<p>So I was accepted to NU and various other schools (washu, gtown, michigan, and u of i) and I’ve pretty much figured out that NU is the best place for me because its so well-rounded. However, i coincidentally live about 15 minutes away from campus. The only thing thats keeping me from sending my deposit now is the fact that i live so close. I’ve always kind of wanted to get away from home, and i think it really sucks that i live so close cuz i pretty much know the NU campus and all of its surroundings. I’d be happy at any of the other schools too, but nu is really a good fit for me cuz i have absolutely no idea what i want to do and most of the other schools that i’ve been accepted to are very good at only one subject. Is living too close enough of a reason to say no to NU, or am i just being stupid? Any advice, especially from students who live close to wherever they go to school, would be great!</p>
<p>I don’t think living close is a good reason not to attend a school - by itself. I live about 30 minutes from my campus and the area was totally new for me - I had only been there a few times. However, 15 minutes is…pretty darn close…not really quite comparable. And it seems like you’re much more familiar with the area than I was with the area around my school, though you could be exaggerating. </p>
<p>The good:</p>
<p>You may be familiar with the campus but are you familiar with the profs? The students from all over the world? The classes? The clubs? The opportunities there? The dorms and dorm life? Probably not. There will be a lot to see and do. Did you go into Chicago a lot as a high schooler? I lived nearby a major city growing up (just 15 minutes!) but I never explored the area because my parents were tightwads. Maybe it’s the same for you? Even if it’s not, living close isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It’s convenient for switching out between summer and winter clothes (more space in your dorm room!), convenient for interning in the area (great way to save money if you can live at home), and in general there are some upsides. </p>
<p>The bad (well, not really bad, just the other side):</p>
<p>Still, I’m unsure what you mean by WashU, GTown and Michigan being “good in only a specific area.” I don’t think that’s true at all. All of those schools are well-known for having various good programs. U of I is also known for generally being strong all-around, though not to the same extent as the others. If you really want to get away I believe GTown and WashU are generally about as well-regarded as NU, with Michigan pretty close behind. This doesn’t really seem to be a case of, well, I can attend my state uni 15 mins away for 20K a year or NU for 50K, so I’m going to pay 30K extra just to “get away”. In that case, it would be silly. But it seems like yours is a case of well, I can pay 50K or…50K. If you’re already biting the bullet for the cost you might as well branch out.</p>
<p>I love NU, and can’t imagine that you would ever regret choosing it.
But why do you say that the other schools “are very good at only one subject”? I don’t think that’s true of GU or WashU (I’m less familiar with the other two).</p>
<p>Well, I’ve talked to a bunch of people about where I should go and most of them say that GTown is really good for international relations/politics, but not as strong in the sciences. It’s almost the opposite for Washu- really amazing science programs with not as great programs in things like economics/law (this last statement is coming from a Washu professor himself). U of I is amazing at engineering, but their liberal arts college isn’t that great either. Michigan actually is just as well-rounded as NU though, from what I’ve heard, so I may end up going there. But either way, I do think NU is the best fit for me academically, I just feel a little uncomfortable being so close to home. I do actually know the area pretty well- I even work at a place on the same street as NU’s football stadium. My parents aren’t really oppressive and I know they’d never make me come home if I didn’t want to. I just always hear my friends saying “oh I’m going to Cali” or “oh i’m going to DC” and I get a little jealous that they’re actually going away from home…</p>
<p>I think I’ll end up majoring either in the sciences or in economics/international relations, but its definitely not set in stone. To me, NU has strong programs in both, whereas WUSTL and GTown have strong programs in one of the two.</p>