Hey! I got into all 3 schools with very comparable financial packages and I love all of them. I am planning to double major in CS and Econ, but am not really bothered bot the academics because they are really good at all 3. I am completely torn between these three and I am visiting for the admitted students day and just to go on a school day to see the real vibe. I am Asian and I hope to go to a school with a solid social scene, good academics, and somewhat diversity (I don’t want to be the only Indian around lol). So…?
All schools are diverse, solid socially, and have good academics. You’re going to have to be more specific. A visit should tell you what you want, as each school is very different in terms of education/campus style. BC: Jesuit (I think? Or Catholic?), big rahrah D1 sports, very traditional college experience, more liberal arts focused. BU: totally urban campus/lack thereof; just one long street, love it or hate it. Traditionally solid hockey team, good alumni network. NU: green space campus in the city, probably least “spirited” of the 3 in the sports sense. Co-op, co-op, co-op; live it learn it love it. Research it if you haven’t already and see if it appeals to you. Basically, you take 6 months off school to work full-time in your field (and are paid to do so, while not paying tuition). You can do this 2-3 times. Amazing opportunity, especially as a CS/econ major.
Like I said, a visit to each will likely leave a clear winner. I visited all 3 before applying. I knew the second I stepped onto BU’s street I hated it, and didn’t like the vibe. Loved the D1 sports vibe at BC, but didn’t like being all the way out in Chestnut Hill, didn’t like the religious aspect, didn’t like the liberal arts focus and large amount of core classes. Also, on the walk to the admissions center, I saw at least 20 students, and all the boys and all the girls were wearing identical outfits. Guys: jeans, black Northface, baseball hat. Girls: leggings, Uggs, Northface backpack, black jacket. Knew immediately I would’ve hated that. Northeastern, fell in love with co-op, loved the campus in the city, had a few great tour guides, got a very innovative/entrepreneurial vibe from all the students which I didn’t even know I wanted. I guess I got the vibe that NU students were more into taking control of their education where the programs at the other schools seemed so passive in comparison.
Yes I was not a fan of BUs no campus but D liked it and applied. I REALLY liked NU, she did not. I was very pleasantly surprised. As for BC, did not visit, not comfortable with a religious affiliation. Bottom line very individual and you will have to visit
@novafan1225 really covered the differences well - after visiting my guess is it will be clear.
Based on your initial description, I’m guessing it’s already between NEU / BU - both have very significant international student populations and decent diversity compared to BC. Which social scene / academics / fit you prefer between the two is probably the crux of the decision. Again, make sure you understand co-op and decide if it’s what you want or not.
Do you mind sharing your financial aid offers? Or simply which school seemed the most affordable? BU offered me only $18,000 
Thanks! I am finding this decision so hard haha. I like all the schools for so very different reasons. One concern I did have for NU is the clubs. BU and BC offer so many clubs (policy debate is what I am looking for) and they seem to have more of a community feel. I feel that NU students disapper and reappear on campus due to coops. @aimingforthesky I don’t want to disclose but I have a sister in college so I got over 20k but my household income is over 100k for sure
NU has over 300 clubs - some are more active than others, and students do leave for co-op, but many students who stay in Boston are still involved in clubs while on co-op. I would look into the specific clubs to get a feel for how serious the specific clubs are.
As far as community goes, I agree that BU/BC offers a bit more of a community feel as you’re looking for, but NU does have a community too - it’s more focused on a united learning philosophy and focus, around co-op usually. As novafan said, “Co-op, co-op, co-op; live it learn it love it.” Sharing in that actually creates a unique bonding between everyone. It’s not your traditional community, but there is one there. Not for everyone of course though 
While NU loves to tout our international co-ops, the vast majority are domestic, and a solid majority are in Boston. While people are definitely off and on co-op, I don’t think it’s really much different than your average school where students study abroad. The only difference might be that NU students might do 2 semesters away from campus (say, one study abroad, one co-op on the west coast as an example) where students at your typical school usually only do 1 experience like that. That being said, a big chunk of NU students are here for 5 years, so they’re still here for a large portion of their time. I am only a 2nd year student so I may not have a full perspective on this yet, but I don’t feel like our community suffers because of these experiences. As far as number of clubs, though, NU definitely has an absurd amount and I doubt we lack something you’re looking for.
Definitely visit though. Really going to be your only way.
@tomatoes124 , you probably know this, but just to make sure Northeastern has an college dedicated to computer science. I’m not pushing for any particular school, but think this would be meaningful to you as a CS major. From what I’ve heard, their economics department is solid too.
@tomatoes124 not sure if this is a factor for you, but BUs male/female ratio is 40/60. There are alot more women at BU than men. This affects dating scene negatively for women.
@suzyQ7 I am a male so I think that is better for me hahahaha
How is the social scene in NEU compared to BU? Are there a lot of parties? I personally am not too worried about academics because I researched each program and they both are good.
BU has a bit more of the traditional party scene comparatively, but both are more dorm / apartment party-oriented - if you want a frat party, you go to an MIT party or elsewhere in Boston. Both have good access to Boston, pretty much equidistant from downtown.
They both have plenty of social options, but the vibe of each is very distinguishable, and frankly is hard to describe the difference. Again, visiting both is really the only way to figure that out. Do you have a chance to?
Also, don’t let the fact that US News has BC ranked 30th for National Universities, BU 41st and NEU 47th affect your decision in any way. The spread is negligible. After all, what’s eleven and seventeen places, respectively, really worth?! If you go up eleven spots from 30 you land somewhere between Notre Dame and Berkeley (18th and 20th, there’s no 19th because Rice is also 18th). If you go up seventeen spots you land on 13th which is again missing, because Dartmouth and Northwestern are both 12th, then Brown is 14th. Given that position in the rankings mean little, I thus have no problem equating BC with Notre Dame, Berkeley, Rice, Dartmouth, Northwestern and Brown. Do you?! For that matter, since BU and NEU are equals of BC, and BC is the equal of the others mentioned above, then BU and NEU must also be THEIR equals!! Perfectly logical.
And, don’t let the “religious” thing scare you too much either. The Jesuits have an educational mission that was founded in 1535 - approaching 500 years – in that time they have been educating their charges to be “men and women for others” – not ‘…for God’. So rest easy on that score.
The rankings logic that you used is obviously flawed because you used a transitive property - by that logic, the lowest school on US News is the same as Harvard. You fail to consider the idea of density in the rankings as well.
The argument as you presented it is not the rankings argument - the argument is that with over 200 schools ranked on the national university list alone, and lots of high-quality schools with very similar academic quality, the differences between two schools ranked X distance apart is not huge, depending on the density of the section in question.
For example, the differences between FSU and UCSC is 17 spots - I don’t think advocating for someone to choose based off of that ranking would make any sense. If you have any qualms with the schools listed, swap them out for two others in the same range.
It should also be noted that schools move up and down the rankings - a single move up for down a ranking, due to ties, can be as much as 5-10 spots difference. If BU does that next cycle, and BC goes down one, they could suddenly be ranked the same.
The answer by the actual argument says it depends on where the spots are, and the density of the region in the rankings. The region in question is relatively dense, and all three schools have similar levels of reputation and prestige.
Of course, if you take that difference and double it (as you tried to do in your post), then the importance of rank would then double, if not more based on the density of the second region, which is a lot less dense, as you showed.
On top of all this, all three schools have solid reputations academically, and have very significant differences beyond that - why should one decide based on the area of smallest difference rather than the larger? I don’t see how you can argue that a small rankings difference should be a major consideration here - we aren’t talking Harvard vs U of State X.
I was being facetious. I do, in fact, believe that the rankings have merit.
So, because there is a “density” factor to the rankings, and there are many colleges of “similar academic quality”, their place in the rankings must be less accurate? At what point in the hierarchy do these unfortunate colleges get cut off in terms of quality against those which are clearly superior? And, is their ranking more accurate simply because there are fewer of them?
What makes BC 30th and NEU 47th – small, virtually insignificant factors?
What makes Dartmouth 12th and BC 30th – large, hard qualitative differences?
That great for status quo, and awfully convenient for the colleges at the tippy top.
Frankly, I am of the opinion that there aren’t any true hard qualitative differences between say Dartmouth / BC - unfortunately, that opinion isn’t shared by most, mostly because of the effects that rankings have.
The big obvious distinguishing factor for the top schools is the mere prestige of the name. That’s what makes your facetiousness work - that we hear a name like Brown or Dartmouth and all stand back in awe, when they aren’t nearly as distinguished as we think they are. It is incredibly convenient for the colleges at the tippy top. But the unfortunate reality is that the prestige of the name makes a difference in your future - the ivy stardom is all too common on CC.
Because that is one of the biggest factors, and BC doesn’t have the name prestige that an ivy or the like has, it’s similarity to those below it is generally accepted more. Both offer high-quality professors, classes, and more or less will teach similar information. Particularly for CS / Econ as well. In the humanities, the difference in classes becomes more important I think.
With all that in consideration, that’s why I think fit is vastly more important. I’ve interacted with CS students from all three schools - academically and by intelligence, you can’t tell the difference. You can, however, by the types of people who prefer each school. They are all 3 very different environments.
I agree with you. And, your point about “name prestige” is highly accurate. That’s the intangible that’s hard to come by and, it seems, even harder to lose. Look up the original meaning of the word ‘prestige’, rather amusing in this context.