<p>How good is subj? What are research opportunities? What kinds of co-ops are offered? How feasible this choice is for a possible medical school prospects?</p>
<p>Also, could it be (and in what circumstances) a feasible choice for a student whose other options are UCD, UCSB (in-state) and BU?</p>
<p>The biology program here is relatively strong. It’s a subject that tends to be good at a wide range of schools. If you are looking at medical school, you will be able to meet all of your requirements and be well-prepared for the MCAT and medical school. Northeastern is also excited about getting undergraduates involved in research. Just take the initiative and talk to professors whose research interests you. I have been working in a lab for 3 years, and the professor I work with has given me a lot of attention, autonomy, and responsibility. As for co-ops, there are a variety of options for biology majors, including working in academic research labs in the Boston area, in a more clinical setting, at a biotech startup, or for pharmaceutical companies.</p>
<p>When trying to figure out what school to go to for pre-med, one of your biggest considerations should be cost. You can get a good pre-med training at most schools, and medical school is expensive, so it’s best to save your money while choosing undergrad. What would your costs be at these various schools?</p>
<p>nanotechnology,</p>
<p>Thank you for the thoughtful and thorough reply. </p>
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<p>The thing is, my daughter, who is choosing between those schools, is accepted to NEU with $25K scholarship (and to BU with a $20K one).; which makes NEU’s cost very close to the cost of UCs for us (which didn’t give any need- or merit-based money to her). </p>
<p>What we are trying to figure out is that whether the NEU education worth the hassle and the cost of long distance transportation for UC-accepted Californian, how does its bio sciences program compare to UCs’ in terms of name recognition (for med/grad schools), difficulty/easiness of getting into popular classes and promising/relevant (for the student’s interests) research and how hard is to get the professors’ attention. In other words, what are the perks of going so far from home and what could she get there for about the same money (+the cost of transportation) which she wouldn’t find at UCs …</p>
<p>Also, if it makes any difference, my daughter is accepted to NEU for Honors Program. Does it give any advantages compared to “general” NEU student population or to the UC ones?</p>
<p>As of now, the only possible advantage of going to NEU (as well as to any private college compared to any state school) I see are smaller classes, where you could easier get professor’s attention.</p>
<p>But, what really the usual/average class sizes are for all-students-required general education or lower division popular specialty classes at NEU?</p>
<p>The advantage to honors program is that they offer honors sections of many lower level/core classes which are much smaller than the regular sections of these classes. My daughter was able to take honors sections of classes which contained maybe 25 kids instead of a large regular section where the class was so big it also required a recitation class.</p>
<p>One of the advantages my daughter sees in going to school at the big “college city” like Boston is meeting with students from other universities (as the opposite to living in the “bubble” of one single campus, like UC Davis, for example). But, I wonder, how many college students there (at Northeastern as well as at other Boston institutions) are really finding the time or even the interest for meeting people from other schools … aren’t they too busy or too involved with their own campus life? Is it REALLY all that different from more isolated, “bubbly” campuses?</p>
<p>It is the opposite of isolated. You are in the heart of a city - with everything that has to offer - museums, restaurants, public parks, stores, etc. all within walking distance or a ride on the T. My daughter has not made friends from other schools, but some of her friends know kids from other schools (from their HS days) and they socialize with them. Being involved with your own campus life is a good thing - joining the clubs and attending the events at NEU is a great way to spend time and meet people.</p>
<p>How the experience differs depends a lot on the individual. As an introvert, I probably would have been fine on a more isolated campus (though I did eliminate one college from my acceptances based on its isolation), but a more introverted student might find that type of campus more suffocating. Boston is full of opportunities, like having the Museum of Fine Arts (with free admission for Northeastern students!) a block away from campus, and events like the Boston Independent Film Festival. The Honors program also offers very discounted group tickets to things like concerts and theater productions.</p>
<p>The reality is that you daughter would get a very good education at any of the UCs, Northeastern, or BU. They are also strong schools. If she is looking a medical school or graduate school, the prestige of the undergrad institution is not very important. Both med and grad schools care far more about what you did while there: clinical experience, research experience, extracurriculars (that one mostly for medical school). I do think that Northeastern is really great for all of these. It’s still very focused on undergraduates, whereas a lot of large state schools often focus more on their graduate programs somewhat to the detriment of undergrads. This means a lot of research opportunities and more contact with professors. For clinical experience, campus is also about a mile from the Longwood Medical Area, home to some of the top hospitals in the country, all of which have volunteer programs. Brigham and Women’s Hospital even has a program specifically for pre-med students that involves shadowing and volunteering in different areas of the hospital. Having co-ops also provides a really great chance to try out what it’s like to work in a field. After spending six months doing research full time, I felt far more confident in my decision to go to grad school and do research as a career. As for classes, I had a few very large intro classes (i.e., principles of biology), but even in those cases, the professors were very accessible and helpful with their office hours and the lab sections helped out as well. This semester, though, I have a differential equations class with 15 students in it, and a graduate course on developing health technologies for Google Glass with 8 students in it. So once you get past the introductory courses, there are a lot of small classes and really interesting topics to delve into.</p>
<p>As I said, these are all good schools that your daughter is looking at. With similar costs, it really comes down to what she feels is the best fit. Being in Boston may be further away than she (or maybe you, as a parent!) would prefer, but I also think that some of the opportunities Northeastern offers are unique and (in my totally unbiased opinion) really great benefits.</p>
<p>What kind of co-ops are most often offered to NEU bio students? What kind of work are they actually allowed to do during those co-ops? How co-ops affect the students’ social life (with friends going out-of-campus all in different times and places)? How much school breaks (and when) do student have during their time at NEU? </p>
<p>One of my concerns as a parent (being also forewarned by other parents on this issue), that taking those “co-op breaks” might cause some students lose their “studious momentum” as in people who take time off their studies (for whatever reason - including the work in co-op) find it harder to get back to their “classes/homework mode” than those who don’t take such breaks (except for regularly scheduled ones by the institution). Is it a valid concern? How easy it is for NEU students? Are there anyone who DON"T return to their classes after co-ops?</p>
<p>Your parents’ concern is way off. I’ve never heard of anyone losing interest in school because of co-op. I always came back from co-op super glad to be back to college life and classes. By the end of the semester, I’d be exhausted from finals and really excited to take on a new job. You’ll find that you love the change of pace-- you’ll avoid burnout and be excited to get to something new and different. Co-op also helps you tailor your education towards your interests. I was a neuroscience major, but my co-op taught me that my real interests were in cell biology. When I got back to class, I had a better idea of the courses I wanted to take and what I wanted to focus on. And I don’t think anyone just decides not to come back to class because of co-op-- people are going to finish their degree (people may drop out, but that happens everywhere and probably isn’t related to co-op).</p>
<p>Bio co-ops depend on your interests. Lab research is all over boston at small biotechs, MGH, Harvard, and there’s a ton of clinical research in medical and behavioral fields. I forget what exists outside of research because I’m old and rusty on NEU co-ops, but there will be plenty to satisfy any interests.</p>
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<p>I think it is a valid concern to discuss. I know we discussed this with my D (such as, you do realize that this an atypical “college” atmoshpere, differing schedules etc). My D with full awareness (as much as they can at 18) replied that was what she liked about it. </p>
<p>I have had many parents in my town talk to me about NU and I always reply “for the right kid, its awesome”. My D’s experience has been similar to @Emily2007 in that she enjoyed the change up in coop vs class. She had no trouble remaining active in her clubs and sorority. In some cases it was easier because she did not have studying or paper deadlines hanging over head. Her roommate is on the alternate coop cycle and there are no issues. They are moving together off campus for their “middler” year. </p>
<p>I have to assume however, that most students at Northeastern are a self selective group. They chose the environment/schedule because they want that environment. They are independent, goal focused, open to try new things. Student who want Saturday football games, 4 years of pure academics, fraternity houses etc would not choose NU.
Their freshman retention rate is over 93% so it would seem that most are satisfied with their choice. </p>
<p>Yes, the kids at Northeastern are of a certain type - in one of my daughter’s class they took the myers-brigg test and the results were skewed (although I can’t remember which factor it was) and the teacher said it is always that way - that is the kind of kid who attends Northeastern.</p>
<p>I do feel that my daughter’s being on coop this semester has probably made her more anxious to get out into the real world and work, but she is looking forward to getting back to classes. For her, work was less stressful (she works very hard studying for her classes) and she was able to do more things on weekends (for two reasons she and her friends were not tied up with school work and had some pocket money since they had paying jobs). She did maintain her activity in all of her clubs (more so than during classes since she never had to miss because she had a big test the next day) and her friends seemed to figure out how to live together with some working 9-5 and others having projects/tests to take care of.</p>
<p>Yes, now the test will be how she slips back into study/class mode for her summer 2 classes. This break will be six months but the break after her freshman year was four months (the summer is long at Northeastern) and she was able to get right back into the swing of things last fall.</p>
<p>@kiddie do you know exactly how myers-brigg test results were skewed? Curious as someone whose friend group just took it for fun recently.</p>
<p>I think it was T vs. F - normal population is more F but NEU students more T. However, all three members of my household score high in T so my own population is skewed!</p>
<p>I am 88% T over F, interesting lol. Thanks, very interesting. Makes sense though, skewed to those who think about life direction and practicality and all with the co-op program. Just one possible factor, probably of multiple.</p>