<p>My son has been admitted to both and we haven't visited either school which we, of course, will. But I'd love to hear from anyone who can compare the differences between both schools, including the weather. Thanks.</p>
<p>To me Northwestern wins 10:1. Actually DD alo just got in.</p>
<p>Northwestern will be much colder and windier in the winter. In addition to being further north, it sits right on Lake Michigan.</p>
<p>Northwestern is on the quarter system, Wash U on the semester. Neither one is better, in my opinion, but there are differences.</p>
<p>Wash U is adjacent to a very large park (one of the largest urban parks in the U.S) that includes an art museum, a zoo, an ice skating rink, an outdoor theater, a boating pond and extensive jogging and biking trails. Everything is free. The monorail runs directly from campus to the airport. </p>
<p>Most people here on CC are going to tell you to go with Northwestern, because it "ranks" a couple of places higher and because there is a great deal of bias against Wash U on this site. I'd recommend visiting both and deciding for yourself. I will mention that two of my son's friends applied to both, and were ultimately accepted to both, and both went with Wash U. </p>
<p>On the other hand, Chicago is my favorite city, so on the basis of city alone, I'd probably go with NU. (I grew up in St. Louis, and there are a lot of nice things about it, but it isn't Chicago.) Is your son likely to make the trip into Chicago very often? A lot of students don't, and it wouldn't make a lot of sense to go to NU because Chicago is a great city if a student is just going to stay on campus anyway.</p>
<p>I don't know how often he would go to Chicago but he does have some extended family there that he has met and I think that was part of the draw for him. Thanks for the comparison between the two places.</p>
<p>If it is for engineering Northwestern has a unique program that stresses hands on real world experiences. Very different from many traditional programs in the US.</p>
<p>If for engineering, strongly agree with drizzit. We had heard that a number of engineering students at Wash U are not very happy with their experience; for that reason, my S decided to go elsewhere.</p>
<p>Congrats first of all to your son. (I had the same thing 20 years ago - accepted to NU and WUSTL!) For perspective, I went to high school in St. Louis and went to NU, so I'm familiar with both places (though obviously more with NU).</p>
<p>They are both can't-go-wrong types of schools. I'm of course biased towards NU, but the WUSTL hate on CC is ridiculous and completely unfounded, IMO. The big tipping points are really going to be preference for Chicago vs St. Louis and your son's personal fit -- can he see himself at each campus? I think they tend to attract similar types of students and there is really no bad choice to make here. It's an embarrassment of riches! Good luck!</p>
<p>When we visited NW, it was immediately clear that it wasn't a fit for S, but there are some great things about the school. The outstanding factor to me was the emphasis at NW on internships and practical experience in your field. I think that would be a big advantage for your S if he is interested in a field that lends itself to such an experience, and especially if he envisions himself working in a career-path job straight out of college. (Not that NW grads don't go to grad school also.) Of course, there are some fields where NW is one of the strongest schools nationally--to my knowledge, journalism and theater--so if he's interested in those, it would seem like an easy choice. Access to Chicago is there, also. Another difference is that NW is a Big 10 football school. Our tour guide told us that there's lots of school spirit and activity around that. If it matters either way to your S, it's a factor.</p>
<p>Full disclosure: D is a senior at WUSTL (she transferred there as a sophomore -- not from NW). She was admitted to NW as a freshman and chose not to go. For a variety of reasons, we know both schools quite well. I agree that the similarities far outweigh the differences. Both are wonderful schools. Congrats to your son for having two great choices! Here, though, are a few differences that haven’t been mentioned. </p>
<p>NW has mediocre dorms. The newer dorms at WUSTL are positively palatial.</p>
<p>NW has Big 10 athletics. To say that sports are generally unpopular at Wash U is an understatement (although the men’s basketball team just won the Div III title!).</p>
<p>Here comes the first subjective observation: The student body at NW is highly pre-professional, and tends to be more competitive than the student body at Wash U. Although Wash U’s student body also has plenty of pre-professional types and pre-med students, the culture does not seem to be quite as competitive. </p>
<p>A big difference: NU has a very strong Greek system (partly because the dorms are so lousy – kids are eager to move into the much nicer Greek houses). WUSTL also has Greek scene, but it’s low key.</p>
<p>Another anecdotal observation: Based on the experiences of kids we know at both schools (and we know quite a few) Wash U is somewhat more undergrad-centric than NU. NU students we know gripe that some of their profs are genuine stars in their fields, but that they are more research-oriented than student-oriented. Wash U is certainly not a perfect haven of undergrad-centricity, though.</p>
<p>Location-wise, Chicago beats St. Louis hands down! Evanston is a great college town with easy access to the city. Wash U's campus is great, but St. Louis is, well, St. Louis.</p>
<p>P.S: I see from other comments on this thread that your son is considering engineering. In that case, I would choose Northwestern in a heartbeat.</p>
<p>I've never picked up on WUSL hate on CC. What's the reason? I'd never even heard of WUSL before lurking coming on CC, and I've always gotten a favorable impression.</p>
<p>I don’t want to hijack this thread, but here’s the explanation in a nutshell, youdon’tsay.</p>
<p>WUSTL takes enormous heat on these boards because it markets to high school students with a fury, then waitlists them in droves. I do not defend that policy, but WUSTL is by no means alone in building jumbo-sized waitlists, and I've never really figured out why WUSTL gets singled out for criticism among CC posters. Other top schools are doing precisely the same thing. Just a few examples. In 2005-06 Amherst, with a total student body of 1600, wait listed 1152 students. Williams, with a student body of 2000, wait listed 1123. Princeton wait listed 1207, and Yale 1094. </p>
<p>Anyway, what's most important is to distinguish between WUSTL's aggressive marketing tactics and the education undergrads get once they are on campus, which is excellent.</p>
<p>And now, back to "Northwestern or WUSTL?"</p>
<p>Thanks, wjb.</p>
<p>Now, back to our regulary scheduled programming ...</p>
<p>FWIW, I spent a week at NW for a professional conference and loved the environment. I arrived a day early and happened to be there at the same time as a wonderful mulitcultural fair at a nearby park. Gave me a great impression of the place.</p>
<p>Just to clarify, son is not interested in engineering at this point in time. Doesn't really know which direction he will go. This is very helpful. My kid is not really into sports either.</p>
<p>I've visited both, and my older daughter had NW as her first choice before getting into a shot-in-the-dark reach early and deciding to go that way. The campuses are both appealing and quite different, so a student would probably prefer one over the other. I'd prefer NW, though I can understand that many would like WUSTL more. IMO, Evanston over St. Louis is an easy call, though NW students have some town-and-gown issues. Thge south campus of NW is lovely, the north end of the campus a modern, technological architectural horror, but it's all on the shore of Lake Michigan, which is dazzling. Campus life at NW can be somewhat balkanized with technology students on their end of campus, the high-level performing artists on their end, and different pre-professional schools scattered in between. The good news is that his worst-case scenario in choosing between them would still be fabulous.</p>
<p>Both are great schools. I have a personal fondness for WUSTL because it very much exceeded my expectations when we visited. I expected to be impressed by NW. (BTW, son did not choose either of the 2, but for reasons of his own.)</p>
<p>Franklin Park (is that the name?) across the street form WUSTL is amazing. It is very easy to get from WUSTL to the airport and back on the train. The architecture is cool ( you will see this for yourself). The students are high achievers, but seemed more laid back about it (unsubstantiated observation). No big-ten sports. At the time we visited, there was a policy that any class that had even 1 student enrolled would take place. </p>
<p>Norhtwestern is beautiful in a different way. You'll see that for yourself, too. I live on the other side of the Lake, so I, of course, think that having the Lake is an advantage. (Have you been to Lake Michigan before?) The El makes trips to the city quite easy, and Chicago is a terrific city. Getting to O'Hare and Midway is not so simple, but definitely doable. Sports are huge.</p>
<p>IMO, this is a great "problem" to have.</p>
<p>Both campuses are reputed to be very beautiful, but after visiting both, I have to say WashU wins.</p>
<p>Actually, WashU is climbing up the ranks like no other school. Its fin. aid policy is also friendlier than NU's. However, NU is right next to Chicago, land of the opportunities.</p>
<p>check this out:
<a href="http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1natudoc_brief.php%5B/url%5D">http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1natudoc_brief.php</a></p>
<p>Thank you. Yes, I have seen Lake Michigan when I was in Chicago about 20 years ago. I didn't see the campus as we were choosing preschools and not colleges back then. My husband spent his early years near Evanston. You are right that this is a great "problem" to have but it's often difficult to choose between great schools. We are still waiting to hear from a few schools but I am excited about these possibilities. While I think my son would absolutely love Chicago and the lake, based on what I am reading it seems that Wash U might be the better fit. I'm going to make husband and son read these posts later. By the way, I really appreciate the airport information as my daughter has been going to school across the country the last four years and I decided that ease of travel is something I really want to consider.</p>
<p>
[quote]
The student body at NW is highly pre-professional, and tends to be more competitive than the student body at Wash U. Although Wash Us student body also has plenty of pre-professional types and pre-med students, the culture does not seem to be quite as competitive.
[/quote]
I heard this too. One of my older D's classmates transferred out of NW because he felt out of place there, "being the only one who haven't yet figured out exactly what he wants to do with his life" (in his words).</p>
<p>No doubt about the airport access to WUSTL being a snap. At NW, it's about a $40 cab ride from O'Hare.</p>
<p>mafool and others: The name of the park adjacent to WUSTL is Forest Park, so named because it is heavily wooded.</p>
<p>As it happens, I was there last weekend, visited the zoo, the art museum and the MO History museum, and husband took a long run in the park the next day. Total cost = zero. (Well, the taxpayers of "the greater metropolitan St. Louis museum taxing district" are paying for the attractions.) Cant' say that about Chicago--but I still love Chicago.</p>
<p>The monorail to the airport in St. Louis simply cannot be beat. However, since American bought out TWA and moved its hub out of St. Louis, the number of non-stop flights to major cities is far fewer now than a few years ago.</p>
<p>Getting to either of the airports in Chicago is a big pain, but I guess you can get anywhere from there non-stop (at least from O'Hare, if you are a fan of huge airports).</p>