<p>Yes, we thought further working on his writing would help him for law school. He is a talented writer and also seems to bang out great work under time pressure (perfect score on the SAT essay). He’s also has a string of published news articles since he was ten years old, so it seems to be his passion and he is following it. He wants to make a decent living though, and is interested in law. </p>
<p>At Rutgers we heard tha only the students that vie for the paid jobs at the newspaper get published…there is so much competition. And we don’t know about media newspaper opportunities there. </p>
<p>NE has a school of journalism, not just a journalism major and the professors are the likes of Walter Robinson, one of the spotlight team that broke the story of the Catholic church coverup of pedophilia. NE has it all over the other choices, but I don’t want him or me (single parent school teacher) to end up in crippling debt. Am trying to appeal to NE financial aid department, but we all know how that goes…</p>
<p>Northeastern is a party to a lawsuit by a MA tech company (founded by some Northeastern professors) alleging patent infringement by Google in some of its core search technology. They are seeking royalties. The lawsuit has very little chance of winning, because the patents in question are weak and likely to be invalidated. </p>
<p>I posted this information mostly as a joke. However, if Google loses the case and the appeals, then Northeastern would end up with a gigantic stream of cash.</p>
<p>NU isn’t worth half the tuition they charge. This is a classic case of a former commuter school ramping up its tuition to the level of elite schools so that it too will be considered on par with those schools (which it isn’t by a long shot). NU is actually looking at changing (and may delete entirely) its co-op program (see today’s Boston Globe) because it doesn’t cater to the high-end student (who simply want a 4-year liberal arts education) that the school is now seeking to attract. </p>
<p>Why don’t you ask the thousands of NU grads who are about to flood the job market with no prospects if they’re happy with having $150K+ in debt.</p>
<p>LOL Dadywarbucks…you are pathetic. I have no affiliation with NEU and i know you are spreading rumors and your jealously is laughable. Again as I stated before your ad hominem responses are pathetic and you really need to get a life and start adding value in your posts. It’s even sadder that a grad student from BU such as your self is stooping this low. Please stop the nonsense. By the way my personal opinion id take NEU over BU any day especially if you represent the intellectual product that comes out of BU…</p>
<p>^^ says the biased BU grad who seems to utterly detest NEU for some unknown reason
The fact that you spend half your life on CC talking crap about other schools proves that you are jobless…that says a lot of BU grads.</p>
<p>Well I’m certainly glad that i made your night and you have the intelligence of a 5 year old. Im glad your evening is highlighted from college confidential really says something about your life. Case closed and have a good one.</p>
<p>Daddywarbucks your statements are completely false. I’m a chemical engineer and I know that my firm recruits heavily form NEU and i also know that they have the largest on campus recruiting in New England.</p>
<p>Much of what he writes is true. NEU, like BU and some other Boston schools not in Cambridge, have elevated their profile and their tuition over the years. There have been some objective improvements in quality of those schools: better libraries, dormitories, faculty, etc. However, the same has been true across the board for all schools, as university endowments burgeoned, a glut of faculty filled jobs outside the top tier, and the number of college-bound students ballooned. How much NEU really improved compared to others nationwide is unclear. </p>
<p>What we know for sure is that the less famous Boston universities mounted a very successful marketing campaign outside New England, and in the case of BU, outside the United States. Tufts was also considered a middling school, if not a commuter college, not long ago. Now it’s rather selective. </p>
<p>To my knowledge, NEU has some departments with strong faculty and quality research output, but the quality of undergrads in those departments is not as high.</p>
<p>My son and I are extremely impressed with the faculty at the NU school of journalism. Walter Robinson, the Pulitzer prize winning editor and reporter who brought down the Catholic church due to their sex abuse is on staff. They have established a Northeastern US first amendment center. Every single prof. on staff is highly credentialed. Students do internships in all of the major papers in Boston.</p>
<p>Opportunities to write aren’t scarce. If he wants to work on his writing, just pick a major and a school where there is access to small classes with high writing expectations.
I would hesitate to take on much debt for undergraduate school, particularly if he thinks there is a chance he wants to go to professional school. Imagine having so much UG debt that the debt needed for professional school, on top, is unsupportable.
In the specific case of Northeastern, they report meeting an average of 61% of students’ financial need, which is very low. The fact that average graduate’s debt is unreported in USN&WR (Ultimate College Guide) makes me suspect that students graduate with very high levels of debt. And of course, no one graduates from Northeastern in four years.
I can believe that Northeastern has evolved from being a commuter school for first-in-their family college students to being a destination school for some. However, I would argue that the school has seen its high water mark. This is a school that provides a high cost education, without an endowment, largely drawing students from the Northeastern part of the country. This demographic is about to drop in numbers in a major way, particularly among those who can pay the freight.</p>
<p>Drexel University is a good proxy for Northeastern in some ways. Urban private school, little money, USN&WR rank 89th vs. 96th for Northeastern. Similar 6 year graduation rates- 66% Northeastern, 64% Drexel. Drexel DOES publish its graduates’ debt. 75% graduate with debt, averaging over $35,000.
If I were a betting sort, I’d bet Northeastern’s is higher.
Drexel reports meeting an average of 87% of need, vs. the 61% at Northeastern.</p>
<p>Does Northeastern increase the student work component of the financial aid budget for those with co-op jobs, either during a semester or just before?</p>
<p>jerseylady-This is a personal decision. It’s nice to come to a board such as CC to get varying opinions, but as you can probably tell by now, many opinions on CC are extremely biased. Only your family knows how much living and working in Boston during his college years will add to your son’s happiness and success.</p>
<p>jerseylady
All of your responses suggest that you and your son really prefer Northeastern, which is fine – it’s a personal decision. But you asked for opinions and several posters responded that in their opinion Northeastern wasn’t worth the $$ differential, based on your son’s goals. If money is a concern, those opinions offer good food for thought, and are worth considering. There are always tradeoffs. If personal preference trumps money – or the chance to study with one particular professor outranks all other considerations – and you and your son feel that NEU outclasses his other choices, there’s your decision. But you framed your question in terms of “big debt” – and that’s how those posters who said “no way” were responding.</p>
<p>Yes, personal preference may trump…but we are undecided and groping whether to try to make it work and it does help to hear opinions of others. I am concerned that NE does not post their average indebtedness and I am going to pursue this…and we would not have thought of giving this so much credence before this post. And of course, when one is dealing with a big school, the question is will he even have good chances of getting to these creme de la creme professors. This is an issue at Rutgers as well.</p>
<p>Since NE seems to be breaking new ground with coops, the “worth it” question seems to be particular to this school as we wonder about the coop advantage.</p>
<p>Everyone’s posts have been good food for thought and we thank everyone for their time.</p>
<p>To each his own, but…I can’t find any rationale for majoring in a subject like journalism (as an undergrad) at a school that costs over $40K, especially when the person has already decided he will attend graduate school in a totally different field. Nope, just can’t wrap my head around that one. </p>
<p>You may have heard that the newspaper industry is on its last legs. Indeed, the Boston Globe may close any day now so that’s probably not going to be an option for gaining experience (even if they do stay afloat). When these papers consolidate their operations and go completely on-line (which is inevitable save for a few national papers), you’re going to have even more journalists pounding the pavement looking for work. It’s a noble and (sometimes) exciting line of work but I’ve seen the salary projections for these folks for next decade and it’s not the place to be if want a decent standard of living (especially if you’re loaded down with student loan debt). </p>
<p>If my kid was on this path, he’d be off to Rutgers, UMASS or UCONN for a quality, affordable education and then we’d attack graduate school at a higher-tier university if it made sense.</p>
<p>even though I don’t agree with some of the comments made by Danas and DaddyWarBucks (who have been talking rubbish about NEU in every Northeastern thread on CC) I agree that going into so much debt would be a bad idea
you should choose the cheaper option</p>
<pre><code>The graduation rate that dana has listed is terribly skewed because Northeastern is a 5 year program. I believe she is using the us news rankings which does not factor in the 5 year status and they work off a 4 year distribution. The graduation percentage was more towards 90% on the powerpoint presentation. Understand that this is a college confidential forum and advice should be taken with a grain of salt. I would advise you to take one last visit to both schools before making a final cogent decision. I honestly hope that you don’t take any advice seriously especially when most rely on third party research such as “US NEWS” and empirical sentiments which is far from proper due diligence. If you want hard facts NEU’s incoming 2008 class avg SAT’s were 1300/1600 and 3.7 gpa and about 65% in the top ten percentile of their perspective class. I can hardly call that average or “First in the family to go to college”. I can send you additional information if you provide me your e-mail address. My son is very happy at NEU. Both institutions are comparable and if money is a factor Rutgers is a safe bet.
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<p>I find it funny how some people will take the time to downgrade institutions that they have no affiliation with.</p>
<p>Thought i’d post this website if you haven’t already visited or contacted the coop coordinator at the school of journalism. The advisor should be able to provide you with % of placements and the list of companies abroad and domestic. The faculty credentials are top notch. Good luck with your decision.</p>