I am just wondering what everyones opinion is on this question:
(If you were majoring in Engineering) and you were accepted to both, which would you choose? Boston University or Northeastern?
Ignoring anything with financial help or scholarships, just if you had a flat out choice.
Boston University
Northeastern if I like the idea of a co-op program, otherwise BU.
If you’re not excited by the idea of working full time in engineering AS PART OF your undergraduate education, don’t pick Northeastern. That’s THE reason to go there.
In a vacuum, it’s going to be 100% about fit.
Both schools have great academic quality.
Both offer good jobs and opportunities during and after attending, but NEU has the co-op program, as others have mentioned. It’s the biggest difference between the two, for better or worse for each person.
BU has a long campus that is essentially a long city block(s). NEU is also very urban but has more of a defined campus with quad’s, green spaces, and is not as long to walk across (BU can take 20 minutes to walk from one side of campus to the other - they have their own bus system in addition to the T, which both run across campus and will be used by students to get to class). Both have about equal access to Boston, as they are only a 10-15 walk from each other and are very close to downtown and only a T ride away from Harvard Square, Kendall, Davis, and Cambridge in general.
BU has more traditional social life with more greek life and a bigger emphasis on sports while NEU is usually considered a bit nerdier.
Both have about the same diversity with a particularly high number of international students and students from all over the US.
Both are socially very liberal, as with the rest of Boston.
Northeastern is usually seen as slightly better for engineering in my experience, particularly with the co-op program.
BU has more research, but both are very active in research, particularly for engineering. At BU, it will be a bit more of a focus where at NEU it will be on co-op as well as research.
Personally, I chose NEU for CS. I loved co-op and felt much more at home socially at NEU - I also preferred their CS department significantly. I would have enjoyed either campus, and I was not intensely set on research.