Which university has a better overall reputation in the U.S., worldwide, and with employers?
@crazylild1rk In my opinion Northwestern. To me Northwestern is a solid top 15 school, WUSTL is top 20 but not top 15. I think NU overall has stronger departments and has a stronger brand and reputation than WUSTL.
NW for sure. WUSTL is debatable at best if it is a top school, and even those who say it is say its less than top 15. Some say it should not even be top 20.
NU has a slight but definite edge over WashU in terms of academic reputation, but NU’s location in Chicago is probably much better for internships and first jobs than St. Louis.
On prestige – especially in the general public – edge to Northwestern. Among grad schools and employers who know schools well, they are peers with no significant difference in prestige. The phrase “in the U.S., worldwide, and with employers” is quite vague. Where in the U.S.? What level of people are we talking about? It also may depend on what field of study. Also, some students might end up with a better outcome at WashU than NW, such as if the vibe of the school suits them better and they end up happier and perform better. Both are outstanding schools with pros and cons. I personally would prefer WashU. “Man on the street” prestige, agree that NW is more well-known.
I would say WUSTL has a slight edge among the medical world, but I’m partial since I go there. We also have a well regarded Business school and #1 School of Social Work. I’m sure NU also had a great B-school program. Both are great schools that will yield successful post-grads. NU has more of a party school/Big 10 vibe whereas WUSTL is perhaps a bit more quirky. Pick the school that makes you feel most at home. NU and WUSTL are both phenomenal schools, and post-grad success is really dependent on the efforts of each individual student. I believe it’s not so much where you go, but what you do when you get there (work hard!!)
In practical terms, publicity and reputation tend to go hand in hand these days.
Northwestern is the better known school, in part because it plays Division I sports and thus has its name plastered on the college football scoreboard every Saturday in fall. (Yes, such trivial things really matter; Duke, my alma mater, did considerably better in the “prestige” sweepstakes after Coach K. took over and made the basketball team a perennial championship contender.) Because people–both the general public and the average employer–are more likely to have heard of Northwestern and to have some sense that it’s a “good” school, it has a better reputation.
Wash U is more likely to be known and appreciated by graduate schools and higher-end employers. It plays Division III sports and is located in the somewhat downscale city of St. Louis (though it is in a very nice part of St. Louis), so it simply lacks the public profile of Northwestern. However, those in the know know that what Wash U lacks in publicity, it more than makes up for in quality of life and quality of education. If these, rather than “reputation,” were my primary criteria for selecting a university to attend, then I would give serious consideration to Wash U, even at the expense of a better known school like Northwestern.
Finally, the supposed distinction between being a “top-15” school and merely a “top-20” school is absurd. You will not succeed or fail in life because you chose to attend a college ranked 5 or 10 points below an alternative college in the USNews ranking (which changes yearly, in any case; note that Wash U was in the top 10 at one point in the recent past). The only people who would regard such a distinction as decisive would be naive, prestige-obsessed high-school students and, perhaps, recruiters from the NYC and Chicago offices of certain investment banks.