Northeastern vs. BU

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northeastern University
1

Hey guys, I’m posting this on the BU thread as well. I have about a week until I have to decide whether to go to Northeastern or BU for engineering. The financial aid is dead even. Here’s my pros and cons for each school.

Northeastern
Pros:

  • Co-op (work experience, money, more time because of no studying)
  • Co-op (probably counts as two)
  • also has global co-op/study abroad/dialogues
  • Campus feel (not spread out like BU)
  • Up and coming (gigantic engineering complex, rising in prestige)
  • When I visited the faculty and students seemed nice
  • I’d get 32 transfer credits from AP classes (they capped it at 32), could knock off 1-2 semesters (not sure though because I’d have to take 5 hard engineering classes each semester instead of spreading them out over more semesters)

Cons:

  • classes in summer
  • my friends would be on co-op when I’m in classes (some northeastern vlogger on YouTube said it was pretty antisocial)
  • don’t know if I really want 5 years
  • from what I saw, BU had nicer buildings
  • apparently not in a good neighborhood
  • Not a traditional campus with less school spirit bc everyone is doing their own thing

BU
Pros:

  • “prestige” (I don’t like saying the word, but BU’s reputation probably helps when going for jobs)
  • research (UROP, 60 lab rooms, Engineering product innovation center)
  • newer facilities and dorms seem better
  • being on the river is nice
  • with unlimited AP credit policy, I’d earn anywhere between 36 and 52 AP transfer credits (might get out in 3 years)
  • summer break
  • traditional college experience (more school spirit, more social)

Cons:

  • The few professors I met seemed to have a chip on their shoulders (I cannot stand people who are like that)
  • rare co-op program (not entirely sure)
  • rare study abroad (also not sure)
  • drawn out in a line (not much of a campus feel, which contradicts the “traditional college experience” point)
  • Maybe too much partying (I would want to go to some parties but wouldn’t want to join a frat)
  • with the larger population I could feel lost in the crowd

Anyone with personal experience at these schools that could clarify, refute, or bring up new points, would be much appreciated.

2

You apparently didn’t see Cummington Street at BU.

Summer sessions are not a burden. In engineering you had better plan on doing internships in the summers starting after sophomore year at any school. Leisurely summers being a lifeguard or doing odd jobs are a thing of the past.

Social life is what you make it.

No

3

You’ve done a pretty good job with the pros and cons overall, but I would amend a few in both directions, some highlighted above and some not.

Summer Classes vs Break:

With enough AP credits, you could actually manage to take very few summer sessions. I have a friend, though not an engineer, who is doing just that and not taking a single summer course. Their reason is visiting young and impressionable siblings at home. As mentioned above, at most schools, you’d have internships anyways. Northeastern essentially changes the ordering and gets you a more extended internship with the benefits of co-op. Is there any specific reason you’d like a summer break?

This can happen, but there’s are few things to consider here. First, many people co-op in Boston (especially for earlier ones), which means they are still around socially. People also tend to align their co-op cycles with their friends at the time as well. It’s certainly something you have to be aware of, but it’s not huge. Additionally, if you’re away on co-op in a different location, there are groups of students in most major cities, and there is organization there to have a connection to Northeastern while there. I’m in LA right now, and so far we’ve gone to an art museum, done two dinners, and are going to laser tag, all for discounted or free prices (I’ve paid a total of $3 for all those events).

Shiny buildings are great for tours, but in the end a building is a building in my opinion. That goes for BU’s buildings and Northeastern’s new ISEC complex as well. So long as it has the space and equipment needed, you’re going to get the same thing. Both schools have a good deal of labs and equipment.

Northeastern is closer to Roxbury on one side, which is the historically black neighborhood in Boston. I think a lot of people use coded language to say that. In reality, I’ve never felt any danger in the area personally, and anything notable is sent via text and email to all students when it comes to crime. We get maybe 1-2 of those a year. On the other side, it’s close to Fenway, the MFA, and Copley Square/Prudential. You’ll get similar neighborhood and location feels at both.

BU and Northeastern have similar reputations in the region and nationally. The place BU’s name will carry anything significant is probably internationally, which is likely not to affect you. For engineering specifically, Northeastern could even be argued to have the prestige edge. Especially in engineering, it’s about your experience, not your school name. That’s why co-op works so well for the subject, and has historically been a part of many engineering programs at schools where co-op is not offered for the full school.

As you noted in another point, getting out in three years may still be hard to go given the long sequence of classes for engineering.

BU has a very good study abroad program as well, and in fact most BU students I know have used it. I would call this even between the two.

BU will have slightly more partying and does have a more prominent frat scene, but it’s still very minimal. If partying was a 1 to 10 scale, Northeastern is a 3, BU is a 4, and your classic state school is a 10. The difference between 3 and 4 isn’t something I’d compare the schools with.

If you have any other specific questions I’d be happy to answer. Chose between Northeastern and BU myself and also have friends over at BU so I know them pretty well, though of course Northeastern better. Good luck!

4

The female to male breakdown at BU is 60/40 female to male. Not sure if that is con for you, but personally I prefer schools with a 50/50 split.

5

@suzyQ7 It isn’t a con for me, I don’t really care as long as it’s not overwhelming (like 75/25)

6

You list research opportunities as a plus for BU, but I’d say Northeastern also has a lot of great research opportunities for undergrads. It’s an undergrad-focused university, in large part, which means professors are very eager to get undergrads into their labs. You can volunteer, do work-study, research over the summer, co-op in a lab on campus, or apply for funding from the provost’s office for your own research projects (up to $3000). I worked in a lab for 4 years, including a co-op, and developed a fantastic mentor relationship that helped get me into a top notch PhD program.