<p>I've heard that NEU is just some type of commuter school that isn't really conducive to the college experience, and that it is just a bunch of kids who want to start their careers early with co-op, and it's not at all the traditional college experience. What do people know about this?</p>
<p>It WAS a commuter school - back in the 90's; since about 2000 they have made a huge effort to compete nationally and raise their rankings (ave SAT has gone up 150 pts in the past 8 yrs). LOTS of new dorms, 2/3 of the students are now from out of state. The school is completely transformed while still maintaining its trademark co-op program.</p>
<p>Read some of the other threads...</p>
<p>Scansmom speaks the truth! 95% of freshmen live on campus, 50% after that and about 80-90% live within a mile. Its a city so a lot of people decide they want to try out an apartment with friends which makes sense since an off campus apartment building could be right next to the cafe, etc. If you look at our campus map... all the building next next to campus are off campus apartments students live in.</p>
<p>And many of the surrounding apartments are even leased by the school, the need for housing is that great. </p>
<p>Given that the school traditionally was a very regional/commuter school, many of the co-op arrangements already established by the school are in the Boston area. Therefore, many students do their co-ops in Boston but they can continue to live in dorms or off-campus housing while doing their co-op and they can continue to participate in school activities while on co-op so NEU students definitely have that traditional college experience - with some slight differences in what they are doing during the day when they are on co-op. </p>
<p>Co-op is not for everyone, but for many students (and careers) it is a very positive, healthy and practical way for students to "learn." And as NEU demonstrates, this model of learning does not mean that students have to sacrifice a "traditional" college experience but can actually add to that experience.</p>
<p>thanks for the responses- p.s., i wasnt trying to hate on NEU, i just am considering going there, and I don't know a whole lot about it.</p>