Northeastern Honors vs. Penn State Honors

Hi, I’m down to Northeastern and Penn State and wanted an opinion on which school would be better for my future. I am majoring in business and both schools seem to have strong programs. I’m stuck because everyone seems to talk about the prestige of Schreyers, but I see the value of co-ops. Would Schreyers be worth paying 8-11k/yr more than Northeastern as a business major?

Did you already get accepted to Schreyers?

I can’t speak for Northeastern because I don’t know much about it, but I do know that Penn State’s Smeal College of Business is ranked slightly higher than Northeastern’s in Bloomberg and much higher in US news and world reports. Either way PSU is ranked higher.

That being said, I don’t know if any degree is worth going into more debt if you have good options for the less expensive school, and Northeastern is a good school overall. The amount you spend on college will have to ultimately depend on your decision. I can tell you, you will not go wrong with PSU Smeal…with or without Schreyer. Schreyer is the honors college and accepts students from all majors.

Schreyer admissions came out last month so I’d assume OP has already been accepted. Not worth extra money though. What could you buy with $44,000 instead? A lot of things…

@bodangles I’d assume that too normally, but we see all kinds of people on this board who don’t know what is happening when! I’m assuming they were already accepted as well, and agree with your assessment that PSU, while wonderful, isn’t always worth the extra cost.

Northeastern and PSU are pretty close to peers when it comes to business, and in general as schools. In Bloomberg, a rank difference of 19 vs 22 is really not going to make a difference. I don’t have access to US News overall business ranks, but the entire methodology is a peer faculty survey, while Bloomberg considers employer opinions, student opinions, salary, and internships. Both are great schools, and if you like the idea of co-op, I think Northeastern makes sense, especially being the cheaper option.

Yes, I have been accepted into Schreyers. Is there anything in Schreyers that makes it worth while for a business major? Like what makes Schreyers such a coveted program?

Smaller classes, priority class registration, honors housing, scholarships, research experience.

Keep in mind, that while doable, it is very unusual to be able to graduate in 4 years with one co-op from Northeastern. Admissions claims that it is, but if you speak directly to the students, they will mostly all tell you that you need at least one summer session…

@flute1298 One summer session is to make up for the classes you miss on co-op. That wouldn’t change the time you are in school (4 years) and would be technically half a semester less tuition. On top of that, most students choose to do 2-3 co-ops, and is usually a 5 year plan. There are technically 4 year 2 co-op plans - those are the ones that I would say are very hard to actually pull off in the same time. 4 years with one co-op is very easy.

@PengsPhils - Yes, it would be 4 years. I was just pointing out that a student most likely needs to be prepared to give up a summer. For some, who perhaps have a summer hobby or sport ( as my girls do), they might not want to spend their summer taking classes or in co-op.

I’m down to this exact same decision between Schreyer and Northeastern Honors for engineering. If you’ve made a decision @wsc123 what helped you decide?

I’d choose based on cost first and second whether you’re more interested in Co op or internships.

I’d choose based on cost first and second whether you’re more interested in Co op or internships.