<p>Brandeis. </p>
<p>I am very familiar with many of the more “highly-regarded” schools and colleges in Massachusetts: I graduated from one of them and have had close relatives attend many of the others. I will make this comment about Northeastern University. Approximately 35 years ago, Northeastern was very much a commuter school that - despite its somewhat unique co-op program - was largely viewed as an inferior and non-desirable destination for many serious and high-achieving high school students. While some of the programs and majors were considered to be first rate (i.e., physical therapy, nursing, criminal justice), the university was GENERALLY (emphasis supplied with full acknowledgement of exception) perceived to be roughly comparable to UMASS (or, as it was called back then, ZooMASS). The overall academic qualifications of its in-coming students during that period of time (again, subject to notable exceptions) were far beneath those, statistically speaking, of students at Boston University, Brandeis, or Boston College, to name a few.</p>
<p>Flash forward to present day: setting aside its meteoric rise in the overtly subjective and biased ranking system published annually by US News, the overall academic qualifications of Northeastern’s admitted and enrolled students have now equaled and arguably surpassed those of the students at each of the three institutions mentioned above. For instance, the SAT middle 25%-75% percentile numbers for Critical Reading and Math scores among in-coming students at Northeastern is now significantly higher than for those at BC and Brandeis and substantially higher than for those at Boston University. And when the numbers for the in-coming/enrolled class that will be entering in the Fall of 2014 are released later this year, it is likely that the aforementioned statistical disparities - based upon preliminary data - will widen even further. </p>
<p>I’m not maligning Boston College, Brandeis, or Boston University - each one is an excellent school with particular strengths and peculiar noteworthy advantages. And no system has yet been invented that can fairly and accurately in all instances compare such intangibles as “prestige,” “reputation,” and “stature” among institutions. Any student who is fortunate enough to attend any one of these schools and is able to “do well” (perhaps through a mix of good grades, challenging curriculum, significant extracurricular activities/responsibilities, competitive test results, and - importantly - meaningful internship/co-op/work experience) will most likely be able to find a good job or be admitted to a good grad school program. However, considering only the objective criteria presented by uniform SAT testing results, Northeastern’s students are now at the top of the hierarchy among the schools mentioned herein.</p>
<p>One of the reasons Northeastern was considered “inferior” 35 years ago was that it required its students to work in order to graduate. Back then the “traditional college experience” was that a student went to school for 4 years and had a summer vacation doing odd jobs and maybe, just maybe, the occasional internship. Society has changed a lot since then and a college graduate without experience, clearly defined career goals (or family connections) is at a great disadvantage.</p>
<p>Also back then Northeastern was an “easy to get into, hard to graduate from” school. The freshman retention and 6 year graduation rates, whatever they were, would be embarrassingly low by today’s standards. However I would argue that those of us who made it through the 5 year program would compare favorably with today’s graduates, Of course we did not have a global perspective and we never heard of the word sustainability. </p>
<p>Also lost in the mists of history are the facts that both BU and BC were facing bankruptcy in the early 1970’s and there were rumors that BC would be forced to close. You can look up the sources of this in those schools’ institutional histories. </p>
<p>
UMASS is still called that by some. </p>
<p>Northeastern certainly has changed - dramatically in the last 10-15 years. A decade ago, the school was working to crack the top 100 in the rankings (e.g. US News) and now it’s in the top 50. BU and BC have been way ahead in most aspects forever, but NU has become a complex place which is a good thing in today’s gradings. My concern with all the chatter about SAT scores, yield rates, rankings etc is that all of these schools will missout on true diversity. I understand that test scores tell us the likelihood of success at these instititions, but what about the real leaders they miss out on because doing what ranks wins out? Admissions departments must all be thinking like those of you stating the stats for each school - although they all claim to be “holistic” in their approach. What about the 1200 SAT kid with a 3.7 that would introduce an unknown program while at school or the kid that scores a lowly 25 on the ACTs but get’s his entire dorm floor to attend the hockey game on Tuesday nights. Were does that show up on the SAT? Rankings and chasing rankings must mean money to these schools. It’s all getting a bit snobby - or so it seems to me. There are many great schools for kids that aren’t as highly ranked - many that truly do right for each kid in attendance. I’m certain BU and NU are great institutions. I just hope they see a bit broader than escalating SAT scores being sure their admittance ratio is shrinking every year</p>
<p>Guess98, I don’t know if this matters to you, but NEU has a program called University Scholars which is a full tuition scholarship and a subgroup of the Honors program. I really believe the approach there is truly holistic. I have met 3 Scholars so far, all of whom have lower test scores (I got a 35 ACT, they’re ~31, which obviously still isn’t low). And yet all of them are standout, charismatic kids who I can already tell bring a lot to the table. They deserve it and seem to have been chosen holistically.</p>
<p>In fact, I’m just remembering of the ton of kids at my school that applied, one girl is a Scholar; she has high stats (got into Cornell, too) but is far and away the most interesting and well-rounded kid of the cream of the crop at my school.</p>
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<p>If you look back on the decisions threads here on CC you will see that admission is not based solely on numbers. Some with 1880 SAT’s were admitted, others with 2200 SAT’s were denied. </p>
<p>This is slightly off topic, but I’m hoping someone can help. We are in California and my daughter was admitted to NU’s Criminal Justice program with some merit assistance, which helps. Unfortunately, I know little about the school’s reputation (we visited several years ago) and know nothing about the Criminal Justice program’s reputation. Can anyone comment on that program in particular? Will she be able to find employment upon graduation? My hope is that she’ll return to California to work, rather than remain back east. She was also admitted to USC, which we are very familiar with, but didn’t receive any money, thus making it financially very difficult for us. Thank you in advance for your help.</p>
<p>On the rankings - the reality is there are enough well rounded kids that are very smart for schools to fill up with them and move away from their roots. Schools that want to climb the rankings have to fight for them. I guess I’m struggling with 50,000 apps and only 2800 kids - and the tone seems to be get 100,000 so we look more selective. I’d prefer to set minimum standards so the kids that have no real shot look elsewhere. I don’t mean to pick on NU - its an arms race for the best and the brightest. 40,000 rejections is too many. </p>
<p>And to lamemom - congrats to ur student for being one of the 10,000 accepted. My complaint above is about the rankings race not the school. The co op program at NU is SO good that i don’t understand how more schools haven’t incorporated it. Although i can’t speak to the CJ program, if your Daughter can handle being 3000 miles away, Boston and NU are a great combination. Co-op jobs in your area are very possible too. </p>
<p>My daughter has similar issue as yours lamemom.
But she has decided (pretty much, not SIR yet), for NEU.
Also accepted to USC with no money. Business instead of Criminal Justice.</p>
<p>But on the other hand I have accepted that she might in the end live on the East Coast.</p>
<p>I think NEU is in a transition stage where the school is gaining popularity so quickly that admissions hasn’t quite caught up. While few schools have “minimum standards” to apply (would conflict with holistic approach), I think a supplement will be introduced within the next decade just to weed out a few kids. You’d be amazed how many kids on the NEU 2018 Facebook page don’t know what a co-op is or what it has to do with Northeastern.</p>
<p>That being said- supplement is probably a few years off, because right now a lot of really competitive applicants are drawn to apply because the lack of a supplement. Then, when those students get in with Honors/generous merit scholarships, it becomes a serious consideration. So the model is really working well.</p>
<p>Also keep in mind it’s not 40k rejections- 2800 end up enrolling, not end up being accepted.</p>
<p>Northeastern will be offering ED and EA starting this fall. I think that will serve to weed out some applicants. Perhaps not initially, but within a couple of years if students see that ED applicants are accepted at a much higher rate than EA applicants.</p>
<p>I am wary of schools that offer EA & ED simultaneously as I feel that the schools wonder why the EA applicants didn’t apply ED. Total conjecture on my part as I know absolutely nothing about Northeastern’s intent in offering both EA & ED. </p>
<p>@guess98 = thank you for your comments. It helps me feel better about NU. @rgosula, my son is in his 3rd year at the Marshall School of Business at USC, and has had nothing but fantastic opportunities. He’s had several great internships, has one this upcoming summer and will make approx. $40K, and has a job offer when he graduates earning a substantial amount, especially for a 22 year old. I can say that the price of USC paid off in his case, although he was lucky enough to receive merit aid. I have heard good things about NU’s business program, but have evidenced the outcome of not only my son’s experience at USC, but also his friends in the business school there as well. Nothing but good!</p>
<p>40K for a summer internship?? I won’t even make 40K when I graduate! I guess that’s what happens when majoring in the sciences and planning to immediately attend graduate school after graduation.</p>
<p>Yes, its crazy, I know. He’s chosen a very lucrative field.</p>
<p>$40,000 for a summer internship? If you don’t mind sharing, I am curious what field it is in? </p>
<p>Investment banking with a top employer.</p>
<p>The reason it will be so high is because they are required to work a lot of overtime, 30 hours or so per week. They are paid hourly, so it will add up.</p>
<p>recent ranking upgrades:
undergraduate business / business week 26->19
MBA / usnews 61 -> 52</p>
<p>It should be noted they passed BU in said business rank above. Both because it was brought up here and we gotta keep the rivalry going! 
</p>
<p>@TheWorriedOne Plus, for last year’s acceptance statistics, Northeastern’s average GPA and SATs went up as BU’s fell. Seats for he freshman class are worth more at NEU than BU. Also, it wasn’t really a bright idea to start a Northeastern vs BU debate on the Northeastern page of CC. So if people start arguing against you and your ideas, don’t start complaining and it sucks to BU. 
Also, it’s a rank. Who cares. We have co-op. BU doesn’t. We have a campus. BU doesn’t. BU as a better name than Northeastern just because of the past, but that’s the past. The time is now and as of now, Northeastern and BU are great schools.</p>