I’m a Northeastern freshman and I’m happy to answer any questions you may have about the school!
Do you know anyone in the Physical Therapy program, or (oh dream of dreams) are you a PT major yourself? I (think I) have a pretty good feel for what Northeastern is like in general, but I’m having an awful time trying to find past and present PT students to get advice on what I should consider buying/reading/etc.
I am not in the physical therapy program and I don’t really know anyone who is. What I can tell you is I don’t think you really need to be doing anything right now in terms of buying/reading/etc. (Besides generic stuff like stuff for your dorm room, general school supplies, etc.) The teachers will tell you what you need the first day of classes or on Blackboard before classes which you should check before you attend class in case they tell you to buy or read anything in advance. It is also important to ask students who’ve taken the classes you are in before if you actually use the book. There are some classes where they tell you to buy the book and you never use it. Hope this was helpful! Sorry I don’t know more about the PT program!
@emuwrestler the above post is for you sorry I forgot to tag you!
Alright, thank you! I have no idea what Blackboard is, though. Will that be introduced to me later or should I seek out information on it now?
Don’t worry about blackboard now. It’s just the site that professors coordinate classes with. There’s not much to learn.
What is the average number of students per class?
Class sizes vary a lot - there are a couple of classes (Jazz and Rock Music) that are offered in Eli Hall which can hold 700 students (although I think they typically get around 400). Most honors classes are capped at 19. Higher level electives will be smaller and introductory classes will be larger. I am sure there is some official average class size number.
US News has 64.4% of classes at 19 and under, 27.5% at 49 to 20, and 8.1% as 50+. That’s pretty accurate, though your program changes what those percentages are for you.
For CS, almost all major classes are in the 20 to 49 range. I haven’t had a class over 70 or so people. For maths, it’s usually the same range minus honors sections. My philosophy and writing classes have hit the under 20 range.
Overall, you’re only going to find the very large sizes with classes like Intro Chemistry, Intro Bio, etc. For the rest, expect 50-70 or so at the most. For humanities and upper division classes, you will find many of the under 20 ones.
Recommendation for purchasing snow boots (women), coming from the south, so obviously we have none. Obviously waterproof, but besides that, anything in particular feature to look for. Do girls usually wear mid or tall snow boots, not sure how snowy it will get. Would I need more than one pair? We already purchased smartwool socks. Thanks for any advice on this
As a former Floridian, I would recommend waiting to buy too much winter gear until you’re up here. Personally, I have a single pair of cheap boots (guy) - they get the job done. I know girls who have a single pair medium, single pair tall, or many pairs (usually people who have already lived up north). It also depends how you react to the cold - I love it. Not every former southerner will.
Also, whatever smartwool is, you probably don’t need something that specialized - I have a bunch of black Hanes socks - all I need. Winter isn’t so scary once you see it, hence the recommendation to wait until you’re up here. After a few months, as December nears, then look for all this. I didn’t even break out my boots until January this year.
I’m from Wisconsin, so I know winter pretty well. I never actually brought my snow boots out to Boston. With all the snow this year I broke out a pair of combat boots and that was plenty even with all that snow. You’ll be walking around a big city with regularly cleared streets and sidewalks, not snowshoeing through the wilderness. My down winter coat also stayed home. I mostly wore a softshell jacket, sometimes layering a sweatshirt underneath.
I have a definite bias since I’m used to the cold, though. But I’d generally echo PengPhils - don’t stress over it too much now. As long as you have something windproof and a sweatshirt, you’re not going to freeze and you can figure out more once you actually experience it and figure out what works for you.
I’m not a college student, but live in NE. We love our boots here. There are ‘fashion boots’ and real snow boots. You only need 1 pair of real snow boots (the practical kind)- but as others said, wait to buy those once you are here. If you like fashion boots, you will fit in in New England and will wear them quite a bit. Just make sure they are comfortable (low/flat heel). Girls wear lots of medium or tall boots over leggings around here. Uggs are also (still) popular.
my daughter wears her down parka all winter long (hooded and long enough to cover her rear), medium height winter boots (waterproof - it does get sloppy wet even though they plow), regular socks, and gloves. She also has a pair of what I call galoshes (those cool rubber rain boots that come in different colors) that she wears for wet but not especially cold weather.
@kiddie @nanotechnology @PengsPhils @suzyQ7 - thanks for the advice, makes sense, I’ll wait then and get a pair in Boston.