Hello everyone,
Decisions are coming soon and I realized that I do not have enough time (1 month) after April 1 to decide which university I should go to. So, I need your help to help me chose the university for me and rank them in order of preference because I do not have a clear favorite.
Major: Finance, but I may change to Economics or something related… Not really sure. But most probably staying in a business school/program.
I am international, so I want an open and diverse atmosphere.
Universities: Regardless of wether or not I get in, I would like to know how the following universities compare against each other in terms of Prestige, Education, Internships, Job Opportunities, Social Life (Party Scene & Clubs), overall university friendliness/pretentiousness, and overall experience. Any information you can provide me with would be really beneficial in helping me decide which one I should go to.
Northeastern University (Got accepted + Scholarship.) (Love co-op.)
Boston University
Boston College (Not sure how diverse and open this college is…)
University of Pennsylvania (Obviously the strongest in terms of academics.)
Cornell University (Location is sketchy, but strong academics.) (Can anyone tell me about job opportunities post-grad?)
UC-Berkeley (Love it but I need to reapply to the business school post-freshmen…) (Also, classes are too large?)
UC-San Diego (Not really considering going there, just applied to an extra uni.)
New York University (How is the social life here?) (Is there a university feel?)
University of Southern California (Love the social scene)
Okay so, I need help rating the following universities so that I can have a better idea of how they compare to each other.
I know I won’t get in to all, but just assume I did. What would you do if you had to chose between them and cost was not an issue?
Thanks a lot!
A month seems like enough time to decide. Ask again in 3 weeks, when you know how cost compares and what your options are.
I would think UPenn would be at the top of your list for business. Cornell is in a great college town, and as far as NYU goes you have the advantage of being in NYC, but it won’t provide you with the typical college campus experience, as there is really no campus.
Ithaca isn’t “sketchy” lol
@confusedsenior28
I think the University of Southern California is the best with regards to the social life, while the University of Pennsylvania is better for academics and has a better reputation. You should check which university fits you the best. Ask alumni if you have to.
In terms of undergraduate business programs, following is a ranking from Bloomberg that might help you. Note that this is different from graduate business schools.
http://www.bloomberg.com/bw/articles/2014-04-04/the-complete-ranking-best-undergraduate-business-schools-2014
According to Bloomberg, Cornell (#3) and Boston College (#4) are ahead of Penn (#7) - those these are close enough to not matter much. I just wanted to point out that Penn isn’t necessarily so far ahead of the others. Their graduate business school is another matter (some consider Wharton to be #1, though Bloomberg puts Harvard, Chicago and Northwestern ahead).
But rather than spending a bunch of time trying to dissect the pro’s and con’s of each of these excellent schools, post something once you know which ones you’re accepted to and we’d be happy to provide some advice/insight that might help making a decision. Whether you get admitted to the business school (ie. Stern at NYU) or have to reapply after freshman year, would also be factors.
If hypothetically you got admitted to all of these, if it were me, it would be a choice between Penn, NYU or NU - all in great international cities, very diverse student body, plus the scholarship at NU. But USC would be very very attractive (who doesn’t want to live in LA?)–tough call.
Fit isn’t our opinion. It’s your kid’s reality.
We don’t know if he is looking for Greek life or is an introvert. Or if he fits better in a city, suburbs or rural campus.
If you trust random strangers to simply pick a school like a brand of clothes…
Why don’t you simply select based on some random factor like US News Rank, SAT scores, admissions percentage, or number of applicants.
Agree Ithaca isn’t sketch. It’s a college town, come on. :))
Ask when you have you acceptances.
Ithaca is a really cool college town! Where in the world did you read that it was sketchy? Are you confusing it with somewhere else?
Also, cost is always an issue. No matter what you think of BC vs. Cornell, neither is worth a premium over the other, assuming you did due diligence and made sure you applied to colleges that were a good “fit” and appealed to you.
Hello all, Thanks for your help!
My problem is that I am kind of in love with all my universities (except BC and UCSD) and have no idea which one to chose. Even if I get in to only another one, I would have such a hard time choosing. I did my research and found specific programs and clubs at each university that appealed to me. The only thing is that some universities are better in terms of academics, while others are better in terms of location and quality of life.
And sketchy was a wrong word to describe Ithaca. Please stop commenting on it, I shouldn’t have said sketchy. Ignore it.
Can anyone tell me if Ithaca and life at Cornell is as exciting as living in a major city (Boston, NYC,…)
I know its different but will I ever get bored or feel stuck in a small town?
Ithaca is not a small town but a college town - and living in a college town as a college student is actually more exciting than living in a major city, where many clubs, bars, and restaurants won’t admit you till you’re 21.
Okay Great Thanks! @MYOS1634
Im gna wait for the decisions before I jump to any conclusions.
Ill post another thread soon.
The UC’s will be pretty expensive since you are international. Can you afford it? Have you been accepted to these colleges yet?
@2020classx Yes I can afford it. Just got in to UCSD (1st choice college, 1st choice major)! This gave me a boost of confidence for the rest.
Congratulations ! Wait for the other answers now. 
I’d say between
UPenn
Cornell
Northeastern
USC
UPenn & Cornell have best academics & value
NE gave you a scholarship & has good co-op
USC has best social life, but will probably be most expensive
Update!
Accepted: Northeastern U, Boston U, UC San Diego
Waitlisted: Boston College
Pending: The rest
I don’t know how I’m going to decide if it ends up between those 3!
Update: Accepted: USC - Rejected: Berkeley
Some things for you to think about:
USC is a great school (congratulations on acceptance!) in a kind of bad neighborhood. To really take advantage of the greater Los Angeles area, you’d need a car… or a lot of money for UBER. There is some public transportation, but a European would find it very inadequate. Still, USC is very well connected, and you’ll meet a lot of interesting people there.
UC San Diego - a respected UC, located in a very beautiful area. But it’s a big, public university and you will get a lot less “customer service” there than in the other private schools you’ve been accepted to. It has the college system, which is somewhat unusual (in a good way, IMO) in public universities. A car may be necessary here to truly explore the area.
Northeastern is located in central Boston - so in an interesting city, close to beaches, historic sites all over New England, relatively easy access by public transportation to NYC, Philadelphia, Washington, DC - the biggest cities on the east coast. But, how do you feel about co-ops and (probably) doing a 5 year program? Have you contacted the school to find out how being on a student visa would affect your co-ops? To get the most from Northeastern, you have to be all about the co-ops - that’s the big reason people go to Northeastern. If you’re ambivalent about the concept, this may not be the school for you. The obvious alternative is BU – another very good school. The big difference is the lack of a very specific campus - it’s more European/international in that most of the offices and many of the buildings are scattered around one area of Boston. Some Americans don’t like that, others have no problem with it.
@katliamom As a USC student who also came in thinking it was a sketchy neighborhood, it’s not true. It’s fairly standard, at least as far as you can walk. The university pays monitors to stand on most street corners within like a 2 mile radius. I’ve honestly never felt unsafe.