BU vs. Northeastern

Colleges and Universities A-Z Boston University
1

I got into both BU and Northeastern but can’t decide between them. I got the Trustee Scholarship at BU and the University Scholarship at NU, both of which are full-tuition scholarships but the Trustee Scholarship is much more selective (20 Trustee scholars as opposed to NU’s 120 University Scholars.) I visited both and generally liked both. I can’t make up my mind and it seems like nothing else I’ve read could either so I hoped a post would help me.

I suppose my own personal pro’s and con’s for each are as follows:
(GO AHEAD AND SKIP READING THEM IF YOU FIND THIS POST TOO LONG. I would just love to hear your opinion at the end.)

BU Pro’s:

  • Trustee Scholarship Selectivity
  • Campus is gorgeous
  • Name carries more prestigious
  • More school spirit
  • More notable Alum/Professors
  • Campus is a bit further from downtown Boston. Feels like that could give me seclusion from the city should I ever want it.
  • Larger. More opportunities. (opportunities which, as I’ve been told, might make up for the lack of a co-op.)
  • A traditional college experience (I will contradict myself later on when I “con” it and say that I might tire of the college experience quickly, but fear of getting bored of it doesn’t weigh down the fact that I still want it.)

BU Con’s:

  • Grade Deflation Policy (Is this even real? It’s a big thing to shadow from incoming freshmen if it is.)
  • Lack of a Co-Op Program. (I don’t want to tire of my college years early and I feel like four years of a traditional college life will weigh me down. I got bored and restless way too easily and end up looking forward to the next step much quicker than others do. The Co-Op seems to offer me a way out from the typical standstill of college that I really don’t want the traditional BU to have, but I fear does.)
  • Didn’t apply to the Honors program. (Thought it went hand in hand with the scholarship. I was wrong… But it’s not so important to me because the name of the Trustee scholarship is a bigger deal than that of the Honor’s.)

NU Pro’s:

  • Co-Op Program (add to the above the fact that the Co-Op program also offers me more independence financially, something of importance to me.)
  • Astonishingly raising its rank, name and prestige.
  • Secluded Campus
  • Scholarship is part of the Honors program.
  • Co-Op
  • Co-Op
  • Co-Op
  • Co-O…
  • Co-…
  • C…

NU Con’s:

  • I’d be one of 120 scholars in a class of 2600. (again, I’d be one of twenty in a class of 3,600 at BU - I obviously prefer more focalised attention and don’t want to get lost in the large scholars community at NU.)
  • Smaller Campus
  • Co-Op means I won’t get the college experience.
  • Co-Op also means that bonds between students and the school spirit won’t be as great.
  • Smaller

Do you see my dilemma? They’re both so similar, location-wise, opportunity-wise, rank-wise, and reputation-wise. Very few are refuting either and I want to hear the deep-rooted secrets that’ll sway my decision because I don’t want to regret in the years to come. It’ll be easy for me to do so with their proximity. For example, discovering the grade-deflation policy at BU really made me reconsider. I don’t want to be surprised is all.

If it helps, I’m hoping to double-major in Economics and Computer Science while also minoring (or maybe, just maybe triple-majoring) in International Relations. I might pursue research afterwise or try to work for NGO’s, government agencies, or charity organizations. But I also might pursue a Master’s degree.

I’ll keep updating my list as I come with new pros and cons. I don’t care that one has more pro’s or con’s than the other because they both end up with the same weigh in general.

I really need help with my decision otherwise, I wouldn’t be posting this. I hope this also helps future/current others in a somewhat similar situation; Not enough of BU vs Northeastern is out there.

Anyway, THANK YOU!! Sorry for the long post but I hope you can help.

2

Here’s the thing: grade deflation is real. But what that actually means is: BU is academically rigorous. The whole reason BU implemented their grade deflation policy was in response to schools like Harvard where they give out As like candy–even if everyone is outstanding, that doesn’t mean everyone should perform outstandingly in every single class. That’s just not reality. We can’t all get gold stars. Coursework should be difficult, and let me tell you: the As you earn in classes at BU will be your proudest accomplishments. I still remember every. single. one. (I also graduated magna cum laude with a 3.47 GPA… they give out Latin honors on a curve; the highest GPA I heard of someone in my graduating class having was like a 3.8)

This means you’ll get a better education at BU than you might get elsewhere, which will provide benefits to you in the long run. I’m a nerd and I like a challenge, so I found grade deflation invigorating… though also damn frustrating at times. It was both. If you’re the type to have a meltdown because you can’t handle “failure” (ie: not getting straight As), BU might send you into a conniption. But in the long run I really think it’s not bad. Work ethic is generally rewarded: if you work hard, you do better in your classes. Generally, BU would be harder than Northeastern, so it depends on how much of a challenge you want to undertake. (and in fairness, not all classes at BU are hard–you can find courses that are a bit lighter in order to round out an otherwise daunting schedule)

The co-op program is great, but BU is absolutely more prestigious and its alumni go on to do better things in the long run. The alumni network alone makes up for not having co-op, IMO. You can do internships during the summer & during the school year when you study abroad. That’s another place I think BU trumps Northeastern: if you want to do International Relations, BU has a lot of resources, including a robust study abroad slate.

That’s my 2 cents. Between the two where both offered you full rides, if it were me, I’d go to BU (again, ha).

3

I find the though that to maintain merit scholarships you need at least a 3.2 GPA even if you are an engineering major disconcerting. It does not leave much margin for error. To be penalized for getting a 3.0 in the BU environment in engineering to me is unreasonable.

4

Well my daughter goes to Northeastern and my son will be starting at BU next year. I can’t really speak to BU as much yet but he is very excited. My daughter loves NEU though. She is currently on co-op and I don’t think she would feel it is much of a con like you have listed above. Other than not getting a spring break and having her summer break shortened I think she is really enjoying it. Also she was able to still live on campus while doing this coop so she was still very active in campus things and is VP of 2 different student groups. It depends on where you do your coop but it doesn’t have to take away from campus life. Both seem to have great international programs. From all appearances both are great schools and will provide great opportunities.