<p>I was recently accepted into both Northwestern and Hopkins for the humanities and am having an incredibly difficult time trying to decide which one to go to. I am interested in studying economics undergrad but want other strong options in case I change my mind, which I probably will, and I also want to dabble in some sort of business minor/degree or even a business related club just to get a little bit of experience in that field. I am looking for a school where I will be challenged academically but also have a great and relaxing social life where I would possibly join a fraternity. My only swaying factor right now is that I would be able to run Track and Field at Johns Hopkins, but not at Northwestern because they do not have an official team. Im also interested in going to business school after college, and want the school that would give me the greatest chances of getting into a top tier business school, and obtaining a strong internship or job in between. Someone please help me! Please give me some advice that will help me make up my mind.</p>
<p>Im looking for an ideal combination of academics and social life with a friendly student body</p>
<p>Here’s the good news – you’re in the enviable position of having two excellent choices. It’s really a no-lose situation for you.</p>
<p>Both are top-top schools. </p>
<p>For Business – I know that Northwestern has a certificate program with the Kellogg School of Business which is supposed to be excellent. I don’t know whether JHU has anything similar or not. </p>
<p>However, to be honest, I’m 100% certain that both schools send many students to top top B-Schools. </p>
<p>I think your choice may come down to cost and intangibles.</p>
<p>Thanks for your input, i know Northwestern has two possible business certificates but no minor while Hopkins offers only 1 minor option in Business/Entrepreneurship</p>
<p>What kind of intangibles are you thinking of?</p>
<p>If you’ve visited both schools – which one feels more like ‘home’ to you.</p>
<p>Both schools meet your criteria. People who are at or who went to Northwestern will advise you to go there. And visa versa for Hopkins. So that will not help you.</p>
<p>Northwestern, I would guess, is likely to have more students planning a career in business than Hopkins simply by virtue of the fame of Kellogg as a graduate business school. Hopkins’ Carey School, while very good, is brand new and not yet in Kellogg’s league. Most Hopkins students are planning for careers in medicine, law, engineering, academia and diplomacy. But some Hopkins students go on to business school and do quite well. Perhaps the best example is a former poor kid from Boston who went to Hopkins on a scholarship, went on to Harvard Business School, founded a business information service that became a necessity on Wall Street, and became one of the richest men in America. His name is Mike Bloomberg.</p>
<p>Ive seen both, they are both beautiful, and I feel like I would really fit in at either, thats why this is so difficult for me</p>
<p>I’ll try to compare the two schools based on my experiences with friends that have gone to both and input from people in my consulting firm:</p>
<p>Placement into business schools is heavily dependent on your work experience, GMAT scores, and (potentially) interview. Where your undergraduate school helps is getting your foot in the door for that all important first job. Based on that metric, Northwestern typically does well in placing people into business schools. Northwestern also has a more established economics program and offers the Kellogg Certificate. Additionally, there is the rigorous MMS program at Northwestern, which is where the top consulting firms typically hire from ([Freshman</a> Admission, Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences – [page headline], Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences – Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Northwestern University](<a href=“http://www.mmss.northwestern.edu/admission/freshman.html]Freshman”>http://www.mmss.northwestern.edu/admission/freshman.html)). Note that this program is small and a bit difficult to internally transfer into, however. Additionally, Northwestern offers the Kellogg certificate which would help you in getting finance jobs out of Northwestern compared to Hopkins due to the quantitative preparation ([Certificate</a> Program for Undergraduates - Kellogg School of Management - Northwestern University](<a href=“http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/Certificate.aspx]Certificate”>Certificate Program for Undergraduates | Kellogg School of Management)). Northwestern is a pretty social campus, and is frat centric in my view (which could be good or bad). Should you choose to stay in the midwest and specifically Chicago for jobs, NU obviously does well in that regard as well. In terms of location, Evanston is pretty suburban. You could take trips to nearby Chicago however, which is a major city with lots of activities.</p>
<p>Hopkins offers the W.P Carey minor in entrepreneurship (<a href=“http://ree.stanford.edu/reeusa03/posters/johnshopkins.pdf[/url]”>http://ree.stanford.edu/reeusa03/posters/johnshopkins.pdf</a>), a minor that would help you in either consulting or finance with its emphasis on leadership skills. JHU also offers a financial economics minor that would help you with jobs in finance: [Center</a> for Financial Economics The Minor](<a href=“Center for Financial Economics | Johns Hopkins University”>Center for Financial Economics | Johns Hopkins University). I think due to its emergent business school, you would have a harder time getting recruited in wall street and consulting using on-campus resources alone, relative to Northwestern. But due to its east coast location, there are plenty of alumni in high positions at the elite consulting and finance firms you could reach out to to get a job at Hopkins. You’d have to work a little bit harder, but the opportunities are there. In whatever school you choose to go to, make sure to network by reaching out to alumni and attending events. As stated above, Hopkins is not as strong in economics. But it is more established in other fields, such as the humanities, international relations, and some of the hard sciences (physics and biology immediately come to mind). Northwestern is more established in chem, poli sci, and sociology. I’d evaluate your interests if you do plan on switching from Economics.
Hopkins is pretty social and collaborative (less emphasis on frats, but it’s still there). Study groups with classmates are a common thing in college (but your friends might be outside the study group or your major). Baltimore has more of an urban artsy hipster location with good bar/clubbing locations nearby. Hopkins’ total undergraduate class size is a lot smaller than Northwestern, so the campus might feel more intimate, should this matter to you. It doesn’t have major DI sports, however, which means you’d miss out on college basketball and football (Northwestern typically does alright in the big ten in terms of basketball and football - they’re still trying to get over the hump but should get in the NCAA tourney soon. A major college football bowl game might be a stretch for a while). It does have lacrosse which draws ESPNU telecasts and relatively large crowds for every game (but smaller crowds compared to the major DI sports). Finally, it’s important again to consider where you might want to work after college or study after college. Northwestern is quite a bit more preprofessional relative to Hopkins, where as Hopkins does well in sending students to top graduate schools. If you want to work in the mid-west, Northwestern would make things easier. Depending on the field in the northeast, you might have an easier time coming out of Hopkins.</p>
<p>Thanks Blah that was very informative</p>
<p>“i know Northwestern has two possible business certificates but no minor”</p>
<p>ACTUALLY, the most popular minor at Northwestern is the Business Institutions Program
[Harvey</a> Kapnick Business Institutions Program – Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Northwestern University](<a href=“Harvey Kapnick Center for Business Institutions - Northwestern University”>Harvey Kapnick Center for Business Institutions - Northwestern University)</p>
<p>AND, in addition to the Kellogg certificate programs: [Certificate</a> Program for Undergraduates - Kellogg School of Management - Northwestern University](<a href=“http://www.kellogg.northwestern.edu/Certificate.aspx]Certificate”>Certificate Program for Undergraduates | Kellogg School of Management),
Medill offers a marketing certificate via Integrated Marketing Communications (the marketing program at Northwestern is generally recognized as #1 internationally).
[Medill</a> - IMC Programs: Undergraduate](<a href=“http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/imc/undergrad.aspx]Medill”>http://www.medill.northwestern.edu/imc/undergrad.aspx)</p>
<p>AND, a MAJOR in SESP in Learning and Organizational Change is used by many to set up careers in consulting and HR:
[School</a> of Education & Social Policy :: Learning and Organizational Change](<a href=“http://www.sesp.northwestern.edu/ugrad/learning-and-organizational-change/index.html]School”>Learning and Organizational Change Northwestern University | School of Education & Social Policy)</p>
<p>AND, a hard core Industrial Engineering and Managerial Sciences major is available via McCormick leading to great opportunities for grads as analysts, bankers, consultants, and Yankee managers (Joe Girardi was a graduate :))
[Prospective</a> Undergraduate Students: Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences : Northwestern University](<a href=“http://www.iems.northwestern.edu/undergraduate_program/prospective/index.html]Prospective”>http://www.iems.northwestern.edu/undergraduate_program/prospective/index.html)</p>
<p>All these options are summarized in the “Roads to Business” pdf below:
<a href=“Harvey Kapnick Center for Business Institutions - Northwestern University”>Harvey Kapnick Center for Business Institutions - Northwestern University;
<p>Yup, lots of choices</p>
<p>Do I have access to those other courses/programs/majors in other schools if I am in Weinberg?</p>
<p>Generally so. MMSS, BIP, and the certificate programs in both Kellogg and Medill are absolutely all available. I believe the LOR major in SESP would require you be enrolled in SESP as a primary school, but you could still complete a second major or minor in Weinberg or a certificate from Kellogg or Medill.</p>
<p>[Minors</a>, Certificates, and Concentrations - Undergraduate Advising – Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Northwestern University](<a href=“http://www.weinberg.northwestern.edu/advising/majors/minors/]Minors”>http://www.weinberg.northwestern.edu/advising/majors/minors/)
[Double</a> Counting FAQ - Undergraduate Advising – Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Northwestern University](<a href=“http://www.weinberg.northwestern.edu/advising/rules/doublecounting.html#nonweinberg]Double”>http://www.weinberg.northwestern.edu/advising/rules/doublecounting.html#nonweinberg)</p>
<p>If anyone out there has more knowledge of SESP’s LOR major and doubling across SESP and Weinberg feel free to speak up.</p>
<p>thanks bala. any other more general suggestions or advice?</p>
<p>Northwestern’s undergraduate population is almost twice that of JHU if that counts for anything.</p>