Compare/Contrast Northeastern and Boston College, help me pick?

Hey guys, after being accepted at both BC and NEU I’m a little torn. BC is the technically better school, has a good business program, and I think I’d fit into the student body really well. However, the student body is kinda small and the school is a bit outside of Boston. I love the co-op program at NEU, as well as the location (right inside of Boston). However, when I visited NEU I wasn’t sure that I could see myself as a Northeastern student. I also have gathered that the partying at Northeastern is subpar (which is obviously a minor point, but still).

What trips me up is that I received a scholarship (14k/yr) at NEU… So would BC be worth 56k more than NEU? Any input about these schools is welcome!

Both are great schools and the coop for business students is amazing at Northeastern, they really do get placements in top tier internships if a top student. BC is a 10 minute walk across campus to the trolley that takes you right into Boston. Abuts Boston in a beautiful suburb. My 2 nephews who went to BC had very weak experiences with Career Services but one went to Notre Dame and one to Cornell MBA programs. Found first jobs through family connections. My 2 nephews who went to Northeastern got good to great jobs out of Northeastern, one working at Converse and the other at a family run Medium sized business thru the Career Services office. Neither were not top of the class but landed well and one will get an MBA part time at BU for one, other only out 2 years.

@rkelly5182 thanks for the great response! Disappointing to hear that about BC’s career services… Based on your analysis Northeastern sounds like a smarter choice? But obviously those kids who went to BC got into awesome grad schools so that is a consideration too

You should go to the school where culturally you see the best fit, money aside of course. Boston College is a true national school with lots of spirit, Division 1 sports and a not so job-oriented mission.

Also, one post about career services would hardly be a defintive and comprehensive evaluation.

If you love the energy sports brings to campus and a more balanced education, then BC is the obvious choice. If your end game is to get a job through the co-op then Northeastern is the way to go.

With regard to cost, take into consideration that the 4 and 6 yr graduation rates are much higher at BC. If you spend an extra yr or 2 in college it will be much more expensive overall.

If the price differential is affordable to your family without hardship (lots of loans etc.) then I’d go for BC.

For what it is worth Northeastern has both higher average SAT scores and a lower admission rate than BC does now., the difference in rank will decrease. Also, I think the difference in school spirit also sometimes gets overstated. BC just went 0-fer in both football and basketball in the ACC. I think they have won 1 conference title in ALL their ACC sports since they moved to the ACC. Northeastern plays D-1 (no football) in a mid -major conference with William + Mary and UDel. They just went to March Madness last year and barely lost to ACC champ Notre Dame. Northeastern just won Hockey East, where they compete against BC. You can’t go wrong with either school, especially for business. $56K is a substantial amount of money, and is really only something that your family could answer. My friends who went to BC loved it for the most part, their largest critiques being unless you are the typical BC student (white, not poor, heterosexual), you stick out and sometimes feel marginalized. Also that the distance into Boston and lack of real academic credit make interning during the school year a bit of a pain. Northeastern has had some growing pains as it has become a significantly better school in a short amount of time in terms of space. Also it can be tough to not see friends for large breaks in time between study abroad and co-oping internationally or outside of Boston. Again, I dont think you can go wrong here.

This is pretty misleading - at NEU, graduation rates are lower for the 4 year because most people do co-ops - you don’t pay any more tuition and co-ops cover the housing difference, if not more. The OP’s cost difference is accurate.

Can you elaborate on this?

Fit is important, and it seems like you are aware of the differences between the two. I would focus on the atmosphere and try to track down what makes you feel good/bad about that. Depending on how much money is a factor, BC could be the better option regardless of the differences. What makes you feel better about BC’s environment? Why can’t you see yourself at NEU?

Listen to your gut. Either choice involves a huge investment, so take “fit” into consideration: it’s crazy to pay lots of money for a school you’re ambivalent about.

That said, I think to get the most out of Northeastern, you should be very much into the whole concept of co-ops, and realize co-ops do affect the school vibe. If you’re after the classic/traditional college experience BC will be the better choice for you.

@katliamom @PengsPhils @swimchris Thank you all for the input! To clarify a few things-
The end goal of my education is to get a good job. I may get an MBA, so getting into a decent grad school is also a goal. I like the level of connections that Northeastern seems to have (which also appear very helpful for jobs/internships). What I meant when I said that I could not picture myself at NEU is that the student population looks really nerdy/pretty weird/not necessarily like people I would hangout with. It is also important to note in relation to BC that I am Jewish, although no one really knows unless I tell them because I’m not super religious or anything (I’m actually a convert). I’m used to being in the religious minority and it is not something that bothers me. Another side note- I could care less about sports, but I am very social and would attend sporting events as a social function.

Also, if any of you guys know about the workload and how people like the classes and professors that’s definitely super super super important to me!

You can accomplish your goals at either school. You might pose your questions about classes/professors at the BC and Northeastern subforums.

http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/boston-college/
http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/

Don’t ignore gut feelings as a factor in the decision process. If you can’t see yourself at Northeastern, that is a factor that should certainly weigh in your decision IMO.

I don’t know about “pretty weird”, but in general I would agree that Northeastern is a bit more stereotypically nerdy - that said, there’s plenty of social diversity on campus - everyone has their group. Reading through the lines, I think BC is probably a better fit socially. Not many NEU students attend games except for Hockey/Basketball, but there’s certainly a group that does. It’s just not going to be the majority - more like 15-20% - where at BC it may be more like 50/50 if I had to guess.

That said, it sounds like you prefer NEU in terms of opportunities and location. That seems to be the crux of your internal debate. I think when you get in a case like this, with two great academic schools, go with your gut. To me, it seems to be leaning a bit more BC - what would you say?

Basically this.

Another great thing to do would be to visit one more time to each to really get a feel and have confidence in your decision - that can reveal a lot.

@PengsPhils you are completely right on the money. That is exactly my dilemma. I’m visiting them again in a couple of weeks! Hopefully that helps me get that gut feeling. As of now I would say I’m leaning toward BC because of its higher level of academic prestige and the student body fit

You got into some excellent schools! I wouldn’t worry too much about shades of prestige, because they are both well-regarded, particularly in the northeast. When it comes to fit, I think of BC as more a classic liberal arts school, whereas Northeastern is more vocational. Most of the people I know who chose BC weren’t entirely sure what they wanted to study at first, liked the sports/party culture, and were white. The people who chose Northeastern tended to be fairly sure of what they wanted to study (usually something STEM, which is what Northeastern excels at), weren’t party types, and really enjoyed living in an urban setting. NE is barely a generation away from being a commuter school, so you will have a lot more off-campus housing options, which may be better preparation for adult living!

This mom of a Northeastern grad agrees 100% with what @Massmomm wrote.

I just wanted to say that I’m in the exact same dilemma as you, except I applied to NEU for Engineering and BC for Economics. I wish I knew what I truly wanted to major in so I could decide easily.

Do you live in Massachusetts? I do, and I visited BC/NEU during the summer. To me, BC seems more secluded, but the students there are very close to each other. NEU is in the city but still feels like a campus, but the students there probably aren’t as close at BC. NEU is much more modern-looking than BC. I feel like BC will give you a more traditional college bonding feeling than NEU.

I’m stuck between the two… I will probably end up at NEU though, because I don’t know a thing aobut Econ.