<p>So I was accepted to NU and I love it. It's my #1 and I would love to go there. (Price is the only problem--but I'll get over that). The only thing I'm concerned about is the social life...I want to make a lot of friends in college and I want to go to parties, etc. Does Co-op get in the way of this? I think the Co-Op is awesome, but I just don't want to not have fun in college. So:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>How are the parties at Northeastern? I know bars are a popular spot but for those under 21 how are the parties, do a lot of people use fake ids?</p></li>
<li><p>Was it easy making friends/does co-op interrupt this?</p></li>
</ol>
<p>i am in exact same situation and wondering about the exact same thing.
I got accepted in honors but although NEU isn’t my first choice i am interested b/c of co-op. But i also live for partying and one thing that keeps me back from studying in US is the booze limit of 21!! God bless Europe as law here is 16!!!
So how hard is it to party, make friends go to bars etc. anyone ?</p>
<p>You have plenty of time (over a year at least) to make friends in classes/dorm/clubs before you go on co-op. So your social life isn’t hindered in that way.</p>
<p>I will saw however that even the biggest partiers learn to hold off on Sunday night through Thursday night, because of work in the morning. That doesn’t mean parties shut down or anything, but the smarter people realize after a while that it really sucks commuting at 7 am with a hangover, so they party in moderation when work is tomorrow. That’s just what I’ve seen though-- obviously there are going to be people who aren’t affected by work at all and some who go to bed at 10 pm on the dot every night.</p>
<p>While Northeastern students party like most college students, you have to learn sooner than others that employers do not accept a hangover as a valid excuse for absenteeism and tardiness. Coming to work reeking of booze or weed will get you fired quickly. Also, most coop employers, like all employers, require drug tests for prospective employees. </p>
<p>If you want to party hard for four years, you may not succeed at Northeastern.</p>
<p>From what I’ve seen people seem to party more when they’re on co op because they don’t have any homework or studying to do. </p>
<p>The parties are pretty good, but you need to know someone to get into a lot of them. A lot of freshmen that I know go to bars and clubs with fake IDs. Two of my friends got theirs taken away though. I guess you just have to use them at the right places.</p>
<p>Co op definitely doesn’t interrupt making friends because you make most of your friends during your first year, and nobody goes on co op until the second semester of their second year (or later). Plus like I said before people on co op hang out more because they have nothing else to do at night.</p>
<p>Co-op really has zero effect on social life. I probably go out more when on co-op since I don’t have homework/studying.</p>
<p>As far as parties, boston apartments are small so parties are usually limited to circles of friends rather than just a big house party. Especially now that I’m older and have more groups of friends, I can find something to do any thursday-saturday night, but it’s harder as a freshman when you have to depend on knowing upperclassmen with apartments, especially if you’re a guy.</p>
<p>Being 21 also makes a huge difference… some people get away with fakes when they’re younger but bars are strict so it’s easy to get denied. Once you’re 21 there’s always something to do and endless bars around the city to try out.</p>
<p>Oh yeah! That’s one thing I wish they told us at orientation. I personally don’t smoke because of preference. However a LOT of my friends got really screwed on interviews because they found out that the employer drug tests and they had to back out of it. So please note that while there are obviously co-ops that don’t drug test, most dealing with money will! It’s a federal law that if you have access to a certain amount of money, you have to do an annual drug test. Most employers that have to do it for some employees just require it of all of them. I work at an investment office that requires it, even though most people don’t have anything to do with the investments. Also ALL government jobs and nearly all academia jobs require it, for obvious reasons. So I advise finance/accounting/economics majors not to smoke, or at least to realize what you could be losing out on if you do!!</p>
<p>yeah, you have to watch out for the employer drug tests. I’ve never been tested (seems like jobs in biotech and hospitals do it less than other employers) but it’s not uncommon. Most people I know who are doing things that would show up on a test (essentially, most things outside of alcohol) will stop during interview cycle.</p>
<p>Doesn’t really affect your social life, or the general social scene though. I think if you’re at the point where not doing drugs will significantly impact your having fun/partying, you probably have bigger fish to fry than finding a co-op job.</p>
<p>Blood test? Uck, that sucks. I had to go to this skeevy place by Harvard Med to do a normal test, and I got really confused when she asked me to take my sweatshirt off. I had a very dumb moment and forgot that people sneak stuff in… So I was really offended haha. It wasn’t a fun day.</p>
<p>My social life was definitely stronger while on co-op than while in classes. Sure, I had to go to bed early on weeknights, but I had no homework on weekends so I could do whatever I wanted. I much preferred co-op over classes. They do offer some online classes you can take while on co-op, but DON’T DO IT unless your co-op is less than 35 hours a week. That definitely will impact your social life and your ability to participate in student activities while on co-op.</p>
<p>Most of your friends will be people you meet in student activities, so join a few your freshman year and you will have a robust social life almost immediately.</p>
<p>Only once did I go to a big blowout party on an off-campus apartment. Trust me, they’re not all they’re cracked up to be. A bunch of people you don’t know drinking bad-tasting alcohol just to get drunk, loud music, long lines for the bathroom, beer pong splashing everyone, walking home dehydrated and hungover… it’s a waste of time. </p>
<p>The most fun parties are those with a few friends sitting around, playing games, watching a movie, and drinking what they like.</p>