I have a sophomore D in the honors program at Temple and she really loves it so far, she received the full tuition presidential scholarship. The honors dorm is very nice, and the honors advising is a great extra resource. The Temple honors program is well run, with extra activites and service opportunities, and honors class sections are smaller, although my D has had only one class with more than 40 students so far, and has said her professors have been excellent so far (for both honors and regular classes). She has a great paid summer internship lined up, too.
The area surrounding Temple’s campus is not the greatest, but seems to be improving, and over the last few years especially, there is lot construction and redevelopment in the area. Temple security regularly patrol the campus and surrounding blocks, which contain many apartments for students. Security escorts are available on request. My D and her friends have not had any issues.
Northeastern’s academic profile is several notches above Temple if you look strictly at stats, but a high stats honors student will be challenged at Temple, and there are definitely perks to being the ‘big fish’, such as a potentially higher gpa for med school, and extra opportunities to stand out from the crowd.
Northeastern is in a much nicer area than Temple, and its coop program is awesome. In terms of access to historical sites, museums, arts, restaurants, shopping, etc. , Philly and Boston both have a lot to offer. My D absolutely loves being in Philly, but Boston is great, too, her older sister is graduating from another college soon and will be moving there for a job.
The costs of Temple vs. Northeastern may be a huge factor in the decision process for your family. Is price difference for Northeastern affordable for your family without taking out huge loans or sacrificing retirement or financial security? Do you have younger siblings who will be attending college, and are there enough resources to pay their college costs, too? As a premed student, limiting undergrad debt is very important. If your parents have college savings for you, it may be wiser to use them for med/grad school instead.
If your family can readily afford either school, try and visit both, sit in on a class or two, or attend an accepted students event, and hopefully that will help you decide. Temple was one my D’s safety schools, but she was so blown away during an accepted students day visit, that she decided it was the right choice for her.
