How prestigious is Northwestern?

<p>Ok guys I got admitted to Northwestern and I would like to know how highly regarded NU is in the states? And also how prestigious it is in other parts of the world especially Canada and the Middle East as I might want to work there after graduation since jobs are hard to come by for internationals in the US. ( I come from South Asia btw)</p>

<p>NU is a top-ranked university in the United States. I can’t say how well it’s known in the Middle East or elsewhere. I suppose it depends on how knowledgeable the “audience” is about US schools, because many people in other parts of the globe know little or nothing about any US school that isn’t HYP.</p>

<p>NU is known as a good school in the US, but not nearly as good as Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, MIT, etc. etc. etc. As far as I know, it’s not likely Northwestern will be a household name in the Middle East or Canada. I know people in the US who think Northwestern in on par with Northeastern, even though Northeastern isn’t highly ranked at all… The name kind of makes the school appear less prestigious, as well… Might not be worth the money if you are concerned about prestige…</p>

<p>Did you get accepted to any other schools that you are still considering. Maybe we could help you determine which schools are more prestigious internationally than others…</p>

<p>Yeah, when I told a guy at my school that Northwestern was in my top 3 he questioned my sanity as he, a less academically-inclined student, claimed to have been receiving mail from Northwestern since his sophomore year. Of course, he was referring to the substantially less-renowned Northwestern College in Iowa, not the pleasant place in Illinois…Northwestern University is very prestigious in the Midwestern US and in academic circles, but outside of that the name-recognition isn’t great.</p>

<p>CoffeeAdict9716, I also got into Carnegie Mellon and Rice in the US and Imperial College in the UK. Imperial is very well known in my part of the world and considered extremely prestigious perhaps on par with the lower ivies (though No where near as selective, Not Even Close infact) but I find the UK education system too riigid (i dont even know what type of engineering I want to do) and the lack of a typical college experience and campus at Imperial discouraging. I dont want to be just another face in the middle of London. Read my thread in the international section to get what im trying to say.
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/international-students/686884-northwestern-vs-imperial-vs-rice-vs-cmu.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/international-students/686884-northwestern-vs-imperial-vs-rice-vs-cmu.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>Well, I wouldn’t rule out CMU or rice…they might offer the best campus community out of all the schools you have to choose from, and both are solid in engineering but will allow you to explore other interest-definately not rigid. As for prestige, people in the US def. have heard of Imperial-at least most people i know and I’m from the Midwest…so Imperial does have that advantage as you already know. I honestly feel like you should choose Imperial-London is by far the best location out of those schools and you can make the school as big or as small as you want it to be. You have all the perks London has to offer socially and academically-the pubs, the internships, etc. yet you can still join clubs that provide a smaller, tight-knit community within the larger university. Also, because people concentrate in a certain field, wouldn’t that mean you would be around others with your interests more and therefore become closer to those people? </p>

<p>If you truly are put off by London’s size, then don’t go, but I feel like it would be worth it-being able to concentrate in engineering instead of getting a broad liberl arts degree is very impressive because you are practiaclly guaranteed to know your stuff-and employers will take note of it.</p>

<p>Otherwise, you may love Rice. The school has the residential colleges which help students build really close realtionships with one another, and it has a great (and well-known) engineering school that you still allow you to take other types of courses. The location is also a plus (for shopping, internships, exploring), but doesn’t jeopardize student life on campus. </p>

<p>Good luck with your great college choices! I’d go with Imperial or Rice, depending on whether or not you can deal with a larger school in London…</p>