<p>I absolutely love both schools.
My daughter had a tough time choosing which one to go for ED. After much deliberation, she went for NU, a decision she never regretted. NU was everything she could have wanted in an undergrad experience.
Wash U has a very warm, comfortable atmosphere, and has more attractive architecture to go with its general academic excellence.
I think the things that weighed in NU’s favor for her were: Chicago is definitely more interesting than St. Louis; Big Ten sports is just a different experience than Div III, and the whole “rah rah” thing can be a lot of fun; Greek Life at NU seemed more interesting to her. All that, and NU had the academic excellence to boot.
For engineering in general, I think NU is probably better. For biomedical in particular, friends of mine in the medical community tell me that Wash U is one of the best.
I regard it as a win/win choice. I really have trouble picking two U.S. universities that I like better than these two.</p>