Hey guys, so I am an international transfer student and until now I’ve been accepted into UVA, boston university and New School in New York. Ideally I would love to be in New York but I also don’t really want to compromise my academics for location. Do you guys have some thoughts on the pros and cons of each school or any personal views.
Any advice is helpful! Thanks 
In my opinion BU is very good school. You should really go to BU. Which major have you applied?
BU seems to be more esteemed abroad than in the US.
Most in the US would put UVa at a level above BU.
But the major matters.
What major?
Based on academic reputation, I’d probably rate them UVA the strongest followed by BU and then the New School. If you are looking for an urban location rather than a traditional campus experience BU might be a good fit for you.
@englishgirl123 @PurpleTitan I applied for a major in Cinema and Media studies however I was just accepted at Northeastern which is my favorite out of these 4. At Northeastern I would be doing a major in communication, media & screen studies. Do you guys think that Northeastern would be more comparable to UVA academically?
No. NEU is only seen to be at BU’s tier overall because of their intensive gaming of rankings.
For communications/media, I believe BU has the best reputation.
@PurpleTitan BU and Northeastern have very different strengths - Northeastern has surpassed BU or is equal on several big fronts. It may be seen as equal now partially because of the rise on US News, but NEU’s programs in Business and STEM in general are pretty comparable these days, some I would say better than BU.
I do agree with the specific point you mentioned: BU’s comm department is a step up specifically, and as mentioned above, also has a very good international reputation.
All of these schools are comparable academically in the end, and these differences are splitting a few hairs in the end. In general academic circles in the US, it would go UVA >= BU >= NEU. This is largely a reflection of historical reputation and rankings (note the above rankings is pretty carbon copy from US News). In the end, there are a lot more important factors, your field being one of them. I don’t know UVA’s program specifically, but BU is well known in the area. NEU won’t be as known academically, though it has the advantage of connections via co-op which could have you ending up at the same place as a BU grad (or UVA grad, again, I don’t know enough there). The paths of each are the biggest difference.
Why is NEU the top of your list? Answer that and people will be able to help with if the info is solid, or if it would make more sense for you to go BU/UVA.
Northeastern has amazing internship opportunities and co-op program so it seems better than UVA. Also better location. Personally I would prefer Northeastern
In terms of graduate-level programs, e.g. PhD or law degrees, it would generally be UVA > BU > NEU. For example, a US school has “made it” as a major research institution when it is invited to join the Association of American Universities, which is an exclusive “club”. UVA has been a member of AAU since 1904, BU since 2012, and NEU is on the outside. These graduate-level differences affect the perception of the schools in “general academic circles”.
But we are talking here about the undergraduate level. For undergraduate education, I agree that the three schools could be considered “comparable academically”. So decide based on fit and cost. If you prefer an urban environment, for example, you might not be happy in Charlottesville. For NEU, make sure you understand about the unusual emphasis on co-ops. An international student might feel most comfortable at BU, which has high international enrollment and which resembles an urban European university in some ways.