Concerns/Questions about Northeastern?

<p>Hello there!
1. How do people regard the engineering school? ( prestige, co-ops, difficulty) I got into another high ranked school for engineering and I am conflicted of which to choose.
2. How is the diversity? Do people intermingle with other groups? Is there racism or anything?( I am African American so I wanna know what I am getting myself into.)
3. How many days of the week are designated as party days? What do people do for fun/ weekends? (parties clubs ,etc??)</p>

<p>I am debating going to my state school- I want to be able to have lots of fun and party on the weekends; Northeastern I fear may be boring and too serious- I feel like people would be too absorbed with co-ops to go out and have fun, especially with little greek life and school spirit. Also, do many students go to other schools( BU, BC, MIT) to party then if there are no "real" frat parties at Northeastern??</p>

<p>thank you so much for taking the time to help answer these. greatly appreciated!</p>

<ol>
<li><p>It has a great engineering school, it has a fantastic co-op program, go and attend NorthEastern if you have got some scholarship, if not, it is recommended to attend state school if you can not afford.</p></li>
<li><p>No such thing called racism in Boston…NorthEastern is sorrounded by Roxbury where lot of African Americans live, but you are advised NOT to visit Roxbury area as it seems little risky place. google yourself on roxbury - boston</p></li>
<li><p>Boston and Cambridge have lot of colleges, obviously a great place for extra curricular activities. If you want to do Engineering, you should be careful… if you want to party around, because you will have to do lab work and co-op.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Yes, all these kids from MIT, Harvard, BC, BU and NorthEastern will have their own groups and they will have fun. But again…if you want to do engineering, you should not think too much on parties…but you can go once a while.</p>

<p>Hope this helps</p>

<ol>
<li><p>It has a great engineering school, it has a fantastic co-op program, it is not ranked high because of its co-op program as it takes 4.5 to 5 years graduate, otherwise it would have been ranked top. Go and attend NorthEastern if you have got some scholarship, if not, it is recommended to attend state school if you can not afford.</p></li>
<li><p>No such thing called racism in Boston…NorthEastern is sorrounded by Roxbury where lot of African Americans live, but you are advised NOT to visit Roxbury area as it seems little risky place. google yourself on roxbury - boston. But remember NorthEatern is totally safe as it is also sorrounded by Police Head Quarters and NorthEastern has cops round the clock.</p></li>
<li><p>Boston and Cambridge have lot of colleges, obviously a great place for extra curricular activities. If you want to do Engineering, you should be careful… if you want to party around, because you will have to do lab work and co-op.</p></li>
</ol>

<p>Yes, all these kids from MIT, Harvard, BC, BU and NorthEastern will have their own groups and they will have fun. But again…if you want to do engineering, you should not think too much on parties…but you can go once a while.</p>

<p>Hope this helps</p>

<p>The above claim about racism in Boston is horribly naive and untrue. Have you even been to Roxbury? How about Dorchester?</p>

<p>Northeastern fortunately tends to have a very accepting campus. We have a strong African student organization (I think there are more than one), although I’m not sure if there is a non-African-citizen African-American association… Hope that makes sense. None of my friends have ever felt that race has been an issue on campus.</p>

<p>But to say there is no such thing as racism in Boston is completely ridiculous. There are plenty of people who are rude or judgemental towards other races, cultures, etc. In fact, Boston is MUCH more ignorant (and therefore unfairly judgemental) than everywhere else I’ve lived in the US. Many people I know are very kind people, but they still think things are weird or strange from other cultures/backgrounds just because they didn’t grow up around them. There are definitely people who think that Roxbury is bad or Dorchester is scary, and connect that with the fact they are primarily black neighborhoods. Don’t get me wrong- Northeastern, mainly really great. But I refuse to let the above comments stand unquestioned. It’s just ridiculous.</p>

<p>And my engineering friends have PLENTY of social life. The idea that they can’t have parties because they are in lab? Labs are during the day, and engineering/science students procrastinate just as much as everyone else. It won’t affect that you’re doing on Friday or Saturday night in the slightest. I have no idea where you got that idea from. </p>

<p>I feel like the person above doesn’t even go to Northeastern, especially since they randomly capitalized the e when no one does. Ignore the above posts.</p>

<p>Thanks so much for your response. The racism thing kinda sucks but I’m glad I will be prepared in case. This really helps me with the decision I will have to make. thanks again! other responses would be great too!</p>

<p>neuchimie is totally right. First, to say “no such thing as racism in Boston” is ridiculous. Boston has a history of poor race relations and I was really surprised by the ignorant comments I heard when I moved there. That being said, I think Northeastern is reasonably diverse compared to other northeast region schools, and I always felt like the students were generally cool and accepting.</p>

<p>I wouldn’t worry about northeastern being too serious. There are a bajillion other threads about social life (you can search), and some people say there isn’t much of a party scene. But, I partied plenty in college-- if I wanted to go out on a fri/sat night, I could always find something to do. It’s a big school with a lot of different types of people, and you’ll definitely find a social scene if that’s the sort of thing your into. It can be tough to tap into as a freshman, but it’s definitely there. I went out occasionally on thursdays, but it’s not as big of a party night as it is at most schools. As far as co-op, CO-OP DOES NOT RUIN YOUR SOCIAL LIFE! I want to shout that out on rooftops and sticky it to the forum and make sure every prospective student knows this, because I’ve posted about it at least 200 times over the past few years. Co-op is 9-5 on weekdays. You have no homework. You go home friday night and you have NO obligations for the next two days. My social life was BETTER on co-op. I had extra money (more going out for dinner, more seeing movies, more shopping, more going out to bars) and I could stay out late and lounge all saturday, without worrying about having to study.</p>

<p>I was a science major and I studied a lot and took classes and co-op really seriously. But I made a point of going out on weekends and I had a good time. </p>

<p>Northeastern is a really fun school in a really fun city. I don’t know when it started to get this rap for being a place where we all just study and work all the time. We’re normal college kids! We do normal college things!</p>

<p>Here are direct links to a few of the many I’ve written over the past few years. A lot of them are posts from me and neuchimie… we’re the most frequent posters here, so if you’re posting in hopes of hearing more opinions, you may not have much luck. </p>

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/1270035-some-things-consider-about-nu.html?highlight=social+life[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/1270035-some-things-consider-about-nu.html?highlight=social+life&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/703960-neu-faqs-answered.html?highlight=social+life[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/703960-neu-faqs-answered.html?highlight=social+life&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/1233482-concerns-about-neu.html?highlight=social+life[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/1233482-concerns-about-neu.html?highlight=social+life&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/1209020-some-transfer-social-life-questions.html?highlight=social+life[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/1209020-some-transfer-social-life-questions.html?highlight=social+life&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/1161917-current-neu-student-taking-questions.html?highlight=social+life[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/1161917-current-neu-student-taking-questions.html?highlight=social+life&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/1116556-northeastern-atmosphere.html?highlight=social+life[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/1116556-northeastern-atmosphere.html?highlight=social+life&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/853052-social-life.html?highlight=social+life[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/853052-social-life.html?highlight=social+life&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/698364-sex-life.html?highlight=social+life[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/698364-sex-life.html?highlight=social+life&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/576699-social-life.html?highlight=social+life[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/576699-social-life.html?highlight=social+life&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/1049384-social-life-campus.html?highlight=social+life[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/northeastern-university/1049384-social-life-campus.html?highlight=social+life&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>There are plenty more that I didn’t link here, but these are a few that turned up when I used “search this forum” and typed in social life.</p>

<p>Because I’m feeling nice, procrastinating work, and nothing is on TV. To be more specific, I’ll answer these questions… then this will be my go-to copy/paste for next time ;)</p>

<p>**Whats the social life like in such a big city and when everyone has different schedules due to co ops? **
Social life in a big city means you have the option to hang out around campus or go hang out in the city. Early on, “social life” for me included apartment parties or mission hill “house” parties, chilling in a friend’s dorm, movie night in with some girl friends, going out to a movie, going out to dinner, going to the north end. Once I was 21+ my social life was house parties, going out to casual bars (tons right in neu area), going “out-out” to nicer bars/clubs (also tons nearby), or again, just small get-togethers with friends. </p>

<p>Neu students also do the college hang out thing once they have apartments (you should luck out with a friend or two who has a place with a balcony, backyard, or rooftop). Summer comes around and it was all about barbeque, drinking beer on porches, or playing wiffle ball.</p>

<p>Co-op DOES NOT ruin social life (just to reiterate). During class semesters you go to class. In the afternoon you do extracurriculars or you hang out with friends or in your dorm. During co-op semesters you go to work, and after work you do extracurriculars/hang out with friends/lounge in your dorm. It’s exactly the same. We aren’t really all on “different schedules”. Some of us are in the office 9-5, some of us are in class/studying 9ish to 5ish. Afternoons and weekends are the same on both schedules.</p>

<p>are you doing 2 or 3 co ops?
I did 2 co-ops. Most of my friends did 3. I did 2 because I had to take a semester off in college.</p>

<p>** does it feel like there is much of a community at NE**
I think so, yes. But it’s a big school. It’s not a small liberal arts college. There are 15000 students. But I felt very at-home walking around campus. I could meet up with a friend for coffee between classes, stop at the dining hall with my roommates, go sit in the library with classmates to study (slash gossip and pretend to work). I liked sitting in Curry and people-watching or sitting on a bench in the quad. When it’s warm, everyone sits out on the grass with friends. This is what “community” feels like to me-- a nice place where people enjoy being and where you can hang out with your friends.</p>

<p>what is dorm life like and whats the party scene like?
As evidenced by this forum, the opinions on this vary. I was a dedicated student who also liked to party and made sure I had an active social life. As a freshman, there’s a definite transition that there might not be at another college, since it’s a city school without a huge greek life and without massive houses where people can throw massive parties.</p>

<p>If you DO want to party: it may take time to find a party group, but it’s there. I went to plenty of huge parties (the bigger, the more likely to get broken up, but whatever), both on columbus, on mass ave, and in mission hill-- where apartments tend to be a little more spacious than over in the symphony area. I promise the party scene is alive and well. But, the NEU party scene is more into small get togethers, there just isn’t space for 50 people and 6 kegs… try 20 people and a beer ball (it’s a boston thing, you’ll figure it out later). The good thing is once you’ve tapped the party scene, you can hop from apartment to apartment depending on your mood that night.</p>

<p>If you DON’T like to party, you can still find a good social life, but again everyone, it’s a big school and you have to find a niche. It takes time. I had plenty of nights when I didn’t party. I love staying home with a movie, junk food, and some good friends. I love going bowling (no, I actually hate it, but I’ll tag along), I love going out for dinner. I love going to concerts. I like going out for ice cream. People do those things as well. You live in a wonderful, lively city. Something is there for everyone.</p>

<p>** is it very easy to meet friends and are many students involved in clubs or intramurals? **
It’s not “easy” like it was in high school. Making friends takes effort. Connecting with people and getting to know them takes effort. You won’t be sitting in a classroom with the same 30 people for 5hrs a day, 5 days a week. You need to be social, be friendly, and meet as many people as you can. If you do this, yes, you’ll easily make friends! Joining clubs, intramurals, etc is a good way to meet people, but you also need to put in the effort to get to know them and hang out with them OUTSIDE of the activity as well.</p>

<p>I found clubs/activities/groups/sports to be reasonably popular. There are tons of groups to get involved with and many of them are well attended by other students.</p>

<p>how academics challenging do you think NE is?
Depends on how smart you are and what sort of classes you take.</p>

<p>** whats the overall vibe of the school like, is it mostly rich preppy city kids?**
I can’t comment on this anymore. I’ve graduated and the school is DRASTICALLY different than it was even 5 years ago. The students you meet are not the students I knew. I do still know a good number of 2nd and 3rd year students, and they’re cool. They’re also a teeny tiny percentage of the student body. But they’re smart and fun people, and if the rest of the student body is similar, then great.</p>

<p>Rich and preppy? It’s a school in boston that costs a good chunk of change. I’d say rich and preppy makes up a good quarter of the population. The other 75% are going to be a wide variety of peopl.</p>

<p>** do students at MIT BC BU and HAHVAHD all party together>**
As far as I know, no. If you have a friend at those schools, means more opportunities to go out in boston. Otherwise, there aren’t like massive boston student parties or anything.</p>

<p>Ok. My work here is done.</p>

<p>Go to you tube, search “Northeastern State of Mind”. My student and her friends find it really captures the place.</p>

<p>emily2007: thank you so much for that comprehensive information! you are the besttt~~</p>

<p>Yea I am a fresh now and I can tell you that as a male the types of parties your looking for isnt easy. Im a black male as well, and ive made a great amount of friends so racism is not an issue if you dont make it one. On the partyig thing, oh there are partie out there, bit you have to know people and know girls to even get in. Most frosh just go to other colleges (MIT, BU,etc) for parties. I like NEU made some cool friends but I would be lyig if I told you the traditional party scene was prevalent here cause its not. But optimistically, by the end of the year you realize that NEU isnt that type of school and youll get used to and enjoy the small dorm drink-a-thons.</p>

<p>(sorry for the typos, Im not an illiterate, just typed all of this from my Iphone xD)</p>