Jan-Start Program

Colleges & Universities Northeastern University
81

<p>@berkmountain</p>

<p>You can accept 2 schools simultaneously, according to what admissions counselors at both UMass Amherst and NU told me. I was originally in the same predicament…being accepted to the Jan-Start program and thinking about taking classes at UMass for the fall. </p>

<p>I did a lot of calling back and forth between the schools and my guidance counselor, and I never got the word that it was not possible.</p>

82

<p>How would it show up on a college transcript, and if you took classes at a community college? I planned on going and transferring to another school, will this look like a negative?</p>

83

<p>i ended up enrolling to both schools(umass amherst and northeastern).</p>

<p>I will be going to umass in the fall and treating it like the school i plan on staying at-orientation and all. I dont really plan on mentioning my spring enrollment at neu to umass in case that causes some issues. So essentially, I will take core classes at umass in the fall, will not re-register, and simply go to northeastern. Unless I end up just staying at umass, the $400 registration fee doesn’t seem like that much when I have the opportunity to start a real college experience like it should be started-in the fall.</p>

<p>Called neu admissions and they said this sounded fine. I even talked to the LA representative and she said that it was not ideal(they’d prefer taking your money via the study abroad), but it’s your fall semester and you can do whatever you want with it.</p>

<p>So in the end, everything is worked out. I know it’s a little late now, seeing as registration deadlines passed, but keep in mind that community college would be a great and affordable option as well.</p>

84

<p>Students should never double-deposit. It goes against the standards established by our professional association, the National Association for College Admission Counseling (NACAC), which the vast majority of colleges and university as well as secondary schools are members. It creates uncertainty about the size of the incoming class and it’s just not nice. Colleges and universities spend a lot of time preparing for your arrival, assigning housing spaces, planning course sections and orientation activities. Based on the number of deposits we receive, we make decisions not to go to our wait list, disappointing other qualified students who may want the spot you are holding. If a college or university learns you have double deposited, they could rescind your offer of admission. Read our blog for more info. [Northeastern</a> Admissions](<a href=“http://nuadmissions.typepad.com/]Northeastern”>http://nuadmissions.typepad.com/)</p>

85

<p>I was admitted as a Jan Start 2011 too. As a student, I feel that regardless of when you start school, it is your responsibility to keep up with your classes and make your college experience, your college experience. As my friends say, “Life is what you make it.” If you really don’t feel comfortable with all the variables … then don’t do it. For me, NEU’s coop programs and partnership with Tufts MS is a plus for going there even if it means starts Jan 2011. Really, think about all the pros and cons. </p>

<p>Pros:
-you get to spend more time with friends who will be at home
-you can save up more spending money
-you don’t have to travel home for the holidays
-you can save money by going to a community college
^They do have a part of their webpage that shows you what classes transfer over as what.
-you can possibly go abroad
-you can be lazy for another 4 months
-you get to buddy up with someone else who shares your pain</p>

<p>Cons:
-you miss fall orientation
-you spend 30k more to go abroad
-you might not be in a freshman dorm
-you might have to work harder to make new friends (talk a lot at your orientation)</p>

<p>I can’t really think of more cons because I think that if you can’t handle the adult world, you’re going to have a rude awakening in college. Not to say I’m perfect because I know I’m going to cry and be nervous and probably ruin some of my clothes trying to wash them, but as another woman earlier mentioned that college bureaucracy is a dog eat dog place. You have to be able to stand your own and fight for what you’re paying for.</p>

86

<p>If I got accepted into Jan-start and I am from Illinois, is there any chance that I could do service or what ever in the Boston area for the first semester? Or attend a community college in the area?</p>

87

<p>It appears (although you should ask admissions directly) that they are now making “jan start” officially the “accepted to the nu.in. program”, meaning it’s required. They also expanded the program to four locations this year.</p>

88

<p>Boy, I would take that as the opportunity to take 5 courses at one of the State colleges if you have one local, then transfer the credits. You would save thousands upon thousands of dollars. The glitch is though, you would HAVE to make sure that NU would take all of the credits, get a preapproval. Schools don’t like to take all of transfer credits because they are a business and need to make money. But think of January admit as a gift.</p>

89

<p>That’s the kicker though, Northeastern rarely ever takes transfer credits like that. By taking courses elsewhere and trying to transfer them, it’s like you accepted another offer- which means you’d have to reapply as a transfer student. Besides most people are saying that this year ALL spring admits have to do NU.in., its not optional. But I’m not 100% sure.</p>

90

<p>mayanoa: I wonder if you sign up for those programs separately if NU will accdept the credits?</p>

91

<p>I was accepted as a January admit. My mom spent the day on the phone (both my parents are alumni). Here’s the deal-this is the first year that spending the fall semester in a foreign country is MANDATORY. You go to one of the 4 countries listed or you do not go to NU. While there, you are required to do community service. They charge you $4000 more for this “opportunity”. You go to Boston in January, complete your spring semester, and then you have to go to summer school to catch up! (you have to pay for that too!!!). So forget about working, attending another school and tranfering or spending more time with family and friends. You go to England, Greece, Costa Rica or Australia or you don’t go to Northeastern. My mom got all the way to the dean of admissions and they wouldn’t budge. Hello BU!!!</p>

92

<p>BCH2011: Wow, thanks so much for posting that. NEU has been my dream school since freshman year, and I was actually considering accepting the Jan start option, but I really don’t think it’s worth all that money. This whole program seems like a horrible idea and I really hope they eliminate it for future years. I would have much rather been waitlisted
-___-</p>

93

<p>NUin is an option that Northeastern has set up as an alternative to being denied for some applicants. In a way it is similar to Boston University’s College of General Studies. It seems much more interesting than BU CGS but also more expensive.</p>

94

<p>NU was my son’s first choice. It would be a stretch ($) for us to send him there in the first place, never mind adding the extra expense of sending him over seas for the first semester. I am reading more negative about this NUin program than I am positive. It also would have been helpful if they mentioned this program at their open house during college visitation!!!
I am very disappointed!!!</p>

95

<p>NUin is NOT optional. It is mandatory.</p>

96

<p>

Students who are offered NUin would have been denied otherwise. That is the “option”.</p>

97

<p>Here’s the thing. There is no reason I should have been “otherwise denied”. According to Peterson’s college search my GPA and SAT’s are well within the range of accepted students. I have been taking honors and AP courses since sophomore year. I have over 150 hours of community service. I am in the National Honor Society. My extracurricular activities do not fit on one page. I held down a weekend/full time job at a country club all four years of high school. I am about to graduate from one of the most prestigious private high schools in Boston with honors. And, as previously mentioned, both my parents graduated from NU magna cum laude. So why?</p>

98

<p>Partly because NEU is getting more and more competitive, and partly because sometimes they’re just looking for a specific kind of student. </p>

<p>But mainly because college admissions are a crap shoot.</p>

99

<p>I called and they said the 17 credits you would receive abroad would mean you would be ontrack and not need to take any other classes to catch up. Is that wrong information I was given?
A bigger concern was would the classes you take abroad be transferrable if at a later date you decided to transfer from NEU to another school. They said the classes are from an accredited international school and should transfer to toehr colleges because they are more generalized. If I could have that in writing, I would be much more comfortable slapping down the $$ for this rather unusual program.
As for BCH2011, They seem to stress maturity…so maybe they felt you are really quite capable/respnsible and need to fill those spots so you got on the list.</p>

100

<p>

It appears that this may vary by College and location chosen:
<a href=“http://www.northeastern.edu/admissions/admittedstudents/pdfs/CollegeCompatibilityChart_3811.pdf[/url]”>http://www.northeastern.edu/admissions/admittedstudents/pdfs/CollegeCompatibilityChart_3811.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;