Intellectual Life

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northeastern University
1

<p>What is the actual intellectual life like at Northeastern? I've already committed but now I'm starting to worry. My first choice was UChicago, which is very "LIFE OF THE MIND LIFE OF THE MIND LIFE OF THE MIND", which I loved (but I got deferred and then rejected). I finally decided on Northeastern because all of the amazing co-op opportunities Northeastern offers, but I'm starting to get the sense that Northeastern is 100% geared towards students getting jobs and preparing themselves for careers. Which is not bad since I definitely want to go to med school and co-ops will help a lot there, and I want to grow up while at college and get ready for the real world - but I guess I just want some learning for the sake of learning in there too. </p>

<p>Is intellectual curiosity a sizable part of academic life at Northeastern? Do professors care, will discussions be interesting, and will I get what I put into it?</p>

2

<p>In general, it won’t be a large part of the experience of the student body like at UChicago, but if you carefully select “life of mind” type classes, you’ll probably meet some like-minded students and definitely some faculty of the more intellectual variety. I know some pretty intellectual Northeastern professors in the social sciences.</p>

3

<p>College is what you make of it. If you want to take those kind of classes for electives, you can. And the focus on experiential ed at Northeastern doesn’t mean that all of your classes are career focused. An introductory physics lecture is not going to be hugely different between universities.</p>