Boston College vs. Northeastern

College Search & Selection
1

Hi everyone, I am a senior deciding between Boston College and Northeastern University… and as probably all of you know, the deadline is this coming Monday. So, needless to say, I am in full on panic mode.

Some things to note about me: I am undeclared at both schools with interests in Economics, Information Sciences, and Business, along with other things.

I am in the Morrissey College of Arts & Sciences at BC, which means I can NOT major in business or IS (two interests of mine). Also, It is also nearly impossible to switch to the Carroll School of Management should I decide I want to pursue business.
At Northeastern I am in the Explore Program for Undeclared Students, and have access to all 150+ majors.

I am torn because Boston College has the “better” economics department, or at least the one I am more interested in. However, Northeastern has a combined major in Information Sciences and Business, which sounds really cool.

I know at first glance it probably seems Northeastern is the better fit for me because it does not limit me to one school, but BC has been a dream of mine for years, where as NEU kinda sprung up last minute.

I also don’t know exactly how I feel about the co-ops at NEU, although their reputation is impeccable and I am sure it is a worthwhile, valuable experience in the long run.

Basically, I am asking for ANY advise you guys have to offer me. Whether you know someone in one of the schools, or are considering one for yourself, literally anything would be appreciated. This is just a last minute attempt to gain some knowledge I may not already have.

Thanks to all that respond, and good luck/ congrats to all the other seniors out there!

2

A big difference is whether you want to wake up every day right in the middle of Boston, or if you would prefer to wake up on the outskirts of the city? Would you find being in the middle of the city too hectic and nerve-racking? Would you find being on the outskirts too boring?

3

How will you feel being at a school where you do not have access to the classes and majors that interest you? Are you able to major in economics at BC? Is that what you want to do? I don’t have a feeling of one school being better than another (I don’t have the background on them to make any judgement on that), I am just reading that one school gives you access to everything you may want to do, and the other doesn’t let you do much. BC may be a dream - but you need to let that concept go and look at the reality now. Will you be happy seeing others go off to classes you would like to be in?

Flexibility has always been a very important criteria in our selection of schools. Is BC truly inflexible in what you want to do? Have you talked to an admissions advisor at BC about that?

4

Not being a direct admit to CSOM would be the killer for me. I’d pick NEU for the security

5

Coops at Northeastern give a student uncertain about a career a chance to work in different fields.

Are you comfortable with the Jesuit Catholic atmosphere at BC?

Can we assume that both schools are equally affordable?

6

@TomSrOfBoston Although I am perfectly comfortable with BC having a Jesuit Catholic atmosphere, as I was raised Catholic myself, I could not help but notice that it felt more “reserved” for lack of a better word. NEU had a much more open, laid back, less clique-y, vibe amongst the student body. I was at both campuses this past Monday so these differences are fresh in my mind.

Also, yes, both schools are equally affordable, give or take a few thousand. At this point my parents are encouraging me to focus on other factors to base my decision off of since they are so similar in price.

What I am worried about is that, although NEU gives me more options, BC is a “better” education. NEU seems much more progressive in terms of academics, whereas BC seems much more traditional and is liberal arts. Do you think one school is over all “better” for academics?
(I put “better” in quotation marks because I know that both schools are great and that they both provide a quality education, but I am afraid that I could potentially pass on a “better” school by choosing the other)

7

Where are “your people”? Where will you be the most comfortable and feel like you fit in? Or, if you want to be somewhere unfamiliar to expose yourself to something different, maybe that’s the answer. When we toured in 2015, BC was definitely more reserved but still really cool, NE seemed quirky and intelligent.
Don’t be afraid to change your dream, my son last year picked a dark horse over a lifetime-love school, and he is sooo happy he tried something new. Though, he would have loved the other school too. You can’t go wrong, both are academic powers! Good luck.

8

I agree with @Maggpie. If you were looking for a classic liberal arts education, especially in the humanities, I would recommend BC. But for applied social sciences or business* I would recommend Northeastern.

*Given that you would not be in CSOM.

9

The big question, for me, is how do you REALLY feel about co-op? Bottom line, it makes for a very different college experience. Beginning in your sophomore year, many of your friends will disappear off campus for months at a time while they’re on co-op. You’ll still see them on weekends and in the evenings – sometimes coming ‘home’ from work in their adult office clothes – but they won’t be around during the day. For most, NEU is a 5-year program, and as you know the school isn’t big on sports. So it all will be different from what you’ll experience at BC – do keep that in mind.

10

As mentioned, the academics aren’t “better”, but are different focuses. There are still plenty of fun and interesting classes at both, and you can take a liberal arts style selection of them at either school. BC will have it built into its requirements while Northeastern will be something you have to choose yourself. Another difference is that many of those liberal arts courses will have a practical or applied spin generally. Hope that helps!

Beyond that, others here have done a good job detailing the rest.

11

I vote BC:)

12

I must take issue with the assertion that “the academics aren’t better”. Looking at their respective undergraduate enrollments – 17,990 NEU and 9,100 BC (Wikipedia), and endowments 729,400,000 NEU and 2,219,600,000 BC (2015 NACUBO study), one can see that a school with about half the number of students and an endowment more than three times larger will probably field a substantially higher caliber faculty, which translates to ‘better quality’ academics, does it not?

I also object to the implication that because the NEU vibe seemed “intelligent”, that was not true at BC. I truly doubt that to be the case, and, frankly, it is more than a little insulting to the BC student body. Even when I was an undergrad some forty-five years ago there was no shortage of ‘intelligent’ peers. One, in fact, was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship (also know as the “Genius Grant”).

13

Even 5-7 years ago, NEU was the “easy school to get into,” the private you paid for when you couldn’t get into anything else, and I remember they were playing with admission figures with abroad/spring admits, not sure exactly, but it seems they have gained street cred relatively quickly. Maybe they are doing great things, maybe it is earned, maybe not. idk. I just know BC is in a brutal sports conference.

Having said that, just yesterday I was thinking how many posts I have seen recently saying a school was this way or that way when they went to college in the 70s or 80s, with the underlying assumption it is the same way now as it was then. We all know 8 tracks are no more and things actually do change, correct? Not sure NEU falls into this category, but some schools have made significant changes and increased their academic/intellectual level over the last four DECADES. That’s a long time ago, even if we don’t want to believe it.

14

Dont ignore what @philbegas said about not being in CSOM. It sounds like you have no idea if you want to pursue that path and so closing it off is probably not a good idea.

15

As most people know, BC has been on the up and up, if anything, for the past four decades. I used that example merely to illustrate that even then it was doing very well on the ‘intelligence’ end. In that time it has won its share of highly esteemed scholarships, such as Marshalls, Trumans, even Rhodes’, among others.

16

@leanid

I don’t see how it inherently follows that higher endowment and fewer students = better faculty. The number that would represent that is average faculty salary, probably adjusted for the field. A school with a lower endowment can spend more on faculty than other areas, which is something Separate from that is the student to faculty ratio, which has nothing to do with the quality of professors. It can make a difference in class sizes and feel obviously, but isn’t inherently a big difference in academic quality either.

US News lists undergraduate enrollment at 13K at Northeastern as well.

Using those numbers and student to faculty ratio’s, here are the number of faculty at each:
BC: 750ish
NEU: 950ish

If someone knows where to get the amount of spending by each on faculty in total, that would complete the equation. I didn’t take the time to find it.

Even still, let’s say we find out the average prof at BC is paid 10K more on average - is that marginal difference really representative of significantly better academics?

17

@leaned BC has produced 2 Rhodes Scholars, Northeastern one. A Northeastern alumna recently won a MacArthur Genius award, she is a faculty member at Harvard Medical School. Northeastern has produced several Marshall scholars, one of whom contributes here on CC.

BC has come a long way though in the past 45 years. In the early 1970’s BC was on the verge of bankruptcy and there were rumors that the school would close. Harvard even put in an offer to buy the campus should that happen. But BC survived and has certainly flourished since then.
http://bcheights.com/2014/11/02/focus-cost-cutting-saved-bc-bankruptcy-financial-woes-1970s/

18

“A school with a lower endowment can spend more on faculty than other areas…” – or, more likely, it can spend less.

If salary is any indication of the level of quality, here are the numbers for BC since 2006, from the BC Factbook. I don’t have the NEU numbers to compare:

Full-Time Faculty Compensation
Source: Office of the Provost and Dean of Faculties; AAUP Annual Report on the Economic Status of the Profession
Year Professor Associate Assistant
2006-07 $167,900 $114,700 $95,600
2007-08 $176,500 $117,100 $100,300
2008-09 $183,000 $120,900 $102,500
2009-10 $182,200 $123,100 $102,800
2010-11 $189,700 $127,500 $104,700
2011-12 $194,350 $130,163 $109,863
2012-13 $201,490 $136,608 $114,217
2013-14 $211,991 $140,020 $115,467
2014-15 $213,188 $145,268 $115,880
2015-16 $218,900 $147,500 $123,300

Comparing the number of endowed professorships might also help, as, I assume, that is also an indicator. Don’t have the exact number for BC. I believe it is 80-100 chairs, but could be wrong.

19

This thread has moved considerably far away from the OP’s intention.

20

I don’t see it that way. Does anyone have the numbers for NEU?