U of I vs UW Madison vs Northeastern

Colleges and Universities A-Z University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
1

I was accepted to the following schools and i’m not sure which one i should go to. I applied as a Biochem major for all of them.
U of I is not giving me any money, so it’s all loans. If i went here i would try to transfer to biological engineering as a sophomore.
UW Madison would cost around 10k more than U of I, and i would do Bio there.
Northeastern would cost me 15k less than U of I and UW Madison, but i’m not sure if it has the same level of name recognition as the other schools.

I’m just really confused because these are all good schools but i’m not sure if the money saved at northeastern is worth the less name recognition from the other two.

2

Northeastern has strong name recognition on the east coast. Is name recognition worth an extra $60,000 in debt over 4 years.

3

does northeastern have enough rep to help me get into an elite medical program for grad school. I’m asking because as a midwesterner, i don’t know too much about how other people perceive Northeastern.

4

Northeastern would be in the same category in name recognition, probably better in the northeast. My guess is the main lack of recognition for NEU is in the midwest, hence your perception. US News has them all in the 40-50 range, and Northeastern is going up in the rankings. I think it would be safe to say NEU will be the highest ranked of the three by graduation. Name recognition may take a bit of time to catch up but anyone who knows colleges decently well knows NEU by now. Unless you are trying to stay in the midwest, NEU has the name recognition and is the cheapest option.

Also, don’t forget the co-op program. Have you researched the program?

5

A school’s rep does not get you into medical school, only you can get yourself into medical school. Coops in the Harvard/Longwood medical area will help.

6

We are from NJ and daughter considering NEU and U of I for engineering. After visiting both, we believe that U of I would be a better choice. From a financial standpoint, both did not give us any aid so NEU would be more expensive anyway at full price. The engineering program at U of I is very impressive and almost all of their Eng programs are in the top 10. The only thing my daughter will miss out on she tells me from NEU would be the city of Boston (as compared to Urbana Champaign)

7

If costs were the same and you were going to work after graduation, I’d say to choose UofI or UW.

However, if you are going to med school, definitely go with the cheapest choice. Undergrad name hardly matters for med school applications.