<p>My son got into both Northwestern and Santa Clara and is trying to decide between the two. He knows that Northwestern is the better school for his preferred major, engineering, but we received hardly anything in the form of financial aid from them. On the other hand, Santa Clara is offering him quite nearly a full ride and it would be great to graduate with as little debt as possible. Is Northwestern worth all of the extra money that it would cost to go there, or should he go to Santa Clara? It would be great to hear from people who have attended either school.</p>
<p>I’d pick Santa Clara just for the weather.</p>
<p>Santa Clara. But make sure your son is aware of any strings attached to full ride (GPA, etc.) An engineering degree in the heart of Silicon Valley–sweet! And the Jesuit alumni connections should not be discounted…</p>
<p>Both great schools. Congrats to your son.</p>
<p>SC is no slouch in engineering, ask all the alums working in Silicon Valley.</p>
<p>OP My info is somewhat outdated but I went to NU undergrad (engineering) and Santa Clara grad so offer my 2¢</p>
<p>First WHICH engineering? That matters.
Second what are his plans after graduation? That matters.</p>
<p>Are there other factors to costs such as travel to / from and where he wants to work in summers? Those matter.</p>
<p>Both schools are solid and there probably isn’t a wrong choice for either. I admire Dean Ottino at NU and his approach to the integrated process. NU’s winters are brutal to some people unused to that type of weather. IMHO (and again slightly outdated info from the dark ages) IMHO the NU kids in engineering tended to be more intense. Not smarter, not more interesting, just something somehow more maybe high strung? intense on goals? </p>
<p>Santa Clara has put a lot into the school recently. The weather is great. Kids are smart and focused but in a CA way sort of more laid back and/or open than NU kids. The contacts are available all over Silicon Valley for internships. There are a LOT of MBA’s who are now managers who respect Santa Clara students and have their old attachment for Santa Clara. I believe that Santa Clara’s alumni are much more passionate about giving back to the school and keeping in touch. (I do think NU is working on that, but they lag in making alumni WANT to be in touch, except in the Chicago area, again, just IMHO).</p>
<p>What a great job your DS must have done! Congratulations on either choice.</p>
<p>Santa Clara, and save the money, and let him enjoy the in-term Silicon Valley internships.</p>
<p>I’d suggest pming thumper1</p>
<p>Her D graduated from Santa Clara with an engineering degree (biomedical) in, I believe, 2010.</p>
<p>I’d say Santa Clara for a full ride. Especially for Computer Science, there is not much difference in either school for future job opportunities. If she is looking for graduate school, it would be just the same for both schools, especially she can do well at Santa Clara.</p>
<p>I am in Silicon Valley and many of my friends are working and hiring from both schools. As long as you can keep up the GPA, the differences between the two are not large.</p>
<p>I was having a similar discussion with 6 friends the other day (all of us Northwestern grads)…2 of them being engineering grads. </p>
<p>The question was…how much would you pay for a degree from NU? All of us have kids in college or kids soon to be. All of us would have to pay > than $35,000 per year for NU but only one of us is ‘rich’ or could easily handle their EFC. Only 1 of the 6 said they would pay it. The rest of us have all sent(or will be sending) our kids to various state flagships at a similar price to what you are probably paying for Santa Clara.</p>
<p>Save your money and treat him to some study abroads and other great experiences.</p>
<p>OTOH, I know plenty of NU grads who are paying for their kids to attend NU (myself included!). But none of us are engineers or in that job market, and Santa Clara’s proximity to Silicon Valley is relevant in this discussion.</p>
<p>If you can’t afford Northwestern, you don’t have much of a choice to make.</p>
<p>Santa Clara, and I am a Northwestern graduate. Knowing what I do now about undergraduate education, being almost debt free after graduation is a huge blessing. Besides, California universities are fine insitutions.</p>
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<p>That’s very true. If you can’t, you can’t!</p>