I’ve searched the parent FB group and this forum and can’t find the answer. One person asked on FB but no one really answered the question. I also emailed the financial aid office, but haven’t heard anything back. I’m sure they are super busy right now. So I figured I’d ask here in case anyone has had this experience.
My daughter was just accepted with a merit scholarship and generous grant aid. No matter where she ends up she’s interested in being an RA her sophomore year and probably her junior year as well. Does anyone know how the free room and board stipend that comes with being an RA affects the grant aid she will receive? Our cost for her freshman year will still be a stretch so it’d be helpful to understand how being an RA might change our cost for up to two of the four years.
Not sure the answer about the grant aid, but I will tell you that landing an RA job at Northeastern is very competitive and I don’t think they take many sophomores (remember they will be interviewing and applying for the job as a freshman without having spent much time yet on campus). My daughter had a friend who did it her third year, after having not gotten the job her second year. Also, keep in mind that with 3 co-ops your daughter may be there 5 years (not 4).
My daughter is attending an early college STEM high school and will graduate with 70+ college credits. We’ve got several kids from her high school who go to Northeastern and they report that almost all of those credits were accepted by NEU. So that could throw a wrench in the planning too. However I believe my daughter wants to get a double major. She was admitted to the Honors college so I’m wondering how those opportunities will factor in as well.
If they coop in Boston, are they allowed to stay in the dorm during that time? When I cooped back in the early 90s at a state school, as long as I paid for one coop credit class, I could stay in the dorms. Just wondering.
The one friend my daughter had who had attended an early college HS, ended up staying 5 years and doing 3 co-ops. She was in the university scholars program which no longer exists and had free tuition.
You can see the other thread about honors (where I posted a long reply about my daughter’s experience in honors).
They can stay in the dorm when they coop - without taking any credits. They can even be RAs when they coop - which in my daughter’s experience made for RAs doing a lousy job (too busy with 40 + hour jobs to be attentive to residents).
@alliblues as @kiddie posts above, 32 AP credits can transfer, but I do think they take extra credits from community colleges etc earned through dual enrollment as per her link. 70+ college credits is a lot and I would caution that your D even want to take advantage of them all if allowed. Taking a course in HS is not the same as college… perhaps it is good for basic courses or some general ed type of credits, but be cautious… imo. I did see on the parent FB page one parent this current year whose child seems to be in a similar situation as you and her child actually is an RA this year or an RA in training or something like that which I had never heard of before (in 7th year with 2 kids at NEU). But I agree that getting an RA spot is competitive and in reality, not a good fit for all kids. (My girls were never interested.) . But to your original post, I do not have any real information to offer except that if your aid now provides for more than tuition, I would suspect that the portion that goes to room and board will be eliminated as that will be covered as an RA.
The amount we’ll need to cover is a little more than room and board, but not by much. That’s a stretch for us but I’m willing to do it.
All the credits she will have come from one of our state universities. The high school is located on their campus. They take the same classes as the university students. The high school even has a dorm where the kids stay (kids are from all over the state) . They are basically in college two years early. It’s for juniors and seniors only. She already acts like an RA for a lot of the girls on her floor. She’s actual a natural at it.
Do the kids make enough from the coop to cover room and board?
@alliblues Don’t be afraid to bother them, sometimes Northeastern can be a bit bureaucratic and they need the bother. If you’re persistent you’ll always get the information eventually
@alliblues in the case of your daughters situation, when talking to might also ask them about this RA in training program. Like I said, I heard some posts from someone whose kid was essentially an RA his first year… it might be appropriate for your D! Sorry I don’t have more info.
@alliblues A little more clarification… this other parent said her son was offered to be a living learning assistant which was prep to being an RA… He didn’t do it in the end, not sure if it offered any break in room and board. I don’t see anything about it on the neu webpage either, so I’m not sure what it is…
