<p>Hey everyone,</p>
<p>I've been accepted to both Washington University in St. Louis and Northwestern University for a Biology Major (pre-med), and am currently in a deep quandary over which school to attend. I've seen the other threads on CC about these two colleges, but none seem to fully address my questions.</p>
<p>I've visited both campuses and have loved them. My perceptions:</p>
<p>WUSTL:
-Slightly smaller school
-Majority undergrad (so maybe more research opportunities?)
-Excellent pre-professional advising
-Best food and dorms in the country</p>
<p>NU:
-Better overall reputation and name recognition
-Majority grad students (so maybe less research opportunities for undergrad?)
-Chicago!!
-Undergraduate Premedical Scholars Program</p>
<ol>
<li>Which school will allow undergraduates more opportunities to perform biological research?</li>
<li>Is Greek life at Northwestern overwhelming? I'm not interested in it, so will I feel pressure to rush?</li>
<li>Which school is stereotypically perceived as the more "nerdy" type?</li>
<li>I know Northwestern's chem program is phenomenal. But how is its biology major?</li>
<li>How would you characterize the social scene at WashU?</li>
</ol>
<p>Thank you so much guys! I really, really appreciate this. It means a lot. </p>
<p>If you’re doing premed, WUSTL would be better. While Northwestern certainly has better overall name recognition, WUSTL’s bio programs>Northwestern’s, although not by much. Honestly, you couldn’t go wrong with either university though. Social scene at NU is probably better since its right by Chicago, and because of greater diversity among the student body, as NU has strong journalism/theatre/business departments as well as science/engineering. My recommendation? If you’re completely set on bio, go to WUSTL. If not, Northwestern. </p>
<p>As a parent of a freshman at WUSTL, I will tell you that the quality of WUSTL is on par with northwestern, and vice versa. I don’t think that either school is inherently better in preparing kids for a career in science or in medicine. The schools have a different vibe, no doubt, and it really is up to each individual to find out what suits them the best. That being said, my son absolutely loved Northwestern but was not accepted. He loves WUSTL and never even thinks back on his rejection by Northwestern. BTW, Northwestern is not a majority of grad students and not in Chicago- getting to where the action is in downtown Chicago is not as easy as one would think, even though the L is near the Evanston campus. While I agree that Chicago is a livelier city than STL, there are enough activities for students at WUSTL that I don’t really think that the quality of life is that much different.</p>
<p>To answer some of your questions:
- I think that both schools will have ample opportunities for research, so no advantage to either school.
- The Greek life may be more prevalent at Northwestern, but it is not the identifying aspect of the school, and only you can decide on whether or not to succumb to the pressure of rushing; same for WUSTL. No differences here.
- Both schools have highly intellectual students- having lived in the Midwest, I don’t think either school is nerdier than the other.
- I don’t know enough about Northwestern’s bio program to answer.
- The social scene at WUSTL is active, but it it is in no way a party school. The students there are serious about academics, and they seem to be just fine with social opportunities. There are several restaurants on the Delmar Loop that apparently don’t even check ID’s if you try to buy alcoholic beverages. I do not agree with the above post that the social scene at Northwestern is better because of more diversity.</p>
<p>In the end, just like a waiter can’t really recommend what dish is best for you, neither can anyone tell you what school is best for you. However, if you would like more info from a parent’s perspective, please feel free to PM me- my obvious bias is going to be for WUSTL, but Northwestern is a phenomenal place as well. Good luck.</p>
<p>thank you so much @PsychoDad10 and @justicebeans, your thoughts are really appreciated and valued.</p>