<p>For the most part, any of these schools will be adequate in resources, academics, and graduation prospects. But, college should offer more than what looks good on paper. </p>
<p>If I was a big city, big school kind of person, I’d pick BU or Northeastern.
If I was a liberal arts, well-rounded kind of person I’d pick Tufts - less of the nitty gritty engineering, plus their college of arts + science holds more status and influence.
If I was a small school, less mainstream techie kind of person, I’d pick WPI. </p>
<p>If I wanted school spirit and big partying, I wouldn’t pick WPI. (partying=greek, and that gets tiring) </p>
<p>If I wanted the real world feel, Northeastern would do it for me. </p>
<p>If I wanted more distractions/my happy hour, BU is my school. Northeastern comes next. </p>
<p>If I was torn between liberal arts and engineering (not uncommon), if I wanted to be a well-rounded engineering, have a bigger intellectual feel, Tufts is the way I’d slant. </p>
<p>These are stereotypes, but see how you feel about them.</p>
<p>Make sure you visit everywhere before you go. I went to visit WPI today and was shocked at the condition of Worcester. Definitely not the best setting for a college or the best environment for a college student. Several people jumped out of their cars and cussed me out for driving too slow- obviously not from the city with an out-of-state plate anxiously checking directions. Consider WPI with caution.</p>
<p>Exactly the limit, and what shocked me the most was when someone did it at a stop light! Uhm, hello, sorry for stopping at the red light sir, I just don’t plan on dying today. :P</p>
<p>Where were you driving? The problem was that I attempted to do 2 college visits in 1 day, so I was driving from Holy Cross to WPI- and got hopelessly lost and ended up in some of the worst parts of the city- South Main Street, burnt down slums, etc. (Half of the streets aren’t labeled- Mapquest is useless if you don’t know street names!) That’s where I ran into these problems. Strictly in the Holy Cross area and strictly in the WPI area, it’s not too bad, but the city as a whole can be rough for someone who’s not used to it (ie, me).</p>
<p>Worcester is like any other large city. Period. You found yourself in the wrong part of town. You will get that just about anywhere. You will also get idiots on the road and people with tempers just about anywhere. If you didn’t drive directly from Holy Cross to I-290 and go up to the Rt 9 exit to drive to WPI, then that was unfortunate. There are some very run down and scary parts in Worcester, I would agree, however there are some really great areas too and some areas that used to be rough that are being turned into areas with great restaurants and nightlife.</p>
<p>Worcester is the 2nd or 3rd largest city in New England with a population of over 170,000. Look for something a lot smaller if you don’t want any “bad” sections around. But realize that even small towns can have seedy areas and idiots that drive.</p>
<p>I agree that all cities have their good and bad parts. Honestly though, I’ve walked through Roxbury and the Fens (Boston) at night and found Worcester in broad daylight scarier. It wasn’t the area so much- just the people- impatient, rude, and intimidating. Troy, NY is a very similar city to Worcester, run-down and a bit past its prime, but I actually found it homely because everyone I met there was extremely nice, friendly, and helpful. :)</p>
<p>Point #1. Worcester is a tier two city. It is not a large city on the level of Boston, NYC, or Chicago. Where’s the public transit system? Where are the cool trendy neighborhoods? </p>
<p>Point #2. if money is the same at all of these, go to Tufts. If you are 18 years old, I highly doubt you KNOW you want to become an engineer. Tufts will give you the same engineering opportunities (to be honest, they are roughly equal from all these schools) but will also give you a shot to explore banking, consulting, etc. </p>
<p>I would definitely say the engineering curriculum is great at WPI, and is probably even better than Tufts, but its not worth closing yourself off to those other options and the chance to meet people with diverse perspectives and majors. </p>