<p>Hey everyone, I was almost 100% set on going to Northeastern after getting accepted to the University Scholars Program, but I just got accepted to Cornell and the Macaulay program at Hunter College.</p>
<p>Northeastern:
The University Scholars Program would cover full tuition
Close Mentoring Program
Co-op
Boston</p>
<p>Cornell:
Ivy League
Opens up a ton of connections
40K A YEAR!!! :(
Ithaca</p>
<p>Hunter:
Full Tuition for 4 years and Free Dorms for 1st and possibly 2nd year
Macaulay classes give a GPA weight
Good Mentoring program
NYC</p>
<p>Opinions? Experiences? Is an Ivy League really that great?</p>
<p>So I was in a similar situation last year. I’m currently a University Scholar at Northeastern and I was also accepted to Macaulay Hunter(didn’t apply to Cornell.) You can look back at my threads to see what other people said when I was making my decision, but I just wanted to chime in about Northeastern.</p>
<p>Northeastern itself is an amazing school. We jumped from #57 last year to #49 this year(in USNWR rankings.) I don’t particularly put stock in rankings, but many do, so that’s just something for you to consider. Northeastern is gaining popularity very quickly and is well known now, and will be even moreso by the time you graduate. The Scholars program is AMAZING. It has definitely been the most positive aspect of my experience at Northeastern. Everyone in the program is so interconnected with each other and you basically have an instant friend base after Scholars weekend(or orientation, where a lot of the scholars meet up again at certain events for Scholars only.) Now let me make this clear- although the Scholars program is amazing, we are by no means isolated. No one will know you’re a scholar unless you tell them. Yes there are Scholars only events(this year, we started weekly talks called the Scholars Seminar Series- see the website for more details) but for the most part they aren’t mandatory. Besides, most of the events are fun and you WANT to go to them. We get free tickets to the Boston Symphony Orchestra and plays/musicals, faculty mentors, and ENDLESS CONNECTIONS! I’m a freshman and I got involved in research first semester (this, however was not due to my being a Scholar. The ease with which one can pursue research is another fantastic aspect about Northeastern in general, since Professors are genuinely eager to help-but you must be proactive.) </p>
<p>The Scholars Program established a new opportunity this year called the SIRF(Scholars Independent Research Fellowship.) Basically, it is only for Scholars, and we have to create a proposal for a research topic of our choice, and submit it. They structured it so the proposal is a “mini Fullbright” as they call it, to prepare us for similar tasks in the future. You can apply for up to 4,000 dollars for the research (this is only during the summer as of now) and the research must be autonomous, but you have a faculty advisor-of your choosing- to assist you. </p>
<p>I absolutely love Northeastern and the Scholars program and could not imagine having gone anywhere else, and I think most of my fellow Scholars would agree with me. I hope you come to Scholars weekend this upcoming weekend- it is what helped cement my decision. You can message me if you have any more questions! </p>
<p>If you’re pre-med, costs should definitely be a factor. Med school is expensive, and you don’t want to burden yourself with a ton of debt before getting there. The general advice for pre-med is to keep your costs as low as possible. You also don’t need to go to an Ivy League school to get into a good medical school, and once you go to medical school, the name of your undergrad institution is not particularly significant. Given that, it would kind of knock Cornell out given its price tag. If one of the things that appeals to you about Cornell is the connections you will create, Jazmine’s post points out that you will have a ton of fantastic opportunities at Northeastern. At Northeastern, you would get more of a chance to stand out, I think, and be a bigger fish in a slightly smaller pond. As for Hunter, I know nothing about it and can’t give advice on that front, but I think that Northeastern would be a really great experience.</p>
<p>Was also in a similar situation last year when I had to choose between Vanderbilt, Macaulay Hunter, and University of Rochester as a pre-med prospective. I ultimately chose Macaulay and it was honestly the best decision for me because Macaulay Hunter is so specifically catered to pre-med students (not an exact estimate, but almost everyone is legitimately serious about continuing the pre-med track past freshman year), everyone eventually becomes very close knit (especially with the free dorm package). Also not having to worry about school costs, the guaranteed opportunity to study abroad fully paid for, and having connections to literally every influential person on the East Coast (the Dean of Macaulay Central is extremely well connected), you’re almost guaranteed an amazing internship every semester or so especially in a medicine driven city like NYC. </p>
<p>Good luck with your decision though–best of luck!</p>
<p>Thank you everyone for your really helpful input!</p>
<p>@Jazmine1423 I’ll be seeing you this weekend at the welcome event!I’m pretty excited and i think I’m still 90% set on going to Northeastern, this weekend should just solidify it :)</p>
<p>Northeastern will probably be my number 1 in terms of college experience, cost, and overall package, but I’ll keep you posted, thanks again!</p>