Hi everyone!
As I’m trying to make a college decision, I find myself stuck between these two schools. I will be attending either as a very uncertain biochemistry major, who may switch to a different major at some point. I will provide a list of pros and cons that stand out to me most between these two schools:
Temple:
(+) closer to home (I live about an hour North of Philly) ((this isn’t a big deal, but it is a plus))
(+) football is a popular sport
(+) inexpensive
(+) honors college provides me with “special” treatment
(+) special honors housing
(-) not a great neighborhood
(-) not as many research/internship opportunities
(-) not as great networking (post-college)
(-) overall not as academically strong
Boston:
(+) location is a bit more appealing to me, having lived so close to Philly all my life
(+) great research/internship opportunities
(+) overall better academically than Temple
(+) Temple will probably be less geographically diverse, with many students being citizens of Pennsylvania. Not a big deal, but a change might be unique.
(-) NO AIR CONDITIONING IN THE DORMS
(-) expensive (even outside of cost of attendance Boston seems to be an overall more expensive city)
(-) at this school, I will be academically average (more or less), which will be a new feeling. It may not be a bad thing, but who knows.
These pros and cons aren’t everything I like/dislike about the schools, it is mainly to highlight the big differences that I see.
Overall, I really do like both of these schools. The main issue for me is the difference in price, with Temple costing about $12,000 less per year than Boston. Although I think that I do prefer Boston University, in analyzing these schools, it’s hard for me to say that Boston is worth $12,000 more a year than Temple. It seems to me (since the college experience is really what you make of it, both academically and socially) that I could get the same opportunities and succeed just as much at either school. The main thing that I can think of that is out of my control is networking (with regards to my future). Boston University is more well known and seems to have a more successful (and maybe larger) alumni network. I’m not sure how much this would help in my future, but I don’t think it would be that substantial.
As you can see, I’m leaning towards attending the Temple University Honors College. While I like Boston University more, Temple provides the best “bang for your buck”. Regardless, I would really like to see anyone’s opinion on the matter who would be willing to reply.
Thank you!