Hello, I am a rising senior and would like to know the overall vibe (as in how the students are like, food, dorms etc) of the following schools. I am unable to visits, therefore, I decided to ask here. Applying as a business major by the way if that makes any difference.
American University
Babson College
Boston University
Fordham University
George Washington University
University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign
Indiana University Bloomington
University of Miami
Tulane University
New York University
Northeastern University
Rutgers University
University of Washington
Pennsylvania State University
University of Wisconsin at Madison
University of Pittsburgh
University of Texas at Austin
That list covers a great deal of ground (huge/small, Catholic/public, very urban/very rural, etc.) I’d ask where you got those names, but it might be a better idea to ask what you want from a school. Even if you get a pile of responses here you still need to have some idea how to sift though them. Make a set of criteria that you find important and then go hunting. Try visiting a few schools near you, not necessarily ones you care about, just to see what you like or dislike about them. Get a feel for a couple campuses and that’ll help you interpret what you might find here.
And do some research on your own: there are plenty of places on the web that’ll suss out the top and bottom of most rankings for dorms or food for example. And honestly, in those areas at least, there’s not a lot of difference these days as the terrible have mostly been brought up to standard and the standard is pretty high most places.
Agree- your list is too long and too varied, and your question is too broad to be able to crowd-source useful information. When you can articulate some key variable, and are down to more specific questions you will get more (& more meaningful) responses.
Asking what the students are like is never going to be fruitful for large universities, however- because there are so many different answers. Even at schools with really dominant elements (like a strong football team) will have plenty of students who go through all four years totally oblivious to that.
Google is your friend. Searching for reviews by actual students of those schools will tell you what you want to know.
After reading reviews of each school, you should be able to narrow down your list, then come back to CC for more in-depth info on the schools you’re still interested in.
UT Austin is a big school in a big city. Austin is a blue city in a red/purple state. There is lots of live music including free outdoor shows and good food from trucks to fancy. Because of the top 6% class rank for in state admissions, most students are accustomed to getting all As and can seem a bit entitled. I went to grad school at UT and TAed undergraduate classes.
My son will be at Northeastern in the fall. He likes Boston as a compact, walkable city. The campus felt alive with lots going on. At admitted students day my son was impressed with the undergrad research opportunities and the impact of coops in how students adjusted their major or concentration based on their experience.
I haven’t spent a lot of time at Penn State recently. But, it is a big school in a smallish town. It reminds me more of Texas A&M than U Texas. Huge campus spirit with football and other sports. The university dominates the town unlike UTexas where Austin has a lot going on in addition to the university.
If you’re looking at so many great schools in the Boston area, you should take the time to look at the best UG B-school in the region while you are visiting. Boston College ?
Wisconsin – great sports vibe, football, basketball and hockey games are huge. The core of academic buildings center around Bascom Hill --a beautiful university quad (though it is on a hill), sloping down to the library and to State Street where many shops, bars, restaurants are. Memorial Union and the iconic Terrace are on Lake Mendota, making for gorgeous views plus sailing in the summer and pond hockey in the winter. Greek life is smaller percentage of student body than some large midwestern universities, around 10%, though for the kids who partake (mine did), it is active and fun. What is great about UW is that there is something to appeal to everyone – parts of campus, including some of the first year dorms in the “southeast” neighborhood, feel urban and busy, while others in the “lakeshore” neighborhood, feel bucolic and peaceful. UW is less diverse than some universities, largely because as a state, Wisconsin is less diverse than some others and 60% of UW students are in-state. UW is working to improve diversity. Costs are lower than full pay at a private university, tuition is currently around $37,000 as compared to $55-60,000 at many privates, but UW is known for not giving merit aid or financial aid, other than loans, to out of state students. If an out of state family is full pay, then UW can be a good choice because it is less than say, full pay at BU, NYU, Wash U etc. But if an out of state family is eligible for financial aid and not a Wisconsin resident, the financial aid package may involve a lot of loans and a family would probably get better financial aid elsewhere.
As a business major, one criterion you might want to consider is the range and availability of term-time business internships in the city where you intend to study.
If a sales & trading career on Wall Street is one of your desired outcomes, then NYU is superior. Penn State has its own “trading floor” where you can get some actual trading experience (without, er, getting one’s face ripped off, as they used to say on Wall St.). Illinois may have a similar environment now.
If you’re keen on entering the tech industry, then U. Washington is the obvious winner for accessing a wide range of excellent internships during the school year (and probably summers as well). BU, Northeastern, and UT-Austin are also attractive for this path.
If you foresee doing lots of business in Latin America, then U. Miami is of course a great place to launch such a career.
I don’t see the DC schools (GWU, American) as being a terribly good fit for a business major. Then again, so much of our increasingly-oligarchic economy depends on favorable treatment by Congress and regulators - especially in the tech sector - that maybe it’s a good idea in this century to study business in Washington DC.
I second the recommendation of Wisconsin as an outstanding choice, whatever one’s path.
