degree cold spells.”
For Early Decision students and those who are almost set on coming to NU, a main concern is learning about the community as much as possible. With more than seven Facebook groups for NU’s class of 2013 – the largest with more than 1,000 members – students are expressing their excitement as well.
Like many other incoming freshmen, Brenda Chang was waitlisted at her first choice, an Ivy League school. NU was her second choice, but she “refused to wallow in disappointment.” Instead, she read blogs and articles about college life.
“As I immersed myself with more of the Northwestern life, I became so enamored that I knew this was where I wanted to go,” the California resident said.
Other incoming freshmen have made attempts to connect with each other via Facebook with threads such as “Any Engineers out there?” and “8 Random Things About Yourself.”
Mary Kelly participated in NU’s National High School Institute for theater last summer. Kelly said she has been in “extra contact” with other students from the Cherubs program since she was admitted Early Decision to NU. The Connecticut high school senior began researching clubs and a cappella groups before the application process had even begun but worries about overextending herself.
Beyond concerns about money, academics and social life, the general hope of the class of 2013 is to make the most of its college experience.
“As an NU prospie, I am full with maybe naive hopes of learning about the world in a way that will determine my future,” Chang said. “I have dreams of finding my best friend from maybe my dorm or my Weinberg seminar. I want to find out what I’m truly capable of doing.”
