Depends on major. UT, as much as I dislike the school for other reasons, is considered one of the top state institutions in the country. If you want to be an accounting or business major, UT makes more sense as they are Top 10 nationally in undergrad business school rankings. NU on the other hand doesn't have an undergraduate business school despite having an excellent graduate business school. Austin has become a magnet area for the tech industry escaping the rules and regs of Silicon Valley so career opportunities in that area are plentiful. UT also boasts a tremendously large and very prosperous alumni network and competes well in virtually all major sports, enhancing the collegiate experience. My daughter graduated from NU with an engineering degree so I respect NU quite a bit academically, but the decision between going there and UT really does depend on a number of factors.