@jillpnk I am only a parent, btw, but oh boy do I want this over with!
@binky17 same and same!!
@TomSrOfBoston You seem to have your finger on the pulse so I thought I’d ask your opinion about what has caused Northeastern’s increased selectivity and rise in the national rankings. Certainly its rise has outpaced its peer institutions over the last 5-10 years. It seems that NEU’s merit scholarships are increasingly powerful lures for excellent students that need to be cognizant of extending college savings through graduate school.
@RelocatedYankee, I definitely do not have my finger on the pulse but had read this earlier this year:
http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/article/2014/08/26/how-northeastern-gamed-the-college-rankings/
@RelocatedYankee Merit scholarships are part of it but Northeastern is certainly not unique in offering them.
A big part of the attraction is experiential learning/coop and that has always been a draw for Northeastern. Coop is now getting national attention and many colleges offer optional coop at least in engineering. The job market is not what it used to be back when getting a bachelor’s degree without even an internship pretty much guaranteed you a job in your field. But optional coop has issues and some students shy away from it. They wonder how they will “make up” the classes they miss while on coop etc.
Northeastern’s location in Boston is another draw. Also the development of a residential campus in the past 20 years after being a hybrid residential/commuter school since the 1960’s has increased out of region interest. BU and BC were once commuter colleges too but they began the transition to residential campuses a generation before Northeastern did. Northeastern clung to its historic roots longer than the others until the changing environment made change inevitable. It was a bumpy transition at first.
Northeastern’s Board of Trustees selected two outstanding presidents: Drs. Freeland and Aoun. They showed the leadership necessary for institutional change to occur. There were Luddites who said it could not be done, even internally. There have been complaints about Dr. Aoun’s high compensation in recant years. But you tend to get what you pay for.
Also there is marketing. Colleges, especially private colleges, have to tell the world what they offer and how that differs from the lower cost public colleges. So yes there are glossy brochures and videos produced. The old Northeastern did an awful job at self promotion. That has certainly changed. And while some claim that Northeastern “gamed” the USNews rankings all they did was manage to the criteria: higher admission standards leading to higher retention and graduation rates, smaller class size, increased tuition to pay for more faculty and new facilities etc. Please do not link to that old Boston Magazine article, a good article with a click bait headline.
Finally I take strong exception to the statement by many that the old Northeastern was not that great. Even President Aoun put his foot in his mouth early in his administration regarding this. The physical campus was much smaller and the landscaping budget was about $100/year I think LOL. And while admission standards were lower, resulting in low retention and graduation rates, those of us who graduated would compare favorably with today’s graduates, minus the global awareness which few colleges promoted back in the day.
Wow, that was long winded response! I hope it makes up for the lack of ED results last night. I did warn in my postings that I was going by past patterns, which apparently have changed.
Ah and @hudsonmom02 posted the link to that Boston Magazine article while I was typing!
@TomSrOfBoston Yes sorry I linked to that article before I saw your response 
Thanks for your response - it is always better to get another point of view especially one that comes from actual experience at the school. When I was in High School NEU did not have a great reputation at my high school except for the Engineering school. When I toured with my daughters I was so impressed with the school - not only the facilities/infrastructure but the programs and resources. I do think that NEU deserves its reputation and higher ranking regardless of how it got there!
Investments like these are a big part of why the school has risen in the rankings:
New Science building - opening in Feb 2017:
http://northeastern.us9.list-manage.com/track/click?u=00133729f8250214e49b2a93c&id=8ac0b5451c&e=4cb8cbc438
That said, I’m not a huge fan of the fact that SAT/ACT scores are not required NOR considered for international students. I think that is the only ‘gamey’ thing about their rankings focused improvements. I know they are not the only school that does this though and MANY colleges don’t require ACT/SAT scores at all - or only report the scores of kids who submit them (higher scores obviously) - which is just ‘gamey’.
@TomSrOfBoston totally agree on the clickbait title of that article. It’s not “gaming the system” if you are actually making improvements to the college in areas such as class size, facilities, etc. that are part of the ratings. Yes those improvements increased the rating but also improved the school! The title implies otherwise.
Speaking with different guidance counselors in my county, there are actually quite a few things that Northeastern does to be really accessible to a higher level of student.
First of all, the entire co-op program is obviously a draw, since it gives students the opportunity to make money during their 4 - 5 years. This program also encourages people to apply for maybe less “in demand” majors, or riskier ones, since they know that they would graduate with work experience and connections. For instance, a lot of people are afraid of liberal arts majors (english, political science, journalism) but it’s a lot scarier to study under those disciplines if you know that you’ll actually be able to make money off of them. Common stigma surrounding those majors basically state that you won’t be able to get a job with those degrees, but NEU really eases that worry for all of their applicants.
@Bozusaki of course I am applying to two of the three scary majors you mentioned (poli sci/journalism) :))
The first “game” that former President Freeland played was to get USNews to use the 6 year instead of the 4 year graduation rate. NU’s 4 year rate was around 10% which obviously sank it in the rankings. I believe that was when Northeastern rose from around 125 to 98 in one year. The 4 year rate simply didn’t account for Northeastern’s somewhat unique program. Northeastern wasn’t the only college lobbying for that change.
And while rankings are not everything it did get many to take notice. If students didn’t like the school after enrolling the freshman retention rate would not be 96.7%.
And I do admit to smiling when Northeastern tied with our long time cross the Fens rival BU!
@sportsbrand96 Really, NEU is the best place to study those things, imo. You’re graduating with work experience and connections that a lot of people don’t have!
For what it’s worth, I’m currently slated to study Computer Science & Journalism but if I get in (big if) then I may switch to political science as well. Like I said, studying liberal arts feels a lot less like a “risk” if you know that you’re graduating with a lot more than a degree.
anyone think that it will come out today?
I hope!
I put a Northeastern sweatshirt in my cart on their store earlier today to see what they charge for shipping (bored + anxious this afternoon) and left without removing it. I just got an email from Northeastern University and I almost jumped out of my skin before I saw that the subject line was “Complete Your Purchase”.
This whole “not knowing a date” thing is driving me insane x_x
Has anyone called the admissions office and asked them what day decisions come out? When my daughter was accepted to another selective school, the admissions office sent an email a week before stating the exact time and date decisions would be released. Does NEU not do that?
I have heard more than one person saying Twitter is a great place to hear if students are getting decision. I am a total rookie at Twitter, but have just opened an account. How would I check on NorthEastern?
The admissions office will only say by 12/15 or 12/31 if you call, according to last year’s posts.
on twitter search for NUAdmissions and follow them