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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Not exactly sure how you want to compare them since they couldn't be more different.  From size to location there isn't much similar.  Specific major?

-NU grad with one at NU and one at UVA[/quote]

Wonderful! I'd love to hear your DC's experiences. DD likes them for different reasons - she's very interested in Politics. [/quote]

Both kids are happy.  I am biased towards NU since I loved it and did a poli sci concentration way back when.  Both have great poli sci departments and impressive professors.  One wanted a big state school so picked UVA.  Great town and doesn't feel as big as it is.  It is quite southern though, or at least for him and a lot of kids are from VA which is expected.  NU is in a big "suburb" just north of Chicago and have a more urban feel with the ability to go into the city easily with the El.  He is a theater kid and you can't beat NU for that.  He wanted a smaller school but with sports so NU fit the bill for him.  Kids are from all over.  A lot of CA kids there.  Both campuses are beautiful but NU wins (at least for me) though the weather can be tough.  Being from CT that wouldn't matter though.[/quote]

New poster. Also an NU alum like the PP and also did poli sci minor way back when. (Hmm, maybe our paths crossed....)

Agree on all that PP says about both UVA and NU (we have a lot of contacts at UVA and spend a fair amount of time in Charlottesville, plus have academic contacts at NU). Very different locations and vibes and both are great for the right kids.

OP, has your DD had any chance pre-pandemic to visit either school? Visiting makes a huge difference especially where locations are as different as Evanston and Charlottesville. Of course, visits are not very likely right now, but there are increasingly good virtual tours at many colleges and some feature tours of various dorm rooms etc. Some colleges are now connecting prospective students with current upperclassmen to talk about the colleges. See if UVA or NU is doing anything like that.

I do find the sheer gigantic size of UVA tough, and that was one factor that my own DD did not want. NU isn't a small college by any means but definitely feels smaller and more cohesive than UVA. I'm not referring just to physical size but to the size of the student bodies.

One thing I think is advantageous about NU is the fact, as PP notes, that students come from all over, whereas UVA is natually more VA-heavy and more Southern; I loved having friends from all over the country and learned a LOT by getting to know people from very different regions and backgrounds than my own. At UVA your DD will be the more, um, "exotic" student, though she won't be the only out-of-stater.

The other selling point to me for NU was the proximity to Chicago and the ease of getting into Chicago if you wanted; you could easily choose never to go into the city or you could pop in just a few times a year. Students were not dashing down there to drink and party but were more going to plays and museums, and that was terrific. You never felt you "had" to go into the city to have fun but it was there if you wanted it. NU does not feel like an urban school yet has access to urban activities as desired. Charlottesville is a very nice town in a lovely area but you do need a car to get beyond downtown Charlottesville to explore the countryside and the pretty country towns.

Academically both are great. Your DD might get smaller class sizes sooner at NU. A lot depends too on what courses she wants--both have very solid political science departments. She might want to delve into the specfic course sequences at each university and see which best fits her and which professors are doing work and research that most interests her. That kind of detail can be a deciding factor re: academics. [/quote]

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