Some things to consider about NU

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northeastern University
1

<p>I hope no one takes this as an anti-NU message, but while students can be the best ambassadors for a school, they're also the only ones who really know the negatives of a school. I don't want to discourage anyone from attending. If you feel NU is the right fit for you academically, socially, financially, etc., by all means go there. It's a great school and I know many people who are very happy there.</p>

<p>That said, I thought it might help some people who are on the fence to know a few things that you might not be fully aware of going in. Do note that many of these problems are not specific to NU; you'll run into the same stuff at other schools.</p>

<p>1) Red tape. NU has a reputation as a massive bureaucracy, and it has that reputation because it is. If you ever need anything done, good luck. If you send emails with specific questions, you'll get generic responses that are completely unrelated to what you asked. If you call, the phone will ring for minutes and minutes and no one will answer. If you go to an office in person, they will direct you to another office, which will direct you to another office, which will direct you back to the office you started at. And then they will lose whatever it is you needed them to do, blame you for their mistake, and make you start all over. Many schools have issues like this, and it is important that you can take responsibility for your own stuff at this age, but they are very unwilling to help, or, if they mean well (like many of the advisors, for example), they'll also be completely clueless and unable to help. I lost count of the number of times someone was paid to not do their job and instead make me do it for them.</p>

<p>2) Social life. There are so many rumors about this. Half of students have a great social life, the other half don't. It's hard to gauge where you will fit in. There are a lot of people who are not very friendly. They will not talk before a class starts, or after a class, or anything. They are on their iPads and laptops and phones what seems like 24/7 and will not talk to you, especially in the business school. There isn't a big sense of community at NU; if you can find your niche and meet some friends, you will be fine, but for many, this just doesn't happen. A lot of people were unapproachable and felt they were better than you. Then you have all the people who don't have friends, but are too embarrassed about having friends, that they won't approach anyone or let anyone approach them. Note that it does take time to make friends at ANY SCHOOL; also note that a lot of people who spent 4-5 years at NU have said it was a very anti-social school for them.</p>

<p>3) Co-op. Co-op is a great opportunity and it is what makes NU the school it is. However, it's important to note just how big of a deal co-op is. If you are not serious about co-op, don't go into a major that requires one, because co-op IS NU. Also note that there's a bit of an attitude among students and even faculty that as long as you get a good co-op, you'll get good job placement, and therefore, what you do in class isn't so important. This wouldn't be true, but NU really does pad your grades to raise your GPA so you can get attractive co-ops. It's a big numbers game; NU depends on high job placement rates to attract students, so they dick the numbers around to make sure their formula of co-op to job works. For many, this isn't a bad thing at all; I'm sure some read this and want to go to NU even more, but if you aren't totally sold on doing a co-op, do reconsider.</p>

<p>4) Co-op and your schedule. At many colleges, you start taking your general ed/core classes as you ease your way into your major. At NU, you dive head-first into your major so that you are ready to co-op. And no, it's not your choice; your first semester schedule is made by your advisor without your input, and most programs are so heavily prescribed you'll not get much say even when you do have a say (goes back to red tape; once, before the semester started, I switched out of one class and into another and my advisor emailed me a few days later telling me she would put me back into the old class and give me an F in it if I didn't take it...simply because she was the professor). This is fine, but if you aren't totally sold on your major, it's going to be hell. You'll not get to experiment in other subjects and figure out what your real calling is, and you'll be stuck taking a schedule filled with classes you don't enjoy. And trust me, a lot of college students do switch majors...multiple times, in fact. If you've had lifelong dreams of doing specific work for a specific organization, NU will work for you. But if you're just doing "business because it's a good degree to have" or "engineering so I can make money," this is not the school for you...</p>

<p>5) ...which leads me to my next point: this school takes itself seriously, and the students take themselves seriously, but no one really takes the classes or the work too seriously. This attitude bothered me, personally, but again, it's all individual. Just know you may not fit in if you aren't super-invested in yourself as a professional and in the school by day, and super-invested in partying by night.</p>

<p>6) Location. Being in a city is great for many, but also consider that it is very loud at night and in the morning, so it is hard to sleep. There are buses, trains, cars/horns, construction noises, people, and, always, without fail, non-stop: sirens. Some dorms are on busier streets than others, but none of them are very quiet. It is a city. So don't forget that for all the excitement of the city, there are downsides, too, so consider all the angles. NU is also very close to rough neighborhoods, especially if you live in International Village, so you do need to be really careful. If you aren't comfortable with situations where you might have to react quickly, and if you don't have a solid group of people you can travel with, it's going to be hairy at times.</p>

<p>I hope this helps some of you in making your decisions. It's a great school, but it's an even better school if you really know that it is what you truly want and where you want to be. For me, it was not, but for about 90% of students who they do retain, it was, and I'm happy for them, and I'm sure they may come here with rebuttals. Best wishes.</p>

2

<p>I had my son, a freshman in the Honors Program and living in IV, read this for his comments.</p>

<p>He can’t speak to the schedule being inflexible since he is undeclared-sounds like that was a good idea.</p>

<p>Every other point you raise he has almost the complete opposite opinion. How interesting that you both were in the same dorm and have had experiences that are 180 degrees different.</p>

<p>I can only speak with any knowledge about the red tape. I was concerned about this issue since it had been brought to my attention but in every case my husband or I have needed help it has been easily obtainable.</p>

<p>My daughter visited him in December at IV. She is afraid of cities and was fearful of visiting. She came home with a completely different opinion of the place from the one she held before the visit. I had no concerns with her visiting and have no serious concerns about the safety of IV and the area around it. There are two police stations right by the station.</p>

<p>The academics in his opinion have been great and the kids he is with take them very seriously.</p>

<p>He doesn’t post on the site so I thought I would add this information after having him read your post.</p>

<p>The most current freshman retention rate for the school is 95%-while an excellent rate that still mean 5 students out of 100 leave for whatever reason. I am sorry your experience wasn’t what you had hoped for but until you are at a place it is hard to know if you will like it.</p>

<p>Best of luck to you.</p>

3

<p>A few comments.</p>

<p>Yeah, the bureaucracy can be a major headache, but there are certainly ways to navigate it. In most cases, as long as you make sure you leave plenty of time to get whatever you need done (as in, you don’t wait until the last minute to get something figured out), you’ll probably be fine, but yeah, there is major room for improvement. </p>

<p>As for social life, I think a lot of it is very dependent on who you are and how you behave, but this is true for any college. Simply put, don’t go in expecting it to be anything like any previous social experiences. What I’ve seen is there are a lot of people who show up (at any college) and start looking for cliques. It doesn’t really work like that. While it’s true that some schools are going to be more welcoming and others, at any decently sized school, you’ll find that the average person isn’t going to go out of their way to get to know you. </p>

<p>I don’t know what you’re majoring in, and I haven’t been on co-op, so I can’t comment much on your experiences with co-op. The classes I’ve taken so far have held me to what I feel is a high standard so far, and I don’t feel that my grades have been inflated (the way they calculate GPA has hurt me more often than not). </p>

<p>How crazy specific your schedule is very dependent on your major. However, a few good APs in relevant courses can do a lot to free up room. Your experience with your adviser sounds terrifying, and possibly the kind of behavior you should be reporting. One thing to keep in mind is that while an undecided major may sound tempting if you aren’t sure of what you want to do, from what I’ve seen, people don’t really get a great opportunity to really explore majors while undecided, and basically get pushed one way or another after a semester or two, generally slightly behind in coursework. </p>

<p>The idea that you need to ‘fit in’ is a remnant of high school mentality. In 15,000 people, you will meet people who share your interests, your level of dedication, etc. I don’t party, but I don’t spend my days feeling excluded, I just hang out with my friends who don’t party. Not that I don’t have friends who do party - I do, but I just don’t party with them. Most of my friends are highly dedicated to their academics. </p>

<p>Noise never really bothered me, perhaps excepting people in the dorms I’ve lived in. Ear plugs or headphones are enough to solve most issues, and I’ve rarely used either. Northeastern does border some rough neighborhoods, but for the most part campus is incredibly safe. You need to be wary of yourself at night, but its not as if you’re one mistake away from being mugged. Basically, if you’re out late at night, and are going to be off campus, try to make sure you’re with someone else.</p>

4

<p>As far as pepper03’s comments about bureaucracy, we need to remember that a students perspective on bureaucracy will be different from those of us who have been battling them for thirty years. The typical young college student is right out of high school, a place where parents and guidance counselors have been clearing a path for them through the bureaucratic thickets. College is often the first time they have encountered, on their own, a large organization to whom they are just one among many - a number. It can be an unpleasant surprise to discover that out there in the real world the only one who really cares if your paperwork goes through is you. I remember it was for me. That clerk in department 4C has other things on his mind than your administrative request that has been sitting at the bottom of his “in” pile for a month.</p>

<p>My younger son was just accepted to NU with just enough money to make it possible to send him there. My elder son is a sophomore at UMass Amherst and I remember hearing the same things: At UMass, you are just a number, there is a big bureaucracy, etc. Our experience is yes, there is bureaucracy, and you will be lost in the shuffle if you don’t proactively engage it. But it’s actually pretty tame by real world standards and in fact has been pretty responsive when we’ve needed it to be. I suspect it is similar at NU.</p>

5

<p>Bro I have one thing to tell you, You are what you eat.</p>

6

<p>A few comments from a '11 grad.</p>

<p>First, yeah. There’s red tape. There are also 15,000 students at NU. You’re going to occasionally have to whine to several administrators before getting problems fixed. I’d imagine it to be this way in most larger schools. If you want to have your hand held for the next 4 years, go to a small LAC.</p>

<p>

As for social life, I had a great one at NU. I’m a partier, but I was also pretty serious about school, and I definitely had friends who weren’t into parties, and they always had plenty to do. But, it DOES take time. I enjoyed fresh and soph years, but my social life was best during my last 3 years. By that time, you’re really settled, you’ve met lots of people, you know your way around NU and boston, you have friends with apartments, etc. </p>

<p>As for the comment above, obviously, we all have different experiences. But I found people to be very social and friendly. I made some great friends in smaller classes and labs, and was always meeting new people through mutual friends that were happy to get to know a new person. Not everyone was friendly. There are the jocks who think they’re too hot for you, or the pre-med with the fancy co-op who thinks they’re smarter than… everyone, the girl in the north face and ugg boots who thinks she already has enough friends. But for me, those were in the minority, and those types aren’t really worth the effort.</p>

<p>Anyway. I just don’t like the bad rap NU has gotten recently on this board as far as social life. I realize some people have different experiences, but if we were really all so miserable, we wouldn’t all be staying at NU. I DO know people who transferred, and I DO know a very select few who weren’t able to find a good social life, but they always seemed to be in the minority.</p>

<p>Either my experience was rare or NU is a drastically different school than it was when I graduated. (It is! Kids are WAY smarter and way higher caliber students. But that doesn’t mean they should all suddenly have turned to *******s. I also have friends who are younger and still at NU… they seem to be enjoying themselves.)</p>

7

<p>dmt good point about differing perspectives after 30 years of having to deal with institutions! It hasn’t been a problem at all for us but that doesn’t mean it hasn’t been for others.</p>

<p>WG my son agrees with you about the undecided program. It isn’t what they market it as during admitted students day. He had some vague idea about a major when he started and fortunately got good scheduling advice at orientation so when he declares he will be on track. I do know of another student who went in as a Criminal Justice major, hated it on the first co-op and went into engineering and managed to graduate in five years and leave with the proper certification. He had to do some extra classes of course but his example was a strong plus when my son was considering his options. His biggest concern was getting out of college with a degree and then going into the field and hating it. This example showed him the value of the co-op for kids like him.</p>

<p>Emily my son is very happy at NEU and has made lots of friends and never has nothing to do but he wishes there were more “college” parties for freshman like him. He hears from his friends at other schools about the parties and has gone to some at their campuses. While he thinks that would get old after a while and wouldn’t trade places with them it does seem to him like he is missing out on that particular part of college. I wouldn’t advise someone to pick this school if they were looking for a big party school. You would know better of course since you have actually attended!</p>

8

<p>For the scheduling point- COMPLETELY depends on the student. I took a grand total of 2 courses towards my major my entire first year, because I switched my major and had a few APs. But I’m graduating in 4 years with two co-ops and a study abroad. AND my entire last semester (this one) is all electives.</p>

<p>I agree that co-op is huge here, and a lot of people- myself included- consider co-op season to be more important than eating or sleeping. But I don’t understand about the grade inflation. I’ve worked my butt off for my grades and have done well, and have gotten amazing co-ops because of them and awesome interviews. But I’m an econ/math dual and you can be certain that there are a lot more Cs to B+s than A-s or As. Not to mention the fact that a lot of students here plan on going to grad school, so they know grades matter a lot.</p>

<p>For your first co-op, grades matter more than experience (unless you actually have good work experience). But after that, grades are more of a screening for interviews. Why take someone with a 2.5 when you have thirty 3.0+s and only six interview slots? But that’s not grade padding- that is the mid-college slump where some people realize that staying out till 3am every night their first year probably wasn’t the best idea.</p>

<p>From my experience, I take a class seriously based on the professor, not the subject or co-op or anything like that. I’ve had totally pointless useless classes with GREAT professors that I worked really hard in and will remember the material forever. But I honestly have no idea what happened in Diff Eq, even though it’s a pretty important core math class, because I hated the professor.</p>

9

<p>Hmm, I’ll throw in my opinion on some of these issues.</p>

<p>1)
I never ever ever had any issues with administration/red tap. I have an awesome advisor, and I always get my questions answered quick. So it really just kind of matters on your specific situation. Everyone at every college complains about stuff like that - but it’s definitely not true for everyone.</p>

<p>2)
This could be true, but I don’t think it’s anything specific to Northeastern. If you’re a shy person, it’s harder to make friends in general, regardless of your college. If you’re outgoing, you won’t have a problem.</p>

<p>3)
Remember that if you plan on doing three co-ops, there’s a good chance you’re not going to be going home in the summers. To some people, this is no issue; for me, living relatively far from home, that limited time with my family isn’t something I was willing to give up. Because of that, I’ve chosen to just do one co-op and graduate in four years. This worked out for me, since my major does not require co-op. However, if I were in any of the countless majors with a stricter curriculum, multiple co-ops would have been required. Co-op is great, but realize that it’s a huge time commitment.</p>

<p>4)
I actually loved being able to take classes in my major right away. Northeastern doesn’t have many gen ed requirements (especially if you’re going for a BS and if you have some APs), which really drew me to the school. For other people, I guess this is a turn off. Really though, just because there aren’t a lot of gen eds doesn’t mean that you can’t take classes in several subjects - it’s just less of a scheduling hassle and fewer requirements. It’s not like 100% of your college credits need to be in your major; there’s plenty of wiggle room for electives or a minor.</p>

<p>6)
Seriously, Northeastern is in a FABULOUS location. There’s plenty of stuff around, you can walk to Back Bay, if it’s nice out it’s really not a bad walk to downtown, you’re right next to public transportation… I’ve never ever thought of it as “too noisy” nor I have I ever heard anyone say that, but I guess everyone has their own opinions. And unless you’re like walking into Roxbury in the middle of the night, it’s really not a dangerous area. Anywhere you would really want to go is most likely in the other direction. I disagree with the comment that International Village is in an unsafe area.</p>

10

<p>The idea that living anywhere on Northeastern is so “hairy” that you have to travel in packs to stay safe is ridiculous. Sure, if your a drunk girl alone stumbling along towards Roxbury at 2AM things could be a little unpleasant…but that holds true in any large city. There are more than enough Police and people around, that excersiing even a little bit of common sense will pretty much eliminate your chances of being murdered/raped/assaulted. You may have to be a little more careful leaving your laptop or wallet out though.</p>

11

<p>I agree with a lot of the comments already mentioned and have had similar experiences, so I figured I’d add what I could.</p>

<p>I agree completely that NU is pretty darn bureaucratic. I’ve had emails and phone calls left completely unanswered or ones that would send me to three different sources who may or may not have gotten back to me in due time. Even the departments whose sole purposes are to answer questions and relieve concerns have been guilty of this. Either way, my experiences haven’t been awful enough to discourage a prospective student from attending.</p>

<p>Yes, Roxbury and other surrounding neighborhoods can be pretty shady, but it’s worth noting that campuses within cities are sometimes notorious for being placed in rougher areas. The fact that Boston is pretty much built on its student population can arguably make it a safer place for young people than many other cities. I think NU runs pretty standard in terms of urban campuses, so in my opinion, it really comes down to whether or not you’re comfortable in a city setting in general. Really every college kid should be familiar with self-defense tactics and common sense in terms of navigating, etc. Also, one of the biggest surprises I had regarding my apartment was how dead silent it was, even with busy roads on either side. Sleeping is no big.</p>

<p>I agree that it can be easy to find yourself stuck in terms of a social life if you’re someone who thrives on constructed activities and the whole tailgating scene and all that. It’s easy to hide away in your dorm or apartment without people bothering you to come out and play. But again, this can be said about any college, so the cliche about college being what you make of it runs pretty true. A lot of my friends complain that they see the same 30 kids in their classes everyday because they have a more obscured major, which can be a negative thing or a very positive thing. You learn to make close friends, who will introduce you to more close friends, who will allow you to network and create a pretty typical social experience.</p>

<p>One major problem I have with the university is that it’s next to impossible to receive transfer credits at another institution while you’re enrolled at NU. This makes it tough for someone who’s from out of state and might want to fulfill credits closer to home rather than spending a summer in Boston, etc. If you’re not fully confident you can finance a five-year degree and then some, NU probably isn’t the school for you as they really don’t afford you much of a safety net. It also means you’ll have to be very careful in planning ahead in your course selection and co-op experiences.</p>

12

<p>@JordanSails</p>

<p>Thanks for your input. This is very helpful advice.</p>

13

<p>As was stated earlier, bureaucracy happens! Until you go off to college, you had “people” to deal with it: teachers, guidance counselors, parents. Some day, if you are successful in your career, you may be able to afford “people” to deal with bureaucracy once again. Until then, get used to it! If you go to work for a large corporation or a government agency, the bureaucracy won’t get any simpler. If you try to avoid it, or go around it, it will come back and bite you in ways you cannot imagine. </p>

<p>I don’t know if Northeastern’s bureaucracy is any worse than BU or other universities but if you learn how it works, and have patience, you will have few problems.</p>

14

<p>I don’t know if it is worse than at other schools.</p>

<p>Our experience has been a very positive one. Whenever we have needed to contact the school about billings or required forms they have been responsive and have followed up with emails.</p>

<p>My son has had to navigate the system and he seems to have no issues getting things done. He seems to be able to handle whatever he needs to do and from what he tells me I think he’s had a pretty good experience. </p>

<p>I don’t doubt people have problems-it’s a very big school and there are a lot of moving parts-maybe too many-but it is manageable. I am surprised at how good the experience has been after being warned about the red tape we would have to deal with at NEU-so far we haven’t experienced it.</p>