<p>Dear Zepp,
I am a succesfull multi-millionare and graduate of NEU Class of 1970. I have a penthouse on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, a country estate in Dover, MA., an oceanfront compound on Nantucket, two penthouse condos in Miami, a house in Capri, Italy and a villa in the south of France. I also have a private jet, staff of 29, am dating a Playboy Centerfold and am worth close to a half a billion dollars. I own approximately 23 vehicles, as well as a $5 million dollar yacht, "The Huskie"</p>
<p>zepprock, the only other school we have heard you talk about is Villanova. Wouldn't a comparison of its salary ranges be more useful to you than comparing to MIT or Stanford? (if salary is all you are concerned about)</p>
<p>But NEU is still worse and you get more respect when you say you go to Villanova. Also, scansmom, like I said before, my point here is to show that where you go to school and its reputation matter very much. Look at the list of the wealthiest people in America and count how many went to top tier schools. I don't think its a coincident that some people in the top 25 richest people in America attended Columbia, Princeton, Yale (2), MIT (2), Harvard (3), Stanford, and University of Pennsylvania. There must be something about these schools that lets their graduates make a lot more money that graduates from NEU. I wonder what it is...</p>
<p>WEB switched out of Wharton to the University of Nebraska. Obviously the University of Nebraska didn't transform him into a future billionaire - it was his own characteristics that led him to succeed. </p>
<p>Gates dropped out of Harvard, thus his education was "incomplete". It's obvious then, that it was his own efforts that led to his success, not some magical essence that was infused into him by Harvard.</p>
<p>zepp, do you have a source for your list of the 25 richest people in america and what colleges they attended?
if the ones that you mentioned (Columbia, Princeton, Yale (2), MIT (2), Harvard (3), Stanford, and University of Pennsylvania) are the only ones out of the whole list of 25, than that is only 11 of the 25 people and that is below half, which kind of disproves your point. it shows that you really do not neeeeed a degree from an Ivy league or top tier school.</p>
<p>#1</a> William Henry Gates III - Forbes.com Look under their pictures and press next at the bottom for 25 of them. And the fact that almost half of these people attended respected, top tier schools says something about the school. It's not like 2/25 went to top tier schools. Some of those who didn't go to top tier schools inherited their money and didn't need to go to these schools (i.e. the Waltons).</p>
<p>Oh my gosh, Zepp. As a mother, my heart goes out to you. You sound so miserable.. My daughter felt just like you the first semester. She was so sad, angry and lonely that we started the transfer paperwork almost as soon as she got there. I spoke with her everyday and knowing that she was not adjusting to or fitting in broke my heart and left me in tears after every call. The last thing you want as a mother is to know that your child worked so hard for all those years only to end up making the wrong choice of him/herself. She hated the weather, her classes, and the entire student body. She was so lonely and it was not the right time to tell her that I barely wanted to be around her let alone any new potential friends. For her, it ended up being a simple case of homesickness and she loved it by second semester. But, she knew of several other students in the same predicament who sought help through NUs Health Center and talked to a professional who had experience with this kind of situation. Some of them even took medication for awhile just to overcome the depression and anger so that they could divert some of their energy and focus in a more positive direction. I know that you already have your future direction/goal to transfer, but maybe you should just talk to someone there to help with what you are going through right now. If you could maybe make yourself feel better, then maybe you could try to make some new friends or join some clubs or even just discover something you like to do on you own if you prefer to be alone. There is nothing wrong with that if you cant find anyone you have anything in common with. I hope you feel better. Please dont try to wait out the year letting yourself feel like this. Depression, whether it is defined as aggressive or passive, can be very hard on ones body and overall health. You deserve better and I guarantee its breaking your moms heart as well to know what is happening!</p>
<p>ZeppRock07 - Another mother here. I know you are concerned about this but my husband, his two brothers, and one nephew all went to NEU. They have all done extremely well. In fact, my BIL has been CEO many times over and only hires NEU grads now after too many bad experiences hiring from some of the more prestigious universities (engineers and business types). You don't want to hear him talk about the Harvard MBAs..... Another nephew, now in his late 30s, went to WPI and is a milionaire from something he developed right after graduation through his associations there. Don't focus on the 25 richest people, if you can help it - they are a minute section of the population - you can be successful by taking advantage of all the opportunities at NEU, and doing well, or, worst case, deciding that it will never work out there for you and taking a remaining gap year. You are young - your fate is not sealed yet although I know it feels as though you have cut off opportunities. A co-worker's husband went to a not very famous state school in the midwest for engineering and is now at MIT getting his Ph.D, just about to graduate - there are more roads than one to success and opportunity is often being aware of it.</p>
<p>If you are really miserable and sick in your heart (remember what a big change this is emotionally), however, you should really consider talking with someone there or even with your parents. Everyone has some difficulty with the transition to school and being from the area I know that NEU is a big school that is not big on warm and fuzzy. Have you spoken to anyone in the Engineering program - I understand they have a mentoring program and really want to help kids be successful. Do you have a mentor and is that person someone you can relate to? </p>
<p>As another Mom, I have to echo what calcaitsmom said above - you should talk with your parents or at least someone at the school to try to improve your experience. If you think this is really a no-win situation for you, ask yourself what is the worst that could happen if you decided to leave and perhaps take a gap year......you are young and have your whole life ahead of you. But, please talk with your parents and someone at NEU. I hope this doesn't sound like a lecture - like calcaitsmom I would not want my son to be this unhappy about where he is at school. It would break my heart.</p>