This place is in a tough corner - around it are MIT, Harvard, BU. However, NU has several things going for it: a great engineering school, lots of good fundamental research in progress, one of the best looking campuses around, a 'mandatory' Co-op program (through which a student can work in their chosen field of study before they graduate, thus getting a nice fatty resume), and of course, access to a whole bunch of bars! Too bad that a lot of times NU feels like a MALL.