I went to UMass Amherst for 2 years, then transferred to UMass Boston to graduate, and took a post-bacc class at Northeastern (organic chem).
I went to school in Boston for 3 years (and still live in Boston) and out at Amherst for 2 years.
I know people who went to NU, who go to NU and people who went/go to UMass.
Biases: I love Boston and I had a really horrible experience at the NU night school. However, I know lots of people at NU so I know it's not all bad. UMass Amherst was a great school but I just needed to be with my gf in Boston😍
First, remove from your consideration that going to Northeastern is going to look better to schools than UMass Amherst because of the public vs. private school issue. There may be schools with such a bias, but it is usually for ivy/sub-ivy vs. everyone else. If you are a good strong app there is no issue. And becasue you're a senior in HS and on this website, already want to be a doctor - so you'll do all the right things - you'll probably be fine.
Second, DEBT. You notice how much debt this country has? Med school is going to put you in a LOT of debt. There is no reason to add onto it with the enormous undergrad debt you will get at NU. Look up compounding interest and think about $70,000 undergrad debt, add onto med school debt (over $100,000 on avg for med school) delayed payments due to med school etc and it is going to be a lot to pay back.
Unless scholarships make it competitive - or your parents are paying (and you shouldn't count on that in this economy!) this should be a heavy factor. When I graduated I had $11,000 in debt from UMass and I paid my way through school. I know people from NU with almost 7x that. That is ridiculous in my opinion and part of the reason our country is in trouble, but I digress...
Third, opportunities. Yes, NU has a co-op program and it places you where you want to be. But UMass Amherst also has an internship/co-op program. Plus, the UMass Amherst campus is research intensive in many fields, allowing for unique studies in multi-disciplinary fields that you wouldn't be able to do on campus at NU. The bio dept is great at UMass too and lots of them collaborate with umass med and other institutions.
The key at UMass is to show some gumption(!) and find opportunities, they are not hiding away. I worked in a rhesus macaque lab at UMass Amherst and at UMass Boston I did plenty of research. Do a little digging and you'll find treasures.
On the flip side, the plus to NU is that you have all those off-campus hospitals and opportunities in Boston. Aside from my gf, one reason I stayed at UMass Boston was precisely to take advantage of such opportunities. Boston allowed me to pay my way through school wtih internships, that would never have happened at Amherst. Those experiences will really help, but unless you have a good GPA/MCAT they will only take you so far.
As an undergrad pre-med, this only matter so much. If you do your hospital volunteering out at Amherst, or become an EMT - which a friend of mine did - that will make up for any lost opps in Boston hospitals (which are overrated and pretentious for the most part IMHO). Research is a bit of a double-edged sword in that it is good, but you can only go so far as an undergrad with it and, if you over rely on it, you could end up being labeled as not serious about patients (that's if you don't have much clinical experience).
My advice: do a senior honors thesis (well, that's what I did). Shows you can complete a project, you can then publish it and if you start volunteering in labs from FROSH year onwards you'll be able to find something you like.
Location. Amherst is a bit dull, but it allows you to concentrate on your studies and get involved with on-campus activities, which there are plenty. And that is relative, you might really like the skiing, the hiking (which I loved) and the winter(brrr). But there is more to do, fun wise and opportunity wise, in Boston.
You may also want to consider UMass Boston. It doesn't have the same reputation as Amherst, but academically in the Biology dept. it is equivalent to Amherst or NU. Look up the bio prof's - most of them went to Harvard (the saying was that UMass Boston has the highest amount of Harvard PhD's faculty outside of Harvard). It's cheaper than Amherst and NU and you are in Boston with all those hospitals. Just a thought.
Bottom line: if money is NOT an issue, it's a toss up and I would evaluate what you want to do (research, hospital) and what you want out of the school. The choice is yours.
That being said I would say go with UMass 😉
Feel free to send me a message on SDN with any questions, I can go into more detail.
