Hey guys! I’m having a LOT of trouble deciding between these two schools right now. They’re some of my top choices, but they’re both SO different! Villanova is more of the traditional college feel (Sports are big, Preppy Northeast students, Community-oriented campus) while Northeastern is more of a contemporary city college (Co-op, Academic flexibility, the city of Boston, tons of Study Abroad). I did get into Northeastern’s Honors Program, whereas I did not get into Villanova’s. Currently I’m still waiting to hear from Villanova on financial aid/merit scholarships, so I don’t want how much I got from Northeastern to influence responses. Basically, and I know this question is highly subjective, but which one will provide the “best” undergraduate experience? (Making friends, partying, internships, clubs/sports/activities, etc.)
Please & thank you to anyone who can help me!
I guess I could add that the real issue for me is that I love the school spirit & sports & prep of Nova, but I really want to be in a big city and have access to excitement and, honestly, parties, and all the opportunities Boston would provide. Plus, NU has fantastic study abroad programs and internship opportunities. But there is so much about Nova’s atmosphere that I find appealing…
PLEASE HELP 
Hi, I’m currently a sophomore at Villanova and would be happy to answer your question. I was accepted to both schools and still choose VIllanova despite NEU giving me significantly more money. I am from the Boston area and wanted to go to college moderately far away, so that influenced my decision. Also, I chose Nova for reasons very similar to your own. I wanted the traditional college experience and cohesion of student body that Nova seemed to offer more so than Northeastern. After 1.5 years here, I still don’t regret my decision. I’ll be honest, the party scene can be lacking sometimes, but it varies year to year and based on what has recently been happening, many of the freshmen party spots are slowly coming back. I highly recommend joining a sports team freshman year, and then possibly rushing to increase your chance at partying.
You are right about Villanova being extremely preppy, and this can actually be a deterrent to some people, but if you do fit this mold you will enjoy it alot. Also, I know friendships at Northeastern can be very fluid due to co-ops, study abroad and such. I was somewhat of an introvert going into college but Nova really helped me break out of my shell and now I am enjoying every single weekend.
Now is a better time than ever to come to Nova, due to the quality basketball recruits coming in the next few years and our campaign to put us into the national rankings. If you have any other specific questions, feel free to ask.
Northeastern is not as great as people say it is. I have a few friends who are students at NEU and theyh absolutely hate it and are planning to transfer.
northeastern has a 96% retention rate so “Mrinformed”'s friends are in a small minority.
TomSrofBoston has a weird penchant for finding any and every thread that has the word northeastern in it. Either you are an admissions officer for NEU or an unemployed stay at home dude who graduated from NEU and is trying really hard on college confidential to say how amazing NEU is.
Not unemployed, comfortably retired. I just try and balance opinions of others who never attended Northeastern.
I’m sorry your friends dislike Northeastern @MrInformed but @TomSrOfBoston is probably right in that they are a minority. The whole point I’m trying to make is that I would be happy at either school! I’m just trying to nitpick because when it comes right down to it I cannot attend BOTH schools, so I have to be very picky in an effort to find the one that will be BEST for me.
I actually just got back from a trip to France with my AP class a couple days ago, and it was incredible. I really want to have as many opportunities as possible to travel all over the world during college! I know Northeastern’s study abroad is a major selling point for them, but I haven’t heard much about the one at Villanova. Does anybody have any info they’d care to share on the ease/availability of programs abroad at Nova??
@zziwhcs180: glad to hear you’re happy with Villanova. Can you please elaborate on your comment " it varies year to year and based on what has recently been happening, many of the freshmen party spots are slowly coming back". Where is there to go to have fun? Seems beautiful and very residential in the surrounding area.
@mybstnw: I believe what @zziwhcs180 was reffering to was an off-campus apartment complex that houses a lot of fraternaties, commonly know as “the courts” (officially college hall). It used to be a go-to place for freshmen but sometime in the past couple of years the owner stopped allowing large parties. There are still some parties there, but mostly the frats are finding different places. The party scene never goes away, it just moves around a lot between different houses and apartment complexes.
@nad12345: 40% of Villanova’s undergrads study abroad, so its pretty common. Look at the VU study abroad page under “find your program”. The Villanova programs are good if you want to be with other nova students, the affiliated programs may or may not have other nova students on them. The Global Citizens program is a study abroad for freshmen in VSB.
Thanks, @kfjnah. In regards to parties off campus it makes sense that it will always be happening somehow and somewhere. The off campus housing locations were not obvious during our visit. Does anyone know if a car is “required” for the upperclassman who live off campus? There are two train stations right on campus so it looks really easy to go into Philadelphia (which is such an awesome city; and there are many BYOB places to explore).
Thanks for that info @kfjnah! Very helpful. I might be leaning toward Nova now bc I think i would likely get along better with the students there. I still have my NEU admitted students day though
@mybstnw in regards to needing a car if you live off campus: I know of some off-campus seniors who don’t have cars, but the majority definitely have cars. Its workable to not have a car, particularly if you live on the off-campus shuttle route (which most people do), but since it only runs every half hour most people prefer the convenience of a car. The train usually doesn’t make a lot of sense for commuting to campus on a regular basis, but its incredibly convenient for going into Philly. I agree Philly is a fun place to explore, most of the city is very accessible by mass transit and it’s much cheaper than other east coast cities. The BYOB culture in Philly and on the mainline is a huge plus.