<p>PutschCasusBelli:
I didn't apply to ND, but I'm a bit surprised that anyone would know Notre Dame and not NU.
I can't speak for Ohio, but here in California, Northwestern is generally recognized as a very prestigious university. Growing up, I've heard a lot of people refer to it as the "Ivy of the Midwest," and our valedictorians last year turned down a fullride to Berkeley to goto NU. So I'd say NU has the slight edge in terms of prestige. I've no doubt ND is a great school, but I've never actually heard of ND until a friend of mine got in this year.</p>
<p>Only places ND beats NU are Sports, Religion, and UG Business(but a NU econ degree generally would be considered better than ND Mendoza).</p>
<p>Maybe 5 years later, it would be down to only sports and religion. :D Maybe they are already contemplating the resurrection of ug business program (NU discontinued it in 1966).</p>
<p>I am strongly fighting the temptation to debate you guys...</p>
<p>i dont see what you even would consider debating. why dont you just say what you think and back it up with some evidence (not personal experience) and im sure everyone here would love to see it.</p>
<p>Hm, I actually heard of ND before NU... Both are great schools, but I think they're really different in terms of the type of students that go. ND (from what I hear) is less diverse and since it's a religious institution it might also be more conservative. Plus, it's smaller and located in a smaller town, which are other factors that might appeal to some but not others. (Its size might be the reason why not many people have heard of it). Personally, I liked NU because of it's great location and because of the students and social scene (these are also reasons why I chose it over Duke).</p>
<p>
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P.S. k&s:
In the final line of post #76, are you referring to the infamous 'Deuce?'
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<p>JuJu - LOL!! I guess I am (altho, I know it more by its more formal monikor - the Mark II).</p>
<p>
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Only places ND beats NU are Sports, Religion, and UG Business(but a NU econ degree generally would be considered better than ND Mendoza).
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</p>
<p>With regard to sports, we are really only talking about men's fb and bb - but then again, those are the 2 sports that most people care about.</p>
<p>Here's why I chose NU over ND this year:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I attended 2 ND classes - a science and a math. In both classes the students looked bored as hell. The math prof would ask a question and not a single person even attempted to answer it. They (students and prof) seemed perfectly content with staring at each other in silence, waiting for someone to say something. And the math prof was boring as hell. I can't judge as objectively on chem because I hate it. At NU, however, the teachers (stats, econ and engr) were very engaging, and I was extremely impressed with the quality of the student body and their participation. I'm not sure if ND was having a bad day, but that window of observation is what I based my choice on. It seemed like the ND students just couldn't wait to get out of class so they could spend the rest of the day tossing footballs or throwing frisbees.</p></li>
<li><p>Location. No question that NU wins on this one. It's a short ride from Chicago, compared to ND, in the boonies. We drove around South Bend for a bit and everything seemd so barren and dead.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I'm not sure about alum network - everyone keeps talking about how impressive ND is in that area. However, I think NU can match ND in ibanking. I'm too lazy to dig up the thread about MC recruiting, but 4/6 of the top MC firms consider NU a core school, compared to 1/6 at ND. </p>
<p>Only reasons I can think of for going to ND over NU is if you're Catholic and/or you value the "rah-rah" atmosphere over academics.</p>
<p>They call NU's alumni network "the NU mafia". It's really intense.</p>
<p>I know I asked for this, so I'll hold my tongue for now. But I promise, an answer will be coming. Just as soon as I finish my exams...</p>
<p>What is there for you to say...?</p>
<p>Sorry to hijack this thread, but I just can't let that stand...</p>
<p>For one thing, Northwestern's "mafia" might be good, but its hard to beat the Notre Dame alumni network. No one from other colleges really seems to understand it, but Notre Dame really becomes your family and that leads to some fierce loyalty. I've had so many people track me down after they found out I was coming to Notre Dame, some were alumni, some were just people who really love Notre Dame (I even met someone in China who got really excited when they found out I was coming here). There are people who admire Northwestern, but when it comes to Notre Dame, people LOVE this school. I visited Northwestern, and, although it wins hands down in terms of location, the campus seemed cold to me. Perhaps because South Bend is a barren cultural wasteland, Notre Dame students become even more close knit. The football helps too. Everyone here loves Notre Dame football, not necessarily because they love football (I certainly don't), but because they love Notre Dame. Also, to the person who visited classes at Notre Dame, I'm sorry you had a bad experience. I assure you not all chemistry/math classes are boring here- my chem class last semester was probably one of the most fun I've ever had. I have nothing against Northwestern, its just not a school I would want to attend. You can quibble over the rankings as much as you want, there just isn't anything that can make up for the Notre Dame experience, which is why I ended up choosing to go here over both Dartmouth and Amherst. You can't say Northwestern is better than Notre Dame, the two are just very different, and there are good reasons for choosing both.</p>
<p>Everyone can make a case for any school. One of my best friends, a wildly successsful lawyer/entrepreneur went there and HATED NotreDame. I'm sure, as you indicated that the whole gamut can be represented.</p>
<p>Isn't this all about the "fit" the high school guidance counselors talk about hoping to find?</p>
<p>I get tired of these "my school is better than your school" threads.</p>
<p>It's what's right for the person in the end.</p>
<p>i definitely agree with shellzie and I go to NU. It kind of seems that alot of NU posters on CC are pretty defensive about NU when it comes to comparing NU with other schools. Honestly, I think NU is an amazing school and I love it here. But I think being overly-defensive would lead people to think of NU has having an "inferiority complex," which isnt true at all in real life.</p>
<p>It is because it so completely underrated. So many people bash it and it gets frustrating when you see such negative posts about your alma mater.</p>
<p>NU is definitely more well-known and respected in the Midwest. Conversely, I was always pretty college-saavy, but I remember being surprised when I found out my senior year of HS that Duke and Rice were considered as good as NU. I'm sure if I wasn't from the midwest, I would have known this already. Similarly, some people from the East Coast aren't as familiar with NU and maybe only see it as some random school in the top 15 of the US News and World Report College Rankings. When I told some Harvard undergrad that I was considering NU for grad school, she asked me, "so...do u like the northwest?" as if NU was some school in Idaho or Washington state.</p>
<p>OK guys, I've seen a lot of untrue statements flying around here, so let me try to see if I can clear the air a little bit.</p>
<p>By the way, I don't have a hidden agenda, I'm in the process of deciding between Notre Dame and Northwestern right now.</p>
<p>1.) Notre Dame is more well known. It may be because of the football program, it may not be, but across the nation, Notre Dame is far more well known than Northwestern and is generally considered a better University (although according to the rankings that's not true). I'm not saying that Notre Dame is a better university at all, in fact, it may not be, but it is generally considered to be a better university and it's more well known. In reality, they are basically equal in terms of quality of university, but if you'd like to split hairs, you'd have to give a slight advantage to Northwestern.</p>
<p>2.) Northwestern is in a much better location, but in my subjective opinion, Notre Dame has a little bit nicer campus.</p>
<p>3.) The actual statistic (I'm not just making this up), is that when people are accepted into Northwestern and Notre Dame, they choose Notre Dame nearly 70% of the time.</p>
<p>4.) Northwestern has more attractive girls.</p>
<p>5.) Notre Dame's alumni network is probably the best in the country.</p>
<p>I'd go with that. One of ND's difficulties is that people tend to view it as a one trick pony. It has a great football program, excellent spirit, and a terrific alumni network. What gets lost in these points is the fact that ND also has terrific academics. You don't hear about the state-of-the-art cancer research. You don't hear about the most advanced undergraduate science facility in the nation. You don't hear about the professors who trust you so much they don't proctor exams, or the professors who will buy you ice cream from LaFun to teach you about thermodynamics. I apologize to the person who had a bad experience on the professor front-- that's rare. ND does get short shrift in this regard. That said, I know that Northwestern is a very good school, better than ND in several departments. However, ND has a lot of intangibles that make it absolutely singular. There is no other school like it in the country. The academics are close enough that I would say comparing the two is like comparing apples and oranges: students pick the flavor they favor. Before Shellzie got into this, I was going to launch a huge tirade with all sorts of facts and figures, but her post made me realize it doesn't matter. Both schools have a lot to offer.</p>
<p>Notre Dame is not considered a better university than Northwestern, at least by the people who matter. I'm sure many people might know Notre Dame because of its football and then translate that into its worth as a university. However, among employers and those who know about academics, I am nearly certain that Northwestern is more respected. That being said, given ND's amazing alumni network (NU's isn't shabby either), that doesn't mean you'll have worse career prospects. NU is more prestigious though.</p>
<p>EPlayers07,</p>
<p>Looks to me you were throwing untrue statements more than all of us combined. lol! Numerous rankings and figures seem to say NU is a more prestigious school. Don't believe me? Start with the last 20 years of US News Ranking; pay particlar attention to peer assessment score too. Then, look at Harvard/Yale law school student profile and see who are more represented; also, look at wsj feeder school ranking. While you are at it, look at the listing of "core schools" for top-6 consulting firms. So whiy is NU is more prestigious? Look up NRC or US News rankings for all differernt fields and NU is probably ranked higher in ALL of them.</p>
<p>jcr182,
I don't think NU people are defensive. There's nothing wrong to refute untrue statements like what rooney just did.</p>