While DC does indeed have more museums, Northeastern pretty much wrote the book on learning outside the classroom (over 100 years of co-op, service learning program, general academic philosophy) and walks the walk too. Our art history courses also make weekly trips to the MFA where we have free admission to (as well as with the ICA). Boston has plenty going on too 
Besides the embassy parties, I think youāre being a bit unfair to Boston, where students from tons of schools in the area study in warmer weather too. Theyāre both great cities that I think share a good deal in the end!
@pickledginger My son was admitted to GWās Poli Comm too and he is really intrigued by it. He actually applied to GWās Elliott School of Foreign Service and may still try to transfer to it. Either way he will be at GW in the fall and is over the moon about it.
He was also admitted to Northeastern to their NU-in program where you spend your FIRST semester abroad. As someone who wants to major in International Relations this held appeal as well. He likes Boston a lot (and his sister is a Junior at BU) but really sees himself in DC and their opportunities to study Foreign Service.
To the OP, keep in mind that Honors programs a lot of work and may crowd out other classes your daughter wants to take. My daughter started in the honors program at BU but had to drop it by second semester since she literally couldnāt fit the extra courses with her dietetics curriculum.
Honors programs vary by school. It is rather lightweight at NEU - better housing (this is the biggest perk), smaller honors sections for intro courses, and special honors classes you can take (including honors study abroad summer classes). You can stay in the program as long as you maintain a certain GPA. It is up to you whether or not you take the honors classes required to graduate with honors.
My daughter was in the program and didnāt take the number of honors electives she needed to graduate with honors. She made a conscious decision to take other electives instead. She still was considered an honors program member (and an honors alum) but doesnāt have honors on her degree.
@ChgoMom64 ā¦thank you for the honors info. My twins both got into the honors program at BU but neither has bee awarded a dime of merit (doubt itās still coming although I know Wake and Mich are still sending some) and we donāt qualify for FA, so we had to pass. Is she happy at BU? Does she lovelovelove it?? If I had one at NU I thought maybe I could justify the other at BU so theyād be close to each other, but full price with my son still in high school isnāt doable.
@twinmom71 Yes she does absolutely love BU. She applied Early Decision there so she was āone and doneā. Thankfully they did give her some merit aid as we wouldnāt qualify for FA either. She got involved with one of their student organizations and as she has moved up those have actually become paid positions so that takes some of the sting out as well. She also loves Boston and feels safe there. One of her close high school friends goes to NU and is very happy there too.
I would have loved to have both of my kids in Boston but since they are 3 years apart and NU would have required my son to study abroad the first semester they wouldnāt have had that much time in Boston together.
My daughter (HS class of 2012) was part of an exceptionally strong graduating class at her very large HS (probably 500 graduates). One student, who was a presidential scholar, didnāt even make salutatorian. She had several friends and classmates who went to ivies and very top ranked colleges. She chose to go to Northeastern, partially because she was undeclared and they had a special program for that.
Six years later, it is interesting to reflect on how these kids are doing. The thing that has struck me now about these kids, who continued to do well in college, is that many of those ivy and very competitive college grads are still lacking direction in their life. They canāt decide on what kind of job or graduate education they want to pursue. Several have already changed direction 1-2 times in the 2 years since finishing college. Starting programs or jobs and quitting early on.
In contrast, almost every student my daughter attended NEU with has found something they are pursuing with enthusiasm. I know that at 22 it is early to decide what to do with the rest of your life. I also know todayās generation will not stick with something forever like my parents might have. However, I think every college kid needs good advising to get them successfully launched at graduation. Having an undeclared program, where students explore their strengths and interests should go far in helping provide direction to students. Very rarely on CC do we hear people say to evaluate a school on the strength of its advising, but for a smart kid who is good at lots of things and undecided, it should be an important criteria.
āa smart kid who is good at lots of things and undecidedāā¦@kiddie you have described my daughter to a tee and I appreciate this info so much. She was waitlisted at Cornell, Brown and Weselyan but has decided not to keep her name on the lists. She might enjoy 4 years of studying philosophy or literature or some other liberal arts field, but in the end, she is one who would struggle with how and where to apply that. She is also a kid who doesnāt always make the strongest/most polished first impression (needs to work on that!) but EVERYONE who knows her would hire her in a heartbeat for her worth ethic, integrity, intelligence and compassion. Sheās a good kid but will struggle in job interviews (I thinkā¦hope sheās not on here!) so the co-op opportunity will be invaluable.
Now just have to get her to stop romanticizing monuments after dark and I think we have a decision! Can she go to both NU and GW??
@kiddie, all of the great info you shared about Northeastern is making me feel like my son might have made a mistake in notifying Northeastern late last week that he would not be attending. He would have been in the undeclared program - heās just as you described: smart, undecided, and good at lots of things. Like @twinmom71ās daughter, he also does not make the worldās strongest first impression (for him, itās being too reserved and not wanting to be āfakeā).
However, the merit aid at NU would have had us paying $10K more annually than the other privates he got into, which is another $10k more than the publics, and that tipped the balance against NU. I guess whatās done is done, and we have to move on very soon on all fronts, but I appreciate you sharing your thoughts and wanted to let you know that they made an impression on me.
New Yorker here. My kids got into GW and NU so we visited both.
Loved both GW and NU. Kids ended up elsewhere, butā¦
GW has both the urban and suburban campuses, to give a hybrid experience.
DC and Boston are both great cities to study and find career related jobs.
Major should dictate the decision though sounds like undecided ?
Tough choice, good luck, both great choices.
One thing about Fordham that most universally dislike is the core curriculum. Many schools have a core, but Fordhams is very restrictive/specific and itās certainly a con. You canāt even choose you courses 1sr semester. They choose them for you. A lot of AP courses donāt fulfill core requirements (which is ridiculous) therefore no relief there.
If your child has AP, take a look at the policy of each school. The credit makes a huge difference and adds a lot of flexibility if accepted.
@pickledginger you need to follow the money - another $20K a year for NEU vs.a good option at a public is just not worth it. Whenever people ask is Northeastern worth (insert ridiculous dollar amount here) in debt or more than other options I always say no - no school is worth that.
@pickledginger ā¦ donāt feel bad about picking GW for NUā¦I think they are very, very similar in so many ways! (@kiddie was comparing NU to ivy league schools!) Both great, manageable, interesting citiesā¦both have tons of job and internship opportunities and both schools are very well organized about helping with placement which is keyā¦neither have a big football school vibe so itās a different kind experienceā¦similarly ranked and relatively similar sizeā¦etc.
From what Iāve heard, the students at NU are very professional minded and focused on career, which could be good but also could be overwhelming to a kid that needs a few more years to just learn, grow and explore. I hope it isnāt too much for mine, even though I think she needs it, because in the end college is an investment to get you where you need to go, not a 4-year long summer camp on my dime!
With that saidā¦In MY OPINION, I do think NU and similar are worth more than a state schools in some ways. I know that is not a popular opinion on CC, but with our merit money, itās not that big of a difference, and employers love NU grads. And the opportunity to graduate with 3 actual jobs on your resume is awesome. I hear the advising is tops, and while the school is large, it never feels that way because so many are off doing a coop or study abroad. Especially in my case, with the honors program and the explore program for undeclared students, it was worth more than the two state school options this kiddo applied to. This twin did not apply to Mich or UVA or similarā¦that might be different. But overall the small amount more is worth it to us.
With merit, GW is about $3k less per year than NU, so she can continue contemplating those two, but we are an hour drive to Boston and she can take a train home in about 45 minutes, so that will save us money!
Good luck to allā¦what will I do with all my time once both girls have decided?!?
@twinmom71 If you are talking CS, UMass is really great. My guy just goes to URI but he will 4 - 5 actual CS jobs also. In addition to four summers, an internship in Japan. Employers love them all really. Watch your DD end up working for a state school grad. Itās your money though and it sounds like 100k+ of debt for just these too. Certainly NU is a fine school. Iām sure she will do well.
@gearmom ā¦ I am not talking CS. Or engineering. And I donāt believe I ever said how much debt we are going into for our childrenās educations. Why would you presume $100K? Perhaps we have enough saved and just want to find the best fit and value? Regardless, it is our choice.
I have nothing against state school grads and donāt care who my children work for someday. My husband is one and has many people working for him. Iām sure some went to private schools. I donāt judge anyone for the choices they makeā¦state school, private, ivy, community college or trade school.
As I said aboveā¦IN MY OPINION. Iām entitled to that, and I stand by what I said. Debt is never recommended if it will put a familyās financial future in jeopardy. If that is what you are saying, we agree.