Northeastern University Campus Life

Any current Northeastern students who can talk about campus life? Do you think it doesn’t have as much as a campus feel since it is in a city? Also, what’s it like having students constantly leaving for co-op?

You will get more responses if you post this in the Northeastern forum.

If you are looking for a 24/7 campus experience you should avoid all urban universities.

There’s more of a campus feel than you’d get at BU - it really acts and feels like a campus here. But it’s not going to be the same feel as you’d get at a traditional state flagship campus or a liberal arts school. Northeastern is very much a part of the city that surrounds it and tries to engage with the neighborhood rather than isolating itself, which I see as a good thing. I feel like I’m getting the best of both worlds. Campus can feel like a bit of an oasis within the busy city, but I’m within walking distance of everything Boston has to offer - which is a lot.

As for co-op, sometimes I forget which of my friends are on co-op. Unless they’re outside of Boston or on a really busy co-op, it usually doesn’t disrupt much. Sometimes students will be in or out of clubs and other student activities for a semester depending on their co-op schedule, but that’s part of the ebb and flow of things here. It can be a relief to not have homework while on co-op (and therefore have more free time nights and weekends), but it can also be nice to have free time during the day while on co-op, so the turnover feels pretty normal here.

The campus does have a distinct feel. There’s plenty of places to go to hang out that are directly part of campus, but as nano said, you have much more than what is on campus. It won’t be anything close to say, NYU. The difference with NEU isn’t that there isn’t a campus or campus feel, more that you will frequent areas outside of the campus.

Here, look at this map: http://www.northeastern.edu/campusmap/map/

Anything inside of the dark green boxes feels very much like a campus. Huntington Avenue cuts through but you will find probably 95% of the people walking on the sidewalks are Northeastern students.

@nanotechnology @pengsphils Thank you so much! I’m not used to the city feel, so I’ve been concerned about whether or not I would actually like it, but at the same time it seems exciting to live in a city. Do you by any chance know anyone in the marine science program there? If I were to go to Northeastern, I would be concerned that I would be away from the main campus too much when on co-op since I don’t think there is anything for marine bio in Boston other than the aquarium.

I love cities so this may be a bit biased, but I think cities have it all, even for those who want a bit of a quieter life. I think it’s cool some days to stay shut in but know that a bustling city surrounds you. When you need a good restaurant, a local hangout, a park, a little italy, cities offer it all and Boston is one of the best. If I may ask, what are your reservations about cities?

I am a freshman so I haven’t seen the full effects of co-op, but I do know this: freshman friend groups already coordinate when they go on co-op a bit. If all your friends are going in the spring, it may make sense to switch yours to spring as well so long as it doesn’t affect your academic track. With the school being built around co-op, class offerings are plentiful, even in summer sessions. Another thing to consider is that many will have the same situation as you, and friend groups here realize that. In the end, you will spend at least 8 semesters on campus with at max 3 off campus. Friends won’t go away when you go on co-op; my understanding is they will be waiting when you get back.

I don’t know too much about marine bio here, nor have I met anyone in the program. I do say I’m a bit surprised you’re looking at NEU for that. What drew you to look here if I may ask?

I can’t find much about classes online, but one thing I did see with a quick search was that for the first two years you will be on campus. So, that takes care of some of the co-op problem. The final year can also be spend abroad: http://www.northeastern.edu/threeseas/

As a sample, I found 10 courses specifically marked for your major being offered this semester. That would exclude other general sciences which have plenty of offered times as they overlap with so many majors.

I hope some of that helps!

@PengsPhils‌ wow thank you so much! I appreciate you taking the time to help me! I think I would like the busy atmosphere of the city, but I’m just so used to living in a quiet place and i really enjoy the quiet at times, so that’s why I’ve been a bit concerned. But I think I would get used to the noise and grow to like it. I started looking into Northeastern when I was matched by a college search site and when I read about co-op, I was really impressed