<p>UChicago by far, in terms of international prestige
quality wise? probably very close</p>
<p>Phuriku, I am not sure that Nobel Prize affilitations are that telling. Of those 22 WUSTL Nobel Prize winners, not a single one studied at WUSTL. WUSTL has not graduated a student who went on to win the Nobel Prize. Northwestern has graduated 3. </p>
<p>Besides, of the 22 WUSTL Nobel Prize winners, only a handful were at the university when they won the award or after winning the award. Most of the 22 were either at the university as visiting faculty/researchers or were faculty at WUSTL but moved to another university before winning the award. Virtually all of the winners were researchers and faculty associated with its Medical school…so they never really taught undergrads. </p>
<p>The above applies to Nobel Prize winners at most universities, by the way, not just WUSTL, which is why I don’t think Nobel Prize winners are a good metric for judging institutional quality.</p>
<p>I would ask, before offering advice, who are you–socially, psychologically, politically, athletically, etc. All three schools, while excellent academically, are different sensibilities. One in particular is more Greek-driven, one’s student population eschews athletics, more than the other two.</p>
<p>Who are you?</p>
<p>And in my opinion, I wouldn’t let prestige guide you–we’ve a close family friend who is aching (!) to get out of MIT–he is brilliant and social and Renaissance and miserable. The psycho-social sensibility, even the lack of support of some of the professors and lack of eating centers in each dorm, feels socially hostile to him, and, yet, MIT is prestigious with a lot of Nobel(ers).</p>
<p>Another friend’s child is desperate to transfer from Swarthmore, citing that a social life is not paramount for the average Swarthmore student, yet a prestigious school. This kid was over-ridden by a father who acted out of his own inadequacy, having attended Michigan state (with which there is nothing wrong!) and having done his Engineering Phd. at Cal. The father is a very successful engineer and yet was so stung by the lack of “prestige” of his undergrad. institution that he forbade his son from attending UCLA (uh, what the heck is wrong with UCLA), which was the boy’s first choice. He is now paying the price as a miserable sophomore since UCLA will not allow transfer until junior year, and he is an engineering kid, and UCLA is so impacted with aspiring engineers. He hates the cold. This kid is social, academic, and wanted a school with a lot of solidarity and school spirit. He wanted a Michigan/UCLA sort of school–smart kids, a lot of school spirit, and a high degree of social sensibility. </p>
<p>You are talking about three wonderful schools, so figure out who you are and with what sort of people you would be happy “hanging.”</p>
<p>P.S. Are you a foodie? I’ve heard tell that Wash U. has great food!!</p>
<p><<<having attended=“” michigan=“” state=“” (with=“” which=“” there=“” is=“” nothing=“” wrong!)=“”>>></having></p>
<p>Actually, he attended Purdue, not Michigan state, but my point remains the same.</p>
<p>which is why I don’t think Nobel Prize winners are a good metric for judging institutional quality.</p>
<p>Alexandre, precisely!!</p>
<p>To reiterate an earlier poster: VISIT! </p>
<p>The feel you get from a visit has to be a consideration, and if you can, you should. Another poster recommended applying to more schools, and this is also excellent advice, especially becauseNU, Chi & WUSL are all in the same niche.</p>
<p>My D graduated from NU and is working in her field, Chem E, and she loved NU, but everyone is different. I loved NU because they offered her more money - and the net was less, than UIUC, Pudue, RoseHulman and WUSL. She did co-op and will have 0 loans after this year - and her Mum and Dad did not provide ANY money. Hard to beat that in this econ climate. </p>
<p>A point that nobody else has brought up, is the proximity of your schools to Mum & Dad; D at NU is close to us, and we could visit to see her present projects, and play sports- where her team kicked U of Chi’s buttocks every year. Severely. Not that should matter to you - but it did to her. </p>
<p>Please consider also, that WUSL is, unfortunately, in St. Louis… (Please - no St. Louis ■■■■■■ need reply! You have Tony LaRussa & Mark McGuire, so deal with it.) U of MI?? Please!@ Maize & blue? - ROFL. If you think you would like attending a U with a student pop of a million+, then knock yourself out, but NU was a cozier, friendlier place. </p>
<p>So, bottom line - VISIT!</p>
<p>OP, what is your financial situation? You could be in line for some very generous merit scholarships with your stats. While Wash U and U of C offer some wonderful merit scholarships, they are scarce. Your future would be better served by having a variety of acceptances next April - schools with sufficient aid, good atmosphere, and great academics, or a tolerable combination of the three. </p>
<p>One way to surmount your parents incredible stubbornness is to divide and conquer. Apply to Illinois early one of your favorites EA or ED. If you are happy with the responses in December, you may not have to go further, but if your schools deny or their aid packages are insufficient, you will have another shot at RD at the other schools, and your parents may realize that nothing is ironclad. Hint: you will need to have all of your HS requests for transcripts and recommendations done by the HS deadline, possibly before Thanksgiving. Then, you can have them held until you hear from your early schools.</p>
<p>Wash U has some interesting programs for high achievers, like an undergrad program that includes admittance to their law school, etc. Do take a deeper look at their websites and schedule your visits this spring. You will have a lot of soul searching to do before choosing your schools. That’s all your parents’ policy does, of course - shift the burden of decision to junior year.</p>
<p>“U of MI?? Please!@ Maize & blue? - ROFL”</p>
<p>Sure beats the pants off of “Barney” purple!</p>
<p>^ I also thought NUgraddad’s comments were silly (and I am an NU alum).</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Because many Illinois parents won’t pay OOS for Michigan (or any other Big Ten state flagship) when they have UIUC at in-state prices, and can’t say that I blame them in this economy.</p>
<p>All 3 schools are very strong academically, so I think your choice should really come down to fit. Chicago is known for being very intense. Northwestern is bigger than the other two, has a big greek scene, and bigger athletics. WashU is known for good food and facilities and happy students and more of an undergraduate focus. </p>
<p>My S plans to study Econ and Poli Sci (and eventually go to law school), and was accepted ED to WashU. WashU has a Political Economy department that brings Econ and Poli Sci together. Chicago is certainly better known for Econ than the other two schools, but my son was scared off by the “where fun goes to die” vibe to apply there. WashU is quite strong in biology and Poli Sci. </p>
<p>Chicago has EA admission. If you applied EA and perhaps ED to WashU or Northwestern and knew by mid-Dec that you weren’t admitted to either of them, perhaps your parents would allow you to apply to more schools. The common app makes it feasible to wait to submit your apps. And hopefully you will get into an EA/ED school, so the 3 school restriction won’t matter.</p>
<p>*Why is Michigan left out of this discussion? *</p>
<p>The OP said he wasn’t interested in going to Michigan. He didn’t say why. It wasn’t the OOS tuition because the cost of attendance at Chicago, Northwestern and Wash U are all higher than OOS tuition at Michigan. UIUC is in the mix because it is the OP’s safety school and he has to apply there.</p>
<p>^^^^Nothing wrong with that.</p>
<p>I would say the school culture in these 3 school are so different.</p>
<p>I think all three are really good schools. (I’m trying not to be biased here, as you can see from my user name)
Alexandre, a lot of the Nobel Prize winners were not undergraduates at their listed “connected” institutions. Most of them did their Nobel Prize projects when they were professors at their listed institutions. So that is why Wikipedia says that WUSTL has 22 Nobel Prize winners listed. Oftentimes, the affiliated “Nobel Prize schools” are the schools where the Nobel Prize winners themselves say they did most of the research for the Nobel. </p>
<p>I agree with Saviola. The three schools are vastly different in culture. Visit- that is your best bet of getting to know the school. In terms of academic quality, the three schools are ranked quite closely together overall (for undergraduate academics), so it is really hard to distinguish- they are all stellar. However, if you are aiming for a particular program, it’s a good idea to do some research regarding their specific offerings.</p>
<p>Hope I helped!</p>
<p>It’s an old thread.
Anything changed after 2 years? U Chicago’s ranking goes up, and became the hardest one to get into. It is still very nerdy. NU is still more professional among these three Midwest peers. Wustl is still warm, friendly and admitted more students because of new dorms. I just hope its ranking won’t drop this year…let’s see in August.</p>