So I know Northeastern is a really good school in terms of finding jobs and getting work experience. But how is the teaching for engineering majors, specifically mechanical engineering? I couldn’t really find anything about the engineering program which makes me skeptical of this school.
My goal is to someday be able to work at NASA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, companies of that nature. My state flagship, UW, has an amazing aerospace engineering program with really good connections to Boeing, but I also want to try an out of state experience.
I know BU has a mechanical engineering degree with a concentration in aerospace engineering too.
I also was very impressed with Northeastern’s study abroad program
Co-ops could definitely be a benefit for you. I know of people who have done co-ops at all 3 of those places you mentioned. Engineering is definitely a very strong program at Northeastern, and it’s one of the degrees where co-op is really relevant. I know quite a few people who ended up working for their co-op employers, and all of me engineering major friends got jobs right after graduation, that I know of. That’s all anecdotal, of course, but although it’s a tough program, those who went through it seemed to come out the other side well prepared for the world.
As a current sophomore, two of my friends have co-ops at those places.
One is a MechE working in the Jet Propulsion Lab. The other is CS at Lockheed Martin. Both are also sophomore that start said jobs in January. Another one of my MechE friends is working for iRobot, the makers of Roomba’s and the like.
I am a CS student, but I have only heard good things about the engineering program. The classes are tough but don’t completely destroy your social life, and of course its one of the best co-op majors along with CS / Business. I haven’t heard any complaints about the teaching, and the one EECE class I took was pretty neat (ending with controlling a robotic arm through a wii controller). The course was well laid out and enjoyable for the most part.
Thank you so much!!! If I do get in directly to UW engineering then I will attend there since it’s cheaper and a really good program. But with the very low acceptance rates for freshman applications, this school is now definitely in my top choices.
I’m guessing you’re referring to University of Washington. (I’m from Wisconsin, so UW for me means something different.) That’s an great program and you’d get a strong engineering degree from either. A lot of it does come down to cost, though!
@TomS31415, I’m personally very familiar with both U Washington and Northeastern. NEU’s low acceptance rate for freshman applicants isn’t really the greatest reason to pick NEU over UW. You can say that about all kinds of schools (including UW direct admits to engineering) and both of these school have a particular flavor you should decide if you care about or not.
Both schools have terrific engineering departments. One school would come with a great price tag, easy access to home, gorgeous urban campus though slightly less woven into the Seattle urban center, a whole lot of undergrads from the state of Washington, quarter system, little if any really bitter cold weather, football games, no hockey, robust Greek life, and husky mascot. The other comes with a much heftier price tag, an out of state experience, co-op, gorgeous urban campus woven directly into Boston’s urban center, semester system though with co-op, studying in some summers should be expected, probably some bitter weather including a lot of snow (though it is 10 degrees warmer in Boston right now compared to Seattle,) a more geographically diverse student body, limited Greek life with no houses (I think?), no football but yes hockey and oh yes, also a husky mascot.
Those are just some of the things I could think of. The good news is, you don’t have to decide any of this today. You have time to drill down more of the specifics about the various engineering programs as well as talk to people that attend either school including people who are from Seattle who attend Northeastern. As an accepted student, you will undoubtedly be invited to events at Northeastern’s Seattle campus designed to welcome you and answer questions. Take advantage of how easy it is to attend those events since they are in your hood and go. All the best to you!
UW has an amazing engineering program which will provide you with ample opportunities
I didn’t say NEUs low acceptance rate for freshman applicants is what makes me want to go there. I said UW has a very low acceptance rate for direct admission freshman engineering/comp sci applicants. Are their engineering programs really on par with each other? They both sound really awesome I just want to be sure that UW isn’t leaps better in their engineering program so that if I don’t get directly admitted if it would be worth it to accept their undeclared offer and transfer after a semester or so there. Also, I don’t care about Greek life and I prefer hockey over football. Plus Boston is near New York, Philly, DC, and would be a really cool place to live. And what I do like about it is that I already got admitted into engineering 
Ah OK @TomS31415 . Misunderstood what you meant. I can’t speak to either school’s engineering programs specifically but hopefully you can find someone here and at UW who can. I just know that they are both excellent by reputation and I attended one and live near the other and my son also applied to and was accepted at both recently enough so we went through that same mental exercise of sorting out what to do. You have time. One thing to keep in mind about co-op is you could actually do one or more of your co-ops back in your home area for Boeing etc. if you can arrange it. Sort of the best of both worlds in that sense. Best of luck to you!
I guess I will have to wait and see! Thank you so much!
Are you a transfer student? I am actually considering both UW and NEU as my top choices. I applied to UW and I am going to start applying to NEU soon
No I am a running start student. So I will have an associates degree by the time I graduate high school. If I get into UW, I will go there no doubt. Cheap, amazing program, and 15 mins from my house. But if I get denied, then northeastern it is.