Hey everyone! I’m a current freshman who remembers how stressed out and question-filled she was before deciding to come to this school. You can ask me whatever you want; I guess I would consider myself pretty knowledgable about the campus, and I have a wide variety of friends in different programs who could help me answer your questions.
A little about me:
Communications major, video art minor. Previously was combined with media and screen studies.
Honors student (currently living in IV)
Active member of NUTV, the best club on campus
National Merit Scholar, involved in the CEP program
Ask away~
MODERATOR’S NOTE: Anyone is free to ask or answer questions in this thread. Note that the OP has not been on CC in over four months.
Not the OP but also current student, figured I’d answer some easy ones
Sushi: Good. Not amazing, but very good.
Weather: It’s different for different people. I came from FL and this winter seems like nothing to me. Certainly wasn’t a deterrent for me. I do know a friend of mine though that didn’t apply to anything in the northeast because of weather. So it really is a personal preference.
The objective answer is that the winter average is probably around 20 F with snow 2/7 days on average (excluding this winter). Even blizzards don’t really affect students as we don’t have cars and the T has stayed running through most of it.
I’ll second the question above…my kid is deciding among several colleges right now…in Boston, she’s in at northeastern and is likely in at BU (she’s a finalist for merit scholarship there)…I’m wondering how northeastern is perceived in the city of Boston itself…and do you interact much with students at other institutions?
I’m a perspective, not an actual student, but I’ve asked the ‘why northeastern?’ question so much that I feel like I can answer it decently well.
Northeastern is neither looked down upon nor prestigious. In the last couple decades or so, it has transformed from a lesser-known commuter school to a rival of upper-mid level schools like BU and BC. It's growing fast and is catching attention, but is not prestigious in a city that houses Harvard Med and MiT.
2.Northeastern gets kids who would’ve otherwise picked BU because northeastern feels more like a campus than BU, even though it is still well-connected to the city. I thought this wouldn’t be a big factor for me, until I visited BU. I felt rushed and lonely.
Northeastern often attracts students by having good merit aid and by having some of the best career services, and especially co-op, in the country.
The sushi lured me in. The merit aid has made it doable. The co-op puts it as one of my top choices.
@nhljohn871 The honors program is actually pretty great! We all live together in International Village, and it really forms a sense of community among us because we’re pretty isolated from the other freshman dorms. Sure, taking that 1-credit course for honors kinda sucks, but we get free food at the end and it’s a nice grade-booster. I’ve heard that next year the honors kids will live in the new dorm East Village, which is equally as isolating as International Village. Being an honors student also opens you up to a lot of opportunities that you wouldn’t have as a non-honors student such as different housing in sophomore year as well. That’s about it for what I can think of about the honors program. Let me know if you have additional questions!
@julianstanley eh the sushi’s ok. It’s good every so often and there’s a good variety of items. I haven’t had it in awhile just because I kind of got sick of it, but they have everything from tuna sushi to chicken tempura sushi (fancy terminology for fried chicken sushi)
@robin1997 I’m originally from around Philly, so I’m kind of used to the cold weather, but either way I’d say it’s not unmanageable. I’ve been fine with my parka and a hat. I’m usually a warm person though… I have a friend from Texas who is really struggling (not really, he just complains a lot). It’s really quite manageable
My main reason for choosing Northeastern was that they gave me the most money and was located in a city I’ve always wanted to live in. However, there were other deciding factors that made me choose Northeastern over some other schools in the Boston area. I preferred NU over BU because BU’s campus is so spread out and there were too many students there for my comfort. Northeastern is considered a medium-sized college, and I think that description is exactly right: there are always new people to meet, but the campus is concentrated enough to see my friends often. I often forget how many students are enrolled at NU, mostly because I stay within my group of friends. There are tons of clubs on campus that you can get involved with. Obviously, the co-op program is a huge reason why I chose Northeastern. As a Communications major, having experience in my field is invaluable, and Northeastern will provide me with that experience before I graduate. Northeastern’s campus is also really really nice; all the buildings are updated and comfortable to be in. Campus is concentrated in one area so you have the feel of a regular college campus while still being in a big city. NU is located in a great spot in Boston; the Fens is right near us so we have a park to go to, and the MFA is also really close (and free for college students!). Being so close to two T stops is also really nice. I hope that answered your question!
Northeastern is high on my son’s list, even though he’s a bit disappointed about not being invited to honors. He did get offered a nice merit package though. I know others, @PengsPhils for example, have said we shouldn’t consider the no honors situation a deal breaker, and I think he’s probably right. Also considering URoch (waiting to see if they offer merit), stony brook, Pitt, Bing, and still waiting on a few more decisions, but Northeastern is right up there.
East Village is brand new. It opened two months ago. It is adjacent to the science quad and only a few steps from Krentzman Quad and Huntington Avenue. It is isolated only in the sense that it is the only residence hall on that side of campus. Keep in mind that you can walk across the Northeastern campus in about 10 minutes as opposed to BU or many state flagships where you have to take a shuttle bus across campus.
The only down side to East Village vs. IV is that IV has a dining hall within it. East Village is supposed to be very nice - indoor bike storage, smart elevators,etc.
I don’t think that has been stated by the school yet - the website still says that IV is the honors freshman LLC. This year East Village housed the returning NUin students starting in January (which was when the dorm opened)