<p>I've been accepted to both and am wondering which to choose. Wisconsin is about 20k a year and NU is 42k. While I will be able to handle the 42k without taking on debt, it will be hard to do. I'm not sure what I want to study. I like both and have visited both universities. Is the 22k/year difference worth the more prestigous and smaller class environment? Will I be at a significant disadvantage at UW-Madison when looking for a job in 4 years? let me know if you have any input.
Thanks!!!</p>
<p>I disagree, I would go to Northwestern in a heartbeat. If I was financially constrained, Wisconsin at $88k cheaper might be a slightly better deal than Northwestern, but otherwise there’s simply no comparison. Wisconsin, while a pretty good state school, is no Michigan/Berkeley/UVA. Northwestern, on the other hand, is indisputably a top 15 national university.</p>
<p>If you wouldn’t have to take on debt to go to Northwestern, it really doesn’t sound like a bad idea. Normally, I’d say you need to save the $22k per year, but if you can pay it, you can pay it, and the gap between the two schools is large enough that it wouldn’t be hard to justify spending extra.</p>
<p>Yes, UW is no UVa–it easily exceeds it for most majors. It is closer to UM than UCB but that’s at the level of drawing fine points for undergrads. Unless your target is Wall Street it is not worth that much more to go to NU for anything in the sciences, engineering or liberal arts. UW easily beats UVa and NU in the major international rankings which worry less about things like guidance counselor ratings.</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2010-2011/reputation-rankings.html[/url]”>http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/world-university-rankings/2010-2011/reputation-rankings.html</a></p>
<p><a href=“http://www.arwu.org/ARWU2010.jsp[/url]”>http://www.arwu.org/ARWU2010.jsp</a></p>
<p>NW is not worth 22k/yr more than UW. Love Madison.</p>
<p>Brad9995—why do you think you’d be at a “disadvantage” if you choose Wisconsin? That doesn’t make any sense.</p>
<p>Even though as a Illinoisian it pains me to say this, go to the land of the cheese.</p>
<p>If you can afford Northwestern, then you should go there.</p>
<p>ahh I’m so unsure. I just think that i wouldn’t be given the same oppurtunities if I go to UW instead of NU. I also think NU is a great oppurtunity that I have earned by working so hard in high school. On the other hand, 88k is a ton of money for just about anyone. Moreover, I’m not so sure about the NU social scene. It seems like most of the people their are really focused on studying and don’t have fun very often. Madison seems exactly the opposite and i feel like I’m somewhere in the middle.</p>