<p>I have been accepted to Northwestern - Weinberg and I am anticipating being accepted to Notre Dame. I was rejected by UofPenn. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated!</p>
<p>Here's my background and opinion. I applied to both ND and Northwestern. Made it into ND early action (no "hook" to get me into this school, offered a slot in the A&L/Science Honors program). Northwestern waitlisted me. The girl whom I dated senior year of HS and first year of college went to Northwestern. I did go over on a few occassions, saw some aspects of the school that way. My younger sister applied to both ND and Northwestern. Northwestern accepted her, ND waitlisted her, she ended up choosing Northwestern over the other school she made it in and I've heard some of her opinions on the school.</p>
<p>I guess my question to you is what are you looking for, your question is kinda vague, is there some specific question or realm of questions you would like me to focus on when answering? </p>
<p>I think one of the biggest differences right off the bat is the lifestyle and the environment obviously. Northwestern is in Evanston with access to Chicago via the L. ND is in South Bend, and a car is necessary unless you want to try and use bus service. ND has parietals and single sex dorms in which you have Rectors/Rectresses who are university employees who work for University and oversee the lifestyle. They can refer you to the University ResLife board if you get too crazy. Northwestern, you see no real oversight by the University other than the RA's who work in each dorm or Residence College. As I see it, a lot more can go on over at Northwestern with no oversight. I've heard some stories from my sis....</p>
<p>Academics, I think the two schools are pretty comparable, you get what you put into your education. And both have some top notch programs. ND might have better name recognition as far as a school, but Northwestern is know in the academic circles. </p>
<p>Atmosphere and intangibles...I think ND wins, but I'm a little biased. If you want more info or specific questions answered, ask and I'm sure someone on the board will chime in.</p>
<p>I've been leaning towards International Business. But, as you know NU does not offer a Business Degree, where ND does. I've pretty much figured out that I can major in Econ at NU and minor in something else.
My question is, do I go with a better rated school (rank) versus one that offers what I'm looking to major in. And I'm not even 100% sure if that will be my major.</p>
<p>The rank of these two schools is so close that I really wouldn't look at that if I were you. I would assume they are pretty equal with acedemics and look more at where you will be happiest and what fits what you want your college experience to be. I think what you will find in the long run is the difference between #10 and number #15 (just for example, I don't know how much we differ in this department) is not much and I wouldn't base my decision on something that small. Go where you fit best and where you are comfortable.</p>
<p>The rankings are close enough to not really matter- USNWR is more of an estimate of a school's quality, not the gospel truth. Make the decision based upon the environment you think would be best for you. I visited both schools and definitely thought Notre Dame was a more welcoming environment; however, Northwestern would offer a better location in terms of proximity to Chicago. If I were you, I would choose Notre Dame, but either way, you can't really go wrong.</p>