<p>My daughter was accepted to both Amherst College and Northwestern University. She wants to focus on Middle Eastern Studies (she is fluent in Hebrew) and dance/choreography. She's not sure of her ultimate career goals, but is thinking about communications, broadcast journalism or law.
She's visited both campuses and loves the Berkshires of the Amherst Valley as well as Evanston's proximity to Chicago. Any thoughts, suggestions, etc. are much appreciated.</p>
<p>Well, NU has many more Jewish students than Amherst if that matters.</p>
<p>NW's journalism school is possibly the best in the country, so if she's definitely thinking about the first two careers, that'd be a great place to be.</p>
<p>Amherst is part of the 5 College Consortium, which has a great joint Middle Eastern Studies program. It's not terribly convenient to shuttle between campuses, but it's definitely possible, and it's great to be able to draw on the resources of several colleges.</p>
<p>Thanks for the input, anybody else?</p>
<p>Northwestern for Journalism.</p>
<p>Amherst...</p>
<p>Evanston is pretty cool...but the university is pretty big. It depends if your D likes the feel of the Midwest, the larger classes and the system the college/university uses (quarter versus semester), and big time school sports. The journalism school (MeDill) is great...so it depends if the focus of the undergraduate experience is to train or get credential for a job or career or to dabble in many areas.</p>
<p>Amherst is far more intimate, has smaller class size, is in a safe small town, which is near the other four schools (Smith, UMass, Mt. Holyoke, and Hampshire). Generally, LACs provide for more face time with professors, and have a better shot at research opportunities and internships.</p>
<p>I'd go Amherst because I'm biased towards LACs.</p>
<p>Just an opinion.
IB</p>