Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:He just finished his cereal and declared northwestern. I posted prematurely.

Congratulations! I’m a Northwestern alum and absolutely loved my time there. I’m also still close to many of my college friends. Evanston and Chicago are both great areas.

Meanwhile, my HS senior has still not decided!

I’ve lived in both New York and Evanston and went to Northwestern.

I think that Northwestern is a better choice for most undergrads, because Evanston is a lot cheaper than New York, and Northwestern seems like a more relaxed, practical school than Columbia.

I think Columbia might be the choice for an academia groupie, a lonely child prodigy, or someone who had a specific reason to be in New York. M

Congrats OP to your DC on Northwestern. As a Chicago native, I always dreamed of going there, but was rejected for Grad School! I'm sure your DC will have an amazing experience and get a first class education.

Cheers to the class of 2020 on commit day!

I loved Columbia when I visited. Then I visited a big state school and loved it even more. I turned down Columbia and went to a big state school. 4 years later I got into every grad school I applied to (all of the top programs in my very competitive field). While I'm a fan of Columbia, I think chosing Northwestern could make a lot of sense for some people.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NW over Columbia? For the right trade off - greater FA at NW, yes. All things being equal or similar, no.

What school is NW?

NU (Northwestern) is a great school, I am sure OP’s son will thrive there.

Don’t be dense

Anonymous wrote:NW over Columbia? For the right trade off - greater FA at NW, yes. All things being equal or similar, no.

What school is NW?

NU (Northwestern) is a great school, I am sure OP’s son will thrive there.

Anonymous wrote:Stupid question: isn’t Ivy League the goal for many kids? Wouldn’t Columbia win just based on that? I have no dog in this fight but I’m just curious.

All things being equal, ivies often win over others. But not always. Donut hole families may choose state universities over ivies bc of the cost.

Columbia is a lot stronger school to be honest but it isn’t as fun and the chicks aren’t as hot...so your son made the right choice.

Anonymous wrote:Stupid question: isn’t Ivy League the goal for many kids? Wouldn’t Columbia win just based on that? I have no dog in this fight but I’m just curious.

I don't think "ivy league" is the goal for many high achievers in a strict sense. After all the Ivies are just a sports league. When people say Ivy league is the goal, they just use it to mean "ivies and comparable schools" so like top 20s. Northwestern is certainly in that grouping.

Stupid question: isn’t Ivy League the goal for many kids? Wouldn’t Columbia win just based on that? I have no dog in this fight but I’m just curious.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm friends with many Northwestern grads, in different fields, and they were all pretty happy with their undergrad and grad school experiences. Don't personally know as many Columbia grads, so can't compare.
But sounds like a great choice to me!
Best of luck to your son.

PP has no personally knowledge so doesn’t know - yet s/he claims to “know“ NE is “like a great choice to me!”
This has got to be one of the greatest DCUM talk!

I think the main point was to extend congratulations on Decision Day, where all parents and kids deserve congratulations. Not to hold herself out as the world's leading expert on Northwestern. Really not a good luck to carp about it.

Anonymous wrote:I'm friends with many Northwestern grads, in different fields, and they were all pretty happy with their undergrad and grad school experiences. Don't personally know as many Columbia grads, so can't compare.
But sounds like a great choice to me!
Best of luck to your son.

PP has no personally knowledge so doesn’t know - yet s/he claims to “know“ NE is “like a great choice to me!”
This has got to be one of the greatest DCUM talk!

I'm friends with many Northwestern grads, in different fields, and they were all pretty happy with their undergrad and grad school experiences. Don't personally know as many Columbia grads, so can't compare.
But sounds like a great choice to me!
Best of luck to your son.

I attended both, albeit a long time ago. Transferred from one to the other.

If your kid wants a rah rah campus, Columbia isn't it. If your kid doesn't want a large fraternity presence, Northwestern isn't it. (Yeah, you can be in a frat, or not in a frat at either school but frat life is a larger part of the campus environment at NU. Your kid gets to decide if that is a good thing or a bad thing.)

Columbia is part of the city in a way suburban Northwestern is not. Whether this is a plus or a minus will depend on your kid.

Northwestern doesn't have the core. If your kid wants that traditional liberal arts grounding, there are few places like Columbia.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NW over Columbia? For the right trade off - greater FA at NW, yes. All things being equal or similar, no.

Everyone is different. My DS turned down Columbia for Berklee school of music last year, full pay.

Columbia and Berklee aren’t “all things being equal.” Berklee would be a better choice for musicians. There’s usually a overriding reason.

Go U NU!

Great choice.