Basically I just want to know your guys opinion on which school is better? I’ve gotten into both, and if you guys were in my position what would you choose? I know thats kind of hard to ask as a lot depends on my own personality and desires, but if you could all maybe layout what you like about either school, or don’t like. Are they pretty much even in respectability in the job market and are both same level of prestige/quality? Just curious to hear some other thoughts. Thank you very much.
How it is right now I’m very caught because, Northeastern is incredible, the city, the facilities, right now my only reservation is they are so career oriented at Northeastern, with the push of Co-ops and everything, which do take up summers as well. Bucknell to me is much more traditional and, perhaps that would be nice too idk. Thanks
Bucknell is ranked well above Northeastern for its undergrad engineering program. Its business school also has a very good ranking and is rising quickly. As for location, Lewisburg is definitely not Boston if living in a big city is important. But it is a very nice college town.
I’m not sure about “well” above. US News doesn’t even directly rank them in any category. They are on separate engineering rankings, and LAC vs National general lists. I see them as peers for engineering, and an edge to Northeastern for business. Both will fare similarly in the job market on name alone, but co-op does a lot to line up jobs and make connections.
As mentioned, they are very different schools. I’d second the question about what you’d be planning to do with summers at Bucknell.
Umm for the summers, I’d probably do nothing, just relax, but I suppose I really should accept the idea of working and doing school related stuff during my summers. So I’d also most likely try to do internships and stuff at Bucknell. In terms of having Boston and the city life, compared to Lewisburg, I’m still unsure of what the city can do for me, or if I need it. Could someone who went to a college in a big city, or Boston, possibly explain their experience and what they think a city did for their time there…? In terms of entertainment, connections, everyday life etc. everything! Thank you
Additionally I get the sense that Bucknell has a very good community of people who are super hyped up about their school, on the other hand I feel Northeastern is much more independent, and doesn’t have that same sense of people who are super excited to meet others, and represent the school’s name and sports teams. It just depends on what type of person I am, but I’m still having trouble cause both environments sound like they could be fun and work for me.
I think of Bucknell as providing a more traditional college experience where life revolves around the campus. There isn’t the lure and distraction of a city like Boston so the kids are focused on each other and the campus culture, which includes a big Greek life. Northeastern seems very preprofessional and I think of the students as being very ambitious and motivated. Not that they aren’t at Bucknell. At Northeastern, I would imagine that on weekends everyone goes in different directions in the city of Boston as there is a lot to do. I think you can’t go wrong with either educationally. You have to decide what kind of social life, nightlife and weekend life you would like.
I think you have to decide for yourself if your want a more traditional campus-based LAC type of experience or a school that is more urban and emphasizes co-ops. Nobody here should make that decision for you.
No it isn’t, and it’s definitely not better. Northeastern is the better program by a lot.
However, the question for the OP is a personal one. Do you want a preprofessional education or do you want to get a high quality liberal arts education while studying enough engineering to be employable (not the highest standard - almost all engineers get jobs in a good economy).
If you want to study engineering but don’t want to actually be an engineer, but maybe get an MBA and work in the high tech industry, perhaps the abstract critical thinking and writing skills provided by the liberal arts education plus enough quantitative to be able to be called an engineer would suggest Bucknell. If you want to be a patent attorney perhaps the Bucknell approach would work well too, since you would need to be able to function in law school.
I recently got a resume where the graduating engineer couldn’t fill up half of a page. It was so content-free that I put it up on the wall after redacting the name. It gets a lot of chuckles.
It’s possible that you don’t highly value the difference between them, and you wouldn’t be alone in that. Some people prefer rural or suburban campuses, some college towns, and some cities. Here’s what you get with Boston in my experience, to help compare.
Living in a city means that there’s always something going on that you can go out and do, a new neighborhood to explore, a new restaurant to try, a cool museum to go to, and that list goes on. Public transportation means that you can get around easily without a car. You have more options for bars and clubs if you choose to use them when you’re 21. In Boston specifically, you get the amazing Italian food of the north end, a public market open year round indoors, lots of good restaurants around, the MFA (free as a Northeastern student, always good to check out new exhibits). You get the Boston Commons and other parks. There’s a bookstore and restaurant with a bar on Newbury street frequented by Northeastern students (as well as BU, BC, MIT, Harvard, Emerson, - pretty much any college near Boston has students who go there) - I’ve studied for finals and midterms there before, it’s open until midnight daily, and it’s a 15-minute walk from campus. With Bucknell, the social life will be centered and created by the school, while Northeastern’s social life is focused around Boston for many. Going out and doing something in the city with my friends is much more common than going to an event on campus.
As mentioned, it’s up to you to decide what you prefer, but that’s a perspective on what a city in general, and specifically Boston, offers.