<p>Why is Northeastern ranked so much lower than many similar schools. According to US News, it is ranked 80. However, if you look on Collegeboard, the SAT scores to get accepted to Northeastern are even higher than some schools that are ranked in the 40s and 50s. I might wind up going to Northeastern but am wondering why with competitive admissions and good programs (Business being one) that Northeastern is not ranked up there with many other schools.</p>
<p>Northeastern has risen dramatically in the rankings in the past 10 years. One of the criteria in ranking is “peer assesment” which is weighted 20% I believe. This is a lagging indicator, It will take a while before those evaluating will be aware of Northeastern’s improved status. Likewise, schools like BU remain ranked higher because they have been highly rated for some time. </p>
<p>Another factor is NU’s 5 year coop plan. NU students take longer to graduate than students at traditional 4 year schools. Graduation rate is another factor in the USNews ranking. </p>
<p>Northeastern was always a great school even in in its commuter school days. Commuter schools are unfairly looked down upon by many academic elites. Even after the commuter days are long gone, the stigma remains. </p>
<p>Twenty years ago, Northeastern was a safety school for BU applicants. Now NU is more selective than BU. It will take a while for this to be generally known. </p>
<p>In any case, you should not put too much weight on rankings in making your decision. That said, I predict that Northeastern will rise in the rankings to the low 60’s in 2010 and that BU will inch downwards.</p>
<p>We have the same concerns. My child got into NU with free full tuition and UCLA which ranks in the top 20s. It’s going to be a very tough decision…</p>
<p>^^ Congratulations to your student. In poking around College Confidential, I came across this thread:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-los-angeles/770864-deterioration-ucla.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/university-california-los-angeles/770864-deterioration-ucla.html</a>
I hope I didn’t make your choice harder.</p>
<p>@tomsrofboston</p>
<p>haha…what are you a booster for northeastern?</p>
<p>^^ Yes, and an alumnus.</p>
<p>Collegproject S also got accepted to UCLA and NE (as well as Rochester, RPI, UCSD, VA Tech…)., In choosing between NE and UCLA I think it is far more important to focus on environemnt rather than differnece in “Rankings”. UCLA is an excellent school with an exceptional reputation but it is a state funded university and times are tuff. Northeastern is private with a very good (soon to be exceptional) reputation. I think one would be best served by considering where your son would be the happiest–The great city of Boston and east coast weather or LA/Westwood and that awesome Southern CA weather. For my son the southern CA weather coupled with the proximity to In-N-Out beats Boston and no-name seafood. We are very concerned with the economic climate of CA and to that end we have decided that if he is accepted to USC he will attend eventhough UCLA is considered a better school. From my perspective I don’t think you can go wrong with either school and with free tuition to NE how can you go wrong–best of luck to your son.</p>
<p>crunch,</p>
<p>To make it even more complicated, my child got into USC with free 1/2 tuition as well. I guess it’s a good problem to have : )</p>
<p>We are planning to visit all schools and hopefully an answer will come…</p>
<p>collegeproject-- I think your son love will love both USC and UCLA–the big differences between UCLA and USC from my perspective:
1)Private vs. Public
2)size with UCLA being bigger
3) Location within LA–hands down goes to UCLA
4)Ranking UCLA being higher but USC on the rise
5)Proximity to In-N-Out UCLA wins that battle</p>
<p>Free tuition at NE or half at USC–hum, great options!!! If it is ratings that are important, if my mind serves me correctly US News and World reports has ULCA at 24, USC at 26 and NE at 80th. I don’t thing your child can go wrong at any of those schools! I agree visitng each school should bring resolution. What major?</p>
<p>My son’s choice is USC (should he get in; he has decided that should he get into both UPenn and USC-he would still go to USC)</p>
<p>There’s a decent population of californians here and for the most part they seem to like it, but it’s definitely a big life change. As a westerner (not a californian, just a neighbor and with lots of CA ties), I’ll say that the weather here sucks and so does the mexican food… it’s a bit of a culture shock at first, but I think the big move it is worth it for cool cities and the chance to do something different.</p>
<p>I have a lot of friends at UCLA and am happy to not be dealing with the economic issues in the UC system right now… but the people I know there are working around it and are still happy to be there. And of course, USC is a great school, and both of them will always have more name-recognition out west than NEU will.</p>
<p>I’m from Florida, and to be honest if I had realized the weather was so bad I would have thought harder about my choice to move to Boston. I also didn’t realize that UF was higher ranked than Northeastern when I was accepted into both. That being said, I still would have choosen Northeastern. The environment fits me, I love the campus, and co-op is a great program for me (because I change my mind all the time).</p>
<p>So yeah, often when you say northeastern everyone says “Oh that one in Chicago?”. But if you like the school, you should go here. Same as if you like it someplace else, you should go there. The schools themselves are really the only ones that should really care about their rank.</p>
<p>just a question when do the rankings comeout or when are they updated?</p>
<p>From what I’ve read, Northeastern is on a rating upswing. But ratings really are mostly only important for getting jobs (or grad school admission) … and it seems like good co-op job experience would trump ratings-deltas.</p>
<p>Does anybody know how good Northeastern’s Theatre Program is? I applied and got in, but I’m still waiting on other schools? To which other schools’ theatre programs does it compare to?</p>
<p>How does Northeastern’s Theatre program compare to Loyola University of Chicago’s program?</p>