Beware though that NorthEastern’s “merit” scholarships are not automatically for all 4 years… they are just for the 1st year… so you really cannot assume that will be the amount you get for 4 years (like most schools)… NE is very tricky that way and I’ve heard that second year and beyond merit scholarships are a lot less … This is something not a lot of people are aware of… as most other schools give you the scholarship for all 4 years as long as you maintain a certain GPA… NE is not like that just FYI
@londondad Thank you.
@runswimyoga I’ll ask them about this. Thanks
I’m not sure where you got that info on Northeastern, but merit scholarships are for 8 semesters (4 years worth and working with co-op) and they don’t decrease as far as I know. The only way would be if you didn’t meet the GPA requirements, which are very reasonable. Just like most schools…
Are you sure you aren’t thinking of another school?
last year my son was offered a scholarship at NE- when we read the fine print we came to realize It was only guaranteed for the first year… then the second year, based on his GPA - he would be eligible to receive merit but it was not guaranteed to be the same amount… they would award it later… this all had a name that is escaping me now
from their page Merit-Based Scholarships
Students who are in the top 10-15% of our applicant pool are considered for competitive merit awards, including Dean’s, Connections, and International Scholarships. These scholarship awards range from $10,000-$25,000 for the first year. In future years, amounts are awarded on a per semester basis, ranging from $5,000-$12,500 per full in-class semester.
PLEASE NOTE WHERE IT SAYS FOR THE FiRST YEAR - and the second year amounts are less (half of the first year awards)
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Here is a good article talking about how Northeastern employs this bait and switch with scholarships … link isn’t working
@runswimyoga
If you can’t post the link, tell us a Google search query that will return your link.
Sorry Apparently we can’t post links to articles or published material other than a sentence or two…
I was reading an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education called why colleges are like cable companies i.e… their price structuring a great introductory offer then less discount as the years go on…
I read stats on NE that 72% of freshman received avg grants of $25,000 but only 59% of undergrads receive grants and their avg is just $16,000
I know on sons letter it stated it was only for first year … definitely ask about this!
@runswimyoga Are you talking about merit, or financial aid?
You seem to have misread this: Since Northeastern is a co-op school, they offer aid by semester rather than year. The range decreases by 50% exactly - that’s because it’s per semester, not year. Scholarships are the exact same amount, and 8 semesters total = 4 years.
I have one of those scholarships - I should know. It does not decrease in any way. I get 5K per semester, 10K per year - it’s the same thing, except when I’m not in classes (on co-op, making money rather than paying tuition), the scholarship isn’t active.
As far as financial aid goes, Northeastern explicitly guarantees the same aid in subsequent years via the Northeastern Promise - my aid has not decreased any by year. While I could believe that what you are mentioning may have been true in the past with financial aid, Northeastern has made specific policies in order to ensure that the COA is the same each year.
http://www.northeastern.edu/financialaid/aid/thenortheasternpromise/
@PengsPhils Gotcha.
NE was a safety school for son, so when he was fortunate enough to be accepted to his first choice we didn’t really look into it at all. I just know the merit $ letter award only specified valid for the first year… whereas say Temple’s merit letter awarded full tuition for 4 years 8 consecutive semesters as long as he maintained a certain GPA. The letters were very different and NE was not at all clear that it would be for 4 years.
I was warned by friends that NE wasn’t a 4 year award and their son’s merit $ was vastly different between freshman and sophomore year -He went there 4 years ago so it may have changed …
I like when strangers do all the debating and researching for me so I don’t have to. Thanks guys.
@runswimyoga @PengsPhils @coterie
Just found son’s letters from Northeastern. Not attending there, but I haven’t thrown away the college acceptance stuff from this year yet.
Kids will get different types of money from Northeastern. Some will get grants for financial aid. Some will get merit scholarships. Some will get both. For fin aid, the amount could change each year because the family has to reapply for fin aid every year.
My son did not get any fin aid, but he did get invited to the University Honors Program and was named a Presidential Global Scholar (not really sure what that meant.)
In addition, he received two letters regarding merit scholarships. One was for a Dean’s Scholarship. It said he would receive the same amount of money for 8 semesters, as long as he maintained a 3.0 cumulative GPA. He could dip below a 3.0 and still keep the scholarship for a semester, but he would be on probation. He could also regain the scholarship if he regained a 3.0 later. Seemed pretty reasonable overall. He did not need to apply for fin aid each year to continue this merit scholarship.
The second letter offered him the “opportunity to apply” for a Presidential Global Scholarship to offset costs of global co-ops or study abroad. He would have to have a 3.5 GPA in college.
I didn’t see any difference between the Northeastern Dean’s Scholarship and the merit scholarships that my son got from a few other colleges. They all basically said the same thing - that the dollar amount would be the same for 8 semesters as long as he was a full-time student with a 3.0 GPA.
Some of the rumors about Northeastern changing $$ amounts after freshman year could be related to fin aid grants, rather than merit scholarships. Or, maybe the kids’ GPAs dipped below a 3.0, which is easy to do.
Bottom line: Read all college letters about money carefully to understand the details.
One is open curriculum and geared towards thinkers and the other has an extensive core and co-ops for doers.
The NU core doesn’t seem that restrictive at all. It seems kind of open-ended.
No, this is an open curriculum:
https://www.brown.edu/academics/college/degree/curriculum
How many courses are in the NEU core?
No, NEU has a minimal core
What did you mean by “extensive” here?
“One is open curriculum and geared towards thinkers and the other has an extensive core and co-ops for doers.”
Seems like a misrepresentation to say that they’re dissimilar. Brown’s curriculum is a blank piece of paper, while NEU’s curriculum is a coloring book page.
A curriculum that contrasts with Brown’s would be something like Columbia’s.
Here is the “minimal” core at NEU:
The NU Core Requirements
First-Year Learning Communities
A first-year experience
Knowledge Domains
Four courses
Writing-Intensive Instruction
Four courses
Mathematical/Analytical Thinking
Two courses
Comparative Study of Cultures
One course
Integrated Experiential Learning
One course or approved activity
Capstone
One course
Description of NU Core Requirements
The entry-level NU core courses (comparative cultures, level 1 knowledge domains, first-year writing, and level 1 mathematical/analytical thinking) and the experiential learning requirement involve exploring broad, new ways of thinking. To ensure the intended breadth, double counting of core requirements is not allowed among those domains. Some courses fit more than one of the entry-level categories, e.g., a knowledge domain category as well as the comparative study of cultures category. These courses are listed in both appropriate NU Core categories to give students more flexibility in how they select courses to meet requirements. However, a student cannot fulfill two of the entry-level NU Core requirements by taking a single course.
The intermediate and advanced NU Core requirements involve more focused, in-depth experiences that sometimes can be combined effectively in one course, e.g., many capstone courses also satisfy the writing-intensive requirement, some level 2 mathematical/analytical thinking courses also satisfy the writing-intensive requirement, some intermediate/advanced courses outside the major might also satisfy the comparative cultures requirement.
The following sections describe in greater detail the specific NU Core requirements:
First-Year Learning Community
Freshmen are cohort-registered in a linked set of two or more courses in the same semester to provide integration of subject matter and an opportunity for students and faculty with similar interests to become acquainted.
Knowledge Domains
Complete an approved introductory-level course in each of three level 1 knowledge domains listed below and a level 2 intermediate or advanced course outside the major department. Generally, one of the introductory-level courses also satisfies a requirement for the major.
Arts/Humanities Level 1
Complete one approved course in arts level 1 or one approved course in humanities level 1.
Social Science Level 1
Complete one approved course in social science level 1.
Science/Technology Level 1
Complete one approved course in science/technology level 1.
Level 2 Elective
Complete one intermediate or upper-level course (generally numbered 2000 or above) outside your major.
Comparative Study Of Cultures
Complete one approved course in comparative study of cultures or another approved approach, including traditional and short-term faculty-led study-abroad programs.
Mathematical/Analytical Thinking
Complete an approved introductory-level course in mathematical thinking and its application to posing and solving problems and an approved intermediate-level course in modes of thought that allow abstraction, application, and synthesis of information.
Level 1
Complete one approved course in mathematical/analytical thinking level 1.
Level 2
Complete one approved course in mathematical/analytical thinking level 2.
Writing-Intensive Courses
Complete a first-year writing course and an advanced writing course provided by the Department of English and two approved writing-intensive courses in the major. Usually, the capstone course serves as one of the major-specific writing courses.
Capstone
Complete one approved capstone course within your major in the final semesters. This course acts as a final integrator of the major, general education, and experiential aspects of the student’s education. Generally, this course also includes writing-intensive work and research or creative activity, and, in most cases, the second writing-intensive-in-the-major requirement is satisfied by the capstone course.
Experiential Learning
Complete one approved experiential learning activity with a reflective component. Experiential learning opportunities are disbursed throughout each student’s undergraduate education to encourage the development of seeing connections between course work and experiential learning. Students should consult their college or their major department for advice on approved activities.