Hi everyone, I’m currently trying to decide on which university to go to next year. The main choices I’m looking at now are Northeastern University in Boston, Washington University St. Louis, University of Rochester, and Case Western Reserve University. While I got no aid of any sort from WUSTL, I got 20k merit at UR, 32k merit at CWRU, and full tuition at NEU. I also got into the GEAR program at UR (an automatic entrance to grad school with some other networking perks) and the University Scholars Program at Northeastern which provided the full tuition scholarship a well as would give me a huge amount of benefits, such as specialized advising and better shots at internships and co-ops. So I’m not sure what exactly I’ll end up doing, but most likely it’ll be engineering and business. During the application process I sort of expected to get into more high end schools (perfect ACT, 12 AP tests with all 5s, 4.7 GPA, National Merit Finalist, etc.), so I haven’t really given these universities much thought until now. I did visit NEU at a scholars weekend, and really liked the feel of it, and I’ll be visiting WUSTL next week. For the moment, I’m curious what all your opinions are on this.
I got a sort of snooty vibe from UR, which I also sort of you get from you, so I imagine you’d like it. That program sounds nice as well depending on what you want to do, though Rochester isn’t exactly a hub of business or technology. NU’s best co-ops are in engineering and business, though I don’t know who told you it gives you a better shot at co-ops. I’m sure most Scholars get nice jobs, but only because they work hard for good grades and EC’s, not because there’s any formal boost in the process for them; it’s just literally two words “University Scholar” under the “activities” section on the resume. Not familiar with CWRU other than the name, and I’ve heard good things about WUSTL but imo only chumps pay full price to private school, especially when you have much better offers from schools on that level.
I think NEU being full tuition and the USP program being such an amazing program (though as nova said, they don’t get better co-op’s simply by being scholars but rather what they do at the school). It seems like you’re aware of co-op - if you liked the vibe of the school and like co-op, I think it sounds like the best option!
When you graduate from Northeastern, you’ll have nearly two years of quality work experience in your field of study. That counts for a lot in engineering, especially with the types of companies student coop for at NU. Check to see if any of your other options offer that and then decide how important that experience is to your career plans. Like Novafan says, you have to compete for the best internships, but if you are being offered full tuition, I suspect you don’t have any problem with competition or getting good grades.
Okay thanks for the ideas. Sorry if I sounded a bit “snooty”, definitely not how I try to come across in person. My biggest question about NEU is whether it’s name recognition is substantial enough to hell me in getting go a good graf school (prob PhD level) or a job is I don’t go for an advanced degree. Honestly, I loved the feel of the uni, but I don’t want it’s relative lack of " prestige" to detrimentally effect me later on.
Northeastern is widely known and well respected. IMO it is at least as well regarded as any of the others on your list.
Your spellchecker wall probably hell you beck Mawr thin the collides you go two. 
Ok cool, that’s good to know. Yeah, trying to type on a phone between classes isn’t always the most effective way to reply :P. Does anyone know much about the University Scholars Program? I know that it is a relatively new program, but I’m curious about how it plays out during the actual years at northeastern. They definitely sold it very well during the scholars weekend, but I’m curious to see if the hype dies down later on, and you don’t get any extra perks in reality.
The USP has incredible resources and benefits, and while the jury isn’t fully back yet, it’s already produced a Rhodes Scholar in less than 5 years of existing. The perks are real, in both events and financial funding, research funding, etc.
@JohnNZ Absolutely go to WUSTL. It’s a phenomenal and well respected university. Everyone here who is saying Northeastern=WUSTL is delusional, but hey, you came to the northeasatern thread so expect people to be ridiculously biased. I mean if TomSrofBoston comes, he’ll probably say that Northeastern is the Harvard of the 21st Century.
But anyways, I would recommend attending WUSTL. Many of my peers who attended really loved their experience and would have done it all over again. Don’t get me wrong, northeastern is a solid school, but if you have the opportunity to attend an elite university, that pedigree will help you so much more later on in your life, even if there is that initial cost of attendance.
I don’t think anyone is saying Northeastern=WUSTL. We’re saying Northeastern=a great school we love. While there is definitely a difference in prestige, I don’t think it is an extra $250k worth of prestige. In my opinion, prestige doesn’t hugely matter for engineering anyways, though I can definitely see the argument for business (but honestly, big banking/consulting are really only looking for HYPSM anyways).
Many of my peers who attended NU really love(d) their experience and would’ve done it all over again as well. I’m sure that’s true of every school in the country, so not sure what MrInformed was trying to get at with that anecdote.
For what it’s worth, I’d never heard of WUSTL before CC and a kid in my HS graduating class was the first from our school to ever attend. That was the school that, when his name was called with his college, everyone kind of turned to each other and mouthed “what did they say?” In short, the name recognition is not very strong in the northeast. This argument can definitely be applied to Northeastern in areas outside the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, but that is where OP’s own wants and needs come into play. If you think you want to settle in Missouri, I’m sure the name is better there. As someone who would prefer to live in the Northeast (or, cough, anywhere but Missouri), NU makes sense.
Have you heard of Harvey Mudd? Its the MIT of the West coast. I never heard of it either but once you enter the college world, you will learn all these things. I felt like the whole college process was what you don’t know you don’t know.
When my D got accepted some of her classmates haven’t heard of WashU either and it was ranked higher Cornell. In fact one of her classmates ran up to my D and started screaming: OMG you got into WashU - it was my dream school. They have the BEST baseball team and I tried so hard getting in. He was so proud that my D got in though.
WashU is highly respected in both the academic and career world. My D says the seniors in her major got accepted to Harvard, UPenn, MIT, Yale, etc. for grad school and they don’t know which one to pick which is a nice problem to have. It is a very difficult if not impossible to get into WashU. They received 29K applications for only 1700 spots. The campus is to die for and their academics are outstanding. St. Louis is also really awesome. They offer a lot of attractions such as baseball, concerts, and incredible food!
If finances weren’t an issue, I would highly recommend WashU. If they are, then NEU and Case Western are definitely good options. Just my two cents!
I’ve heard the name Harvey Mudd but again would never think to associate it with prestige, it just doesn’t have the same value on the East coast. Which is why I encouraged OP to consider where they’d want to live… outside of a few very tippy-top tier schools that are recognized nationally, a lot of prestige is regional.
Again, I’m not sure what newjersey17 is really getting at anecdotally as NU students also are admitted to Ivy/top-tier grad schools. NU received over 51,000 applications for 2800 spots. Campus is nice, academics are excellent. Boston is an incredible city also including (surprise surprise) baseball, concerts, and incredible food.
I almost always advocate for the lowest price school, and in that case this is Northeastern. While WUSTL is I’m sure lovely as can be and certainly more prestigious than Northeastern, I am saying I don’t think the relatively marginal bump in prestige justifies the $250k price tag.
I met a mom that told her son he could apply to any university under the son but he had to pick the cheapest option at the end of the process. He got accepted to MIT and Rice with 50,000 grants and had two full rides at Univ of Alabama and Texas A&M. He had to pick the cheapest so TX A&M won.
I also know of another mom that uses her entire salary to pay for her childs education at WashU which she is very happy to provide.
Most people are going to advocate for the cheapest option. However there are families that are willing and can pay for it. There are also families that can easily pay for that and won’t make a dent in their assets. So everyone is different. Advocating the cheapest doesn’t apply to everyone.
The point I was making about my D major at WashU, it’s common for them to get into those universities. We were told before she enrolled students in her major normally go on to Harvard, MIT and Yale for grad school. It’s just not a few, it’s practically everyone in her class/major. That’s very impressive. They are getting an incredible education and are obviously highly sought after.
Everyone is different so it all depends on what the family can and wants to do.
Fit also plays a big part. The really nice thing about WashU is they are a highly collaborative university which was very important for my D. That’s a rare thing to find at these top 15 universities. My D hated the competitive culture in NJ and loves WashU. They say happy students are successful students. I agree with that!
I don’t know anything about NUE.
The OP needs to visit and decide as a family which options are best for them. It’s a very personal decision. Onviously none of us can tell him what’s the best avenue.
The OP is extremely focused on prestige, therefore probably won’t be happy unless he/she is at the most prestigious school (assuming he/she was shut out of the Ivies). OP, go to the school you will love… you haven’t mentioned a thing about fit preferences (rural/city, large/small, east coast/midwest), and it sounds like you are wealthy- so go ahead and blow 250K on the supposedly more prestigious school, the kids on scholarship will appreciate you, since you will be funding their financial aid.
I helped out with a lot of College of Science events, and it was kind of a running joke that we kept students local by sending so many to MIT for grad school. You can pull these anecdotes from pretty much anywhere. Both are good schools. Sometimes a difference in quality/price/fit can justify a higher price. But we’re talking about a big price difference, and we’re not comparing Princeton to Podunk Community College. Northeastern was not the cheapest option for me, even with a full tuition scholarship, but it was a better fit than my cheapest option and the price difference was relatively small. But if the difference would require more loans than you (as an individual, not parent loans) can take out with FAFSA, I don’t think it’s worth it.
First of all, I’m definitely not wealthy to the point I think that most of you think I am… I am in the position that I can make the choice, and am not completely restricted by costs, but only a Rothschild or an idiot would just go to a more expensive school for the sake of it.
In terms of prestige, the name for the sake of it isn’t as important to me. I honestly believe that the actual education at most undergraduate universities at this level are probably very similar, and that the quality of education only really changes at higher levels of education, grad school etc. What I’m considering now is whether the name of a school will provide open more doors to me comparatively, and whether that could be worth the extra costs, which I agree are exorbitant.
@suzyQ7 My sort of personality is that I can feel at home at most locations and with most types of people, which i why I did not mention much of my personal fit preferences. I will make the most out of whatever university I go to, so right now I’m trying to see which one has more to generally offer, while on campus and also when it’s on the second line of my resume. If most people agree that the name isn’t very important compared to the work that I put in, I would choose NEU for the money and attention, while if most said that the name would spark attention and give me opportunities that I wouldn’t get otherwise, then I would consider WashU.
So yeah, I hope that clears it up. I’m not a prestige maniac, I’m just honestly wondering whether it makes a worthwhile difference.
Follow the money @JohnNZ ! If you have a full tuition scholarship AND a chance to CO-OP (which helps you build up your real world network), you gotta take it, kid. Its both rare and a blessing!
I see SO MANY people put a HUGE emphasis on where they go for undergrad…and you shouldn’t. Its all about your last school and how you did there! And truth be told…going to a prestigious undergrad doesn’t really give you as big a leg up as you think!
For example, for my undergrad i went to Texas A&M on no scholarship. Which by many standards is an “average” state school (probably ranked lower than NEU, actually). However, I took what I was given…kicked ass, worked hard, made decent grades and most importantly networked both in and out of school. As a result, I went to grad school at Penn, MIT and Cambridge (all on full scholarships!).
So all that being said…heres my advice: take the NEU offer, do well in school AND work, network your ass off and go to a prestigious grad school! Plus you mentioned your concentration is Engineering and Business, right? MIT is excellent at BOTH and its not too far down the road from where you are.
PS - at the end of the day…its not all hinged on where you go, but what you can do. Keep that in mind
PSS - sorry @newjersey17 , imo the only school deemed “MIT of the west” is Stanford! Following Caltech and Cal Berkeley, respectfully.
PSSS- outside of the midwest, WUSTL doesn’t hold as much weight as you think it does. Hell, unless you’re a scholar or CC fanatic, most people never heard of it! You’re better off going to an easier, yet more prestigious (in networking),fun and reputable school like Northwestern. Now if it was UChicago, then we’d be having a different conversation. hahaha
Boy, some people sound awfully bitter. @JohnNZ, good luck. Sounds like things will turn out well, whatever you decide.
@JohnNZ Again, I highly recommend that you attend WUSTL. Definitely visit it. I believe they provide a free flight and housing for their accepted students day. Anyone who has attended a certain university will be biased for that university.
As someone living in the northeast and who does not attend Northeastern, I would objectively and highly recommend that you attend WUSTL. It is a phenomenal school with a great reputation and will really get you going to excellent places.
Also, don’t forget, a little over 10 years ago, NEU, to put it bluntly, was a poorly performing university and known as the local commuter school. Although it has gotten better recently, most older folks aka the people hiring you, have probably never heard of NEU or still remember it as the commuter school of Boston.