8
weeks
starting week 2 of the quarter
AcademicsPATH: Your Path to Academic & Personal Success
Academics
PATH: Your Path to Academic & Personal Success
What is PATH?
Watch our video:Peer mentors share more about their experiences in the PATH program.
PATH is an 8-week program at Northwestern designed to help you thrive — academically and personally. Through a mix of online tools and small-group discussions, you’ll learn how to:
- Clarify your values and goals: define what matters most and stay motivated
- Train your attention: sharpen your focus in a distraction-filled world
- Shift your mindset: see challenges as opportunities, not roadblocks
- Understand how your brain works: study smarter, not harder
- Practice self-compassion: recover quickly from setbacks and keep moving forward
What to Expect
No prerequisites, just curiosity
The PATH program is open to all Northwestern students. Small, supportive groups are led by 2 peer mentors, fostering varied conversations and experiences.
1
hour
in class per week + about 30 minutes of online modules
3-8
students
per section
What Makes PATH Different?
Not just study tips
You’ll learn study tips, but also so much more. PATH gives you the space to pause, reflect, and build skills that actually make college feel more manageable. You’ll explore the psychology and biology behind success. You’ll set your own direction and goals for the quarter and check in on them weekly.
Not just another class
It’s interactive, discussion-based, and peer-led. You’ll have the opportunity to reflect privately in the PATH website, and then learn from your peers in the group discussion. It is a zero-credit class that aims to help you become more efficient and balance competing priorities based on your personal values.
Not just for academics
The skills you learn apply to life beyond Northwestern. You will work through modules exploring personal values, habit formation, mindset, and more. Because success isn’t just about what you know — it’s about how you think, feel, and act.
Peer Mentors
In PATH, peer mentors create space for real conversations you don’t usually get to have during a busy quarter. They’ve been where you are, and they help make it feel normal to pause, reflect, and reset when everything else feels chaotic.
What Are Students Saying?
“PATH helped me think about my academics in a more balanced way. I’m more organized and deal with setbacks more effectively.”
“It’s only 1 of the 168 hours in a week, but it makes a huge difference.”
“PATH gave me skills I’ll use long after college. I’d recommend it to anyone.”
Ready to start?
Seats are limited — don’t miss your chance to join the next cohort.