NEU [London start] vs Rutgers vs Binghamton vs Pitt for Pre-Med – What’s the Best Choice (If Money Wasn’t a Factor)?

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41

Thanks so much for sharing this! I really appreciate hearing honest experiences — it’s super helpful.

I’ve definitely been going back and forth about London. On one hand, it sounds like an amazing opportunity, but on the other, I’m realizing that adjusting to college and being abroad might be a lot all at once, especially since I don’t have family to guide me on pre-med stuff. I think I was so focused on how cool it would be to study in London that I didn’t fully think about how hard it might be to build community or get the support I’d need.

What you said about missing the traditional freshman experience really hit me — I think I do want that campus vibe and easier access to advising. So yeah, definitely a lot to think about.

Thanks again for your honesty! It’s helping me look at this from a more realistic angle.

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42

Thanks for the detailed reply! You bring up a lot of great points, especially about how hard med school is to get into — that’s definitely something I’ve been thinking about a lot.

I guess part of what’s making this decision hard is that if I don’t end up going the med school route, I feel like graduating from Northeastern might give me more options with a more “employable” major, especially with their co-op program and connections. So while Binghamton is definitely solid (and I know their pre-health advising is strong too — thanks for sharing that link!), I’m wondering if NEU might open more doors outside of medicine, just in case.

Cost is definitely on my mind, but my family hasn’t said it’s a dealbreaker yet — they’re mostly telling me to pick what’s best for my future. So now I’m kind of stuck between playing it safe with cost and thinking long-term about flexibility and career options.

Appreciate all the insight — it’s giving me a lot to consider!

43

I’ve been trying to figure out how Rutgers Honors is seen outside of NJ — like, I know it’s definitely more competitive than regular Rutgers and comes with a lot of great perks, but wasn’t sure how much weight it holds on a national level.

I’m also thinking about long-term options if I don’t end up going to med school, so knowing that Rutgers Honors is well-known and a tough admit makes me feel like it could be a smart choice.

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44

I’ve talked to several people that did Rutgers Honors College (the original, more competitive one). They all noted that it’s more what you make of it. The opportunities were great and that was the value they took from it. The name on their resume didn’t do much according to them.

As for the original Honors Program (like SAS Honors Program), it was a similar story - it didn’t add much direct “name” value, but it did give them some nice opportunities.

ETA, this is for within New Jersey.

45

Well, all those schools offer many great choices of major and all are very respected. Is your goal to be in the NYC area? If so, frankly, it’s hard to beat Bing. Full disclosure, my son is a ‘23 Bing grad. His first job out of college was in recruiting and he saw first hand that Bing was a very desired name.

Northeastern has its coop program, which is highly regarded. However, I know many students who attend or have attended Northeastern and don’t necessarily love their coop. Not everyone loves taking five years and many students power through with summer courses so that they can graduate in four years. Boston is your campus. That is great for some students.

Maybe consider the type of college experience you want.

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46

I had no idea about the committee letter — definitely something I need to dive deeper into. I know the info’s out there, but any specific reading or resources you’d recommend to help me get a better handle on how this all works?

It’s wild to think about how much weight the committee letter carries, especially with how it can impact whether or not students get to apply to med school. I’ll definitely be looking into how each school handles this, but I’m curious — if Pitt doesn’t offer committee letters, how do students there handle letters of recommendation? Do they have a different process for managing med school applications?

Thanks so much for sharing all this info — it’s really helping me understand the bigger picture!

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47

Zipping up flame suit . . .

Do not be blinded by Northeastern’s admit rate, and think that it is more prestigious, or carries more weight with employers, than Binghamton, it is/does not.

And while the coop system is interesting, it does not lead to more or better opportunities than a regular 4 year college. (If it did, Northeastern would be shouting that fact from the rooftops!).

Pick Northeastern because it is the best fit for you, not because Northeastern has manipulated its admissions statistics.

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48

Pitt students have to manage everything themselves and they may waste thousands of dollars even if they’re not competitive. OTOH, everyone can take their shot. It’s a double-edged sword.

Rutgers Honors will offer you lots of opportunities - including networking, personal advising, access to volunteering, and internships. It will depend on you, of course, to use what the program facilitates.
I don’t think Northeastern will automatically be better in terms of professional outcomes. It’s not a magic bullet where NEU students automatically get their desired co-op then find a job vs.students with internships struggle. Rather, it’s another way of learning. You have to WANT the co-ops, ie , not be in school and be far away from friends from Sophomore year on, to be in the workplace/in an industry learning as you go.
It’s important professional experience and it’s different from internships - neither is “better”, than the other nor does either provide an advantage over the other right now.
DO look into what placements (summer internships, semester ‘externships’, or co-ops) are offered at each university - if the information isn’t readily available, email each university’s career center.

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49

At any university or college that doesn’t offer committee letters, the student is on their own to find letter of recommendation writers. For most med schools, an applicant needs at least 3 LORs. Two must be from a professor who has taught the student in a BCPM class. (Biology, chemistry, physics or math). The third must come from a professor who taught you in a class that is NOT BCPM. Some med schools also require a letter from your lab PI if you worked in a research lab. Others require a letter from your supervisor at a clinical volunteer position or clinical job. Some others may require other things. Every school has its own requirements.

If you send the wrong letters, send too few or too many, your application is marked incomplete and will not get reviewed by the med school admissions committee

It’s not impossible to do, but you need to be vigilant about what’s required.
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I want to state for the record that HP committee are not just gatekeepers, They do things that are helpful to those students they recommend.

One of the things that the committee does do to help the students it recommends is it will often try to put their grades and activities in a favorable light. For example, if a particular professor is known tough grader and the student got one of only 15 As in a class of 90. The committee will highlight that. Or if the student got a B in tough class, the committee will attach a grade distribution chart to show how many of each grades was awarded in the class. Things like this. The committee may also mention awards and recognitions that student doesn’t list in their application. (There are only 15 slots available on a med school application to cover: awards, honors, research , publications, employment, volunteer activities, physician shadowing, clinical experiences, etc. So lots of stuff can end up getting left off an application.)

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50

If you do consider Northeastern (would not be my choice) be sure to understand the offerings of the London program and if it may put you behind your peers as a neuro major. IMO a year abroad combined with people coming and going for co-ops could make for a somewhat disjointed college experience .

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51

I’ll just add to the chorus and suggest with Northeastern’s coop approach may be super cool for some kids, other kids don’t necessarily love it. And generally, I agree merely attending Northeastern will not give you an advantage for post-college opportunities over people who attend flagship-level publics like Binghamton, Rutgers, or Pitt.

In these sorts of cases, by far what will dominate your post-college opportunities will be whether you find an academic program in which you can do very well (could end up setting you up for med school, could end up something completely different), and then networking and such. In ways both good and bad, your fate is really still in your own hands, and the college you choose has far less to say in the long run than some people hope/fear.

Given that, I would at least seriously consider Rutgers Honors, because at least some people find such programs help them make a successful transition to college. And even if it ends up not being a big thing for you, in this case Rutgers still has all the opportunities you need anyway.

I would also personally see the London thing as a net negative. It is tough because I think a study abroad experience can be great, I just think the timing of starting that way is really unfortunate.

Binghamton and Pitt, though, are perfectly reasonable choices too.

Pitt is a good all-around university of substantial but not overwhelming size, and it has real sports. But I think the main appeal to Pitt for OOS students is usually that it has a great location in a fun, attractive city. There is a pretty short list of peer colleges meeting that description (not none, but not a lot). I note of course Boston is a huge part of why Northeastern has become such a popular application, but again they don’t have the capacity in Boston for you right away, so . . . .

And of course Binghamton is a totally different setting, one a bit more typical for a flagship level public in that it is centrally located in the state but not in one of the major cities. But lots of people like that sort of traditional college experience, and they have a cool residential structure as well.

So I don’t think you can go wrong here, holding aside costs it is just a matter of personal taste and what you hope to be part of your college experience. If it were me, I would probably be choosing between Rutgers and Pitt based on what I thought of Honors versus being in a fun city, but again all four would have their pros.

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52

That’s kind of a contradiction. Money is the first thing you should consider with Premed. Medical school is ridiculously expensive, so you need to keep debt to a minimum. My advice, choose the cheaper school and get top grades there. Your older self will thank you later.

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53

My understanding is that students and Northeastern have to find their co-ops on their own. I’m not aware that Northeastern has any more connections than any of the other colleges on your list.

Is there anyone else who knows more about Northeastern who can correct me if I’m wrong or who can elaborate on this point?

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54

I learned that companies that have co-ops and internships consider co-ops more “work intensive” for them and are thus more likely to start cutting them in larger numbers than the number of internships when cuts need to be made. (Opposite experiences welcome, as this surprised me.)
My worry with NEU would also be that, co-ops requiring more industry support than internships, their number might decrease even more than that of internships in the coming years (due to the US economy moving from “envy of the world” in 2024 to “global concern” at the moment, with some in government even advocating for a recession as a form of “economic purge/cleansing”.) Unpaid co-ops may still continue but spending 4months away anywhere in the country, having to pay rent, and being unpaid, may not have the same appeal. Or co-ops may just rarefy entirely. That+London start would make me cross out NEU at the moment.

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55

@TomSrOfBoston is the forum champion for NEU.

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56

Going abroad for a full year and doing co-ops will provide a very different experience than the other schools. You need to decide what type of experience you want.

When we visited Northeastern years ago we spoke with a student doing a co-op. She hesitated, said the co-op was a great experience, but also said that it limited her ability to see friends. She commented that she would make a new friend at lunch…and then they were off to their co-op. This was a sample of 1. Others likely have a different experience.

I also think the information noted in the previous posts is very important.

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57

This was not our D’s experience at all. Quite the reverse. It was internships in companies that got cut first because the co op students are much more likely to accept their job offers after the program is completed. (Feels to me a bit like college yield protection).

This was especially true during COVID. Most co ops continued and most internships were paused.

Note that Purdue co ops are with the same company across 3-5 semesters. Some schools, a co op can be with multiple companies. I think that changes the dynamic.

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While coop jobs are neither assigned nor guaranteed, Northeastern has a data base of jobs that students access after completing a 0 credit Intro to Coop course in the first semester of sophomore year. Some of these coop leads are exclusive to Northeastern students while others are open to coop students at other universities. Here is a coop overview. Please refer to the FAQs towards the bottom.
Co-op - Northeastern University
Inside co-op - Northeastern University

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59

The only unpaid coops would be in the humanities and social sciences and some majors in CAMD. Even in those fields, unpaid coops are the exception.

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60

3 month internships do have a higher proportion of overhead versus real work compared to 6-9 month co-ops, since it takes some time for a new employee to become fully productive. So a company cutting costs but not wanting to completely eliminate these jobs may prefer to keep 1 co-op job versus 2 internships to get more useful work for the amount paid.

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