Hello,
I just got in to NEU BSBA @ D’amore Mckim. Could someone tell me more about the 4 year program since I do not want to complete the 5 year one. Is the 4 year program more condensed? Also, they said something about getting less vacations. Is that true? Where can I find a scheduel. Also, how do I know which program I was accepted to? Or do I chose which one later? Please provide me with any info you have relating to this topic. Thank you
You choose later - the 4 year will only have 2 co-ops and basically no summers off. Although this table is a little confusing - you can get an idea of how 4 and 5 year programs differ:
Even at a non-coop schools, starting sophomore year you would/should be planning on doing summer internships rather than having a summer vacation. That is a high school mentality.
Kiddie’s link is all options for all majors: just to highlight a good example:
Code MD—4 Year, 2 Co-op (Spring/Summer 1)
Year Fall Spring Summer 1 Summer 2
1 School School Vacation Vacation
2 School Co-op Co-op School
3 School Co-op Co-op School
4 School School Graduated
It helps to have a lot of AP/IB credit coming in: sometimes that means you can get a vacation in Summer 2 in Year 2 or 3. Overall, it’s not condensed in terms of overloading classes, but it does utilize all the time of the year - most patters at NEU do as every co-op will go halfway into the summer. It’s a part of life here. To be honest, I prefer staying in Boston rather than going home these days - its an amazing city and no one needs 4 months at home really IMO.
This graphic may help:
You would be surprised how quickly your preconceived notions about when school starts and ends as well as when one takes a vacation or doesn’t evaporates in a program like Northeastern’s. Five years and 3 co ops gives you more time to build your resume as well as experiment and more time to build lasting contacts. But 4 years is cool too just don’t be married to the idea of Fall/Spring… being the thing because it doesn’t work like that.
I started out planning to do 4 years (maybe even 3 since I came in with IB credit). I ended up doing 5 years and 3 co-ops. Once you start, your attitude will change a lot. I came in very focused on getting through as fast and young as possible. Then I realized that it doesn’t matter and no one cares. I decided to take my time to figure out what I wanted to do, learn a lot of new areas, and enjoy the experience. It was definitely worth it. I also think that extra time gave me the experience to get great fellowship and grad school opportunities.
Agree with the posts above. Northeastern offers so many attendance patterns and options, it doesn’t make sense to come in with any rigid ideas of when you will graduate and what summers you will get “off.” You need to take into consideration how many AP/college credits you will come in with because this makes a big difference. My son came in thinking he would do a 5 year/3 coop cycle and after mapping out his credits, changed it to 4 year/2 coop (and even then could get through in 3.5 years instead of 4). In the summer, there are two half semesters where kids take classes or study abroad or do research with profs or do short internships. The options are so plentiful and so interesting, I think for most kids the allure of going home for four straight months in the summer starts to diminish. My son spent his summer after freshman year taking classes for the first half and doing a study abroad for the second half. And even with all that, he spent a total of about 5 weeks at home. In your financial planning for school, plan for 8 semesters of school but prepared for it to be in a condensed timeframe that will involve some summer time and be aware you might get out with fewer than 8 semesters if you have credits coming in.
Northeastern has introduced NU Term, held May-June after freshman year. It is another option for flexibility and may be what @NoCook’s son did.
My son did NU Term this past summer. Eight credits earned in two terrific business classes and he was home by June 6th in time to start the summer job that was waiting for him. It was a great option for him especially because he was undeclared at the time and was moving towards declaring a business major so these classes helped stack the deck as well as knocked off a requirement for the major. That kind of flexibility, is really a plus. Also, some subjects may be better to experience in shorter term, intense focus with fewer concurrent classes to juggle.