Campus Report

Northwestern Marriage Pact · ·
NEWRELEASE

The time has come, Northwestern.

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

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.

01

Topics to avoid

at the dinner table

In other words: politics, drugs, and breaking the rules. But really——who are we without them?

Take a look below to gather fodder for your next divisive discussion. If you try and discuss these on a first date, let us know how it goes.

Politics over time

We’ve run the Northwestern Marriage Pact four times since fall 2020——here’s how the campus political climate has evolved.

Note: this year, we added several new political identities to the options.

Seniors are the campus hedonists

According to Northwestern’s average answers on doing soft drugs, hard drugs, drinking, and smoking cigarettes. Don’t let their parents see this.

not okay
🥳
Freshmann=1050
Sophomoren=1126
Juniorn=763
Seniorn=601

Communists at Northwestern are most likely to break the rules

Meanwhile, you’ll find conservatives coloring inside the lines. Here’s what students’ answers from each political group say about their respect for authority:

rebellion
conformity to rules
Communistn=37
Socialistn=223
Liberaln=768
Democratn=1501
Independentn=514
Republicann=81
Conservativen=92

81% of communists wouldn’t date a Republican

Breaking down the biggest political beefs: 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.

CommunistSocialistLiberalDemocratApoliticalIndependentConservativeRepublican
Communist0.030.000.240.220.680.410.780.81
Socialist0.030.020.050.050.390.200.690.71
Liberal0.140.030.010.010.140.030.400.43
Democrat0.170.060.010.030.130.050.350.43
Apolitical0.060.040.020.020.010.010.030.06
Independent0.100.060.010.010.040.000.060.08
Conservative0.320.280.230.220.070.020.020.00
Republican0.350.310.250.220.090.050.000.01
02

Women vs Men

Ladies and gentlemen——we know you’re curious. We’re here to give you the data on the age-old question: How different are men and women, really?

These analyses focus on respondents that identified as men and women. We support nonbinary students at Northwestern absolutely, and due to the limited size of our sample we can’t share their insights without compromising their anonymity and safety. If you have questions about this, or ideas about how we can do this better, send us a note at inclusion@marriagepact.com.

Orientation and gender

About 1 in 4 women at Northwestern identifies as non-heterosexual.

Of those, 68% identify as bisexual, 14% identify as homosexual, and 8% identify as pansexual.

About 1 in 6 men at Northwestern identifies as non-heterosexual.

Of those, 61% identify as homosexual and 31% identify as bisexual.

Points of disagreement

Presenting the questions the women and men of Northwestern were most misaligned on. If you’re in the mood to pick a fight, have fun.

Q: I generally like to take control during sex

2%
5%
11%
34%
26%
16%
5%
men
I'd rather not 🥺
Give me the reins 😈
10%
28%
28%
26%
7%
2%
0%
women

Q: I find politically incorrect humor funny

2%
5%
8%
13%
26%
25%
21%
men
Strongly disagree
Strongly agree
5%
14%
16%
20%
25%
13%
8%
women

Q: I would end a friendship over differing political views

35%
28%
15%
6%
10%
4%
2%
men
Nope
Yes, they're blocked
14%
19%
21%
13%
23%
8%
3%
women

Q: I tell my friends how much I love them

5%
15%
17%
12%
27%
14%
10%
men
Never
All the time
1%
6%
11%
9%
27%
21%
26%
women
03

1,809 first dates

A deeper dive into the dating habits of this year’s 3,618 participants.

Openness to being open

How Northwestern students with different religions answered: “I’m open to being in a non-monogamous relationship.”

1 – no way
the more the merrier – 7
Protestantn=229
Christiann=421
Catholicn=401
Jewishn=394
Agnosticn=931
Atheistn=517
Spiritualn=250

Youngest children ghost the most

They gave the highest answers to the question “I’d rather ghost somebody than outright reject them.”

“it’s not you it’s me”
boo 👻
Only childn=406
Oldest childn=1325
Middle childn=536
Youngest childn=1273
04

Let’s Talk

About Sex

Get your mind into the gutter. Here’s a what Northwestern students are getting up to in the bedroom.

Freshmen are ready to settle down

Meanwhile, seniors like to keep things casual.

Here’s how each year stacks up on sociosexuality (in other words, openness to hooking up without commitment).

commitment
casual sex
Freshmann=1050
Sophomoren=1126
Juniorn=763
Seniorn=601

Taking things slow, by religion

Here’s how students with different religious identities at Northwestern answered the question “How long do you think it’s appropriate to wait before sex?”

Zero wait
Until marriage
1234567
Jewish0.040.260.400.200.080.020.01x̄=3.10n=394
Atheist0.050.200.320.280.120.020.01x̄=3.32n=517
Agnostic0.060.160.340.260.130.030.01x̄=3.36n=931
Spiritual0.050.190.280.300.160.020.00x̄=3.41n=250
Hindu0.050.170.250.290.130.080.03x̄=3.65n=129
Buddhist0.020.200.180.330.110.110.04x̄=3.82n=45
Catholic0.020.160.270.250.170.070.06x̄=3.84n=401
Christian0.020.100.210.260.210.070.12x̄=4.24n=421
Protestant0.010.110.190.140.170.150.22x̄=4.71n=229
Muslim0.010.070.130.210.220.070.29x̄=4.92n=90

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 😈
Democratn=1501
Liberaln=768
Socialistn=223
Apoliticaln=188
Independentn=514
Communistn=37
Conservativen=92
More to come ·

Like what you see? There’s more to come.

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

apply.marriagepact.com

Applications close 5/2 at 11:59pm.

Join our team ·