<p>Yep. I have the tough choice of WashU vs Northwestern. So, what are the advantages and disadvantages of WashU for a premed student? For current students: What do you love and hate about your school?</p>
<p>And in general: Is WashU worth the extra 20-25k a year over Berkeley and UCLA?</p>
<p>Can't comment on Berkeley or UCLA....but, our S narrowed his choice down to WashU and NU last year (he's a freshman). Chose WashU and has never looked back. He's part of the WashU "I love it here" cult.</p>
<p>I have a freshman at WashU and he loves it. It is very flexible, easy to do multiple majors, great advising and a really happy place.</p>
<p>My current senior in high school is trying to decide between WashU, Northwestern, USC, UCLA and Chapman. He wants to blend technology and art so is looking at the flexibility of WashU, the radio, broadcasting, film program at Northwestern, all kinds of stuff at USC, and the film program at Chapman. He got into Berkeley too but isn't sure that's a fit. UCSD is on the back burner for now but may become more important after he visits the others since he got into an interdisciplinary program blending art and technology.</p>
<p>I feel your pain about deciding. My son seems to love a different school each day. So, go visit even if you have already seen the schools. Things feel different after you are admitted. Look closely at what you'll actually study and see if there are big differences. Assess costs. Figure out what categories are important to you and give them values for each school. Try to make subjective feelings objective.</p>
<p>I visited both WUSTL and NU, and from what I could tell they were nearly identical schools, in terms of size, types of students, academic quality, beauty, course variety.</p>
<p>NU is out of town though, and WUSTL is in the middle of St. Louis. Though you are in the Chicago suburbs at NU, the people I've talked to who go there say they never really go into Chicago because the El ride is so long. WUSTL is very close to most of St. Louis' most popular places and attractions, so it will be more of a city environment.</p>
<p>^it depends on where in chicago. the campus is really just 10-min bike ride from the chicago city line. the train-ride is about 45-min for downtown chicago and i can see how it can be too long for many busy students. the distance is only 12 miles or something like that but there are many subway stops along the way--like one stop every half-mile. however, it's a shorter ride for areas north of downtown (between evanston and downtown) and there are a lot of places to hangout in those areas. pretty much all of the most desirable neighborhoods are located north of downtown.</p>
<p>I can't comment on the academic aspect of the schools as I'm not going into med and I'm still picking which college I want to go to. But I visited Cal, UCLA and WashU and personally, the quality of life of all three are all pretty good. They all differ [Cal has that little town around it w/all these shops, UCLA has Westwood, and WashU has that nice park in front], but personally I think WashU is not worth THAT much extra money. The facilities at WashU owns UCLA/Cal because it's a private so all the pros of a private school goes along with it, but in terms of living there- I don't know about you, but I'm not that happy to hand over that much more money..</p>
<p>I'm kind of in the same situation, but I've crossed off both UCB and UCLA. Personally, I'm still unsure of what I want to do and I want a stronger advising program which I can definitely find in private schools like NW and WashU. Also, the UC's, especially LA and Berks, are known to be extremely competitive and a lot of that is in pre-professional programs like pre-med. Between WashU and Northwestern, I think a big difference is semester vs. quarter system. On one hand, you get to take more classes at Northwestern, but on the other, you are constantly having exams and midterms and it might seem like a lot of work.</p>
<p>On that note, also keep in mind that the calendar of a semester system is different than that of a trimester system. Most schools operate on semesters and the year will be from end of August to the beginning of May. In a trimester environment, you will start school in mid- to late-September and end in early- to mid-June. If you are considering summer activities or internships, take this into account.</p>
<p>I go Downtown every other day. I take the Intercampus Shuttle, which takes only 30-40 mins. I think people from out-of-state have a different concept of distance. Because I've lived in Chicago for so long, commuting almost everyday from my suburb to Downtown in the summer, I don't see this commute as a hassle.</p>