Hi guys,
I’m having trouble deciding between UVM and NEU and would appreciate some help. I intend to major in bioengineering and live 2.5 hours from Boston and 3.5 from Burlington. Of the two towns, I much prefer Boston, and I have family who lives there if I need/want to see them. I think I’d 100% commit to Northeastern right now if I was admitted under normal circumstances, and not into the N.U.in programme. I’ve heard mixed opinions on this experience and I don’t know if it’s worth spending my freshman fall abroad. I love travelling and also have family in Europe – where I’d go if I do enrol.
Thanks for any input on this!
Are both affordable without taking on debt? If you do need to take on any debt, then how much for each school?
UVM is a very good university and Burlington Vermont is a very attractive small city.
Spending a year in Europe sounds pretty cool to me also. Where in Europe would you be? After the one year in Europe, are you guaranteed a spot at NEU, and would your degree look the same as someone who had spent four years in Boston?
At first glance it looks like you have two great choices, but more information might make it easier to give useful advice.
@DadTwoGirls
Yes, I am fortunate enough for both schools to be affordable with little to no debt. I also just visited Burlington last week and loved it, but Boston is so much better in my opinion.
As for the specifics of the N.U.in programme, I’d spend the months of September through December in either Thessaloniki, Greece, or Dublin, Ireland (I’d hope to secure a spot at the former). There, I’d take courses that pertain to my major as well as some courses that revolve around the area’s culture. After the first semester, I’d fly back to Boston and continue my education at Northeastern like any other normally admitted student until graduation.
This whole ordeal sounds very appealing to me – I’m just worried about coming to campus a semester later than most other students and missing out on making new friends, acclimating to life away from home in Boston, and the like.
@tobiaspvs if you plan to be a major in bioengineering, the freshmen year usually consists of a sequence of calculus and chem, bio. Would the NU -in program offer these courses or something very similar? The website for NUin only talks about very general things and emphasis seems to be the " experience". The second semester of the mathsci courses is strongly linked to the material in first semester and emphasis and style may vary from one place to another.
Look at the requirements on the NEU website for bioengineering. Googling is the best way. Scroll down to see the math, bio, chem list of courses. You should also be contacting the folks at NUin to see what exactly is offered at each foreign location.
It would be less of a concern for other majors where the program is not so strictly sequenced and structured, and you can take a few courses at the foreign uni that satisfy the gen ed requirements. I know some friends’ kids who did NUin, and liked it, but they were humanities majors .
To help expand on some of the grent info by @momprof9904 , each NU.in location is designed for specific colleges. Three NU.in locations are designed for engineering, so you should make sure to go to one of those:
https://www.northeastern.edu/nuin/destinations/australia/sut/academics/
https://www.northeastern.edu/nuin/destinations/greece/academics/
https://www.northeastern.edu/nuin/destinations/ireland/academics/
You can find sample schedules linked on each (by clicking on the COE link for each location):
https://www.northeastern.edu/nuin/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/FA19_-UCD_-COE_-03.26.19_-BF.pdf
As you can see on that one, you’ll have Physics, Calculus, and Chemistry while in Ireland which should keep you on track for engineering as far as I know.
As a note, most say that NU.in classes tend to be easier than Northeastern classes in Boston, so if you do NU.in make sure to get the most out of the courses so you are prepared when you get back.
Do you know some Greek (modern)? (Learning Greek would be cool though. Also, I’d learn whether the American students don’t act like a bunch of entitled jerks while in Greece and do try to understand the culture, because the main point is to have an educational experience, not use another country as an amusement park. Check what the Nu.In program is like).
If it all checks out, spending a semester in Thessaloniki would be terrific (new culture, good weather -85° in October+ swimmable Egean sea, 60s throughout November-, incredible historical location) and since they seem to offer the courses you need for Engineering, that’s what I’d pick.
The big difference is between the NEU co-op model and UVM’s more traditional semester system, so you have to think of it before you jump at a semester by the sea 
@momprof9904 yes, the programme offers the typical beginning courses for my major – I’d likely take Calc II, Physics I, some sort of biology, and a class pertaining to the culture of the area I am in. In fact, the Greek and Irish destinations are specifically tailored to accommodate admits to the College of Engineering at NEU.
@PengsPhils thank you for the link to the schedule, I hadn’t found that yet. I did see that each destination is tailored to a college, and, looking at the course offerings, it seems that Ireland has better bio courses whereas Greece has better physics ones (both of which I will have to study at some point). I will definitely be sure to prepare for more demanding work upon arrival in Boston in December.
@MYOS1634 I do not know any Greek and I think it could be cool to learn it in an immersive situation. I’ve been giving lots of thought to both the N.U.in programme and the co-op system used at Northeastern, and I think I’m leaning towards committing to NEU over UVM.
Thank you all for your responses and any further responses you write to me! It’s not easy deciding where I want to spend the next four years of my life