This is a new option this year.
I think there may be several reasons for it, including rankings for sure - NU has lots of initiatives to change those. But one thing I haven’t seen discussed is that we are having somewhat of a housing shortage…
Regardless, it’s another program to consider the drawbacks/benefits. I wouldn’t want to transfer into NU myself, seeing as it’s already kind of an in-and-out culture, with everyone going on co-op. It’s already sort of hard to put down roots and find a friend group when starting college, and I think not having a true freshman year to settle in would make it even more difficult.