Right, it is minimal. Dozens of courses meet the competencies and count for more than one of the competencies (there are courses in every major that will satisfy many of these). But thanks for providing the info to this OP who is quite aware of it already, since he’s very interested in this school. This core is SO flexible.
@ClarinetDad16 most of your posts about NEU are negative…wonder why you dislike it so much.
Cornell would seem like a good option.
Please don’t count criticisms as conspiracies.
I’d like to know the good and the bad about any given university. Heck, I want to know the really bad stuff about Northeastern, if there is any. If these forums become an echo chamber of positivity, no criticisms allowed, then somebody might end up applying to Full Sail. And we don’t want that to happen, do we?
A school in Ithaca, New York? No thanks.
LOL. Ithaca would not be my first choice either but it gets kudos for the college-town feel.
@coterie its an unfounded criticism and anyone can post questions in any thread, thanks. My question was to @ClarinetDad16 based on previous negative posts of NEU, not to you. It would be nice to understand why he dislikes the school so much.
Back on topic- if you are intending to be a CS major and want a real reach, why not MIT or Stanford?
Saying Brown and Northeastern were opposites is critical?
@suzyQ7 I think OP is looking for a binding ED reach school. Also, I have heard that Brown has a top notch CS department.
I have heard that too.
@coterie @NEPatsGirl . OK. No Cornell bashing on here!
@coterie The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation recently donated a new, impressive Comp Sci building at Cornell. Not a city school, but Cornell definitely has a stronger rep for Comp Sci than Penn, Brown or Northeastern. Not pushing it though for people who want the big city life. On the other hand, Cornell’s campus and setting are more beautiful than Penn, Brown or NE. I was accepted to both Penn & Brown when dinosaurs roamed, but I picked Cornell - and now my Comp Sci son is heading there.
There is also a thriving GAYPAC organizationn on campus that was big even back in the 70s and 80s.
Truthfully, Northeastern proactively helps kids get jobs and internships better than any college. I’m a big fan. My nephew had four paid internship offers immediately following freshman year as an engineer at NE. All came from on-campus interviews, and he was just an average kid there. Not honors college. That kind of job placement after just one year of college is rare at the Ivies and at most colleges.
As a Northeastern student, I came here partially for the lack of restrictions on the core. There are general requirements, but the idea is that you can select from a huge list of classes and still get the breadth of education.
For example, in the old core (it’s been revamped to be even more flexible), you had a “comparative cultures” requirement which you could satisfy from classes in over 30 departments. I chose a philosophy class comparing ethics in eastern and western culture. Someone else could hit the same requirement with a music class, or a history class, or a … you get the picture.
What both of you have been linking to is the old core, now dated by at least a year - the last class to use it I believe is 2019. It was still pretty flexible, but here is the new one:
http://www.northeastern.edu/core/
The idea is that there are 11 or so learning goals - every class is evaluated for which ones it hits. All you have to do is take a single course that hits each learning goal. A lot of courses hit multiple learning goals. Your major will probably cover half.
http://www.northeastern.edu/core/requirements/
I don’t think that @ClarinetDad16 's summary at all fits:
Also, for what it’s worth, Brown and Northeastern’s CS departments actually have some research ties when it comes to PL research and have similar CS intro sequences based around said research / development. I would highly recommend both.
“No Cornell bashing!”
Ok, ok.
“…it’s not a city school, but-”
As vain or petty as I might be, I need a great city school. I know, Providence isn’t Boston, but I really like Brown. Plus, the distance is a bit too far from home.
I get it. That’s why I didn’t recommend Cornell early on, even though it has a great Comp Sci Dept. Brown, Penn, NE, etc. You will do great wherever you end up! I like Brown too. I actually applied there Early Action in my day. It was my first choice all during my junior year and fall of HS senior year. But, then I revisited Cornell on a beautiful day in April of senior year, and I changed my mind…
How many classes are in the NEU core?
As few as say 3 depending on your major and what classes you choose to take. In the worst case, maybe 7. Both of those numbers can easily be reduced with AP credit. Theoretically, if you come in with AP credit and go into a major that covers a lot of the core, you could have zero classes in your “core”. There is no magic number of classes that make up the core.
Regardless, you’re missing the point if you’re counting classes. The idea is flexibility and not being forced to take a class you aren’t interested in, which is why the core would be considered very open. At most schools, the requirements are a lot stricter.
When you are an undergraduate, the vast majority of your time is spent on campus (or with peers in off-campus housing). You are at college for only 19-20 weeks a semester. At “elite” schools, with rigorous academics, a good number of those weekends are spent in the library, doing research or studying. Most social time is in the dining halls, dorms, or at off-campus or fraternity parties. Or, at sporting events, the campus gyms, concerts, lectures and clubs on campus. Universities are a world unto themselves. The size of the surrounding town or city has little impact on the average student’s experience.
per the website:
That’s 15 courses in the core