Hello, I was wondering if anyone could help me with my dilemma. I am currently committed to Northeastern honors program 2023 (around 50k a year) but I also really like William and Mary. I don’t know what it is, but when I visited W&M I really liked the campus vibe and the professors – more than at Northeastern. I am also skeptical of the co-op program at NEU, and I feel like I would get a more traditional college experience at W&M. W&M is also more expensive (60k OOS) and I have heard that social life can be bad and that students’ workloads can be overwhelming.
Do I choose W&M last minute?? My heart tells me to go with W&M because I loved it when I visited, but I don’t know if that would be the wisest decision. If anyone has any experiences or thoughts please comment.
P.S. I talked to my parents and they will support whatever decision I make.
Yes, go with W&M as long as the extra $40K is OK with your parents, especially if you like reading, writing, history and literature, W&M is much better.
W&M an older more established academic school with excellent reading and writing education. . Northeastern was the night school for the Boston YMCA that is more focused on accounting, business, science, math and engineering. . Northeastern’s campus is not that nice, but on the Green line.
Boston is a great city if you like cities, but William and Mary is the better school for studying humanities and social sciences.
Co op assignments at Northeastern are often lackluster. However students will get hired in various careers in Boston, which might be a plus.
If you’re not truly sold on the urban experience and co-op at Northeastern, and feel that W&M resonates more, then absolutely go to W&M if the cost is manageable for you and your family. It’s a terrific school. The specifics of a comparison between the two, from an academic standpoint, will depend on your interests. But if the general vibe and social experience of W&M appeals more, I don’t think there’s any academic realm in which it would fall short. (Excepting, of course, programs that W&M it doesn’t have, like engineering; but presumably that isn’t your direction.)
Definitely don’t be unduly swayed by Honors at Northeastern. NEU is an excellent school for those who like the setting and the educational model, but it’s rare to find anyone who feels that Honors adds all that much to the experience other than spiffier housing.
I am interested in economics or business for my major — both of which I have heard are excellent at W&M. I know Northeastern has a good business program as well. I have heard that the academics are good but also extremely challenging at W&M, as well as that there is grade deflation — so that is kind of holding me back. Also, I’ve been told by multiple students at W&M that the social scene (parties) is not great. I’m afraid that I’ll just end up studying all day and not have fun.
You apparently haven’t been on campus for over 20 years.
W&M will give you the traditional college experience, Northeastern will not. As a business major it is surprising that you value that experience more than coop but to each his own. If a big party scene is what you are looking for then neither school would be a good match.
I feel like the Co op program is almost the entirety of what Northeastern has to offer though — it’s all that the university emphasizes. As a business major I would most likely be looking at grad school, and I don’t know how much the Co op program would be of benefit — while W&M is one of the best (if not #1) in the nation for undergrad teaching. I guess it just comes down to teaching vs experience, idk which one is more valuable.
If W&M is where you want to go, and you have your parents support (financial and otherwise), then, yes, certainly go.
To me, this is a case where you have two excellent schools, similarly ranked among the top national universities, AND with completely different vibes, experiences, and locations. Some students would strongly prefer one, some the other.
W&M is academically rigorous and challenging, but I don’t think any more so than other top academic institutions. Grades have drifted higher over the last few decades at W&M, just as they have done at most other schools. With the same level of work and commitment, I would not really expect students to have higher GPAs at one versus the other. I could see some students doing better at one because it was a better fit, for example the coop model/emphasis really excited and worked for them, or more of a traditional academic model/emphasis excited and worked for them, but I think the numbers would balance out over a group of students.
To get into a top MBA program an applicant has to show at least two years of significant working experience post bachelor’s. Also as an undergraduate business major getting an MBA may not be relevant.
As a William & Mary grad with a child at Northeastern, I can say you are comparing apples and oranges when it comes to college experiences. Both schools are good yet quite different. Coops (which are far from lackluster) can give you a greater competitive advantage when looking for work after graduation. Two other children who graduated from small NE liberal arts schools, found it challenging to secure employment in competitive Boston job market when up against kids who had better overall experience. One child even said he would never go the same LA route again and wished he went to an urban school like Northeastern. Hindsight is 20/20, foresight way more challenging.
Where do you see yourself working after college? While I loved my time in the burg, and the amazing education I received, I didn’t think about what life would be like after school. I can say the greatest challenge for me was to return home to NYC area post graduation to work in finance. I am a “northerner” at heart and needed to return to east coast city vibes of NY and Boston. Most of my college friends stayed down south or DC and I didn’t have my close friend group to hang out with. It really boils down to where you feel you will be your best self and thrive even when things aren’t perfect.
Why was the greatest challenge for you to move to back NYC? I don’t know where I see myself working after college — it’s something I hope to figure out in college. I feel like most kids go to Northeastern already knowing what they want to do. Do you think W&M is better for someone that doesn’t yet have a clear idea for their future job?
I know two recent business grads at Northeastern. One got her co op at MIT’s Department of Economics, not in a business, and it was a bad co op experience. The other got a sports marketing co op, also a bad co op, in Boston, and it did not help her at all, although she finally landed in a job in Boston. Lots of Northeastern Co ops are pretty bad, according to the students I know there, that graduated in 2017 and 2018. The campus is very urban. Boston is great in some areas, but not near Northeastern. Co op lengthens the degree program and many co op jobs are terrible! Yes they pay you money though! But they have you sitting at a desk doing nothing.
An added perspective. D18 was accepted to both schools. Not too sure at first why she included Northeastern to her list of Colleges to apply to. I’m glad she did.
Now for the Rabbit ? Hole ?..
Northeastern is a great Co-op School. Some excellent Programs of Study. I spoke with someone who recruits in the Boston area with a very significant Business model. His description was that the kids coming out of NorthEastern are the most workplace ready of all the schools in the Boston area. That they are more readily offered jobs because of this co-op experience in fields where this is relative.
Now the Flip Side… D18 didn’t want to apply to the smaller LAC schools in the North East… Bowdoin, Middlebury etc… just too small…
Enter William and Mary… always on the list. W&M is much like a large LAC/Public Ivy. Great Academics & Excellent Professors. The small class benefits void of the grad student instruction. Wonderful Campus. Great Location. Etc.
Now why did W&M last on her list through to the final decision and not North-Eastern. Primarily because the Co-op emphasis was not of great value to D18 and might prove to be a distraction over time. She is likely doing post-grad schooling. So W&M proved to be a better fit overall.
The two schools couldn’t be much different. Both have key strengths in specific programs of study. I think W&M is the better option for those seeking the traditional liberal arts college experience. Why am I glad she choose Northeastern? Because it showed a desire to enter the workplace. Also, because it gave her a perspective to bounce around a little in the decision process in her realization that in the big picture her next stage of post grad studies will be her phase of extracting and prepping for her career choice. Northeastern is too much too soon as a Co-op focused endever.
Excellent school for key programs or for someone looking to enter the workplace after 4 or 5 years of study. Boston is a great city.
Now the fun part… decidedly the location will dictate your fun. If you like the Campus and the Vibe you are way down the path of enjoying your college experience. I sense that for the Northeastern students fun is constantly going to adjust around the Co-op experience of self and classmates & roommates.
Whereas W&M is a Campus where student involvement in EC activities is on the heavier side and likely is where friendships and fun mostly revolve around.
D18 is not into “Greek” party life so I’m not so sure what you might find at either campus. I’m sure there are plenty of “fun” things to do.
@collegeperson18 Challenging to return with respect to not having any W&M friends in NYC post college. I felt like I had to start all over again and at times was very lonely. I am not a DC person and I felt most of my friends ended up there after college. I am sure it is different for grads nowadays where students are more likely to venture past northern VA!
Yes, the liberal arts education at W&M gives you a chance to explore and make many different academic/career choices, but really any school offers that opportunity if you approach learning with that in mind. W&M had so many core requirements during my time (not sure of requirements now) that I suffered from “career confusion” because I liked everything.
My son got into W&M Monroe scholars and turned it down for NEU honors for a variety of reasons - merit money from NEU, ChemE major, the ability to “try out” different types of job experiences through coops, urban setting and proximity to home. He doesn’t know specifically what he wants to do but thought NEU would give home a better way to test the waters of the real world. In fact he will be getting a minor in rhetoric and justice which has nothing to do with engineering by traveling abroad this summer and taking classes through a Dialogue of Civilization. Good luck with whatever you choose. Each school will offer you unique and fabulous opportunities!
Remember, landing a co op position is competitive just like getting into college. Northeastern has a large set of students all vying for business related co ops. Many fail to get a good one. The A students, yes, the land the better ones. Many co op experiences are not all that great, and it lengthens your degree program. Its not for everyone, the co op degree program. And many co op jobs, you do earn some money but give you little mentoring, so its not all its cracked up to be. The company may not offer you a job either, at the end, so I don’t see the value so much, over finding summer work, but you have to work hard to find summer work from William and Mary for certain. You will need to network a lot with alumni.
@Coloradomama – wow, your experiences of co-ops sure is different from my daughter’s, who got a science degree at Northeastern and is now in a respected PhD program. Her first co-op was at a research lab at Harvard, and she stayed there throughout college, working there part-time when she was off co-op. I just asked her about it, and she says all her friends who studied business had terrific co-ops, two of them co-opped abroad (in Paris and Beijing.)
So yes, there is such a thing as a bad co-op. There are no guarantees in life, on the job, or at Northeastern either. But my daughter’s and her friends’ co-op experience was not nearly as negative as what you describe.
Northeastern Students are highly sought after. The fact she landed at Harvard and lasted beyond the intended co-op experience is good stuff. Clearly there is Value to those who are looking to enter the workforce sooner rather than later.
“Clearly there is Value to those who are looking to enter the workforce sooner rather than later.”
@J123D123 For some students (my daughter included) there definitely was. But there’s value in the traditional college experience, too. Whether you want one or the other is purely a personal preference.
I’ll add that it’s NOT a “rule” that Northeastern students are highly sought after. Coloradomama is right in that some co-ops are competitive, even “very” competitive. But the beauty of NEU is its excellent advising and excellent, widespread business contacts which can offer exciting professional opportunities for the right person.
I just want to add that a friend’s son is at Northeastern and his co-op experience has been fantastic- he really enjoys it and has nothing but positive things to say.
I have nothing at all against co op programs. I did one myself in materials science, at At&T,
and did a co op masters degree at a company. My co op plan was two summers, and an 8 month stretch to
get a masters degree. At Northeastern, students take time away from campus, and often feel lonely and ostracized at business related co ops.
Co op works much better for science and engineering where a student gets constant supervision, as i did at Bell Labs. I would say that many Northeastern students have bad business related co op experiences, but it does give them experience. look at Reddit and search NEU co op. You can read it from students themselves. the placement in BUSINESS related co ops is not great. Engineering? Much better.
@Coloradomama I have looked at the Northeastern reddit and the students who complain there about coop are ones I would never hire e.g. “The boss won’t let me take Friday off, he’s so mean.” type of student. Reddit attracts malcontents.