<p>Why is Northeastern ranked so low (115 on USNEWS)? Is it that bad? I want to do architecture and math there....:(</p>
<p>Northeastern is a good school. You should take the rankings with a grain of salt because they do not provide an accurate picture of the school. Here's why. The U.S. News methodology is flawed because it assumes that all colleges are following a traditional academic curriculum (i.e. comparing apples to apples). But Northeastern does things quite differently. It is one of only a handful of schools to have a fully integrated co-op program (i.e. it is an orange). For example, the way the current methodology works, the rankings make it appear as if Northeastern has a high student/faculty ratio of 16:1. But this is only because U.S. News assumes that all students are on campus taking classes at the same time. This is far from the case; a large portion of the student body is off campus interning at companies (unlike most schools, Northeastern students intern throughout the year, not just summers). Anyone who knows Northeastern knows that class sizes are actually on the small side. The amount of money spent per student also seems low in comparison to other schools in the top 60, but again this is only because U.S. News assumes that all students are on campus at the same time using resources. Students who are on co-op should be excluded because they do not pay tuition while theyre interning. Northeastern really has more money to spend on the students who are on campus taking classes. Again, anyone who has visited Northeastern recently knows that the school has plenty of money. All the facilities are new and the professors, administrators, etc., are earning top dollar. </p>
<p>The rank of 115 simply does not add up. Still, even with its nontraditional curriculum, Northeastern has been climbing in the rankings. This is primary because the university has made significant gains in selectivity. Northeastern should continue to rise as it becomes more nationally known. This year, the university received 6500 EA apps out of a total of 26,000 apps which is a new record. The university is also in the process of hiring 100 new star faculty. The new faculty will significantly lower the university's student/faculty ratio (this should make up for the shortfall in the rankings).</p>
<p>As a side note, the university administration has been lobbying U.S. News to make some changes to their rankings methodology so that it takes into account the universitys nontraditional academic curriculum. If U.S. News implements the changes, Northeastern will make a giant leap forward in the rankings next year.</p>
<p>Thanks for your long reply. I just have one question. Is Northeastern significantly more selective than UIUC in terms of OOS applicants?</p>
<p>I assume that "OOS" stands for out of state applicants? Northeastern is a private school so out of state applicants usually get a boost (esp. if you are from the west coast of midwest).</p>
<p>One thing working against Northeastern is that there are so many really good schools nearby (Harvard, MIT, Wellesley, BC, BU, Tufts, Brandeis). It's like a very pretty girl standing in a group of supermodels. When I lived in Mass. a while back, it seemed like kids in my high school would rather have gone to Northeastern than to UMass, if that helps. Northeastern is right in the middle of Boston, which is a pretty good place to be for a college student.</p>
<p>Northeastern is up and coming. Just a couple of years ago it was in the third tier.</p>
<p>Perhaps it isn't so highly ranked right now, but considering at the exponential rate Northeastern has improved its reputation and academics, I could easily see it break 100 in the next few years.</p>
<p>Too expensive. You'll have similar opportunities coming out of UMASS-Amherst for a fraction of the cost.</p>
<p>It depends what this guy is looking for. If he wants to do co-op, Northeastern is the place (and all the money he earns while in school will offset the expenses).</p>
<p>I just want to do architecture and math. So far I only have UIUC on my list.</p>
<p>Umass is only inexpensive if you are in state. Otherwise, it's quite expensive. But Umass is much easier to get into. UMass has an acceptance rate of 80% while Northeastern only admits 40%.</p>
<p>BTW, Northeastern wil break the top 100 next year. But if U.S. News changes its methodolgy as discussed above, NEU could be top 60.</p>
<p>northeastern claims that there are about 14000 undergrad enrolled, but how many do you think are actually on campus at any given time?</p>
<p>do you think that even though the numbers make it seem like a large school that the atmosphere will fill like a small school?</p>
<p>This is what I came up with:</p>
<p>Frosh do not co-op, so that's 2800 students on campus.
Probably 50% of the 11,200 upperclass students would be off campus interning at companies (alternating with semesters of academics). So that's another 5600 students on campus. Thus the total number of students who are actually on campus taking classes at the same time would be about 8400 (2800 frosh+5600 upperclass = 8400). Conclusion: Northeastern should have the atmosphere of a smaller sized school. In fact, it does have that feel in the classroom.</p>