Northeastern vs Brandeis vs GWU for Computer/Data Science & Chemistry

College Search & Selection
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First gen HS senior who is leaning towards some combination of computer/data science and chemistry. I’m from am immigrant household (african, vague to not dox me), live in Massachusetts and wasn’t allowed to apply to schools outside an ~7hr drive. Got waitlisted at umass amherst and boston university (my top). Seriously considering northeastern, brandeis, gwu, and suffolk.

northeastern
pros

  • located in boston
  • diverse
  • decent school spirit and sports (beanpot looks so much fun)
  • lack of a big greek life presence
  • they have computational chem research!!
  • wide array of combined majors and strong cs/eng program
  • overall a better fit for me socially and academically

northeastern cons
first year oakland

  • for the ds+chem major, I can complete my 1st year requirements in oakland, however if I need to take summer courses in oakland, I’d run out of course options because none of the courses I need are offered in the summer (tldr,
  • for cs+chemE, I would have to do a 5th year which isn’t something I want to do
  • less chem research opportunities (if any) in oakland, would have to wait until sophomore year to really start working in labs
  • from multiple friends’ experiences at neu, they tend to push co-ops fairly early on (freshmen year) more rather than research which i prefer to do than necessarily a cs co-op
  • would be caught up in the mess of the merger with millis
  • oakland apparently isn’t the nicest place to live in and campus is quite a hike from sf/berkeley
  • studying abroad may not be feasible because i’ll essentially be away from boston for nearly half my degree because of co-op (especially if I do cs+chemE)

brandeis
pros

  • closer to home
  • consortium with other colleges in the area (BC, BU, Olin, etc. though I don’t think this is super popular)
  • affordable (as much as umass amherst/state school)
  • smaller school, easier access to chem research opportunities
  • more wiggle room to explore interests outside the major(s)
  • study abroad!!!
  • little greek life presence

cons

  • WAY too close to home (30 min drive from house, no substantial change as its suburb to suburb) and would much rather be IN boston instead of commuting
  • lack of computational chemistry research compared to bigger schools
  • no data science major (still debating between cs/ds + chem), consortium only allows one class per semester
  • next to no school spirit or a sports culture, the social scene is not what i want in a college
  • too small for me (~3k student pop, roughly 3x the population of my high school and i feel suffocated there), I visited a few weeks ago and felt out of place
  • less diverse compared to northeastern
  • not a fan of the brandeis core

gwu
pros

  • nice school size (~11k undergrad)
  • good distance from home (~7 hour drive) and in DC, a major city
  • urban campus
  • diverse student body
  • good study abroad programs
  • little greek life presence
  • has cs, chem, ds

cons

  • lack of school spirit/sports culture, DC generally seems to have less of the city pride that boston has
  • not really fond of DC as a city (i used to be involved in politics/social justice stuff and was going to be pre-law, and found it draining. being politically aware of things is a good thing but DC wouldn’t really offer me the ability to take a break as boston would)
  • a lot of my judgemental extended family lives in DC, and my mom and I would be heading down to this area after my sister graduates in 2024
  • SEAS is fairly small, and the women to men ratio isn’t great compared to neu
  • no computational chemistry research (from what I’ve seen)
  • not a huge fan of the gen ed system at GWU (especially in the arts and sciences school where data science/chem is if i end up switching)
  • expensive, awaiting appeal information

suffolk
pros

  • very cheap, basically free if i commute
  • in the city of boston
  • can go to their madrid campus if wanted
  • would have a roomate already (we’re both in a similar boat)

cons

  • no data science major
  • the cs and chem department is very lackluster
  • high transfer and low graduation rate
  • next to no school spirit or a sports culture as campus is not that big

I’m leaning more towards data science and chemistry, which only northeastern and gwu offer. Asides northeastern, neither option offer what I want in a college (academic and/or personal), and my mom is more comfortable with me going to my other schools then transferring out after a year. As much as I want to avoid going to college with the intent to transfer out, that seems to be my reality.

I know that since CC is primarily adults, i’ll get the cc to state school idea to save money, but most CC’s lack data science courses, my living situation isn’t the best and the college experience is something that would be helpful developmentally, and suffolk would be as cheap (if I don’t dorm). Additionally, I would have to transfer out of CC freshmen year because my family would be going out of state, forcing me to work full time in addition to CC or transferring schools. I did fairly extensive research about the transfer process (what i need, timeline, financial aid, etc.), and I think that this could be something feasible, as my potential list of transfer options aren’t ridiculously competitive (looking at bu, umd, umass, neu, and bc).

tldr

  • neu is my top but my mom hates me in oakland freshman year
  • brandeis is solid academically (minus no data science and the core) but not a fit for me socially at all because less diversity, too close to home, and no school spirit
  • gwu is somewhat of a social and academic fit but dislike dc, the ccas gen ed system, and is expensive
  • suffolk is dirt cheap and in boston, but academically lacking (no data sci, lackluster cs and chem majors)
  • would prolly have to transfer elsewhere after freshman year which is likely what will happen, very feasible as i did most of the course planning prepwork but it feels counterintuitive
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Personally - GW - but I think to grow, it’s best to go away and that’s why.

Otherwise, Brandeis. I do think cross registration is not necessarily a convenience - depending on distance.

I think you will find your research anywhere - and you can reach out to professors in advance to ensure.

I would not go to Oakland - not because it’s too far - but you mentioned reasons and I personally am not a fan of the “alternative” campus or late start type programs.

You’ve got some solid options -and DC is a neat city and you might find that you enjoy something new.

But really - you’ve got good choices all around.

Best of luck.

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As long as you can afford it without taking out too much in loans, I think GWU is the clear winner for what you’re looking for. Personally, I think anything more than the Direct Student Loans is too much for most families/students. That would put you at a total of $28K in loans at the end of four years. As long as you can keep your loans to that level, I think you can keep this #1 for you, for now.

My second choice would be Northeastern. For one, NEU is a good university and it offers everything you want in regards to major and freedom to choose your coursework. Even more importantly, it is affordable. Being one of those nefarious adults you mentioned ( :wink: ) I can’t help but put affordability at the top of my list for any expenditure considered. Teenagers don’t always place enough emphasis on price+affordability+OpportunityCost. This is not a trivial consideration, and the vast majority of all students/families make this their #1 factor when it comes to how to order university options. If price is not a problem because your family can easily afford any cost without taking out loans, ignore this advice. If price is a serious consideration for your family, I think NEU may be the best option for you, all things considered.

Brandeis is third to me, from what you have laid out. But that doesn’t mean I think it’s a bad option for you. I think Brandeis is a very good school, it’s affordable, it will be easier for you to study abroad (!!!) and it has other positives. The fact that your mother is moving away from MA next year means you’ll still be “away from home”, so to speak, and able to grow as a young adult. Yes, the specific diversity you seek may be a bit lacking - the good news is Brandeis overall is diverse, and Boston writ large offers a lot of cultural opportunities for you. Again, the first consideration is price, which Brandeis meets.

I want to emphasize I think the first three options above are all very good options for you. There truly isn’t anything actually negative about any of them for you, unless any require too much in loans.

For now, I would count out Suffolk. One incredible saving grace for not eliminating it altogether is I think it would be easier for you to transfer from Suffolk to UMAmherst and maybe(?) retain your in-state status. If that is a possibility, and if you would enjoy UM-A, I think the idea of Suffolk should remain alive, though at the back of the list.

Congrats on the fantastic options! And good luck!

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Please scratch Suffolk from the list!

Spending a year in Oakland for someone from the Boston area sounds great. The campus is beautiful and he would get to experience California. As a CS major you should do both coop and research.

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My daughter is making a similar decision - Brandeis vs GWU. I think she is coming at it from the opposite direction as you and “small school” would be a pro with “big school” as a con. Funnily enough, Brandeis is actually more diverse than GW! (I was surprised about this too). According to college tables, for Freshmen Brandeis is 44% white, GW is 55% white. Any way your choose - good luck - this is a hard choice!

https://collegetables.info/

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My son is considering the same three schools. Truthfully, these are all terrific schools and you can’t go wrong!!!

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@miraah I am a huge fan of Brandeis and think it is probably the most underrated school in the country. I have some opinions on why, but that’s neither here nor there. Great school if you are looking to develop close relationships with faculty and do research as an undergrad. My cousin went there and is now in a PhD program at an elite university on the other side of the country.

FYI they are having a big festival starting this weekend, so if you are nearby you should check it out. It’s the Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts.

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What most caught my eye is that you don’t like DC.
Thus, to be honest, I would be cautious in considering GW.

My S is at GW and a significant part of the appeal for him choosing to attend AND being happy there (finishing second year soon), is largely bc GW is in DC. It wouldn’t be the same experience for him at all without the DC component. (And the same would be said by his roommates and peers.)

Good luck with your decision. It’s not easy!

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It sounds as if you would be all-in for Northeastern if not for the first year in Oakland. I think you should still consider it.

There are parts of Oakland that aren’t the nicest, and other parts that are very nice. The Mills campus is in a pretty nice area, close to the hills, where there are gorgeous parks. NEU has so much experience running alternate first-year programs abroad; I would think that they’d get their Oakland program up and running without much difficulty. You would be with a close-knit cohort that would all move to Boston together.

Do you know that summer classes between freshman and sophomore years would have to be in Oakland? I would think that Boston classes would be available to you at that point, especially if you can live at home.

As for doing research your first year… the first-year CS program is pretty intense anyway - they front-load the curriculum so that students who do early co-ops have strong skills under their belts already. Also, there are research co-ops, so research and co-op are not mutually exclusive!

I know your family wanted you closer to home… but if they’re also supportive of study abroad, then being farther away temporarily is okay, right?

I think the range of interdisciplinary majors and research opportunities for your interests at NEU looks hard to beat. None of your other schools seems to hit the sweet spot in terms of your being excited about the location and the academic offerings.

Anyway, I agree that you should rule out Suffolk. GWU and Brandeis are both great schools - you just don’t seem to see the same fit that you describe with NEU.

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Can you reach out to some current families whose kids have done the NUbound program at Mills? I have a classmate from college who I don’t know well, but I do know that her son is really excited to get to Boston this next year as they have experienced the first year at Mills to be kind of a hot mess. I know that there is some strife between the original student body from Mills and the NU students just because they are really different.

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Here is the article without the paywall.

Students complain of culture shock as Northeastern University settles into Calif. outpost (boston.com)

While some legacy Mills students are upset about the changes that Northeastern has brought, the alternative was the closure of Mills. Mills had extreme COVID restrictions right up to the merger last July. E.g. Masks had to be worn everywhere on campus, even outdoors.

It appears that the “tensions” at Mills were felt by some legacy Mills students, lamenting an environment that was not sustainable financially. Like a couple of private colleges in the Boston area that recently closed, it was a private college that prepared mostly lower income students for careers that had few job opportunities and did not pay well. I am referring to Pine Manor College and Mount Ida College in the Boston area. The Boston Globe did a series of articles about them and the student debt problems their alumni were facing.

Next academic year there will be few legacy Mills students remaining.

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Thanks — I didn’t realize it was paywalled (I’m not a subscriber!).

My college classmate’s concerns are coming as well from the perspective of her NUbound student feeling a bit like a second class citizen when it comes to the NU community itself when it comes to things like housing, etc. back in Boston.

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While NU Bound is fairly new, NU In has been around for nearly 15 years. Northeastern has a whole set of welcome activities for students joining the Boston campus. Roughly a quarter to a third of Boston students started out in NU In or NU Bound so you will not be a part of a small out of place group.

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