Northeastern, BC, and GW

novelsandteacups · March 25, 2011, 7:10pm

So, right now my decision is between Northeastern, BC, and GW. At Northeastern, I would be studying international business, which I know is a good program, and I got 20K a year, whereas at GW I got 10K a year and was accepted into the Honors Program. At BC I would be in the Carroll School of Management, but I didn't get any money.

Now, my parents will pay for my college education, but they spent quite a lot on my high school education, so I do feel some obligation to lighten their load a little. Right now I am leaning towards Northeastern because I live right out of Boston and I recieved the most money there. The co-op program is also a plus.

However, I've been told by several people (including my college counsellor and a student who attends NEU) that I would be the smartest person in the class at Northeastern (I haven't decided if this bothers me or not), in comparison to GW, which is much more intellectual. In addition, I'm not pleased that I didn't get into the Honors Program at NEU.

I'm wondering if anyone can give me input on these three schools, most specifically how much the co-op will benefit me (will I even get one?). Also, what is the student body of NEU like? Is the university a good community, or does it just blend into the city, like BU?

TomSrOfBoston · March 25, 2011, 7:43pm

[quote]
However, I've been told by several people (including my college counsellor and a student who attends NEU) that I would be the smartest person in the class at Northeastern

[/quote]

Since you were not offered Honors Program, you are not in the top 10% of students admitted to the Business College. So you can tell your guidance counselor that s/he doesn't know what s/he is talking about.

You should really attend Admitted Students Day next month. Most of your questions will be answered then.

wilberry228 · March 25, 2011, 7:57pm

Interesting that your college counselors are telling you that you will be the smartest person in the class, and yet Northeastern didn't feel that you belonged in honors. With that said, my daughter was in a similar position.

She could have gone to either of a pair of top tier LACs, and one top NESCAC as well, but she ended up choosing Northeastern. It's a little different because we knew she was going to be accepted to most schools where she might apply, as she would have secured coach's support as a recruited athlete before applying. However, her grades and scores were good enough to get her in on her own merits to either of those schools, as well as many others that she just didn't have the time to visit.

As it did for you, Northeastern turned out to be the most affordable for us, and that was part of the reason she chose it, along with the good vibe she got when she visited, and the vibrant campus and city. She is very much looking forward to it. She also was not accepted to honors; however, if you go through the acceptance threads, you will see a lot of accepted students with high stats and very impressive ECs. I don't think you should worry about being the smartest. There may be more of a range, but I doubt the high end is all that low. Many of them, my daughter included, ranked highly, scored highly, and took challenging courseloads, with impressive GPAs.

My daughter briefly looked at GW, but decided it wasn't for her as she isn't politically inclined - but if you are and you want to be at the core of that world, then DC would be the place for you.

As for the cost, I think it's admirable that you consider your parents' finances, but what do they say? Because one thing we didn't want was for our daughter to choose the school simply because it was the cheapest one. We want her to be happy and to get the most she can out of an education. I was really impressed with one other school in particular, and wanted her to really convince me that she was choosing NEU for more than just the cost savings. In her major (in Bouve) the coop program will be a real plus.

Pepper03 · March 25, 2011, 10:04pm

I have to agree with another poster that if you weren't admitted to Honors you probably don't have to worry about being the smartest person in the class-did they mean class as in the entire Class of 2015 or the class you are taking?

I don't know much about the other schools you mentioned but I think if you feel NEU is the best fit for you I wouldn't worry about the intelligence of the other students. I am sure there are plenty of kids that can measure up there.

LACSearch · March 25, 2011, 10:13pm

College counselor??? The same guy you paid thousands to help you get into college in the first place??

signed.....NEU Honors Program Admit

neuchimie · March 26, 2011, 8:05am

If you do well your first semester and get above a 3.6, you can reapply into the Honors Program. I've known a few people who did this, and it works out completey fine.

Emily2007 · March 26, 2011, 3:37pm

The atmosphere at GW is probably slightly more intellectual (it definitely was a few years ago, but now it's probably evening out a bit with stronger incoming classes), but it doesn't mean that you won't find smart, interesting people here. When I got here in 2006 the general body was not very "intellectual", but I still met a lot of people who were way smarter/cooler than me. Now as I'm a senior, I have these younger students in my classes who are smart, motivated, and excited to learn. I think NU's reputation is still catching up to its student body.

I think there's a decent "community" feeling at NU, maybe not the way it would be at a small liberal arts, but it's there. Especially with your dormmates, people you meet through groups/clubs, I think we're pretty friendly and happy to meet each other. Plus NU is very campusy, when you're on campus grounds you really feel like you're at northeastern surrounded by students.

wilberry228 · March 26, 2011, 5:24pm

Emily, that was a helpful post. One of the things that impressed my daughter was over the summer, when we went to visit NEU for the first time, the campus was hopping, and she heard a lot of people who seemed to be meeting each other for the first time and they were all being very friendly and outgoing. The other schools we had visited hadn't given off that vibe, and she hung onto that right up until the day she accepted their offer, even after visiting some of those LACs. What she didn't like about them was that they had three different things that they did on the weekends, every weekend, for four years.

And it makes sense too that the general level of intelligence is going up as the application process becomes more competitive. That might explain the OP's guidance counselor's remark.

downtoearth · March 26, 2011, 10:48pm

My daughter goes to GWU. she is in the honors program. she received a great merit scholarship, loves DC and is thriving. She was a top student but she is surrounded by very smart people and is not the smartest in her class. I am sure you would find this at the other schools too. they are very competative.

wewsy · March 27, 2011, 7:56am

My oldest D is a Sophomore at GW and loves it; my next in line will be a freshman at NU next year and it seems to be a perfect fit. NU D has slightly higher stats than GW daughter (due to work ethic at a younger age, not intellegence). She got a Dean's scholarship but not honors. If you look at the 2010 freshman profiles for both schools you will see they are all but identical. You don't list your stats but I would find it hard to believe you would be the smartest one in your classes at NU or GW or at BC for that matter as I've seen some very impressive stats on these threads over the past months. I don't think you can go wrong with either GW or NU (I don't know much about BC as neither of my girls liked it enough to apply). If you go with international business- from an international point of view I can't imagine being anywhere BUT DC. GW also has a very good intership program. The business opportunitites with co-op at NU may outweigh that mix. The cities, campuses and weather for that matter are very different. If you haven't visited the schools you should because that might be the answer for you. You gotta feel it! Good luck.

neuchimie · March 27, 2011, 9:37pm

Personally, if you are seriously considering them all equal and can't figure out which to do, you need to decide on the location you want. I adore DC (just didn't apply to any schools there for some reason) and probably would have prefered it over Boston in your situation. But there are plenty of people that would chop their arms off before moving anywhere south of New Jersey.

Debater812 · March 27, 2011, 10:18pm

Hi. I'm sort of in a similar position. Although I didn't apply to BC, I got 10K/year from GW but no honors, but I got 20K/year from Northeastern and I got in the honors program. I will also be in the international business program. Your college counselor is ridiculous to say that about Northeastern. They have been listed as #2 on the US News list of up and coming universities the past two years. And it shows. They are moving up consistently in Business week's rankings, the B-school is rated #1 for co-ops/internships, and they're acceptance just dropped to right above GW. Remember about the money at NU, for times you are co-oping you do not pay tuition and actually, MAKE MONEY. That being said, GW is amazing in many regards as well. I think you have two great options, especially with GW's Honors program, which is amazing!