<p>I’m having some trouble deciding between these schools, they all have great things about them but they’re very different. I am not quite sure what I want to study yet (possibly psych/marketing but I want to keep my options open). I love Northeastern because it is right in the city and still has an amazing campus with beautiful new buildings and dorms, there are so many opportunities there (in terms of co-ops, activities, etc), and I feel like I would fit in really well there. I’ve heard great things about co-ops, but leaving school and working for 6 months is not the typical college experience and I’m not sure how I feel about that. My only other concern about Northeastern is that many students seem to be sure of their futures, and it seems to be hard to switch majors or have a double major because there are many requirements for each major. Brandeis and BU on the other hand have more of a LAC feel and would give me more flexibility to take different classes and explore possible career ideas. I really like that Brandeis has a community atmosphere, but I’m worried it might feel too “stuck in the suburbs.” Could anyone tell me about the social scene at Brandeis? I like BU, but it doesn’t have a campus and I’ve heard there is grade deflation? What is the academic reputation for BU and how intellectual are most students? I do care about being around intellectual students who are interested in social issues. I also really want a friendly environment. I also know BU is ranked higher than Northeastern, however, I’ve seen that Northeastern has a much lower acceptance rate and higher standardized test scores.
I feel so lucky to be in this position of choosing between 3 great schools!
Thanks in advance for your help!</p>
<p>Disclaimer – I am not college age by any stretch, but I am an alum of BU (undergrad), a nearly alum of Northeastern (grad) and have worked at Brandeis, so even though I am no longer college age, I do have some insight into these 3 campuses. </p>
<p>I think BU and Northeastern are the most similar because they are both in the city and they are similar sized schools. It is true Northeastern has more of a campus center, but I actually like the BU campus a lot. It is not significantly further from downtown Boston at all. If you are in CAS at BU, you will probably not need to go to West Campus except to the gym or if you live in West Campus, so it actually still feels like everything – classes, dorms – are near one another on the east end of campus. I don’t know how hard it is to change majors at Northeastern, because I never had to do that, but I know it is easy at BU. I started in engineering my first year and switched to CAS for science. It was no problem, and people say it is still pretty easy.</p>
<p>Brandeis is different mainly because it is outside of Boston in Waltham. There is commuter rail service to Cambridge (red line/Porter Square stop) and Boston (North Station). It is probably about a 10-15 minute ride to Porter on the train, and the stop is right at the base of campus. Have you visited? I sort-of feel like the facilities are much more run-down than BU’s or Northeastern’s, but it has a lot of unique programs and centers, and may be the place for you if you are interested in social issues, etc.</p>
<p>I go to Northeastern.</p>
<p>With regard to the rankings - consider the history. In 2009, when I was a high school senior choosing between Northeastern and BU, Northeastern was ranked 96 and BU was ranked 60. In 2013, Northeastern is ranked 56 and BU is ranked 51. Both have gone up, but Northeastern has gone up a lot. Also, like you said, Northeastern does have higher SAT/ACT scores, despite the lower rankings.</p>
<p>Why did I choose Northeastern? I just felt like I fit in better among the students, I liked the campus, and it looked like I was going to have fewer gen ed courses freshman year and would be able to take more upper level classes in my major right away.</p>
<p>For you, the choice might be different. You mention that you’re not sure about your future, might want to switch majors, etc. From what I’ve seen, it’s not particularly harder to double major here than it would be anywhere else, but I could be wrong. I also don’t think it’s that hard to switch majors, and there are plenty of undecided students. That said, there is kind of a pressure to figure it out early on, so that you can go on a co-op related to your major/career interests. If you switch your major halfway through college, and you already have a co-op in a totally different field, that could get confusing.</p>
<p>You also mention that you want to be around intellectual students who care about social issues. I actually think BU might be a better fit for you there. One of the things that kind of turned me off about BU was the intellectual vibe. Northeastern was more down to earth. That said, there are plenty of “intellectual” people at both schools, which are both large research institutions. But Northeastern kids are a little, on average, more career-oriented and less traditionally “intellectual” - based off of people from both schools who I’ve met.</p>
<p>They are both in great locations. BU kind of takes up a huge portion of one big city street. It’s near Allston, which is a cool “hipster” place to hang out. More bars and restaurants and things. If you’re into music at all, there are a lot of shows in that area, at places like the Paradise Rock Club, Great Scott, etc. Northeastern has more of a campus feel, with the green space and everything. However, it’s still in the city; there are restaurants/bars/whatnot around. It’s close to the Prudential Center (mall) and Back Bay. Either way, Boston transportation is pretty good, and most people get off campus and go to wherever in Boston. It’s easy to get around.</p>
<p>I don’t know anything about Brandeis. I imagine it’s totally different though, just because it’s not in the city.</p>
<p>Northeastern is probably the best of the three for business and hard science degrees. BU has a very traditional program which is a plus if you’re not so career oriented. Otherwise, I would go with Northeastern. </p>
<p>As with most people, I know very little of Brandeis which doesn’t bode we’ll for its prestige or name recognition, even in major markets like NYC/Boston.</p>
<p>Have you looked into BC?</p>
<p>BU has a better business school. SMG is very career oriented. Hard sciences I can’t really comment on though if your worried about BU being challenging enough for sciences I wouldnt worry about that :P.</p>
<p>The business schools are actually ranked very closely, 23 v 25. You really can’t compare the career oriented aspect of the DMSOB with SMG given the coop program. The International Business (BSIB) program at Northeastern is the best in New England and one of the best in the country, BU is not on the same level for International Business.</p>
<p>If you have to choose between Northeastern and BU (for undergraduate business) you should focus on aspects of both schools other than academics (e.g. location, size, the coop program at NU and the LAC style education of BU) to figure out which is best for you.</p>
<p>I mean you can say that but I see some sort of table for some company (deloitte the other day) every time I walk into SMG. Not according to US news 40 vs 61. BU is known better internationally if that matters to you as well.</p>
<p>The original post was from April.</p>
<p>Northeastern consistently beats BU (and wins) in business case competitions due to our real world experience. Theres no comparing Northeastern’s coop program with the tables “Name dropped big four” sets up at SMG. All business schools have those tables with recruiters. Rankings aren’t everything, obviously.</p>
<p>You clearly missed the main point of my post about choosing the school that fits you and your personality best. That far exceeds the importance of academic rankings. I chose Northeastern (DMSOB) over BU (SMG) and NYU (Stern) because Northeastern was a better fit.</p>
<p>No the clear point of your post was to come here to ■■■■■ BU and tout NEU. Our alumni win in the real world and give back unlike NEU.</p>
<p>Most of NEU’s success is relatively new. Just because NEU has internships it doesn’t mean the internship is any good or your getting any real world experience. I was accepted in 2012 to NEU but chose not to attend. Overall NEU isn’t better than BU, maybe their business program is better but all the other majors at NEU cannot be compared to BU. For the longest time Forbes has NEU ranked like 550 or something.</p>