<p>With less than two weeks left to make a massive decision regarding my future, I've finally pinpointed why the decision between NU and a couple other schools (mainly BC) is so difficult. Northeastern seems like not only a fantastic school but also a fantastic place to live and learn. It does, however, seem like a means to an end.</p>
<p>By that I mean that through my welcome day experience and the conversations I've had with some NU students, I've been lead to believe that the primary purpose of life at NU is preparation for future careers and life as a whole. Okay, I get it, that's what college is supposed to be about: becoming adults ready to contribute. At the same time, the college experience itself shouldn't be forsaken. Northeastern doesn't really have sports teams to rally around, and it seems like it'd be harder to create a sense of community when everyone is going away for co-ops.</p>
<p>Right now, my decision seems to be between two abstract concepts.
1. College to maximize the four (or in this case five) years.
2. College to maximize the years following.</p>
<p>What I'm asking is whether or not there's still a large part of the NU community that wants to live for the moment, on occasion. Is it often that people forget their co-op and forget their ambition to just live up?</p>
<p>Believe me, I'm motivated, I want to make a difference in the world and I want to be successful. I believe NU can help me do that.</p>
<p>I also don't want to rush out of my youth.</p>
<p>This is THE EXACT quandary that I’m in. I’m bumping this as someone who desperately needs replies.</p>
<p>I graduated in 2010 so maybe my outlook is a little outdated. First, no students leave to go “become an adult” until a year in a half into college. In that time you will get drunk, make mistakes, connect with great friends, go to hockey games against BU/BC, basketball games against George Mason and VCU, maybe join greek life, but above all else grow. All those experiences are great and they will continue any time you are back on campus. Where I think the Northeastern community really shines though is later. Students are driven, but they also are helping each other out and supporting each other constantly. Your friends will help you get that great co-op, will support you when you run for public office as a co-op, will come visit you when you are living in NYC or DC for 6 months, will be your partners in whatever company you start up while in school. The opportunities at the school are endless and a lot of that has to do with students helping each other to be better and to constantly be pushing boundaries regardless if someone has been there before.</p>
<p>I really don’t think NU students view college as “a means to an end”. We might think a little more about jobs/next steps than students at a traditional school, but we’re STILL college kids.</p>
<p>That NU has this reputation ONLY as a co-op school has alllways sorta irked me. It’s the biggest selling point, and it’s what sets us apart, sure, but we’re still kids! We still enjoy the SAME things any other 18-22yr old enjoys. There is a northeastern culture that DOESN’T have anything to do with going to work 9-5 everyday, and that always gets overshadowed by the co-op thing.</p>
<p>Visit the library at noon on a weekday, it’s gonna be half kids studying and half kids lounging around snacking on swedish fish while chatting with study groups. Go to the dining hall on saturday morning and it’s a bunch of hung over kids in sweatpants. The first warm day of spring, everyone shirks their real responsibilities, puts on flip-flops, and goes outside to play frisbee/drink an iced coffee/sit out. Friday nights the streets are filled with kids going off to a friend’s dorm, to a party, to a bar, to Cappy’s for pizza. We drink too much redbull during finals and too much beer playing flip-cup on the weekends. We sneak up onto boston rooftops and look at the city skyline.</p>
<p>We still have fun and we’re still normal. It’s not like we have to think about careers 24/7. We think about our career a little bit at a time for a few years, rather than suddenly being a senior and thinking “ohhhh no, what the hell am I doing next year?” and having a panic attack. </p>
<p>I get it, co-op is the “highlight” of northeastern. But I wish it didn’t turn into the only thing people know about the school. I promise, we’re normal college aged human beings.</p>
<p>My D is finishing her freshman year at NEU and she had similar concerns. She is having the time of her life. She parties, participates in quite a few campus organizations, she has a wide variety of friends from all over the world, and is taking advantage of some of NEU’s unique offerings, particularly the study abroad options. Even as a rising sophomore she is eligible for some very interesting opportunities that she would not otherwise have available to her. It did take a full semester to become immersed…</p>
<p>Emily2007, momofboston, swimchris, thank you all very much!</p>
<p>I see those with first hand experience (students, parent of student) answered. Here’s another from a parent who’s D was accepted and decided on NEU just this past week after engineering open house visit. At the visit, the civil engineer speaker (Tillman if I remember) went over the co-op scenario. Like other poster(s) said, you go a year and a half (or two) before first co-op. Then cycle between classes/co-op based on their 4 or 5 year schedule options. But the thing we learned was that they basically split the class in 1/2. Meaning 1/2 the kids go out on first co-op cycle, while the others go out on the 2nd co-op cycle. So you stick with 1/2 the kids in your discipline (in D’s case 1/2 the civil engineers) for the duration. </p>
<p>But the other point was that a majority of kids in co-op actually stay in the dorm while doing their co-op. So they still see all of their friends, but go to a workplace rather than classes. </p>
<p>These details helped our D decide on NEU, and turned down CMU, RPI, Lehigh, Syracuse, UMass. Go Huskies!</p>
<p>Tillman is my son’s co-op advisor and cannot speak highly enough about him. Son is out on 1st co-op right now and it has been a great experience for him.</p>
<p>Excellent timing for this thread, we are visiting Tulane this weekend then making the decision and deposits. Thanks OP!</p>
<p>The other good thing about Coop is that after their freshman year, the kids are on a year round coop/school schedule. They still get plenty of time off but it eliminates the stress and competition for internships many of which are unpaid because they all have full time paying jobs. The school really wants kids sticking around for their first coop because they keep an eye on them however after year 2/3 the opportunities expand worldwide…with big jobs waiting for them upon graduation. Some go to Wall Street, the west coast or to other parts of the world for 6 months.</p>
<p>Hey ThaKalp! That was a huge concern of mine as well, because even though Northeastern had their very modern and attractive campus within the city, I had a feeling that I wouldn’t get that traditional of a college experience there. Couple that with the raves I heard from my friends that attend BC, and I was really worried. It’s nice to hear that Northeastern’s a pretty normal college too, and I honestly don’t know why I thought they were all purely career driven people…thanks for the post and link!</p>