I am attending next year no matter what, but I am just curious what other people think of NU in the U.S. and interationally.
Duke, Cornell, Penn, Rice, Vanderbilt
would UC Berkeley count? or too low?
Wash U and JHU
According to Pres. Shapiro (in his state of university address), the schools NU wrestles most for cross admits are Penn, Cornell, Duke and Georgetown. So, I consider those schools the closest peers.
If I were to come up with a broader list, I would also include JHU, Berkeley, Chicago, Dartmouth, Brown, Michigan, Vanderbilt, Rice and WashU as peers.
Northwestern is in great company. It’s extremely prestigious. Its peer group of schools is a hair away from HYPSM (and maybe Columbia and Chicago)
Dartmouth, Duke, Brown, Cornell, Penn, Vandy, etc
Congrats on Northwestern!
Northwestern is not too well known outside IL. Although its rated #12 by USNWR, that’s seems overlyl inflated. In terms of UC Berkeley rated #20, it has a world reputation, known for its nobel prize winners and world class research. It is rated #3 or #4 on the international lists right behind Harvard and Stanford. In my mind Berkeley is head and shoulders above Northwestern in any ranking. I think the only reason is may be rated lower on some scales is because its a public university.
Yes, Berkeley is very prestigious also. But that does not mean Northwestern is not. Northwestern offers a much more intimate and better quality undergraduate education than Berkeley does. Berkeley’s prestige stems from its grad programs (which international rankings look at). Because of this focus on grad (along with the fact that the UC system is fund sufficient ), Berkeley has a few points docked in its USNews rankings. (which focus more on undergrad quality) A Berkeley student told me that one of his compsci classes had 1,000 people in it. Anecdotal, but still it goes to show why NU would be higher ranked than Berkeley
Oh, and Northwestern is definitely known outside of Illinois. Anybody who matters (employers, academics, etc) will know of Northwestern’s prestige.
It seems like you are very biased, and are trying to state your biases as fact here.
No, its prestige does not come from only its grad programs. For example, the Haas undergrad business program is tied second in the nation with MIT by USNWR, with Wharton being first. This is undergrad --#2.
I’m not biased. Although I’ve heard of Northwestern, to be honest, the name doesn’t resonate like Duke, Cornell or Brown.
@preppedparent: That depends on what region you are from and what circles you run in. Considering the scads of alums NU sends to the Street, consulting world, and media (and entertainment) in NYC (and LA), it’s well-known in those places.
Some guy on the street, depending on where you may be, might not know much about NU, but in the consulting, finance, marketing, media, and entertainment worlds (not to mention academia), they definitely consider NU elite.
I have NU as an Ivy-equivalent, like Stanford, MIT, Duke, Rice, Caltech, UChicago, and Georgetown (and obviously the Ivies). Maybe a tad behind HYPSM.
Internationally, Northwestern may not be as well-known, so in that regard, it’s like Rice, Brown, Dartmouth, and Duke.
BTW, Cal is a research powerhouse, but it’s international reputation rests mostly on the strength of it’s grad programs. On the undergrad level, it’s a Near-Ivy (like UMich and UVa) based on alumni success measures: http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/1893105-ivy-equivalents-ranking-based-on-alumni-outcomes-take-2-1-p1.html
This is a very uninformed statement.
I take it you are a UC Berkeley graduate . Sounds like sour grapes.
^^I’m a Cornell grad. But okay, if you say so. It’s not one of the first 12 schools I’d name as top colleges.
NU doesn’t offer business at the undergrad level, but Kellogg is almost always ranked ahead of Haas (and NU is ranked above Cornell in all the professional schools - business, law and med).
https://www.usnews.com/best-graduate-schools/top-business-schools
Also, last time I checked NU is actually ranked #12 and Cornell is not…sour grapes?
“I’m not biased.”
You are blatantly biased.
“Although I’ve heard of Northwestern, to be honest, the name doesn’t resonate like Duke, Cornell or Brown.”
Okay. This may be true for you, but your opinion is not a fact. Don’t go around claiming your own ignorant perceptions as such. Looking at many metrics, Duke, Cornell and Brown ARE peer schools. You simply are ignorant about Northwestern.
And about Haas vs Northwestern…
Kellogg (northwestern’s business school) is in the M7, the term referring to the MOST elite/influential/prestigious business schools in the nation (and world arguably) along with stanford, harvard, UPenn wharton, columbia, uchicago booth, and MIT sloan. Haas dominates the undergrad business school rankings, but only because many elite schools don’t have undergrad biz programs (econ degrees from NU, Duke, Yale, etc. rival or top undergrad business degrees)
Kellogg has been named the #1 business school by USNews many times. Right now, it’s ranked #4 along with MIT Sloan and Stanford. It’s also ranked in the top 5 in the world by many reputable publications (The Economist (#2), Forbes (#3), etc)
If you do not think Northwestern is prestigious or that it is “not well known out of Illinois”, you should do a bit more research…
@preppedparent: And yes, Cal does have several elite undergrad programs like Haas, but the fact remains that on a per capita basis, Cal (and Cornell as well, BTW) gets a smaller percentage of its undergraduates in to elite professional schools (law, business, and medicine) than Northwestern does.
^^^the rankings re business schools you mention are the MBA programs. I’m talking about the undergraduate business program which USNWR ranks as second tied with MIT. Still, Haas’s MBA program is consistently ranked #7.
Listen, you folks who love Northwestern, continue to love it. I wouldn’t pay tuition to a college I’m not convinced is a top college, but you can. Go ahead, no one’s stopping you.
For the record, I think NU’s closest peer schools are Penn, Duke and yes, Cornell.
Personally, I think that judging schools by what athletic conference they are in is the height of ignorance (which someone on this thread who evidently doesn’t know much about hiring in consulting, finance, marketing, media, and entertainment has shown quite a bit), but anyway, yes, Cornell is a terrific school and so is Cal.
I think Northwestern’s undergrad peers are:
Brown
Cornell
Dartmouth
Duke
Johns Hopkins
This takes academic rep, overall rep, selectivity and prestige into account. Also, i keep privates and publics separate in my tiers.
Arguably, Northwestern and Duke are the strongest academically among that group. But the three Ivies have the rep bonus and JHU spends more than any other school on research, and is a titan in multiple areas… so I have these six as more or less even overall.
I think Northwestern is grouped with Carnegie Mellon, WashU, Rice, Georgetown, Duke and Emory.