Northeastern University (nu.in), William & Mary (out of state), or Wake Forest for Econ, History, and Pre-Law?

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I want to double-major in history and economics for undergrad and possibly go to law school afterward. My top schools are Northeastern, W&M, and Wake. I received no financial aid from any of them, but my family can afford them.

I’m stuck because I love Northeastern’s urban environment and co-ops, but it’s not liberal arts and the school seems very individualistic and less spirited.

Wake seems to be the best bet with numbers and reputation-wise but I don’t like the heavy Greek life and I felt like I didn’t fit well with the other students when I visited. Additionally, I felt like the location was too mellow.

I loved W&M when I visited, the people seemed friendly and the campus was beautiful. I’m a little iffy on the location but the campus environment might make up for it. However, I’m unsure about how the reputation holds up compared to the other two schools, and my mom is worried that the rigor of the college is brought down by the higher in-state rate.

Which do you think is a better school? How do the schools compare in terms of reputation and quality for economics, history, and sending students to good law schools?

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Three great schools.

Northeastern - you’re gone the first year - and in a history especially and less so econ, the co ops can help. Most colleges are liberal arts colleges - meaning they have colleges of liberal arts but they also have other colleges.

Wake has a department of engineering and school of business. W&M has a top school of business. None of these three are LACs.

Reputation is a funny thing - and I disagree btw that W&M is lesser. It’s at least equal reputationally - it’s traditionally looked at similar to a UC, UNC, UVA, UM - but it’s a much smaller scale and is likely the highest reputed of your three for the social sciences.

That said, I think given your major (at least history), the where doesn’t matter - you’ll likely require grad school or struggle in finding a suitable job.

So let’s look at this - fit - because you have to be somewhere four years, day after day.

In other words, both my kids chose safeties. One is like you - in social sciences and chose #16 of #17 rank wise. But guess what - you are on campus four years day after day - and that matters more than rank.

You don’t fit at Wake - why would you subject yourself to four years of that - so toss it out.

Then you have W&M vs. Northeastern. My concern with W&M is if you felt Wake was too mellow - W&M will be more studious or rather less party.

When I read your note, it says W&M all the way or at least moreso than Northeastern - and you’ll get an internship and that’s substitutional for a co op.

btw - you are talking about colleges ranked 47th, and two tied at 53rd and mom is not correct - IMHO - not even close. Statistically, these are a tie - but yes, you have a larger Northeastern that’s urban vs. a more suburban, in a more chill tourist zone regular campus with far stronger social sciences (IMHO) but again, I don’t even think that matters. My kid has already interned for our state and a top think tank in DC - and while she was WL at W&M, she’d have chosen her current over it even though W&M is far more reputed. And that’s the right way to look at things.

Look to be where you want to be - not who you perceive is higher ranked or more rigorous - and btw - rigor won’t be an issue at W&M - it’s an intensive research environment, etc.

Good luck whichever you choose - but your writing tells me it should be W&M.

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Honestly, W&M has a stronger reputation than Northeastern for your areas of interest. It sounds to me as if your mother’s concerns merely reflect a bias for private over public… but W&M is a top-notch school, and it sounds like the best fit. (Not to mention that if you’re full-pay, which you likely are if you’re considering NUin, W&M will cost almost 20K/year less than the others - and I’m sure you could find a use for the 80K you’d be saving!) The worry about in-state students is misplaced - Virginia is a populous state with a lot of very high-performing students; and with nearly 40% of the spots at W&M going to OOS applicants, it’s very competitive for in-state kids to get in - especially the ones from the DC burbs. There should be no worries about having ambitious and high-achieving peers, and definitely no worries about law school prospects!

I agree with the above that all of your schools are essentially tied in terms of overall rank; but W&M is the one where your interests are particularly strong. You aren’t feeling Wake, and it’s not objectively better, so why even consider paying more for it? Co-ops are nice in theory, but there’s no guarantee of good placements, especially in majors where you can’t front-load marketable skills in the first three semesters (as they do in the computer science major, for example). Everything you’re saying says W&M, and the concerns standing between you and that choice really don’t hold water. Join the Tribe and enjoy!

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My son is at WM, and I’m in Williamsburg now for a campus event. We are OOS. He is very happy here-working hard and very involved on campus. He’ll be applying to the business school for next spring. WM’s reputation is strong, the campus is beautiful, and you mentioned “I loved William and Mary when i visited.” Sounds like you’d be a very happy member of the Tribe.

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Keep in mind that what a lot of people like about Northeastern is not being at Northeastern.

You can go-abroad at any of these schools but going abroad 1-2 semesters plus 2-3 co-ops mean some people are on campus occasionally. It’s disruptive for friendships and very non-traditional that way. But if that’s the travel and experience you are looking for, then it’s hard to beat. And while you are there on campus you are in Boston, and Williamsburg and Winston-Salem are definitely Not Boston.

We also have heard from several people that the students and profs are great at Northeastern but the education is - let’s say - softer than at a Wake or W&M. We know of two people that left because they felt the education was subpar for the cost. Wake and W&M especially will be much more intellectual and full of studious students.

Also these schools are in three different regions and that does matter to some extent with networking and connections and internships

So, what is you priority?

  • Intellectual/education?
  • Experiences/travel?
  • Having connections in a certain area
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Considering that Northeastern has a 98% freshman retention rate and a 91% six-year graduation rate, those two people were a small minority.

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If you define school spirit as rah-rah collegiate athletics then Northeastern does not provide that environment, although hockey is popular. And yes, students at Northeastern are individualistic. I am not sure what the alternative would be.

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Careful. You know how NEU games the numbers for admits. Who knows what they report for retention.

But, it really depends on the student. It’s a highly sought after school because it’s in Boston. So you would expect the retention

Another student we know is as smart as it gets. Super student in HS, but has treated their time there as an invitation to travel and gain experiences and land a job. The are barely there and the education is irrelevant and they have said it is soft. They will stay at NEU and feed the retention stats but that doesn’t mean the education is the same.

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Was thinking the same when I read OP.

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