2 weeks until COMMITMENT DAY and no closer to making a decision!!!

I’ve been accepted to Northeastern Scholars Program and Vanderbilt, and I don’t know what to choose. I got a similar amount of aid from both schools. I want to major in biomedical engineering.

Northeastern:
Pros:I like everything that Northeastern does to promote the Scholars Program and all the opportunities for co ops, study abroad, volunteering, and research,
Cons: but I’m worried it’s almost too practical and not as prestigious. Also it’s so cold!

Vanderbilt:
Pros: I know Vanderbilt is higher ranked, but I’m not sure how much that should matter. Vanderbilt is a smaller beautiful school, and it seems to be a more traditional college experience.
Cons: I’m a white female, and not super social, but from what I’ve read most whites and most females join sororities. I think I could like sororities and a party school, but as of second half of senior year, I haven’t gone to many parties and I’m worried about making friends and getting in to a sorority. I’ve also read that there is a lot of pressure for women to be skinny.

Any advice? Which school should I choose???

Have you visited either school and if so, what was your opinion?

I visited Northeastern and I liked all of the buzz in the air. They described it as “momentum” of where NU is going, and everyone I met was very nice and purposeful, although I only met Scholars. I’m concerned that the rest of the University wouldn’t like the Scholars, who get full tuition. It was also March and still snowing… (I was born in the South if that’s not obvious)
I’m visiting Vanderbilt this weekend, and I am prepared to be amazed by the warmth and the green, but that’s hardly what I want base my decision on. I’m not staying overnight with a student like I did at Northeastern, so I’m not sure if I’ll be able to get as good a sense of the ‘culture’ or ‘vibe’.

Tip for your Vandy visit:

Pancake Pantry for breakfast.

I think you’ve summed up some of each school’s advantages.

On Vandy’s behalf, I’ll say that Nashville is a cool city. I lived there for ten years.

Vandy has more prestige, true. Hopefully these will help you decide:

Boston vs. Nashville
Campus vs. campus
To co-op or not? (and other academic fit)
Relatively more intellectual vs. relatively more pre-professional
Overall vibe
Cost

Cost : can you afford Vandy?

For what it’s worth, the rest of the student body usually doesn’t care if you’re in the scholars program or not - I know a few personally and often you don’t even realize who’s in what program. I just found out yesterday that someone I’ve interacted with was a scholar - it doesn’t change anything usually.

Personally, I would not worry about prestige in this case - both will provide great academics and various other advantages. The scholars program has so many great resources in addition to all those NEU already has that you will be able to really make your own path. Success after college has been shown time and time again to not be about the college you go to but the student themselves.

For that reason, I almost always advocate environment and fit, as well as affordability, over all else. If you enjoy the co-op program, you will have plenty of ways to balance that with your own academic path. Socially, it sounds like you would be much more at home at NEU, though I suspect you would be able to find your type of friends at Vandy too, which is important to remember.

If you have any particular questions I’d love to help!