<p>i've been accepted to both schools in their engineering programs.</p>
<p>northeastern - nice dorms, def. co-op., boston, horrible weather in the winter, 5 years (i get to stay away from home), good food, not a strong sports school, okay parties?, good engineering program.</p>
<p>umd - ok dorms, DC (i love DC)., fair weather, 4 years, have to come home during summers, pretty bad food, awesome sports school, awesome parties, real good engineering program as well.</p>
<p>money really isn't a problem because i got good financial aid from both schools. </p>
<p>I honestly think you’d do well at both…Seems like both have things you are interested in.</p>
<p>But why you would be home during the summer at MD but not at Northeastern confused me? Most juniors and seniors live off-campus and therefore must sign year-long leases, so they have to/are able to stay on campus throughout the summers. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to start as early as sophomore summer with internships, which should keep you out of the house. Food is another thing that you won’t deal with more than 2 yrs, since you should be in apartment-type housing as an upperclassman and you will be cooking for yourself.</p>
<p>From your post it seems like MD has more of what you want, if you are into sports. I believe NEU does not even have a football program anymore. It also seems like you might want a more thriving on-campus atmosphere, which MD has for sure. MD’s campus is one of the most “alive” I have ever been on, with constant club meetings, outtings, concerts, conferences, lectures, etc. Although DC is an option, there’s enough free activities at MD to keep you busy when you’re on a budget ;). City schools often have a “high cost of living” attached to them and have less vibrant on-campus life/campus community. </p>
<p>Some engineering programs are tippy top at MD, you should look into your specific program and see if its ranked significantly higher than NEU’s.</p>
<p>(And DC is a great city…you probably go into DC a littles less from MD than you would into Boston from NEU university, though, of course. But it’s always there if you want your “fix”.)</p>