As the decision day approaches, we are in the same boat as others and figuring out which college would my rather introverted DS accept. Asking this question for some perspective:
He had finalized his top-3 choices to be Rutgers Honors program, Northeastern and Virginia Tech Honors college. After the college visits and admitted student’s days, his top two are Northeastern (NU) and Virginia Tech (VT) of which with the merit aid he got from NU, the difference in yearly cost is that NU is $5K higher than VT (we can afford both).
Good/Bad about each we have so far:
VT:
Positives
Great campus and very strong Hokie community
Perks of Honors college (pre-registering of classes, honors special mentors)
Sounds like the positives lean towards VTech.
As for the negatives, will he miss his family during the year more, or will he miss his friends more?
(Though some co-ops could be in Boston.)
In addition, imho, the best time to live in a college town is when you’re… You’ll never guess… in college while the best time to live in a city is when youre a young adult with a job, free to have fun and spend your salary however you please (within limits, but an employed college graduate typically has more time and more mobey than a college student.)
Thank you! Yes, it kind of does. But being close to home is important for my kid likely more than his peers. Also, I wanted to know if NU is indeed better for CS (I have heard opinions from parents that it is).?
Congrats to him!! I can see why this is a tough decision - they are both great options, and there is no wrong choice.
I don’t find your negatives for Northeastern terribly compelling. His summers are going to be occupied no matter what; either he’ll need to do internships then, or he’ll do co-ops during the year and classes during the summer. In neither case will he have summers “off.”
And displacement is a factor, but it isn’t as disruptive in comparison to other college experiences as many make it out to be. Students take semesters away for study abroad and co-op at other schools too, including VT. Many Northeastern students do co-ops in the Boston area and still socialize with their college friends. And the ones who do leave, stay in touch and even visit one another. It can be exciting and dynamic.
It’s true that the Northeastern experience is much less of a campus bubble. The campus itself is small, and the city is a big part of the experience. The off-campus co-op experiences are a big part of the education. It’s a less traditional approach. Any given kid could either find this more exciting than a traditional experience, or could feel like he was giving up some of the joys of a more traditional experience. Or both! It’s one of those situations where the road not taken may sting a little either way.
One thing to like about Northeastern is the way the CS curriculum is designed to front-load the skills that students will need for their first co-op. I personally like the way this provides an immersive introduction to the major. Students either get up to speed quickly, or figure out quickly that they would rather do something else… or the middle path of “this is okay, but I’d rather balance it out by doing one of the combined majors” which are a strength at Northeastern too. And team-coding is emphasized, so the students make social connections even though they’re a bit in “boot camp” mode academically. I don’t know that Northeastern is necessarily objectively better for CS, but it’s a strong program. Has he looked at the overall course maps and curricula, to see what appeals to him more?
It’s true that a more introverted student might prefer the campus life and the more steady pace of the academics at VT. The gorgeous campus, great food, and generally-upbeat atmosphere might be really appealing. And there’s no reason to feel that it’s an inferior choice.
Tough call! But if he’d only gotten into one and not the other, I’m sure either would have been great. Whichever he chooses, I hope he can go all-in and not second-guess, because there’s no way to ever know how the “road not taken” would have gone.
This is not a pro and no one should hitch their career wagon to one company.
And more selective - also not a reason to choose a school. And it doesn’t matter when you get on campus. The CS kids at Va Tech will be every bit the kids at Northeastern.
I think if your son wants a traditional four year experience, then Va Tech. And yes the food is rated highly - which I’m glad to see more and more kids are calling out - because it is important.
If he wants the co op and city of Boston, then Northeastern.
Different experiences.
ps - you can co op from most every school - including Va Tech - but it won’t be in the ethos.
btw - you live in NJ - yes, Boston is closer (and easier to get to) but you’re only going a few times a year and it’s not that much closer - and would make for wonderful trips.
Afaik they’re both the same quality. Doing well at one will not have different outcomes than at the others - what matters is what he learns and is able to do (co-op and job interviews will have a technical portion.)
You can dig into the 4-year plans, see how many electives can be taken, what’s offered every year or every other year… (He can email each dept.)
Wrt being “close”, it only matters for buying plane tickets the 1st year, roughly 3 or 4 times, because college students consider their college “home” quite rapidly. They may return to work near their parents’ house for the 1st summer but then follow the opportunities they got, go on break with friends…
Wrt Northeasrern, the co-op could be anywhere, in Boston of course, Indianapolis, Atlanta, or a small town in the Adirondacks. Not all co-ps are with huge, nationally known companies - which is a good thing because obviously that would only show a small slice of what jobs are like! In short, once he starts co-ops, he gould end up anywhere, which is wonderful&exciting for some and destabilizing for others.
Both schools will provide everything he needs from an academic standpoint. IMO he should go to the school that will provide the college experience he wants. There are enough differences between them that one should stand out. This is a case where two reasonable people could make two different choices.
He is admitted in NUin & will likely go to Greece in the 1st semester. I think this is a pro as he will be with the smaller group and make friends in a different setting (though certainly much farther from home in the first semester).
I thought he would be attending NU Boston… That would be a huge concern for his major because NUin Greece doesn’t offer the CS pre-reqs beside calculus1 and Discrete structures.
Thanks for that insight. I thought that course curriculum was same at Greece vs Boston (at least based on the info given during admitted student day). The first semester is general studies and then they go to CS related courses in 2nd semester? Also, the dean told us that their first co-op will be in Jan 2026 so they will have a year in Boston before that.
Agreed on Amazon…though that is just an example of opportunities at VT. Very unlikely that my kid will try co-op in VT.
Thanks a lot for your response and perspective.
How did he feel while visiting both schools? They are both very different, so just wondering if he could see himself more at one versus the other. How does he feel about studying in Greece first semester, is traveling abroad important to him? Does he want more green space, school spirit & football games, an urban setting? We know kids at both schools and both are very happy.
I’m sure they’ll get their courses when they get back to Boston. But the NUin cohort will be a semester behind the Boston cohort in the core CS sequence. They’ll take Discrete Structures in their semester abroad, but not Fundamentals of CS 1, which CS students in Boston take right away.
To me, this wouldn’t be an absolute deal-killer if Northeastern were my student’s first choice, but I wouldn’t be thrilled. That NUin semester is very expensive, to be spending it primarily on gen ed classes that a student with lots of AP credit might not even need. I agree with the OP that the overseas experience with the smaller peer group isn’t a negative in itself, and could be a positive. But it definitely sets the core sequence in the major back a semester.
Also, the fact that this student wouldn’t consider co-op at VT suggests that co-op isn’t, in itself, a highly-valued attribute.
For me, all of this moves the needle toward VT possibly being the better choice for this student. Still a close call that could reasonably go either way, though.
My son is a freshman at VT and loves it so far. One thing to keep in mind is your son will need to maintain a 3.2 his freshman year to declare a CS major at VT. Not sure if it’s the same for NU.
One of my son’s best friends is at Northeastern and is doing well there. He had to do his first semester in Italy and did not enjoy it as much as he thought he would. But part of that was due to trying to have a long distance relationship with his high school girlfriend which didn’t work out. He also got sick, and things like that. He’s having a much better time this semester in Boston.
Oh, a couple of more points… a lot of kids in the engineering program at VT do not get a lot of value out of the Honors college. It’s extra work and generally registering for classes is not too difficult.
The Arlington campus will not have much of a factor in their experience in Blacksburg.
The career fairs are very good. I’ve gone as a representative of my company and hired interns out of there… the students tend to be very well prepared and impressive.
while the best time to live in a city is when youre a young adult with a job, free to have fun and spend your salary however you please (within limits, but an employed college graduate typically has more time and more mobey than a college student.)