Hi all! I was lucky enough to be admitted to both of these institutes but now I’m having trouble deciding where to go.
The main things I’m deciding between are the fact that I love UCLA’s social life. I believe that college is the time to learn as well as have fun and learn about yourself and UCLA’s thriving social life is due to their top athletics and just overall student it attracts. I also plan on going greek. Not that I’m saying Northwestern is a ghost town but it surely can’t compare to UCLA. I also plan on working on either coast and I’m not sure what NU’s reputation is in the East but considering UCLA is on the west coast, there is more knowledge of it here. I am hesitant because I visited UCLA this weekend (during their spring break) and did not love it/see myself there. Hopefully it’s just because there were no students!
The reason why Northwestern is still in my mind is because I THINK it’s higher ranked and trust me I know rankings mostly mean nothing but I was wondering if anyone had any insight into whether the difference in rankings between these two would make a difference for my future employer or if it’s negligible. The other reason is because I’m from San Diego and going to NU would just allow me to experience new things whether it’s new people or weather. The intimacy of a private, smaller school is also really appealing.
SMDH… Northwestern and UCLA are basically peer institutions. Seriously. It is amazing how folks on CC exaggerate relatively tiny differences in “prestige” or rankings. No one, and I mean NO ONE, is going think a student from Northwestern or UCLA is categorically better, smarter, more driven, more ambitious, more creative than a student from the other.
Also, Northwestern has more social life than you could possibly know what to do with… so that is not a factor to really differentiate them.
Yes, the winters will be tough, and I agree they are peers as far as prestige goes, but I can’t help but agree with your point that a smaller private school will give you an intimacy you won’t experience at UCLA.
@PurpleTitan at UCLA majoring in Global Studies and Northwestern majoring in Economics with international studies or communications. Either way I hope to go in business administration or law haven’t figured it out yet :))
Northwestern University is well respected by employers on both coasts–so that should not be a concern.
UCLA is a solid school with lots of great weather.
You have to visit both before deciding, but Northwestern at $20,000 per year is amazing.
However, I think that you are likely to have more fun at UCLA. Northwestern students deal with inner drive & the speed & academic demands of the quarter system (not sure whether UCLA is on semester or quarter system).
Unlike an earlier poster, I do think that you will find noticeable differences between the two student bodies academically.
@Publisher I was more concerned with how UCLA is viewed on the east coast. And like @PurpleTitan said, both schools are on the quarter system so no difference there but do you not believe any academic differences/future employment is small enough to be negligible
Northwestern is very well respected on the east coast, more so than UCLA in my opinion. It would be a bit foolish to attend UCLA if targeting the east coast when Northwestern is the same price. But, for fun & frolic, go with UCLA.
NU and UCLA are not peers (they might be peers at the grad level but definitely not undergrad), they are very different. One is a VERY large public university where you will fend for yourself, the other is a private institution where you will receive much more attention and generally have much smaller classes.