Life on Campus and Community

All members of the Class of 2028 participate in a shared residential experience under Northwestern’s two-year residency requirement. Residential Services will contact you in the coming months with more information about housing. Beginning in early January and continuing through May, you may access the online housing contract, where you can specify housing and room/roommate preferences. Every attempt will be made to accommodate your requests. In early August you will receive your housing assignment via your Northwestern email account.

All undergraduates must have a meal plan while living on campus. Incoming students are automatically assigned the minimum required meal plan but may change and increase their meal plan allowance once they are on campus during Wildcat Welcome orientation. For more information, please refer to the Northwestern Dining website.

Northwestern has more than 500 student groups that welcome new members every year and encompass a wide range of interests, including and not limited to the arts, community service, Greek life, media, personal affinity groups, politics, religious interest, and sports clubs. See a full list of student activities, which grows every year. A student activities fair will be held during Wildcat Welcome orientation to introduce you to ways in which you can engage in campus life.

Northwestern's campus is located across the street from downtown Evanston, within walking distance of a number of restaurants, shops, and a fantastic movie theater. Additionally, Northwestern is only a few miles north of the city limits of Chicago and about 12 miles north of downtown Chicago. Via public transportation, such as the El and the Metra, students have affordable and easy access to both the north side neighborhoods and the heart of the city of Chicago. Northwestern also provides a free Intercampus Shuttle that will bring any student to our downtown Chicago campus on weekdays and Saturdays throughout the school year.

Both cities are extremely accessible from campus and provide countless options for academic, cultural, and social activities. However, it is absolutely your choice how much you want to explore these cities. While a large number of students will eat in Evanston on weekends, or venture downtown for sporting events, museums, concerts and internships regularly, many feel completely satisfied with the entertainment options that take place right on our campus. Student theater and musical productions, guest speakers and performers, service events, club meetings and Greek Life are just a handful of on-campus opportunities that fill our students' time. Whatever your preference, Northwestern is fortunate enough to boast the best of both worlds: a vibrant lakefront campus with close proximity to a thriving suburban community as well as one of the greatest cities in the world.