<p>I'm having a really hard time choosing between these 3 schools. I would study Econ at Northwestern, Human Organization and Development at Vandy, or International business at USC</p>
<p>Choose between NU and VU based on geographical preference. USC is not exactly an equal undergrad experience.</p>
<p>gosh, your screen name is endearing! #! You don’t give us much to work with here Original Poster whose name I won’t speak! Assuming your financial situation is not a factor? Have no idea where you come from? I have seen Northwestern and Evanston is lovely if you can tolerate the long and bitter winters. Chicago has its own excitement (my son would be at the Symphony all the time but you can do anything there on weekends and NWern still has a nice compact campus.</p>
<p>Vanderbilt has four lovely seasons and a very strong traditional experience for students that will include both small classes and lecture halls. I think VU and NW are probably more similar cozier classrooms and big endowments to shower on students in all sorts of ways in each department. </p>
<p>I do think that HOD major vs Econ is quite a contrast in your academic life. My Duke son was an Econ major and it is very quantitative at Duke and I assume at NW, but like engineering, probably worth the dings to your GPA to fight your way through the coursework. We are past the point of plentiful jobs in the financial sector but I would think NW would get quite a few companies doing interviews. Although my Duke son only missed two math question on the SAT…he soon realized he was average in talent at Duke in math gifts. And that will come out in exams. He doesn’t regret doing Econ but is now addressing five years later the business classes he didn’t take at Duke in night school. HOD is more of an applied learning major like a business college and in this economy despite the jeers that HOD students get (because their courses are reputed to be softer in grading than say Chemistry or Engineering majors)…HOD majors are in fact getting job related coursework. Some are planning to go directly into hospital administration (Vandy is particularly connected to this arena with HCA big in town and our Vandy Trustee chair for many years was CEO of HCA). Some are also studying Medicine and Society coursework which of course is rather strong at Vanderbilt which is a major regional delivery system for all kinds of medicine. Some HOD majors will go corporate, some will head into education or policy graduate work. Nashville of course is small compared to Chicago but that does mean that in Nashville there are plentiful places around town for your internships and community outreach studies and it is a cinch to get to these locations…stress free compared to Chicago. Anyway, HOD majors seem to have their eyes on employment which is a good thing. As many graduate schools favor people who have worked for 2-4 years…and you still then have time to think more about graduate school. I would look into employment outcomes for graduates in both schools. good luck again with your “terrible” problem of three excellent open doors.</p>
<p>Yours is the first name I came across that I dare not to pronounce since Voldemort. Dear S/He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, I agree with oliver and faline. You certainly cannot go wrong here. But I believe USC still has some work to do to be in the caliber of Vandy and NW undergraduate education. Have you visited all three schools? If you have not visited any of them, please do. A college is much more than classes, reputation and networks. It is kind of a living thing. Visit the schools and choose the place where you will feel welcome, comfortable, and happy. It is just like for you to choose a friend or date. But it is much more than that; you are about to choose a life-long companion, so please do not just listen to other people’s opinions. If you have already visited them, go where your heart leads you. Good luck, funny name.</p>
<p>For the most part I would lean towards either VU and NU and consider them peer universities but student surveys show VU students report a better quality of life. USC has a some strong departments and you mentioned international business. USC is moving to become a more of a global/international university and it’s area of strength is CA and the pacific rim (65% of it’s students). If you plan on international business in the pacific rim you may lean to USC.</p>
<p>Thanks guys! I’ve taken USC off my list as I realized it is not for me. I’ve visited both Vandy and NU and feel at home at both, I’m leaning towards Vandy, but I feel like job opportunities would e better at Northwestern</p>
<p>If you excel, you will succeed at either college. May I suggest that graduate school is a better place to network for big jobs in an MBA program? They don’t want you to apply for at least 4 years. The goal is that first post Bachelors job. MBAs that have top networking potential are expensive. Factor in your financial resources as well.</p>
<p>Finances are not a problem at either school.</p>
<p>Our son looked at Northwestern and Vandy (among others). After the campus visits he ruled out Northwestern and fell in love with Vandy. To him there was a snooty, more cutthroat feel at NW. He liked the work hard/play hard balance at Vandy, the friendliness and the more southern feel (not to mention the climate is much better and he loved Nashville).</p>
<p>He is graduating in a couple of weeks with a double major in HOD (ILD track – International Leadership and Development) and Econ. So, you could knock down all 3 of your interests. 
It’s been fantastic for him. Employers love HOD graduates because they know how to work with human capital – a very rare skill. His friends are finding top-notch jobs and getting assistantships at really great grad schools.</p>
<p>Your interests sound similar to my son’s. Feel free to PM me if you have any more detailed questions.</p>
<p>Any of those universities will be great. You can’t go wrong. Good luck.</p>
<p>@Supruwoman could you speak a little more about how the HOD Econ double major worked for your son? Like when did he have to declare the second major by was the workload major able and what not? I’m gonna be a Freshman next year and am considering the same track</p>
<p>My understanding is that HOD majors are encouraged to double major in some content area and the workload is designed to accommodate that. He declared his econ double major late in his sophomore year (I don’t know what the requirement is).</p>
<p>The things that you’d want to be aware of:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>HOD majors do an internship for a semester, so that cuts out a semester of classes. My son had to take 3 econ classes this current semester to get it all in (but he didn’t decide on the econ major until late. If he would have known his freshman year, it would have been fine). </p></li>
<li><p>Vandy’s econ department is known for grade deflation, and is known as one of the toughest majors at Vandy. They norm their tests, class grades etc. on an average of 2.8, so you have to work really hard to get a good GPA. It’s worth it though – grad schools and employers in that field understand the rigor of Vandy’s econ program.</p></li>
<li><p>It might be tough to do a semester abroad with the double major and the HOD internship, though it could be done with the right planning . . .especially if you took your econ classes abroad where they would be easier My son did a study abroad in the summer.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I’m not going to sugar coat it – it was very, very rigorous and stressful – as you would expect from Vanderbilt (though he was able to maximize his college experience and be involved on campus as well – it just took organization and planning). But he’s very happy that he did it because it’s opening doors for him now as a graduating senior. </p>
<p>I can’t say enough good about the HOD program. Graduates have knowledge and experience on how people tick, how to work with them and motivate them so they are very successful in whatever field they end up in, and just in life in general. It sets them apart from graduates of other universities that are simply knowledgeable in their content areas but don’t have the dimension of being able to work with people. I continue to be amazed at my son and his skills and abilities.</p>
<p>@Supruwoman thanks for detailed response! I plan on entering as an Econ major and declaring as a double in HOD as soon possible so maybe that should allow me to get me Econ classes done in better time?</p>
<p>Definitely! Knowing what you want to do early will make it very manageable Good luck!</p>
<p>@Supruwoman: My D will be an incoming freshman on a similar path as your son. Good to be forewarned about the grading in the Econ department. What are your son’s plans next - grad school or employment?</p>
<p>HOD majors are doing some really cool double majors and minors. HOD/Corporate Strategy, HOD/Medicine, Heatlh and Society, etc. Consulting firms and corporate America love these kids. Very well trained. Ironically, there is a perception on campus that HOD is an “easy” major but if done correctly with a double major or minor, it can lead to a student that gets hired first in their fields! HIgh GPAs, understand how to work in teams, understand global cultural issues…all the skill sets big corporations need right now.</p>
<p>@Mlmama, our son decided to go to grad school. It was a tough decision but his goal is to work for the Dept. of State and a masters will help him get there; particularly this program which offers internships with places like UNESCO as part of the program. He got into great schools, has been offered assistantships at the schools he has been accepted to, and even had one school asking him what they needed to give him to be competitive with his other offers. He did interview for jobs as well and was deep in the process with a couple before he decided that grad school was his path. And this came even though his GPA was compromised a little by the econ department’s tough grading practices.</p>
<p>Ditto what swim4school said about consulting firms and corporate America loving these kids. Several companies come to campus and actively recruit HOD majors. A few of my son’s friends have great jobs with Deloitte next year.</p>
<p>All are great schools but I think many would say that of all 3 of them, NU has the best national reputation for academics and has the best recruiting options and job prospects at top consulting companies and banks of the 3. NW is the only school here that is a top target at the undergrad level for McKinsey, Bain, BCG, Oliver Wyman, Booz. Check their websites for more info and you can see where they recruit actively. Please note the difference between passive recruiting (resume drops) at a number of schools and ones that enjoy on-campus recruiting with events throughout the year. </p>