Northwestern vs. USC vs. WashU

Colleges & Universities A-Z Northwestern University
1

<p>*I posted this in another board but wanted to post this thread here as well in order to receive more opinions from people who are hopefully the most knowledgeable about my choices.</p>

<p>Now, before I go into any details, I want to thank everyone who at least expressed some interest in helping me decide where to enroll during these upcoming days by checking out this thread. I am the first person in my immediate family to have applied to a four-year university and thus do not have anyone close to ask for any input regarding the college experience and so forth.</p>

<p>I wanted to begin by sharing a few details about myself so as to help judge personal fit at the three universities I have indicated. I consider myself to be a 'healthy introvert', someone who does not like to attend large social gatherings and be in large groups too often yet still enjoys hanging out and having meaningful conversations with close friends. That being said, I am usually extremely quiet around people I do not know yet tend to be pretty outgoing around people I am comfortable with. Also, I tend to be heavily pragmatic in the sense that I do not like to waste my time going to parties and the like or even simply talking about anything other than academics and political and ethical issues, things that matter I suppose. I will conclude by saying that despite my own personality and social needs, I can put up with just about anyone as long as said person respects me for the person I am.</p>

<p>Next, I would like to briefly discuss what I am looking for in the college experience. I would like to attend somewhere with a reasonable student size, someplace where I would not simply be a small fish in a large pond, so to speak. Of course, I would also like to attend a university with a diverse student body simply because I enjoy being exposed to different perspectives and learning about different cultures. Given the details in the previous paragraph, I would ideally like to not be pressured into having to go to social events and being extremely outgoing in order to fit in with the student body. Other factors influencing my decision are year-round weather and access to a large city, the latter of which all three universities provide.</p>

<p>Now, regarding academic and financial considerations... I am looking to major in either neuroscience or cognitive science depending on where I attend. I am also going down the pre-med route and thus would like to attend the university with the best advising faculty and medical research, internship, and volunteering opportunities. For practical reasons, I will add that I would possibly consider the university where I have the best chance of maintaining a high GPA if no other factors make or break my decision to attend one of the three universities I listed. Anyway, I would have to pay roughly the same amount of money at each of these universities as each has fully met my demonstrated financial need, though WashU has the edge in this aspect in that its financial aid package did not include any loans whereas those of the other two included roughly $5,000 in government loans, USC's including an unsubsidized one.</p>

<p>I know I rambled on a bit but I did so in order to provide everyone kind enough to help me out with sufficient information to provide a suitable opinion as to where I should attend. That being said, feel free to ask me for more information if you feel I missed anything. Thanks!</p>

<hr>

<p>Edit: One thing I forgot to note. I went to visit both USC and WashU this last week and absolutely enjoyed both of the campuses. I had a better feel for USC upon reflecting on both of my visits but I feel this is so because I was with family while at USC yet was by myself while at WashU. Needless to say, I could definitely picture myself being happy at either USC or WashU based on my personal experiences there.</p>

<p>Edit 2: One other thing (lol). Vanderbilt and UT Austin are other possible choices concerning where to attend, though I firmly believe they are not the best options for me in the long run.</p>

2

<p>Have you visited NU?</p>

<br>

<br>

<p>For what it’s worth, D has a friend at USC who describes herself as a prisoner on campus because she finds the surrounding neighborhood too unsafe to use public transit, while D frequently rides the El alone into Chicago. Her friend at USC would have attended NU in a heartbeat if she’d been admitted, and is actually trying to transfer.</p>

3

<p>My older son barely chose WashU (class of '11) over Northwestern. My younger son just barely chose NU over WUSTL (class of '16). We know that both of our children made the right decisions for them. I will say, that reading your description of yourself, that I would lean to WashU. It is a very nurturing, go at your own pace, easy-going environment. NU is a fabulous place and I’m sure that you would love it there, but you just sound a little more WashU to me. I would not want my kid at USC, I know it’s a great place…but, I know the other two schools are such better places to be and the neighborhood around USC, well, it’s not where I would want my kid.</p>

4

<p>I’d lean Wash U, given everything you’ve said. And I almost never say that. Make sure to visit NU though! If you’re not going to bother to visit NU, I think it’s clear your priorities lean away from it already.</p>

5

<p>I was a quiet, shy type as an underclassman. Northwestern helped me grow into the person I’ve become, which is a mix of introverted and extroverted (in other words ambiverted). By late sophomore year, I could be as extroverted as any other if I tried (but not in a flashy way) though I was still an introvert at heart. I’m now comfortable in any situation and have learned to develop my own style of being assertive depending on where I am. Incidentally, I’m finding that the world is actually being biased against extroverted in favor of more ambiverted types! They are seen as more poised, elegant, and tactful, if I do say so myself :)</p>

<p>Point is, there was room for me at NU to grow and even thrive. In some ways, I chose it because I wanted to break out of my shell, and I ultimately did. Wherever you go, you would have to exert effort to do so but both Northwestern and WashU provide the opportunities to make it happen. Part of breaking out of one’s shell, as you might know, is acquiring social capital and improving one’s self-confidence enough in the process to be able to mingle comfortably in any circle. Northwestern provided nurturing opportunities for me to do that. Good luck on your decision, and tell us how you like NU on your visit!</p>

6

<p>Based on this comment, “I am also going down the pre-med route and thus would like to attend the university with the best advising faculty and medical research, internship, and volunteering opportunities.”…</p>

<p>I would suggest that before you choose USC, make sure you either speak Spanish, are in the process of learning Spanish or at least speak a second language. Most medical/hospital-related internships in the L.A. area will necessitate you to use Spanish, especially, working with patients in hospitals. Los Angeles has a very highly populated Spanish speaking community. I don’t know the stats, but I am guessing that there are more Spanish speakers (many don’t even know how to speak English) than English speakers. Of course, if you know an Asian language that helps a lot, too. </p>

<p>Any of those schools are great. </p>

<p>And for what it’s worth, if you get a car while you are at USC, you can easily drive to a nicer part of the city or county. But you should definitely, get to know the area before just driving into any neighborhood. That would advice would be true for all major cities.</p>

7

<p>I’d definitely recommend WashU over USC. As for WashU vs NU, I don’t really have much to push one over another based on what you wrote. I’d give a slight edge to WashU solely because you enjoyed your visit there while you haven’t seen NU.</p>

8

<p>Thanks for all of the replies! They have all been helpful in helping me narrow down my decision.</p>

<p>Unfortunately, I will not have the opportunity to visit Northwestern before the enrollment deadline next week, though I would have definitely gone given the chance to do so. Truth be told, I almost figured WashU would be the best choice for me from the beginning, though I have to admit I was reluctant to stick with it given my preference for living in California - I have family there and I like the access to a very large, populated city with warm weather year-round - and my limited knowledge of Northwestern outside of what I knew before applying there.</p>

<p>Anyway, my current concern about enrolling at WashU is that I am afraid that I will have trouble fitting in. When I visited for the Multicultural Celebration Weekend (same visit I mentioned before), it seemed as if the social environment there revolved around the various events held throughout the year, and I am simply not the type of person who has fun with stuff like that. Are my concerns justified at all? Will I have trouble finding reserved people such as myself to hang out with at WashU?</p>

9

<br>

<br>

<p>Maybe better asked in the WashU forum. But you’ll probably be ok at any of the schools you mention.</p>