Campus Report

Northwestern Marriage Pact · 2024 ·

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.

The more the major

Your major, your concentration, your greatest disappointment to your parents. And our favorite way to slice and dice the campus. Sit back and enjoy judging all the majors that aren’t your own.

Materials Science and Engineering majors would rather fail a test than cheat

And for that, we salute them. 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
Materials Science and Engineering	0.07	0.18	0.20	0.18	0.16	0.18	0.04	x̄=3.89	n=45
Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences	0.09	0.12	0.26	0.12	0.26	0.14	0.02	x̄=3.84	n=43
Chemistry	0.11	0.11	0.30	0.11	0.16	0.07	0.13	x̄=3.81	n=70
Journalism	0.12	0.19	0.22	0.11	0.14	0.13	0.09	x̄=3.70	n=367
Biological Sciences	0.14	0.21	0.21	0.08	0.16	0.14	0.07	x̄=3.59	n=280
Neuroscience	0.14	0.21	0.22	0.10	0.16	0.09	0.07	x̄=3.46	n=224
Computer Science	0.15	0.21	0.22	0.12	0.11	0.12	0.07	x̄=3.46	n=358
Industrial Engineering	0.19	0.25	0.22	0.09	0.08	0.12	0.06	x̄=3.22	n=116
Economics	0.21	0.23	0.21	0.08	0.11	0.09	0.07	x̄=3.20	n=521
Social Policy	0.20	0.22	0.22	0.07	0.18	0.07	0.04	x̄=3.18	n=45

Biomedical Engineering majors are running for the hills

What’s going on in there? Someone check in on them. Everyone else, read up on what your sane friends are up to.

Theatre majors might be open to being open

We asked if you were open to nonmonogamous relationships—here’s what you said, by major.

	1 – no way the more the merrier – 7
Mathematics	1.24	n=66
Biological Sciences	1.29	n=280
Computer Science	1.34	n=358
Economics	1.36	n=521
Journalism	1.38	n=367
Radio/Television/Film	1.61	n=106
Theatre	1.71	n=186

Topics to avoid

at the dinner table

In other words: politics, money, and religion. But really——who are we without them?

Take a look below to gather fodder for your next divisive discussion.

There’s gold in them there hills

Here’s how you answered the question “I can find it within myself to love someone if they’re rich enough.”

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
Mechanical Engineering	2.47	n=201
Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences	2.56	n=43
Computer Science	2.68	n=358
Journalism	2.86	n=367
Economics	2.87	n=521
Communication Studies	3.27	n=84
Cognitive Science	3.62	n=55

Muslim students want religious kids

Something to know if you fall in love with them. Here’s how each religion answered: ”It’s important my kids be raised religious.”

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Muslim	0.05	0.03	0.07	0.16	0.26	0.12	0.30	x̄=5.13	n=122
Protestant	0.04	0.07	0.10	0.14	0.22	0.14	0.29	x̄=5.01	n=249
Christian	0.07	0.10	0.12	0.25	0.20	0.11	0.15	x̄=4.38	n=493
Catholic	0.05	0.11	0.16	0.25	0.23	0.11	0.10	x̄=4.22	n=536
Jewish	0.10	0.15	0.17	0.18	0.23	0.12	0.05	x̄=3.85	n=410
Hindu	0.13	0.21	0.17	0.25	0.17	0.06	0.02	x̄=3.33	n=163
Buddhist	0.19	0.20	0.26	0.22	0.11	0.02	0.00	x̄=2.93	n=54
Spiritual	0.43	0.28	0.11	0.13	0.04	0.00	0.00	x̄=2.08	n=303
Agnostic	0.52	0.28	0.09	0.08	0.01	0.00	0.00	x̄=1.78	n=999
Atheist	0.65	0.25	0.07	0.04	0.00	0.00	0.00	x̄=1.51	n=644

72% of socialists 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.

	Socialist	Liberal	Democrat	Apolitical	Independent	Conservative	Republican
Socialist	0.05	0.08	0.08	0.47	0.15	0.72	0.72
Liberal	0.05	0.03	0.02	0.19	0.04	0.40	0.48
Democrat	0.07	0.03	0.04	0.17	0.06	0.36	0.50
Apolitical	0.03	0.03	0.01	0.01	0.01	0.03	0.04
Independent	0.05	0.01	0.01	0.03	0.01	0.07	0.09
Conservative	0.25	0.16	0.17	0.04	0.03	0.02	0.01
Republican	0.26	0.16	0.19	0.09	0.06	0.03	0.05

Big year for politics

Sophomores are the most conservative

...and also the most polarized by gender.

Here’s the political ideology of students on campus by class year and gender (measured as % liberal minus % conservative).

	More liberal More conservative
Freshman MAN	-0.53	n=570
Freshman WOMAN	-0.77	n=730
Sophomore MAN	-0.50	n=468
Sophomore WOMAN	-0.78	n=630
Junior MAN	-0.58	n=407
Junior WOMAN	-0.81	n=503
Senior MAN	-0.58	n=321
Senior WOMAN	-0.79	n=453

Socialists claim they always vote

Here’s how we hit the polls. Allegedly.

	Never Even in local elections
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
Socialist	0.00	0.02	0.04	0.11	0.28	0.15	0.41	x̄=5.74	n=170
Democrat	0.01	0.02	0.05	0.14	0.26	0.23	0.30	x̄=5.51	n=2232
Liberal	0.02	0.02	0.06	0.18	0.26	0.20	0.26	x̄=5.25	n=696
Independent	0.07	0.08	0.11	0.20	0.24	0.15	0.14	x̄=4.46	n=419
Conservative	0.06	0.08	0.16	0.25	0.29	0.08	0.09	x̄=4.22	n=116
Apolitical	0.23	0.20	0.18	0.19	0.14	0.03	0.04	x̄=3.02	n=192

Home is where the heart is

Some of us moved here from a long way away. Does absence make the heart grow fonder? Here’s how we answered “I take pride in where I’m from.”

	Strongly disagree Strongly agree
Socialist	5.47	n=170
Apolitical	5.60	n=192
Democrat	5.69	n=2232
Liberal	5.70	n=696
Conservative	5.91	n=116
Other	5.97	n=183

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.

Gender and orientation at Northwestern

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

Of those, 65% identify as bisexual, 19% identify as homosexual, and 8% identify as pansexual.

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

Of those, 63% 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”

33%

27%

17%

men

I'd rather not 🥺

Give me the reins 😈

10%

25%

30%

25%

women

Q: “I want to be worshiped by my partner”

16%

24%

20%

19%

15%

men

Strongly disagree

Strongly agree

13%

16%

31%

15%

11%

women

Q: “I would end a friendship over differing political views”

36%

26%

14%

10%

men

Nope

Yes, they're blocked

13%

16%

18%

17%

20%

11%

women

Q: “It's unethical to be apolitical”

17%

18%

20%

14%

16%

men

Strongly disagree

Strongly agree

10%

14%

15%

26%

18%

12%

women

Let’s Talk

About Sex

This year, we’re going out with a bang. Here’s a look at 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
Freshman	-0.05	n=1317
Sophomore	0.02	n=1112
Junior	0.07	n=929
Senior	0.10	n=789

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 😈
Liberal	3.55	n=696
Democrat	3.56	n=2232
Socialist	3.71	n=170
Apolitical	3.84	n=192
Republican	3.94	n=139
Independent	3.98	n=419
Conservative	4.19	n=116

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
Radio/Television/Film	0.13	0.25	0.32	0.18	0.09	0.02	0.01	x̄=2.95	n=106
Theatre	0.08	0.24	0.35	0.22	0.06	0.02	0.02	x̄=3.08	n=186
Political Science	0.10	0.26	0.32	0.17	0.09	0.03	0.03	x̄=3.10	n=152
Economics	0.06	0.21	0.31	0.25	0.10	0.03	0.05	x̄=3.40	n=521
Journalism	0.04	0.19	0.31	0.29	0.11	0.02	0.05	x̄=3.50	n=367
Computer Science	0.03	0.18	0.27	0.28	0.14	0.04	0.05	x̄=3.68	n=358
Biological Sciences	0.03	0.16	0.33	0.24	0.12	0.04	0.07	x̄=3.69	n=280
Neuroscience	0.06	0.14	0.29	0.21	0.19	0.03	0.08	x̄=3.76	n=224
Chemical Engineering	0.05	0.14	0.25	0.25	0.19	0.07	0.05	x̄=3.80	n=59
Materials Science and Engineering	0.04	0.13	0.24	0.24	0.18	0.11	0.04	x̄=3.89	n=45

We asked: How single are you?

Here’s how each class year responded. If only there were an algorithm to make this easier...

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