Thought I’d highlight this here as there will probably be a good deal of discussion and information coming in the upcoming weeks. It looks like as COVID-19 uncertainty has been an issue, Northeastern added a NU.in Boston option. Details appear to be sparse but so far seem to be:
Will not yet cancel or replace any of the international options
Will likely not be on the Boston campus/facilities (based on email verbiage)
@Mopep I would assume so but this is all the info that is out there right now. “Coming weeks” makes it sounds like probably two weeks from now but no one can be certain.
@PengsPhils My daughter got in for the NU.in program and happy to see the option - what are your thoughts on the NEU for pre-med. She is interested in the STEM field (biochem, neuroscience, etc) and wants a school that will give her a firm foundation for medical school and still have a good college experience in meeting people, clubs, and etc. She knows that NEU is primarily focus on co-ops which she likes - thoughts?
It sounds like you already know a good deal and that description of what she wants fits Northeastern well! None of my closest friends were premed but from what I’ve heard and know, there are lots of co-op’s in top hospitals and research labs in Boston that absolutely help with med school acceptance and also help you get a feel for the medical world before med school as well. Northeastern certainly isn’t the typical college experience but has plenty of clubs and socialization just like any school! People won’t even go on coop until their fourth semester or later which helps to build a social base as well. If you stay in Boston you can still continue with clubs while on co-op as well.
With the graduation flexibility and experience with co-op, it can also help shorten/eliminate gap years before med school by either doing 4 years with 2 co-op’s, 5 years with 3 co-op’s or 2/3 co-op’s in 4.5 years, giving some lead time on med school apps without it being a full year. Plenty of options to whatever suits you best and advisors can help you craft the timing/plan that works best for you.
NU in Boston option now! That’s great because I wasn’t interested in starting abroad and was turning down NU because of this…now torn between NU and Lehigh
My DD is so looking forward to going to London and as long as any city is safe, we support it. What kind of experience will it be for kids in Boston yet not part of the campus? Hope the classes will at least be on campus. Especially if tuition is actually higher.
@eparents , my daughter is still hopeful for London as well. She is prepared for the possibility of being in Boston, but would love to still go abroad if it is safe. I haven’t heard any definitive details about Boston. My daughter seems to think classes would be at another school in Boston. No reliable source, I think the kids are all just chatting and tossing ideas around.
@eparents Given that Northeastern has overenrolled two of the past five years, has a decently sized waitlist this year, and will already have on-campus space issues due to canceled study abroad programs and co-op’s I would find that very unlikely.
@PengsPhils Thanks for setting this blog up, much appreciated.
NEU sent an email out to all NUin students recently that basically did not resolve anything for any of us. It’s nice to hear that NUin Boston will be an option but there are no details regarding this. It was simply to buy them more time. Myself and all the other NUin students need answers. We’ve given NEU plenty of time to give us more than "there will be an NUin Boston " and “it will still be full tuition”. Hmm, I’m really starting to think this is all about the $$$. To pay the same money for NUin Boston, the program they roll out will have to be pretty impressive to win us over especially if going international is not an option.
Make a live Q/A panel online so we can at least gain some understanding of what options they are looking at or what the obstacles are. They know we are all trying to make our final decision but they are showing no compassion/empathy for our situation. C’mon NEU! We want to commit but need some dialog. Sending that useless letter isn’t going to cut it.
Have to say the Boston option seems to offer very close to a normal NEU experience so far. Though for my DD it’s a worse case scenario vs. London, it’s certainly not bad if abroad can’t happen.
The problem with the NUin Boston details is that this is going to work out well for some and not well for others because of the housing/meal situation. Reached out to several other new NUin students. We all had same concerns. Females seemed more concerned about safety.
They were vague on the housing placement. Sounds like students will be spread out quite a bit…“housed with other N.U.in students in properties that are in Boston neighborhoods frequented by college students. Those locations will either be within walking distance to Northeastern or accessible by public transportation and bike sharing, with average commute times of approximately 15-25 minutes.” You could end up in various parts of the city. Some much further and/or unsafer than others. How are you going to form a NUin community like that? You’re somewhat isolating the kids.
Meal plans: If you are close to campus, then this may work well but what if you are not?
If the NUin tuition is at full cost, they need to make the experience feel like it’s worth it for those in Boston. Since the entire program(Boston or international) won’t have final answers for quite some time, it’s a gamble/chance us students have to take if we want to go to NEU. Whether we are pleased or not on how well NEU handled this, final answers are not going to be known by May 1st. It’s too bad that there will be a group of seniors that worked hard with hopes to go to NEU and are in this situation. Best of luck to everyone…tough decisions ahead.
For what it’s worth, safety would not be my concern here as the surrounding neighborhoods these would in are quite safe. There is speculation of one option that is basically on BU’s campus. I’d assume that they would be housed in a group wherever is finally selected so that would hopefully help form community along with shared activities.
I fully agree that paying NU.in prices to live off-campus of Northeastern doesn’t sound like my top pick here - I would probably go for one of the international locations but at least knowing a decent Boston plan is available should it be canceled hopefully helps some.
Really this is just a logistical nightmare all around no matter how you slice it. I certainly don’t envy the choices of high school seniors right now
@PengsPhils Have you heard any additional updates? Or do you think we all know as much as they will give us in terms of details for NUin Boston for quite some time? Of all the schools out there, NU should have extended their deadline. The fact that they didn’t means they are in it for the $$ before caring for the student. To force students to commit…at full pay…before giving them final details for NUin Boston just didnt’ feel right.
@Search4Coll It seems like the site has been updated with additional details, though not specifically the housing location. Any specific questions you’re wondering about? It seems to now include general dining details, curriculums by major/college, and dates.
FWIW, I’m not sure an extension would solve anything. It’s unlikely there would be any details by June 1st either - it’s still way too early (nearly 3 months) for knowing something in late August given the current situation. I very much understanding picking another option in this situation. I think NU.in exists this year for people who would pick Northeastern regardless of those details, so it’s better to have it open than to cancel the entire thing. My guess is housing questions are directly correlated to how many people choose the Boston option, so it’s a chicken and egg problem that extending the deadline doesn’t solve. Not to mention that if other locations are scratched (which likely will also not be known in June) that would change the result as well.
While this is certainly related to money (without NU.in the campus would be very much under capacity in spring), I don’t think you can go fully to caring about money before students here given the situation. Admits have the option not to attend, but forgoing the entire program would disappoint those that absolutely would attend. There’s just no way everyone is happy in this situation.
