Campus

Report

Northwestern Marriage Pact · 2025 ·

Northwestern. It’s nice to see you. We come bearing gifts.

We thought we’d share a bit about Northwestern’s romantic playing field——just so you know what you’re up against.

And this time, we’re trying something new. See exactly how you and your friends compare to everyone at Northwestern. Don’t let the power get to your head.

Our analysis is built upon anonymized and aggregated data from the Northwestern Marriage Pact. It will never be sold or shared for commercial purposes. You can read more about our principles and practices here.

Maybe it is a

You Problem

For the first time in Northwestern Marriage Pact history, see how you stack up against your ~~romantic prospects~~ fellow classmates. Maybe it really is you, after all. Much to think about.

Major

breakdown

Your major, your concentration, your greatest disappointment to your parents. Sit back and enjoy judging all the majors that aren’t your own.

Physics and Astronomy majors would rather fail a test than cheat

Gold star! Here’s how different majors answered the question: “I would rather fail an exam than cheat on it”

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Physics and Astronomy	0.10	0.10	0.10	0.06	0.26	0.16	0.23	x̄=4.68	n=31
Electrical Engineering	0.04	0.13	0.13	0.13	0.17	0.23	0.15	x̄=4.58	n=52
Materials Science and Engineering	0.06	0.10	0.20	0.16	0.14	0.14	0.18	x̄=4.39	n=49
Neuroscience	0.11	0.16	0.24	0.13	0.19	0.09	0.08	x̄=3.74	n=218
Biological Sciences	0.11	0.21	0.23	0.08	0.15	0.16	0.07	x̄=3.70	n=239
Journalism	0.13	0.16	0.23	0.16	0.13	0.10	0.09	x̄=3.68	n=334
Economics	0.16	0.25	0.20	0.13	0.09	0.09	0.08	x̄=3.33	n=484
Communication Studies	0.18	0.19	0.22	0.14	0.12	0.11	0.04	x̄=3.33	n=73
Social Policy	0.21	0.14	0.19	0.14	0.21	0.07	0.02	x̄=3.31	n=42
Industrial Engineering	0.12	0.25	0.23	0.17	0.09	0.09	0.04	x̄=3.30	n=116

Is AI a net good for society?

Only time will tell. Here’s how that question breaks down by field of study. Theatre majors, hopefully our future overlords don’t hear about this.

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
Theatre	2.40	n=171
Psychology	2.85	n=117
History	2.90	n=39
Journalism	3.22	n=334
Biological Sciences	3.57	n=239
Neuroscience	3.71	n=218
Electrical Engineering	4.33	n=52
Economics	4.33	n=484
Computer Engineering	4.34	n=47

Smartest majors (self-reported)

These are the majors with the highest average response to the question “Are you smarter than most people at Northwestern?”

Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences
Applied Math
Math
Computer Science
Computer Engineering
Mechanical Engineering
Industrial Engineering
Physics and Astronomy
Electrical Engineering
Biomedical Engineering

Machiavellian majors

Majors ranked by their Machiavellian tendencies (revenge, getting ahead, ruthless ambition, etc.) Maybe keep one eye open when you nap in lecture.

Learning and Organizational Change
Industrial Engineering
Economics
Communication Studies
Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences
Data Science
Computer Science

Materials Science and Engineering
Theatre

Note: majors with 30 or fewer respondents are omitted to protect their privacy in this analysis.

It’s your world

We’re all just living in it, no? Here’s how power-hungry we are at Northwestern. Don’t forget about us when you reach the top.

Republicans want to be part of the 1%, socialists don’t

Gold diggers, pay attention: Here’s how we answered “I want to be part of the 1%.”

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Republican	0.03	0.01	0.04	0.01	0.21	0.19	0.51	x̄=5.96	n=75
Libertarian	0.09	0.02	0.02	0.00	0.19	0.14	0.53	x̄=5.72	n=43
Conservative	0.01	0.03	0.06	0.09	0.23	0.23	0.36	x̄=5.59	n=137
Apolitical	0.02	0.05	0.07	0.12	0.20	0.20	0.34	x̄=5.40	n=190
Independent	0.03	0.05	0.08	0.13	0.20	0.21	0.32	x̄=5.32	n=360
Democrat	0.05	0.09	0.11	0.17	0.25	0.17	0.17	x̄=4.65	n=1885
Liberal	0.11	0.11	0.13	0.12	0.21	0.15	0.16	x̄=4.29	n=652
Communist	0.32	0.19	0.03	0.13	0.03	0.10	0.19	x̄=3.42	n=31
Socialist	0.33	0.17	0.15	0.10	0.14	0.05	0.06	x̄=2.93	n=240

Communists believe they can change the world

To everyone else——keep up. Here’s how we answered, “I believe I can truly change the world.”

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Communist	0.10	0.03	0.06	0.06	0.23	0.10	0.42	x̄=5.26	n=31
Socialist	0.01	0.02	0.11	0.13	0.34	0.25	0.15	x̄=5.11	n=240
Independent	0.02	0.06	0.14	0.20	0.29	0.15	0.14	x̄=4.72	n=360
Republican	0.03	0.03	0.23	0.11	0.32	0.12	0.17	x̄=4.72	n=75
Democrat	0.01	0.05	0.15	0.22	0.32	0.15	0.10	x̄=4.62	n=1885
Liberal	0.02	0.06	0.17	0.17	0.35	0.12	0.10	x̄=4.56	n=652
Conservative	0.04	0.09	0.12	0.20	0.30	0.10	0.14	x̄=4.49	n=137
Apolitical	0.04	0.08	0.17	0.24	0.22	0.11	0.14	x̄=4.39	n=190
Libertarian	0.16	0.09	0.19	0.09	0.09	0.12	0.26	x̄=4.23	n=43

Buddhist students are the most important people in their own lives

Don’t tell the big man upstairs. Here’s how we answered “I’m the most important person in my life.”

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
Protestant	3.63	n=229
Christian	3.95	n=427
Catholic	4.07	n=425
Agnostic	4.42	n=925
Atheist	4.47	n=621
Spiritual	4.49	n=279
Buddhist	4.59	n=51

Only children have only-child syndrome

Same question as above——this time by birth order.

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
Middle	4.09	n=497
Oldest	4.22	n=1415
Youngest	4.25	n=1375
Only	4.43	n=430

Topics to avoid

at the dinner table

Time to get political. Dare you to keep these in your back pocket for your next first date.

81% of communists wouldn’t date a Republican

Each box indicates the percentage of the political identity listed to the left who reported they don’t want their partner to have the political identity listed above.

	Communist	Socialist	Liberal	Democrat	Apolitical	Independent	Libertarian	Conservative	Republican
Communist	0.00	0.13	0.26	0.29	0.52	0.35	0.45	0.74	0.81
Socialist	0.07	0.05	0.06	0.06	0.52	0.18	0.46	0.74	0.76
Liberal	0.16	0.04	0.02	0.02	0.23	0.06	0.12	0.43	0.49
Democrat	0.23	0.06	0.03	0.04	0.21	0.07	0.15	0.41	0.51
Apolitical	0.08	0.05	0.02	0.03	0.01	0.00	0.04	0.04	0.07
Independent	0.08	0.04	0.01	0.01	0.05	0.00	0.03	0.07	0.09
Libertarian	0.21	0.19	0.16	0.14	0.16	0.12	0.05	0.16	0.14
Conservative	0.27	0.26	0.15	0.13	0.05	0.03	0.08	0.01	0.02
Republican	0.29	0.29	0.21	0.25	0.11	0.07	0.16	0.04	0.03

You’ve changed, Northwestern

At least a little. We’ve run the Northwestern Marriage Pact six times since fall 2020——here’s how our political beliefs have evolved over the years.

Note: in fall 2023, we added several new political identities to the options.

Let’s Talk

About Sex

Going out with a bang. Here’s a look at what Northwestern students are getting up to in the bedroom.

Bringing politics into the bedroom

...is always a good idea! Here’s how students with different political identities answered the question “I generally like to take control during sex.”

	I’d rather not 🥺 Give me the reins 😈
Democrat	3.48	n=1885
Liberal	3.54	n=652
Socialist	3.68	n=240
Independent	3.93	n=360
Apolitical	3.94	n=190
Republican	4.17	n=75
Libertarian	4.42	n=43

What’s the easiest major?

No, not that kind of easy. Here’s how the different majors at Northwestern answered the question “How long do you think it’s appropriate to wait before sex?”

	Zero wait Until marriage
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
History	0.05	0.23	0.49	0.10	0.10	0.03	0.00	x̄=3.05	n=39
Political Science	0.04	0.27	0.39	0.17	0.07	0.02	0.04	x̄=3.18	n=145
Theatre	0.06	0.16	0.39	0.23	0.11	0.04	0.01	x̄=3.30	n=171
Economics	0.06	0.18	0.34	0.23	0.12	0.03	0.04	x̄=3.39	n=484
Journalism	0.06	0.19	0.29	0.29	0.12	0.03	0.03	x̄=3.44	n=334
Mechanical Engineering	0.02	0.18	0.28	0.28	0.13	0.05	0.06	x̄=3.71	n=173
Biological Sciences	0.04	0.13	0.27	0.32	0.11	0.06	0.06	x̄=3.77	n=239
Physics and Astronomy	0.13	0.10	0.23	0.16	0.23	0.03	0.13	x̄=3.87	n=31
Chemical Engineering	0.07	0.12	0.22	0.31	0.14	0.03	0.12	x̄=3.90	n=59
Neuroscience	0.06	0.11	0.24	0.27	0.16	0.07	0.09	x̄=3.94	n=218

Buddhist students would bring a hookup home to an unmade bed

Chaotic AND sexy. Here’s how each religion answered, “I would never bring a hookup home to an unmade bed.”

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
Buddhist	4.16	n=51
Agnostic	4.41	n=925
Atheist	4.44	n=621
Catholic	4.72	n=425
Christian	4.78	n=427
Protestant	4.85	n=229
Muslim	4.86	n=103

Join our team ·

Had fun this year? Help us spread the good word.

Help launch next year’s Northwestern Marriage Pact, or help launch Marriage Pacts across the country.

apply.marriagepact.com

Applications close Wed 5/06 at 11:59pm