Ask Questions about Northeastern Here!

Boston is an expensive place to live - this page has the housing rates for on-campus dorms - https://www.northeastern.edu/housing/rates/

and this page has the meal plan rates -
https://nudining.com/meal-plans/residential

Meal plans are required for anybody who lives in a dorm without a kitchen (which includes most freshman dorms)

Textbooks can be cheap (or free on-line) to very expensive (including a internet connection where you do problems).

If you eat and drink out you will spend more money (there are cheap places to eat - including chinatown).

@MrElonMusk COL is high as with any city these days, rent being the biggest one. Shopping for all your groceries in etc will save a ton, going out will cost, and it’s person to person on the balance between those. Not sure what specifically you’re looking for info on - any specifics?

@PengsPhils Well, I was mainly wondering about all the extra costs that arise from doing co-ops (transportation, food, etc). Will my income from the co-op be able to offset or exceed the costs of doing so?

@MrElonMusk

Well food costs will be there, co-op or not. The dining plan is pretty expensive so even those who eat out after going off it usually save money comparatively. You could get groceries in for $50 a week and probably eat only that and persist off pasta, but I’d say a healthier grocery diet would be closer to $75-$100 a week. Eating out for cheap eats is usually $8-$12 per meal, which isn’t terrible. Lots of good options in that category frankly and one I take advantage of a lot. I spend a bit more on food personally because I value it but it depends on the person.

Transportation also shouldn’t change that much, but again depends. There’s a $250ish per semester (fall/spring) T pass for unlimited rides, train and bus. On co-op, it’s 100% worth it. Some co-op’s reimburse a monthly pass. As a student in Boston you’ll be taking the T as well, though likely not enough for a pass to make sense, so you could say that’s about $100-$150 a semester.

If you drink (insert legal disclaimer etc here for under 21) alcohol tends to be pricier both from liquor stores and bars. It’s much cheaper of course to buy your own alcohols and mix them. Beers at bars go for $6-$7 and mixed drinks usually $10 or so. There are some good deals around though (my personal favorite being $5 margaritas and .25c wings in Fenway, usually qualifying for the cheap meal category even with tip). Including this section since after your first co-op, most are turning 21 by co-op 2.

@PengsPhils Okay thanks!

My child has been accepted at Northeastern and it is his current top choice. We are trying to figure out finances as we will have 2 children in college for 3 out of 4 years. I know that students typically graduate in five years. What I’m trying to figure out is how many years are full pay (2 semesters) and how many years we only pay for one semester. Can someone explain this for both the 2 co-op plan and the 3 co-op plan? I know we will pay full tuition freshman year, but can’t seem to figure out the pattern for the other years. I know there will be some variability. Just looking for some input to help wrap my head around it. Thank you!

@begosgas It will depend on what coop stream he is in. AP credits could also alter the patterns. Here are some examples:
https://www.northeastern.edu/coop/students/co-op-options/
Each Summer Session is half a semester.

@tomsrofboston Thank you! This is exactly what I needed to see. I just couldn’t visualize what it might look like. This at least gives us an idea of how to plan.

Thanks for taking the time to answer everyone’s questions. The SIR deadline is looming and son is deciding between 2 schools - UCSB and NE. We visited UCSB but were unable to visit NE. Son’s interest is in cybersecurity and it appears that NE has a good course curriculum / plan for that area; whereas UCSB has the basic two courses like most other CS programs: intro to security and intro to cryptography. Advisors @ UCSB tout the existing research there as additional resource for learning and doing, etc. UCSB also states that it’s incoming freshman class (expecting 90 to 80 students) is an added benefit re: smaller class size and more interaction with faculty, etc. NE offered my son a $20K annual scholarship which brings the NE cost lower and closer to what it would cost to attend UCSB - $42K vs. $32K While the NE co-op idea sounds attractive in terms of giving him real-world work experience, I’m not certain that he couldn’t get the same experience and exposure at UCSB doing research and looking on his own. I’ll be willing to spend the extra $40K over the course of the 5 years if the NE experience and education is clearly better for him.

@127parent

For CS, I think it’s fair that co-op isn’t needed to be successful given how hot the field is, but the help doesn’t hurt. For cybersecurity specifically, Northeastern actually has a lot of government links though that would be very hard to find at UCSB if that is of interest. The co-op model also makes it a bit easier to fit in 3 co-ops vs the typical two internships (most struggle to get one after freshman year).

Coursewise, the course everyone raves about is Software Vulnerabilities and Security, typically taken by undergrads. It’s incredibly immersive and practical, letting you find your own vulnerabilities in existing software and defend your own code:

https://wkr.io/courses/2016/spring/cs5770/

In terms of research and professors, I don’t think UCSB will offer anything super special there, and is more them playing up their smaller incoming class size. Northeastern is very undergraduate focused and there are plenty of opportunities for research. Professors are incredibly open across the entire department, with a few people deep in CS
that I know choosing to do directed studies with professors in the department even. CCIS being its own college entirely and the smallest one also lends itself well to accessibility. When it comes to courses, the first year curriculum has pretty much round the clock office hours to get help with homework and general review.

Both are good options here, so I think it comes down more to personal choice on whether the 40K is worth it. Hope that info helps though!

Thanks for taking the time to answer everyone’s questions. The SIR deadline is looming and son is deciding between 2 schools - UCSB and NE. We visited UCSB but were unable to visit NE. Son’s interest is in cybersecurity and it appears that NE has a good course curriculum / plan for that area; whereas UCSB has the basic two courses like most other CS programs: intro to security and intro to cryptography. Advisors @ UCSB tout the existing research there as additional resource for learning and doing, etc. UCSB also states that it’s incoming freshman class (expecting 90 to 80 students) is an added benefit re: smaller class size and more interaction with faculty, etc. NE offered my son a $20K annual scholarship which brings the NE cost lower and closer to what it would cost to attend UCSB - $42K vs. $32K While the NE co-op idea sounds attractive in terms of giving him real-world work experience, I’m not certain that he couldn’t get the same experience and exposure at UCSB doing research and looking on his own. I’ll be willing to spend the extra $40K over the course of the 5 years if the NE experience and education is clearly better for him.

Thanks for taking the time to answer everyone’s questions. The SIR deadline is looming and son is deciding between 2 schools - UCSB and NE. We visited UCSB but were unable to visit NE. Son’s interest is in cybersecurity and it appears that NE has a good course curriculum / plan for that area; whereas UCSB has the basic two courses like most other CS programs: intro to security and intro to cryptography. Advisors @ UCSB tout the existing research there as additional resource for learning and doing, etc. UCSB also states that it’s incoming freshman class (expecting 90 to 80 students) is an added benefit re: smaller class size and more interaction with faculty, etc. NE offered my son a $20K annual scholarship which brings the NE cost lower and closer to what it would cost to attend UCSB - $42K vs. $32K While the NE co-op idea sounds attractive in terms of giving him real-world work experience, I’m not certain that he couldn’t get the same experience and exposure at UCSB doing research and looking on his own. I’ll be willing to spend the extra $40K over the course of the 5 years if the NE experience and education is clearly better for him.

@127parent Check post #209 - not sure if you saw or the duplicates happened on a delay.

@127parent Both are great schools, and I would defer more to PengPhils about the CS program at NEU. I also wanted to mention that NEU has a grad program in Security and Resiliency Studies that includes a focus on cybersecurity. My D got her 4+1 at NEU with her masters in this program (but different focus) and so I wonder if it is worth your son calling and talking to any of these professors to see what direct research they are involved in that he might be able to participate in during his time at NEU and/or coop. I am not sure which prof has the cybersecurity focus, but a call can’t hurt. I am sure whoever they are, they most likely crossover and teach in CS as well.

https://www.northeastern.edu/graduate/program/master-of-science-in-security-and-resilience-studies-14294/

The other thing I would mention is that UCSB and NEU are very different in terms of place and style of learning/school. I am a SB grad myself coming from the east coast originally… Loved it, but the UCs are very impacted right now. They may have more control over a particular program for class sizes, etc. but in general, all the UCs are very impacted (I work at another one and know this for a fact.) Of course, UCSB is a beach town with ideal weather etc. and it is very important to be disciplined to be there; Boston has the city and other great lifestyle options as well. I would have your son think a lot too about what kind of learning environment he wants.

Both my kids have gone to/are at NEU from the west coast and have had great opportunities there – research as undergrads, great coops, great travel, great friends, hard work, but lots of fun in the city etc.

@twicemama What do you mean by impacted?

I was wondering if there was any benefit to attending one orientation session over another (mid June, early July or late July). My daughter is juggling a few jobs and is trying to decide which orientation has the least impact on these commitments, but obviously wants things to go well freshman year. Are classes full by the 3rd orientation in late July? Thank you.

Hi, by the end of high school I should have 9 AP credits from my exams and was wondering if it’s possible at northeastern to graduate early from credits?

@bethanylm291 Almost all the UCs, esp the top ones, are impacted meaning they have had large enrollment growths in recent years and housing and classroom development etc has not kept up. Most doubles are triples, many dorm lounges have been turned into quads waiting for new housing to be constructed. Very large classes and often hard to get the classes you need as a frosh bc priority goes to sophs and juniors who had to wait to get classes, etc. kids sitting in aisles etc if lucky enough to get a spot in the class… usually takes 5 years to graduate instead of 4 bc of these strains. Coming in with lots of AP credits can help with that though, Plus housing rates in many of the communities are having skyrocketing rental rates (Berkeley, Santa Cruz, Santa Barbara, San Diego) so housing off campus is heavily impacted too.

@moberry123 9 credits or 9 AP courses? You can apply up to 32 AP credits at Northeastern. Depending on your major and what the AP courses are.

@moberry123 Also, to add on to @TomSrOfBoston each ap course you have is worth 4 credits, or one class. You would need to consult your academic advisor about that.