<p>Hey guys,
I'm new to this forum, but not new to forums themselves :)</p>
<p>I got acceptances from quiet alot of universities till now, but till now UWash- Seattle and Boston U happen to be the best.</p>
<p>And that's where the confusion lies.
At BU I applied for Mechanical Engg ( with Aerospace concentration ) and at UWash Aerospace itself. </p>
<p>Now, choosing between the two is turning out to be a touch decision.
I'm an International student. </p>
<p>What makes me lean towards UWash is the presence of Boeing ( intending to work in the aviation field, and being an aviation buff) at Seattle and also the better ranking of the UWash, but not sure of the climate, accessibility and academic recognition of UWash- Seattle V/S Boston.
Also the size of the 2 universities UWash is around 25K students V/A BU 16K students, so not sure if bigger the better (?) as in terms of too many people, attention of the teachers etc etc.
Also west coast is pretty far from my country and I have been told that East coast offers lot more v/s West coast in terms of travel etc etc. </p>
<p>So any suggestions/insights would be welcome. I have a couple of weeks before I have to decide. </p>
<p>At the moment I'm balanced at 50-50 for both the universities.</p>
<p>TIA :)</p>
<p>Where do you want to work upon graduation? I would suspect that UW placement for AE grads is strongest in Washington, California, Kansas and Missouri. Boston U might have a leg up for attracting recruiters from the northeast, such as General Electric, United Technologies Corporation and Raytheon.</p>
<p>GE = GE Research Center is in New York, I believe
UTC = HQ Connecticut
Raytheon = HQ Masschusetts</p>
<p>Of course each of these technology companies have offices and divisions in other states as well.</p>
<p>Well, I would love to work with Boeing post college ( and during college as well if possible ! ) But, I don’t consider that as a deciding factor, as that would be thinking far too ahead. </p>
<p>But, eventually I intend to get back to my home country and work there.</p>
<p>I have seen both campuses and they are both in very nice places, with many great things to do nearby. They are academically in the same league, but I feel UW’s engineering may be a bit stronger. </p>
<p>The weather is bad in both locations, but at least seattle doesn’t get ten feet of snow every december!</p>
<p>Umm hmm, Thanks Madison for the suggestion !
However what would you say about the size ( number of students ) and the accessibility within the city at Seattle v/s Boston, also does the UWas campus have a suburban feel to it v/s Boston having a city-ish feel to it ?</p>
<p>University of Washington is where I currently attend, and it is very urban. Right in the heart of Seattle. We have great public transportation and you’re just a short bus ride to the Seattle Art Museum, Space Needle, and so forth. However, one of the great things about the northwest is the diversity of the environment. You’re right in the heart of Seattle, but drive for an hour and you can find yourself truly in the middle of nowhere. Hiking, skiing, and so forth…they are all genuine possibilities in this area.</p>
<p>I have lived in Boston for some time and although I have not been to Boston University, I know that the city of Boston is very nice and walkable. Its a great place to live with plenty to do. Colder than Seattle in the winter, by far. But also warmer in the summer. Comparable amounts of rain.</p>
<p>If you’re curious about BU’s campus, check on Google maps!</p>
<p>One more thing: about the size of the schools. BU is 31k, UW 42k. There is no big difference. After a certain level, an extra ten thousand students doesn’t make a big difference. Neither to the feel of the campus, social opportunities, or reputation.</p>
<p>UW’s engineering is ranked #27, BU’s #39. Not a huge difference. I don’t know specifically about mechanical engineering, though. Again, I feel University of Washington is a slightly better school. Not only because it has a higher rank (somewhat), but more importantly because University of Washington is THE school in the pacific northwest (washington, idaho, montana), while Boston University is a small fish in a big pond…you have MIT, Harvard, Tufts, Northeastern…all pretty nearby.</p>
<p>Thanks Madison, that has really been helpful !
If I may ask, what’s your major at Wash ?</p>
<p>I don’t know if cost is a deciding factor for you, but BU will most definitely cost you a lot more than UW, even as an international/full tuition paying student.</p>
<p>Seattle and Boston are both great cities, similar in many ways (as stated above). But Seattle is a little cleaner, a little less crowded.</p>
<p>Of course, cost is a factor; but a secondary factor ATM.
I certainly prefer cleaner and relatively quainter cities 
Thanks for the information.</p>
<p>Any more comments welcome :)</p>
<p>I do know a little bit about BU’s campus, as I almost went there. It’s very urban. It’s not to say it isn’t a nice campus, but it is intertwined (from what I remember) through a fairly developed section of Boston. There was no clear “BU” boundaries.</p>
<p>UW, while technically urban, doesn’t have the inner city feel. The campus is very large and quite beautiful. There are well defined boundaries for the campus, and you can pretty much tell a UW academic building from something else. </p>
<p>Of course my memory of UW is better, because I saw it last year. I saw BU 15 years ago.</p>
<p>Yeah, I have read about the no-boundary “feature” about BU on their web page. I’m sure both BU and UWash have their set of good teachers and bad teachers ? Right ?</p>
<p>You are right. Your experience will vary depending on the class. There are some great teachers and some bad ones. </p>
<p>My major at UW is EE.</p>
<p>It’s Off topic, but could you tell me whether I can change the major (if need be) across departments say like instead of EE I want to major in History, can that be done’ in the beginning of the 1st semester itself ? Or is it only limited to changing majors within the department i’m admitted to i.e. engineering ? </p>
<p>Could anyone please elaborate on the polict regarding above in both BU and UWash.</p>
<p>All engineering departments at university of washington are competitive. That means, you need to APPLY to get in. It usually isn’t that hard to be admitted though, if you do well (or even decent) in the prerequisite courses. </p>
<p>So if you start University of Washington and get into EE, switching to history is very easy. History is an open major, so you just sign up and you’re in. But switching from EE to another engineering will require you to apply for that department.</p>
<p>Ah I kind of get the procedure, thanks !</p>
<p>Bump Bump. Any more comments … Time is running out … Got to decide in the next couple of days. </p>
<p>A few points that give some + to BU ( I gathered these from other resources on internet etc ):
Many academic opportunities engineering and otherwise there plus lots of options in terms of what to do after college. It has a great reputation and is much more heard of. Boston is better than Seattle (?). Won’t have to get a car and you can pretty much walk everywhere safely. Social options will be fab. </p>
<p>Also, I got an email from Greek life president at UWash, does that suggest that UWash is all about Frats, parties and drinking ? Cuz out of the 18 universities I applied to UWash is the only place which invited me to be a part of Greek life even before I enrolled ? </p>
<p>Just curious.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>University of Washington is not known a party school. I’ve been there for 4 years and I haven’t been to a single party. lol.</p></li>
<li><p>Boston is better than Seattle in what way? They are both major cities with a lot to do. And you can get around in Seattle very well…there are buses everywhere that leave every 5 minutes in some cases. AND…in downtown areas, you ride free. In fact, every UW student gets a sticker on their ID and rides the metro free. </p></li>
<li><p>Washington’s engineering ranking is significantly higher, and is well known in research fields. You can see from these rankings that Washington has a much stronger overall reputation. Plus, in the northwest, washington is THE school. There is no better school in Idaho, Montana, Washington. In Boston, you have much better schools like Harvard and MIT nearby so recruiters will go there first. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>UW’s Rankings
ARWU World 16
ARWU National 14
QS World 55
Times Higher Education 23
USNWR National University 41
WM National University 16</p>
<p>Boston’s Rankings
University rankings (overall) ARWU World 74
ARWU National 44
QS World 64
Times Higher Education 56
USNWR National University 56</p>
<p>Thanks, Madison ! Really pulls me towards UWash again, only thing which made me a little trippy about UWash was the email from the Greek Life President ! </p>
<p>Indeed, SEA and BOS both major cities, BOS I said was better ( not for all, just my opinion ) cuz of the weather ( read alot about SEA weather ! ), proximity and connectivity to my home ( Delhi, India ) and friends & family in US is on the east coast. But, all that shall not really come in between a college decision. </p>
<p>Also what pulls me towards UWash is Aerospace Major which is avail at UWash as well as a good liberal arts background ( in case engineering is not my cup of tea - **I hope it’s possible to switch to a liberal arts major if Engineering is not what i want to do ? ** ) Where as Bu does not have Aerospace, it has Mechanical - the offer letter says I have been admitted to “College of Engineering” where as UWash says I have been admitted into UWash so not sure, if switching streams/major in BU would be that easy.
And the biggest factor which pulls me towards UWash is the presence of Boeing HQ at SEA. </p>
<p>On a lighter note, i have read UWash has a great sports background- that interests me, and the campus is an actual campus whereas BU is a block of buildings next to a lake.</p>
<p>I have more or less made a decision, but just anymore comments are welcome. </p>
<p>And wow, 4 years and no party, I was definitely wrong about the party school image I had about UWash, You don’t like parties or there are hardly any parties ? </p>
<p>Also, just curious- this does not a make a difference to my decision - but how ae the number of international students ? Are there Indians around ? ( I hope not too many ! - no offense. ).</p>
<ol>
<li><p>It is very easy to switch from engineering, to a liberal arts major. You can do it in 5 minutes. Or you can double major or minor. Engineering also requires a fair amount of humanities electives.</p></li>
<li><p>There is a lot of interest in sports, in Washington. Especially football! But all kinds. </p></li>
<li><p>I have no idea if there are parties, or not. I think if you put 40,000 students together, there are bound to be parties. And that doesn’t depend on whether those students are in Boston, or Seattle. However, I went to college to be a star engineer, not a drunken fratboy, so I couldn’t care less. </p></li>
<li><p>There are a LOT of international students in Washington. Especially, Asian (Chinese, korean). There are some Indians too, but in my experience more at the graduate level. </p></li>
<li><p>Yes, Boeing is nextdoor. But a lot of other great companies come here. We have huge career fairs with lots of employers. I’m not into the Aerospace industry, but I have seen Lockheed Martin there as well.</p></li>
</ol>