I’m an international student currently deciding between Northeastern University, Boston University, and American University. I am planning to go into international relations. I know that, for my major alone, American is the best. However, I also really like Boston as a city. I’ll just list out the pros and cons I have for each of these schools so it’s easier to digest:
Northeastern Pros: LOVE the campus and location, co-op is great for resume building, very international
Northeastern Cons: Might not be as good for IR as BU and American, probably won’t have the traditional ‘college experience’ because of co-op
BU Pros: Has a dedicated school for global studies, a little smaller than Northeastern, very international as well
BU Cons: Don’t like the campus
American Pros: Renowned for its IR-dedicated School of International Service, great medium-undergraduate size
American Cons: Campus is too suburban and removed from all the ‘action’, I significantly prefer Boston over D.C, not as international
As you probably can tell, the main things I look for in a university, in order of importance, is
Location (preferably urban)
Campus (I know it contrasts with my urban preference but I want to attend somewhere with a distinct campus… just feels like it would foster a better community that’s more cohesive)
Quality of major (how much resources are dedicated to it, etc)
International-ness (I’m from a very international background and would like to be around similar individuals)
I don’t really care for the sports scene or greek life. School pride would be nice but not necessary. Dorms and food are also a factor but not huge. Money is fortunately not an issue for me (although I did get the most aid from American, then Northeastern, then BU).
I’m leaning more towards Northeastern, but it could go any way at this point. Any and all insight would be much appreciated.
IR is excellent at BU. Northeastern is better for computer science, engineering etc. American is definitely isolated- you have to take public transportation to get off campus.
@oscar63 Yeah, I definitely get that impression from BU and Northeastern. Do you have any insights on BU’s campus and how it affects students and the community as a whole? It’s the only thing holding me back from choosing BU, and unfortunately it’s a pretty big factor as of this moment.
First, you did a great job breaking down the pros and cons here. As a note, BU is actually larger than Northeastern, not smaller (20K vs 30K).
Northeastern is pretty solid for things like IB and political science, as well as many other social sciences. While I think it’s fair to say American has an edge up on it, I don’t think the programs are going to be insanely different. Co-op for IR help a lot at Northeastern as well.
To me it sounds like the urban location is pretty important and given that BU/Northeastern are still solid for your major I would narrow to those two.
As a Northeastern student I’d actually say that BU has a bit more of the traditional college community than Northeastern (as you said in your analysis). I love Northeastern but with co-op it’s a very nontraditional model and people leaving campus for co-op and other opportunities kind of cancels out the more defined campus compared to BU from a holistic view of the social lives of each school. While BU’s campus is very urban there are still plenty of traditional college experiences to be had there.
Personally I made this choice 5 years ago and went Northeastern and have had no regrets, but it was for a different major and everyone’s fit factors are different. To me it seems like there are two routes to choose here: say all of these fit “well enough” and go for American since it’s the top IR program here or say all of these IR programs are “good enough” and pick based on where you fit best. Based on your fit descriptions it seems like you’re a perfect candidate for Northeastern but I don’t think the others a bad fit either here (BU > American for fit for you it seems). Honestly, I’d focus on fit and trust your gut here since none of these would be a mistake. Congrats on the great options!
@PengsPhils Really, thank you for this. I really appreciate your comments and opinion. I wanted to make sure that my research and thoughts towards these schools so far haven’t been ill-informed or straight up wrong. I’m following my gut and have leaned more towards Northeastern now!
If I can ask one more question, though, how much and in what specific ways does co-op change the traditional undergraduate experience (people constantly leaving campus, 5 years instead of 4, etc)? I’m definitely not against it; but I just want to know what I’m going into, now that I’m more likely to enroll at Northeastern.
People coming and going from campus is certainly the big one. It can sometimes help expend friend circles when you choose to leave Boston along with other Northeastern students, but you also have to choose to put the effort into maintaining your original friendships. IMO it does create adult friendships well though, as no matter where you go people do tend to move to different places postgrad.
5 years vs 4 honestly is a lot bigger of a deal from a high school perspective. At the end of the day there’s no rush to go and work your entire career in the real world and co-op gives you a taste of that anyway with the same amount of academics. I don’t think it has any real downsides in the end unless you’re looking to do a long grad school stint for things like medical/law school, and in that case you can always do 4 years / 2 co-op’s instead of the 5/3 option. Northeastern is very much a choose your own adventure model in the end.
The only other one I’d note is that it increases logistics for things like housing. If you don’t know where you’re co-oping yet, your housing plans also are on hold. Northeastern housing helps in that its by semester/summer not year for that reason but if you choose to go off campus (various advantages there) then you have to deal with things like subletting. I wouldn’t do it any other way but I have moved 8 times in 5 years and am very much looking to settle down postgrad. As long as you’re on top of your logistics though it shouldn’t cause any issues. As with many parts of Northeastern, that sort of experience also helps postgrad in the end as you know how to look for housing very well at that point and are a pro at it, just like job searches and adult friendships.
I know I’m a little late, but I should mention that at my recent visit to Northeastern I spoke to an IR student who was able to travel to Geneva for six months and study the UN while there (as a sophomore). A central component to International Relations is the ability to travel the world, and during your 6 month experiential blocks, there are many ways for you to branch out and do just that. Going to NEU doesn’t necessarily mean you have to intern anywhere; you can use your experiential time blocks for study abroad, service opportunities, dialogues, or co-op.
I’m a parent of an AU student and he does not feel AU is isolated at all. He and his friends use the unlimited Metro pass to explore the city. Since the Smithsonian’s and Monuments are free, students are not limited by finances for activities. One thing that was not mentioned is that in DC there will be more opportunities to intern in the political arena. AU is adjacent to Embassy Row and the students trick or treat at the Embassies on Halloween. They even get invites to Embassy parties/events. AU has a Greek presence, but it is not prevalent and very unusual. Because the campus skews so heavily female, my son has attended Frat parties (he has zero interest in joining). If you are with a group that has girls or know a member you are welcome at many Fraternity parties. My son loves AU.