Northeastern University v. University of Rochester (current institution)

Convince me!

Keeping it short, I’m a prospective transfer student looking to major in computer science. I’m back and forth on a double major with aeronautical engineering (mechE is sufficient). I’m not very academic inclined as my GPA was on the lower scale in high school. If I need to work hard, I will work hard.

I really like to keep busy. I love a school with a super alive student community and filled with so many people to get to know! I’ve always done better in school by separating my academic studies and personal life.

I’m a city girl in my core! I love the metro system and to be overwhelmed by so much to do around me.

Most important factors to my decision:
(1) Student community/culture (school attitude, clubs, whether people will go out of their ways to make things happen)
(2) Professors who actually care about you and your work (if you make the effort to get to know them)
(3) Department focus (as much as I’m fascinated by exploring ideas, I’d like to be prepared to be an engineer with research mixed in)
(4) Accessibility (for opportunities and open doors to host an event or campaign on campus) and Disability Resources
(5) Food (honestly because I’m a very picky eater)

I’m looking forward to hear everyone’s opinions about it! I will decide which one is the right fit for me!

Transferring comes with its own challenges of socially uprooting yourself as well as how many of your credits will transfer to your new school. The first question should be why do you want to transfer at all, and does the other school offer what you want?

So far it seems the only thing UR lacks is a big city feel - is there anything else missing?

I would like to transfer because I feel there’s more potential for me to grow further somewhere else. While I understand college is about what you make of it non matter where you attend, the community doesn’t feel right for me. I feel lost in a sense. To attend the UR was wholeheartedly not my decision. It was only my decision to attend a top-tier (any) under the influence of my school.

Northeastern, out of a collection of other potential transfer schools, offers a less mutable academic model. The CS curriculum differs in the respect where practical skill (public speaking is one) classes are added into the degree. I’d highly recommend UR’s model to anyone looking to do everything and anything, but I just need a solid direction, if that makes sense.

I’ve also learned about the community service pillars that are an essential part of a NU education. It’s my passion I want to be involved inside and outside of campus with others. From my perspective, this is a disadvantage with the UR. So many people have this mentality there’s nothing to do in Rochester. In turn, less people are motivated to engage in community service as often as, let’s say, people in a school where more opportunity is avaliable to us. It’s a kind of motivation in a way.

I’m not a big fan of the disability and study skills resources department in my school. The help that they offer is not consistent. I’ve witnessed so much better in other schools. I spoke with a NU representative from the department, and she explained to me, it’s about working with the student in back-to-back sessions.

I love the UofR for as many reasons as I feel this is not the right fit for me. I learned things I couldn’t learn elsewhere, but those same lessons led me to transfer to where I want to be.

For the logistics of the transfer, I’m coming in with a complicated situation. I’ll have completed 16 credits (two semesters attempted (no credits), this is my third). I was also on a medical leave with reason not to come back after this semester, so this is also a factor pushing me out.