<p>Hi everyone!
I need help! I don´t know where I want to go. I am between NU, Duke and Berkeley.
I got accepted in all of them so now I only have to decide. I am an international student and I will be going with an athletic scholarship.
My first option is NU not only because I think academically is the best but also because the athletic program is amazing!he NU may not
My only problem is that many people have told me that NU is not as famous as the other two and if I came back to my country to work then NU mat not be recognized.
Another thing, how cold does it get in winter? How long does it take to reach downtown Chicago? Are the dorms outdated? Is the campus nice?
Sorry for all the questions but I wont be going to visit the univ.
I want to study Political Science or Sociology and French.
Please tell me what you think!
thanks</p>
<p>It gets ridiculously cold in the winter. Berkeley is an amazing school and has a lot of prestige but you may not enjoy their undergrad program as much as Northwestern’s or Duke’s. Also, I’m sure people will recognize Northwestern.</p>
<p>Sorry BlIzza but what do you mean by saying “you will not enjoy the undergrad experience”?
Thanks for the quick reply!</p>
<p>How have you been accepted to any of them yet?</p>
<p>“I got accepted in all of them so now I only have to decide”</p>
<p>NU doesn’t have any decisions out yet…</p>
<p>As I said is a full scholarship so for athletes is a complete different story</p>
<p>solun, what sport may I ask? That might influence my input.</p>
<p>If location is important, I’d pick Berkeley or Northwestern if I were you. If you are used to living in major international cities, you may find Durham small, boring, and ghetto-ish. It has virtually non-existent public transit and likely terrible dining options (lol). Don’t let the fact that the US is the superpower fool you; you would get bored with a lot of places here if you come from major cities overseas (I am originally from Hong Kong). You may want to be in/near the most major cities like Chicago/San Francisco. Berkeley is probably more well-known than the other two internationally. Duke and Northwestern are a wash to me in terms of international prestige; Northwestern has the world-famous Kellogg School of Management however. I’ve lived in San Franciso and Chicago and I like them both. Chicago is the third largest city with relatively good public transit (by American standard); you can think of it as the cleaner and more spacious version of New York; San Francisco is smaller with pretty good public transit also and the surrounding areas are pretty.</p>
<p>I mean that Berkeley is definitely a great school with world-wide prestige, but you may not like the large class sizes, and feel of the undergrad life there. It does get better when you get out of introductory courses though.</p>
<p>NU is as famous as Duke internationally, less than Berkeley. NU’s undergrad is better than Berkeley. Loation, NU beats Berkeley in terms of campus+campus life, and Duke in terms of location. </p>
<p>NU has the worst weather of the three, but winter’s can be fun. Chicago is like 30 minutes away to downtown, but it depends where in the city you want to go. The dorms are not outdated, but they’re not world class. The campus is one of the nicest in the country, particularly in warm weather months.</p>
<p>NU also has an awesome sociology department. Again, depends on what sport it is you’re recruited for. If you’re international and its a full scholarship I can only imagine it’s something like Basketball.</p>
<p>I would be torn, with the choices you have been given.
CAL as you know is a larger student body than NU or Duke, and therefore affects class size. Do you excel in classes with a few students, or one of many? This may be the primary difference. Location is another factor worth considering-CAL is more urban of the three-but NU has a good transit into Chicago and its very own beach.
We lived near CAL, and I can say the weather was one of the reasons WHY DD wanted to attend NU-she feels the 4 distinct seasons are desirable over CAL’s more temperate weather.
She is majoring in Political Science, and was heavily involved in the Presidential election, as well as the mid-term elections, eventually earning a stipend on a campaign. Internships, and support by NU has been phenomenal.
Best of luck to you!
APOL-a Mum</p>
<p>Thanks Apol! I don’t mind cold weather, I lived all my life in a country where there is 3 seasons of hot weather and I think I am ready for a drastic change.
I do prefer classes with fewer people so I think that is a very important point.
THANKS AGAIN.</p>