I was recently accepted into both Northwestern and Notre Dame and even though I initially thought this decision would be easy, I’m clueless as to where I’d like to enroll.
I am a prospective business major (I’d like to go into management consulting) and am specially interested in hearing about both universities relating to studies in such area, however I’d still appreciate any retellings of personal experiences at either school.
I did a summer program at Notre Dame earlier this year and I had a great time, but I haven’t been able to visit Northwestern yet and probably won´t be able to. In the end, I’m trying to get a better feel for both schools and while I will ultimately decide for myself where I want to attend, I’m open to hear any and all opinions.
Tough choice. Notre Dame’s strength is also its weakness. At Northwestern you will be exposed to brilliant, hardworking students of all faiths, nationalities & backgrounds. And this is very important in the real world.
Northwestern is not Harvard, Stanford or Princeton but it is more similar, in my opinion & experience, to Penn & Cornell.
Notre Dame is in a class by itself.
Both Northwestern & Notre Dame are wealthy schools. Northwestern has the sixth largest endowment overall of any individual college or university while Notre Dame has a greater endowment per student than does NU.
NU is definitely a huge target for consulting places, but I’d definitely look at their other differences, like the sports scene (not as big at NU), role of Greek life (again, not as big at NU), religion (ND is Catholic, NU is secular), and other stuff like location, diversity, whatever else matters. The same things can be pros to some people and cons to others. Nonacademic aspects were a huge reason I didn’t end up applying to one of these schools.
I just got into both as well. I would Pick ND. Both schools are too solid for there to be a significant difference in merit. Mendoza is one of the top business schools in the nation, assuming you got into Mendoza. I think your decision lies more in which school would be a better fit, not necessarily the tiny difference in prestige of the business programs. Also, from what I know, Northwestern has no business major. Not sure how that plays out when comparing business between the two. For me, the deeper level of community, spirituality, and stressing the importance of life beyond the classroom. It’s dorm life is simply unparalleled, and if the Catholic identity is important to you, Northwestern doesn’t really compare.
@matt46578901234: Although I like your sentiment, do not underestimate the value of a Northwestern education with respect to personal growth & respect for others regardless of one’s faith or nationality.
A comforting aspect of life at Notre Dame is that it is very easy to identify with other students. While this deepens one’s faith & develops a solid moral base & makes for easy bonding, Northwestern students have to struggle more to accept, respect & fit in with/bond with others of varying beliefs. Maybe too much growth is expected of Northwestern students on top of intense academic pressure & requirements.
Maybe the issue is how much do you want to grow at this stage of your life ? Maybe establishing a solid foundation while growing intellectually is the better way to maturing in a happy & healthy fashion. But employers know & understand the difference.
With the exception of Wharton, the major targets for MBB don’t have undergrad business programs (Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Columbia, Duke…). Unlike accounting firms, MBB don’t really care about undergrad business.
At Notre Dame you would also be exposed to brilliant, hardworking students of all faiths, nationalities & backgrounds. For someone to suggest otherwise from a top university simply because it is a Catholic school is insulting and akin to the suggestion that students who attend Smith College (all women) or Howard University (an HBCU) are somehow not prepared for what is “very important in the real world”. Please don’t listen to language like that. What “employers know & understand” is that both Notre Dame and Northwestern are excellent schools and graduates from both universities are highly sought after. You would receive a high quality education at either and both degrees carry a lot of prestige. Pick the place that makes the most sense financially and that feels like the best fit for you for 4 years – including whether your academic interest lies in majoring in economics (at either school) or management at Notre Dame’s Mendoza.
If you want to get into MBB, do not major in something like “management”. This is the kind of majors that many hiring managers look down on. The idea that you think you can learn management at the college level when you haven’t even started working sounds so silly and ridiculous to many.
Below are links to pages on each of the MBB firm’s websites with info on their recruitment at Notre Dame. (I’m sure they have the same thing for NU and other schools, so no claim this is anything special to ND). I would offer you two suggestions:
McKinsey and Bain (possibly BCG?) have programs for college students who are potential job applicants, including a program for freshman at McKinsey. You should keep this in mind for next year if you're interested.
Each firm's page has contact info for their recruiters for Notre Dame (again, I'm sure the same exists for NU). Think about calling one or more of them to get their feedback on majoring in econ (at either school) vs a degree from an undergrad business school like Mendoza (which offers a major in management consulting). People can give their opinions on this page, pro or con (including me, an econ major), but it's always good to get the opinion that counts -- that of the firms themselves. You can also ask them for feedback on ND vs NU. It's worth a try, they talk to college students all the time and you won't know unless you ask. You are at the age now when your life will require a big increase in self-advocation and reaching out to make contacts, so it doesn't hurt to start practicing those skills now.