<p>I can't believe that I have been accepted to all 3 of my EA schools. I am still waiting on NYU (RD). Each of these 4 schools have a lot to offer, and each is a bit different. I am having a tough time deciding on a school. To me, for over-all college experience, I can't think of a better school in the country to attend than The []_[]. Miami has it all (i.e. great academics, weather, activities, varsity and intramural sports, the beach, fishing, diving, the everglades, etc.) If I was latino, or wanted to spend my life in FL., or latin/South America, this would be a no brainer. Boston College has great academics, o.k. sports teams and a wonderful small liberal arts feel while being close to Boston. Northeastern is probably the fastest ring star of all universities in the USA. The co-op system in unparalleled. In addition to an excellent academic reputation, it maintains a good feel campus right in the heart of Boston. Boston is clean, and probably the most dynamic collegiate city in the world. However, it can not be denied that NEU lacks the college atmosphere varsity sports (except maybe hockey). While NYU is cold, gritty and urban, with no sports, academics are top notch and there is no better place to meet future contacts and network. Any thoughts? I'm going to post this in all 4 college forums to get input from different points of view.</p>
<p>If you are looking at developing a network and making contacts in the sciences, Northeastern (and Boston) is a great place to do that. Boston is top-notch when it comes to research and medicine, and there are lots of chances to be a part of that. From my research on campus and my co-ops, I have developed some really good relationships with researchers. I know people who have done co-ops at pharmaceutical companies, research institutes, and in labs at Harvard and MIT. And when you spend 6 months with a company, you can get a very strong letter of recommendation, for graduate school or to look for a job. One of my roommates just got a great job offer, in part because of the good word her former coworkers put in for her at the place.</p>
<p>It’s true that Northeastern doesn’t have a varsity football atmosphere, but that in itself isn’t a reason to choose or not choose a school! If you want to get into sports fandom, you can definitely do that with basketball or hockey. Sure, it’s not Miami, but we do have D1 sports, some good records, and moderately enthusiastic fans (and lots of t-shirt giveaways at games).</p>
<p>A lot of it comes down to - as you seem to get - what’s most important to you of these various aspects. I think Northeastern has a good balance of strong academics and opportunities to help you progress post-college, but still plenty of chances to have fun while you’re here.</p>
<p>You seem to have a very good understanding of each of the schools, I think you need to ask yourself what you value the most. Basically I agree with nano.</p>
<p>I am with nano that athletics should not be a consideration. I plan to run track for NEU if I attend, but sports had almost no effect on my personal college rankings. I applied to D1 through D3 schools, so long as they had it.</p>
<p>When I visited Boston schools, I stayed with a Northeastern chemistry grad who currently works for Merck. He got the job through a co-op there, and loves his job and the school. So the opportunities are certainly there for Chemistry from what I know.</p>
<p>I also am waiting for NYU, but I would pick NEU over them one hundred times over. The only case I would pick NYU would be if I had an arts major. While I agree NYU is pretty comparable with NEU in opportunities, I feel that Northeastern will get you the same opportunities with more experience. I would disagree that NYU would give you the most opportunities, though I think both are very strong in that category.</p>
<p>I don’t have anything to add to either of the other schools, other than that I live in FL and I cannot wait to get out of here. If you don’t want to be in FL for a lot of your life, I feel that choosing U of Miami would be a mistake, as developing connections where you want to work/live will be a lot harder. BC seems like a good choice though I do not know much about the school.</p>
<p>So you have an idea of my priorities:
- Practical Experience (a major part of my philosophy, and I believe it is important to my major of Computer Science)
- City Atmosphere (Boston/NY are easily my favorite cities)
- Opportunities and Connections
- Having a track varsity/club team
- Social and Campus Feel</p>
<p>As said in the beginning of this post, rank whats important to you and the decision will probably fall in line. You seem to have plenty of knowledge/research on the schools on paper, its time to get your preferences translated to paper so you can properly compare them.</p>
<p>My Decision:
- Stanford
- Harvey Mudd (would have to think vs Northeastern even, probably visit)
- NEU
- NYU
U of Miami - was on the list at one point, removed
BC - knew it wasn’t a match for me despite being in Boston and a good school academically, did not research or consider strongly, but could very well be a good fit for others</p>
<p>Really helpful comments. THANKS! Actually, between NEU and B.C., I am leaning towards NEU. While, I really like the thought of the Jesuit philosophy, and the collegiate atmosphere of B.C., I think that I would rather be in the heart of Boston, rather than an infrequent, long(ish) train ride. Regarding sports: It may not be a reason to choose, or not choose a school, but that type atmosphere certainly is a factor to me. I think that the camaraderie of a huge fan base is a plus, and the lack of that type atmosphere is a minus when looking at a school. Again, not necessary, but nice.
I think NYU is sitting outside the bubble, and a bit intimidating for a girl like me, but I will always think that New York is the place where things happen. I can’t help but think that NY is the place where contacts are made, and careers are built (although your statements about academia, co-ops and research are persuasive). I see NYU as being closer to the Columbia level, than NEU is to Harvard/MIT. Having said that, I’m not sure whether I am ready for the gritty NY lifestyle. It takes a certain person to thrive amongst the maggots (Mick Jagger reference), and I am not sure that I am ready for that.
Miami: I love everything about what the school and area has to offer (on a short term basis); however, I don’t want to limit my marketability after graduation to either grad. school, or So. FL., latin/South America. I have no doubt that I will have more opportunity in the northeast. </p>
<p>BC is definitely more traditional college-feel, has more school-spirit, beautiful Hogwarts-esque architecture, probably more well known nationally too. However, like you said, it is definitely not Boston and you will miss on that aspect (if you want that). Personally, I visited but was disappointed by the homogeneous student body. Every single girl I saw was wearing a Northface jacket, Uggs or riding boots, yoga pants, and a Northface backpack with a Camelbak water bottle. Literally, every girl I saw. The boys wore Northface jackets with t-shirts and jeans. I did a lot of walking that day too, so I don’t think my sample was that small. For me, that was a huge turn-off and I preferred Northeastern where many more groups seem to be represented. If you also enjoy Northfaces, though, go nuts.</p>
<p>As for your comparison of NYU/Columbia and NEU/Harvard/MIT, NEU clearly isn’t on par with Harvard but I don’t think NYU and Columbia are as comparable as you might think. For me, the key part here is that NEU students offer something different than other students; their extensive experience in their field. This makes it stand out.</p>
<p>Also, I was upset originally about lack of school spirit in Boston but I quickly realized hey, my school spirit can go towards the Red Sox, Bruins, Celtics… :)</p>
<p>Thanks. Still torn. I just came across this stat on student review: Average salaries of graduates:
[]_[]: Starting: ~$53K; 10 yr.: ~$253K
B.C.: $48K/$162K
MIDD: $47K/$90K
NEU: $77K/$130K
NYU: $53K/$165K</p>
<p>Also, the overall grade (which measures students’ perception of Education Quality, Social Life, Extracurricular Activities and Surrounding City) as follows:
[]_[]: 7.5
B.C.: 7.1
MIDD: 7.3
NEU: 7.5
NYU: 7.0</p>
<p>Do you attach any significance to this, or the studentreview website?</p>
<p>I’m not sure if those are accurate; the overall grade, maybe, but I find it hard to believe average starting salary of an NEU grad is 77k, and I also find it hard to believe Miami’s ten year average is over 250k. Must be small samples.</p>
<p>If that is an unmoderated student review site, the postings are random and may not even be real</p>
<p>There is one thing that I will say regarding College Confidential: In response to my various threads, the people who have responded to the NEU threads seem to be some of the most polite, helpful and seemingly caring on-line. :)>- </p>