My Visit to Northeastern

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northeastern University
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<p>I visited Northeastern yesterday with my friend. I'm from NYC so this would be helpful for NYC people as well as anyone else who wants to get a sense of what Northeastern is like. </p>

<p>Campus: The campus is really beautiful. It reminded me a lot of the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens since it had so many flowers, trees, grass, and open spaces. Very modern looking and very clean and new. There was some construction going on, but it didn't affect the beauty of the campus too much. The campus tour I was on took us into one of the teaching buildings and there were some finals going on so we couldn't go into a classroom, but they looked very intimate and new. The interiors were also very modern, reminded me slightly of MOMA. It was fairly warm outside, a little chilly, and there were lots of people outside in shorts and summer clothes just hanging around. I saw lots of people smoking? maybe it's typical for college campuses. So most kids stay on campus and the dining halls and other food places were pretty busy. Most of the kids looked preppy, mostly white, but there were some other minorities around, not a lot though. Not sure if this is Northeastern's typical student body since I think classes were ending and most kids were taking finals.</p>

<p>Location: Northeastern is a very compact campus, you do feel like you're at Northeastern when you're there. I was able to walk around the outside of the campus in about 20 mintues. The buildings are spaced evenly and close together. The dorms are slightly further away, but definitely in easy walking distance. Not at all like NYU. The T stop is right across the street (on Huntington Ave.) and there's another T stop on the other end of campus, the Ruggles Station. I took the main NU T and it's so confusing, some of their stations and trains appear outdated.. I like NYC trains better, they make more sense to me. But the T trains are only $1.25, which is pretty cheap. The T takes you to all the main Boston sites, so that's cool. I didn't have much time to explore Boston, but to me, it seemed like a cleaner, more homogenous version of NY. The buildings were very historic and quaint and there were above ground trains. I'm sure it'd be a fun place to live, lots to see and do.</p>

<p>People: This was what bothered me about Northeastern, the main con. From what I saw, the typical Northeastern student is white and preppy. Lots of designer labels, etc. I sensed that most of the kids were rich and could afford Northeastern's high price tag. The majority is white, but I saw a few minorities and Northeastern has a lot of minority organizations. Also, it was finals week and not everyone is outside or in the dining halls, so my observation might not be accurate.</p>

<p>Academics: During the info. session and the tour, a major thing they mentioned was of course, the co-op. They say its very flexible and it's a great learning experience. Our tour guide said he's a biochemistry major and he earns around $20/hr on his co-ops.</p>

<p>Food: Well, if you love food, Northeastern or Boston does not dissapoint. There seemed to be a huge selection, lots of fast food places and 2 dining halls. There was an Au Bon Pain, some mexican places, italian places, Stabucks, etc. I don't think food will ever be a problem here. However, like NYC, good food is expensive, so it might be costly.</p>

<p>Other: There were some exercise machines above the dining hall in the student area. A few people working out and the guide mentioned that there was an indoor track. I think it's a good place for any athletic people and people who just want some exercise.</p>

<p>Overall: I was obsessed with <a href="http://www.neu.edu%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.neu.edu&lt;/a> since that was my only idea of Northeastern before I visited. From my visit, I don't think anything on the website is misleading or "edited". Northeastern is how the website makes it out to be, except for maybe the diversity factor. The pictures are pretty accurate and I think it's a very fast moving university.</p>

<p>Hope this helped =)</p>

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<p>Somagreen, thanks for the review.</p>

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<p>I went with somagreen on this trip and will provide my own take. </p>

<p>CAMPUS: The campus was very modern looking but not so much that it made you feel alienated. The atmosphere seemed laid-back and relaxed, more than I expected from a campus located in Boston, but this is most likely because many of the students were in-doors taking finals. The campus, despite being in the city, seems to be it's own community in a sense. My friend and I were of course unfamiliar with the area being New Yorkers so things may have seemed more spread out and farther away than in reality. I know that we did go in circles once because I recognized the same car parked on the same street! I saw only two kids smoking, but I don't find it too much of an issue if you're health conscious. I know New England air with is a whole lot cleaner than NYC air! At least it smelled that way.</p>

<p>STUDENTS: Soma found the students preppy. Maybe there were a few, but as a person who's traveled to different parts of America (San Fran, LA, Michigan, Florida), the students weren't nearly as preppy as some I've seen in other parts of the country. The tour guide was nice and the students seemd nice too. Not too many seemed like the intellectual types, just kids who'll party and at the same time be solid students. Of course I'm reading into it too much. I thought the people were generally average-looking. Not so good-looking but not horrendous either. Then again, many of the students were in classrooms taking finals. Most of the kids were White, but this is the case at most universities. I know that soma and I aren't used to this as our high school is half Asian and has 10% Hispanic and 10% African-American/Black . </p>

<p>FOOD: There were many options available for food. I noticed an Au Bon Pain, as soma mentioned, and a QDoba. We later ate in Quincy market, which has about every food available and is a short subway ride away.</p>

<p>DORMS: The Freshmen dorms were small, but that goes for most colleges. Aside from the that, all the upp classmen dorms have their own kitchens and are located in apartment buildings that remind me of New York brownstones. They also have various living communities, but I personally would like to branch out and meet all kinds of majors.</p>

<p>ACADEMICS: I can't really comment on this because I don't know so much info. But I know Michael Dukakis, a former governor and presidential candidate is part of faculty. Of course what makes Northeastern special is there co-op program. On average a co-op participant makes around 50k during three 6-month co-ops. Our tour guide made around $23/hr as a biochem major.</p>

<p>BOSTON: Boston is fairly small city with less than a million inhabitants. There are multitude of dining options here. The population is mostly white and left-leaning politically. I saw a few students who looked like "free-spirits" on campus if based on their style. Many of the co-ops are through Boston-based companies like EMC (the E and M both are NEU alum, btw). I prefer NYC's subway system to Boston's and having gone on a tour in Boston before and knowing the small physical size of the city, once you know the area, you are better off walking. </p>

<p>Overall I enjoyed my visit. If you are from New York City, Boston is definitely much smaller, so don't expect something like New York. However, it is a "cute" city where many things are very accessbile.</p>

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<p>what other schools are you guys applying to?</p>

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<p>I, too, saw NU yesterday. My D had the same impressions. She like BU, NU, and Emerson.</p>

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<p>I hope to visit over the summer. It really seems nice and the mre I hear about it the more I want to check it out. I have been talking to current grad students there and they absolutely love it and have job offers already for when they finish the Accounting program. Plus, Boston seems like a city I could settle down in.</p>

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<p>...and did the trip sell NEU? Are you two going to go there?</p>

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<p>
[quote]
what other schools are you guys applying to?

[/quote]

I applied to Cornell, UMichigan, Syracuse, SUNY Bing, SUNY Buffalo, SUNY Stony Brook and Queens College. I was rejected from Cornell and waitlisted at UMichigan. Northeastern was probably a target/safety for me.

[quote]
...and did the trip sell NEU? Are you two going to go there?

[/quote]

I'm going to NEU. I was already planning on going even before the visit, and unless there was a major turnoff during the visit, which there wasn't, I'd go. I'm mainly going for three reasons - co-op, 11k yearly scholarship and urban campus.</p>

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<p>Being from So. Cal., I am probably exposed to more diversity than most other parts of the country. We are a virtual rainbow coalition and we are packed like sardines so we are forced to get used to the differences and embrace it real quick. So, when I am in a sea of white faces or even have two behind me in McDondald's line, it usually strikes me as out of the ordinary. In many of the campus tours, some campuses did strike me as "white", (i.e., Pepperdine, UCSB, Boston College) but I really didn't get that feeling from NEU. To the contrary, I thought that it was one of the more diverse campuses as university campuses go. You are right about the fact that you have a higher preponderance of white students enrolled in higher education so that obviously tilts the numbers. But, the student body was abundant during our visit and I saw people from all social classes and colors.</p>

<p>By the way, I don't usually mention it because I was raised to believe that everyone deserves no more and no less than a shot at the game on a "equal" playing field, I am 100% Mexican American. In fact, we did not mention that on my daughter's apps either because I have raised her with the same sentiment and she did not want to think she was accepted because someone was trying to fill a quota.</p>

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<p>I think diversity at Northeastern isn't so bad as it may seem. Statistically, it's not the best, but according to the princeton review it's only 65% white. I think people tend to segregate themselves a little bit -- not because of any kind of prejudice, just who they feel comfortable around -- and because of that you might get the impression that you see large groups of white students walking around. I moved halfway through the year and in my new building, incidentally, there is actually a lot more diversity and everyone is friends, completely regardless of race, so I think my perspective on that has shifted a bit.</p>

<p>Just my two cents. Glad to hear you're coming!</p>

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<p>
[quote]
In fact, we did not mention that on my daughter's apps either because I have raised her with the same sentiment and she did not want to think she was accepted because someone was trying to fill a quota.

[/quote]

That's very principled of you. I put my race down, but being White and Asian I'm sure it didn't help. If anything it's probably good to put your race down so it can be included in the school's racial profile to give a sense of how diverse the school is to applicants.</p>

<p>Eireann, you go to NEU right? What year are you and what's your major?</p>

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<p>Freshman/journalism</p>

<p>What are you interested in?</p>

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<p>My major will be political science, but I'm also interested in journalism too! Are you on the school newspaper and/or do you know if it's difficult to get on it? Because I'd like to do that. If you don't mind, could you describe the typical Northeastern student or what the student body is like in terms of interests and activities?</p>

<p>Thanks!</p>

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<p>I've written a little for the school paper. It's really easy -- you basically just have to go to a meeting and take a story.</p>

<p>I really don't think there is a typical Northeastern student. There are a lot of rich preppy kids, like soma was saying, but there are also a lot of people on scholarship. There are some sort of hippy-types. I don't know, I'm having issues putting people in groups. If you're thinking of the typical high school cliques I'd say the one group you might not see a lot of are the emo/punk/wearing all black kids, though you can find them 5 minutes away at Berkeley. </p>

<p>Same with activities. I'm on crew, among the team you'll see people doing 20 million hours of volunteer work, people in band, newspaper, people who just sleep outside of class all day. There are a lot of student groups and there's definitely a lot of interest in all them. One thing that's kind of dead on campus is fraternities and sororities -- no interest. I hope that answers your question.</p>

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<p>Thanks for all the info. I don't know anything firsthand about sororities, but they seem exclusive and kind of crazy from what I do know so it's good to hear Northeastern isn't so big on it.</p>

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<p>ey guys i most likely will be going to NEU too, i'm from the tri-state area, kearny, new jersey, a short path train away from the city.<br>
I applied to SUNY stony brook, St. John's Univ, NYU, Cornell, Columbia, UHartford, BU, NEU, Rutgers etc.. I got into all except cornell and columbia (i'm a failure), I applied to NU for physical therapy</p>

<p>i visited nu last thursday apr 13
and with the whole race thing, yeah princeton review says 65% white, the financial aid counselor who spoke to me, recommended to me an "asian society" at nu, which was on some street by stetson. </p>

<p>To me NU is more of a little community separate but within the city of Boston, because when I visited, I walked all throughout NU, getting lost from this building to this building, and all I see... students lying in the grass, sitting on park benches, biking around, they're all just so chill you know? then I decided to WALK to BU, and it wasn't that bad, it took like 30 minutes, but the change in scenary was subtle and drastic at the same time, though I still saw some people lying in the grass randomly... must be a boston thing.
I walked through the park behind NU towards fenway and got into idk.. the downtown? where BU is. after visiting BU i got onto the T, which by far couldn't hold a candle to the subways of nyc, But at $1.25, it's ok... it's expected. I prefer the ol' A C E . </p>

<p>anyway
CAMPUS: beautiful, aesthetically pleasing, modern, relaxing, CHILL, undergroudn tunnel system is pretty cool too, also something i noticed... REALLY CLEAN.</p>

<p>LOCATION: pretty close to the "downtown," close to the "T," which I took to the South Station, to get back home, so pretty convenient,</p>

<p>PEOPLE: when I got lost, I asked people, and they were actually pretty nice.. except when I was in the Welcome Center.. the behrakis.. the people at the desk, I was sitting there and they were receiving phone calls, i'm guessing from parents, and they were making faces of annoyance and making fresh remarks under their breath, but then sounding really nice to the person, but other then that, the people were really nice</p>

<p>FOOD: surprisingly good, the employees at the dining halls were really nice too, unlike those at my high school... ' NEXT NINO!!!!! ' a lot of tastes, and that whole fresh stir-fry dealie was cool</p>

<p>in summation:
I'm still deciding between neu, or nyu, or rutgers, neu gives me the impression of a fancy hotel, where (usually) everything is clean, well kept, tidy and EXPENSIVE etc... in other words.. it doesn't really feel like home. </p>

<p>nyu in nyc however feels more like home, i guess its just the whole non-comformist dealie, with the whole comfort in own home.. status quo crap. and rutgers same dealie.</p>

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<p>Yeah I got the same "fancy hotel" impression you got. It's hard to describe exactly since I do want a nice, neat, tidy college.. but NEU's environment felt strange. After visiting Boston, I realized how much I love NYC. Good luck with your decision.</p>

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<p>Hmm.. that's the kind of feeling that made me feel more at home. I just felt comfortable there and it was a place that I wanted to be.</p>