Northwestern or Brown?

wildcatalum
Thu, 10 Nov 2011 15:00:13 +0000

As far as nightlife is concerned (if it ever becomes an issue you decide you care about), as a Northwestern alum and now a graduate student at Harvard, I’m shock by the dearth of nightlife options here in Boston and Cambridge compared to Chicago. I don’t think there’s even a club in Cambridge (maybe one)! The T here stops running at around 1 am, which severely limits where one can go in the city. Boston and Cambridge are practically empty at night. I can only imagine what Providence is like. My friends who went there say the nightlife options are severely limited, but I guess some people might not really care about that anyway.

As far as internship opportunities, you can go anywhere in the country or the world during the summers from either of these places (and NU at least offers generous funding that’s easy to get). If you want to work during the academic year though and generally just want to gain practical skills to complement your academics (e.g. Kellogg certificate, IMC certificate in Medill, Chicago Field Studies, SESP practicum, Field Studies in the Humanities, NU Public Interest Program, etc.), you’re much better off with Northwestern. I would also say Northwestern’s connections with Chicago (and urban hubs like LA, SF, NYC, and DC) is far stronger than Brown’s anywhere. I love Brown and strongly considered it but decided Northwestern’s prestige, wealth, and connections really mattered to me. Their social environments are also different, though both are eclectic in their own way. I would strongly encourage a visit.