Tbh says more about the rankings methodology than what any college does with it.
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I am glad that I’m not the only one who thinks you can, in fact, divide by zero (and that the result of doing so is infinity.)
I find it interesting that Fordham’s big increase in apps (which has been sustained, last year it was ~43K) has not done anything for Fordham’s selectivity, rank or reputation. Which goes to show that a school has to do something in addition to just getting more students to apply; it also has to get more students to enroll. As far as I can tell, Fordham doesn’t try to yield protect at all. It seems perfectly content to act as a safety to NYU for high schoolers who have stars in their eyes about living in NYC. (That and it continues to fulfill its traditional mission of providing education to immigrants from the Bronx.) Anyway, Fordham’s increase in applications has been accompanied by an admit rate that hovers around 50% and a yield that has gotten lower.
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I often consider the evolution of a college education and what people want today. There is no doubt that a greater number of stronger applicants have moved from preferring liberal arts to preferring Business and Stem. Northeastern has masterfully captured the minds of those stronger students. What is most impressive to me from a business perspective is that they have been able to do this at the private school price-point… even with state colleges trending so positively.
They may be gaming the system in other ways, but I do not see this accomplishment as a game - but much more of a well implemented strategy.
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As an NU alum and parent of a recent graduate I did not care how much money my child made in their first job after graduation. That said, his co-op experiences were invaluable in showing him what type of job he did and did not want to do after graduation. During his time at Northeastern the school did an incredible job of handling the pandemic and having safe classes on campus, he did a study abroad in his field in Rwanda where he worked with the UN, did a service trip at a national park in AZ, made fantastic friends and connections that helped him land a job in his chosen field that does actually pay well. All good here.
I do know a student who was rejected from NU and is attending Brown so it can be a tough admit.
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Oh and for anybody interested, NU does well in Fulbrights (13 in 2024), research, competitions against MIT and CalTech, etc.
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And Rhodes scholars too.
Northeastern University Bioengineering Student is named Rhodes Scholar
The Association of American Rhodes Scholars: Northeastern Student Named Rhodes Scholar
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To me, Northeastern is like an extremely well-run business—‘brutally’ efficient, much like the country of Singapore. It started from humble beginnings and has successfully survived the competition against many other formidable opponents.
Northeastern is very much undervalued, especially for certain types of students, like my son, for example. He’s not chasing fame or prestige; he knows what he wants and is self-driven. He could have gone to a higher-ranked school, but he didn’t care about that. He knew what was best for him. Now a junior, he has already completed one summer internship, participated in a summer school in EU, and completed his first co-op. He’s set to have another internship this summer ( traditional IB summer internship) and plans to look for a shorter co-op opportunity right after, though it’s hard to find shorter ones, it’s still possible. He’s still on track to graduate in four years, thanks to his transfer credits and summer school. He’s traveled and lived in different parts of the country, exploring various career paths he’s interested in (CB, MO in IB, and FO in IB). He’s managed to make everything financially possible through a part-time job on campus, internships, and co-ops. As a proud dad, I have to say that Northeastern has provided such a fantastic experience for him.
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Agreed. I am not buying it either because it is essay-free or app-fee-free. (My kids got free-app invites from Northwestern, Vanderbilt, and CWRU all over the place.) Things my boy liked about Northeastern: 1) 100% need met, even though with loans and need considered; 2) easy to change majors; 3) easy to have combined majors; 4) more “freedom” to choose courses (he hated those required “useless,” in his words, lower-level GE classes); 5) co-op opportunities; 6) Boston as the location, among other things. He could care less about the USN ranking or the acceptance rate. ‘Who cares?’ was his comment. 
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You make very good points, including the ability to change majors and do combined majors. My son was considering engineering and other majors and went in undecided. For many colleges you are accepted to a certain school and can’t just change majors or do a double major easily. NU’s Explore program for undecided students is great
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Agreed. The way Northeastern operates is particularly beneficial for kids like my son. It gives them the ‘freedom’ they need while simultaneously providing resources and opportunities. It puts the kids in the driver’s seat, allowing them to design their own education or career paths. For his major and interests, Northeastern is still not a target school for top IBs. While many Northeastern students secure co-ops at IBs, these are mostly not FO roles. However, I am seeing more and more Northeastern students turn their co-ops into FO summer internship roles. There are a lot of career possibilities for students who are willing to hustle and grind, and Northeastern certainly doesn’t lack in that regard
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Interesting article - and when you get a ways through it, talks about the value of Northeastern (and Drexel) in regards to finding jobs.
# Degree in hand, jobs out of reach: Why recent grads are struggling in a competitive market
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I agree. It does carry more weight as it is the student saying the co-op helped rather than the school.
““I think the school could have done — and still can do — a better job preparing their students for the post-grad world,” she told CNN. “And not just focusing on the test that’s coming up next week or your grades.””
“The University of Vermont, from where Bellebuono graduated in 2024, told CNN: “We have a wide range of resources available for (students), beginning with our career center, which connects students with internships, prospective employers, job opportunities, and career prep resources.””
Virtually every college and university has a career office, many are quite good. But there is seldom any requirement that a student take advantage of this service. And if the student visits the career office it is likely during first or even second semester of senior year.
At coop schools like Northeastern and Drexel and coop heavy but optional schools like Purdue the student is required to visit the career office starting in sophomore year. This is a turn off to some students and parents if they are seeking four years of purely intellectual pursuits.
And despite the current economy the vast majority of coop students find a coop job. It may not be their dream job, especially if it is their first coop job.
Northeastern claims that 51% of coop students are offered a career position with the company. Some turn down the offer having discovered that they do not like the company or even that type of career. Better to discover that sooner rather than later.
I know that this will trigger those who believe that a short internship is just as good as a coop job. That argument has been made ad nauseum here on CC and i will not revisit it now.
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Interesting about the investment bank co-op. We have a family friend whose son went to Northeastern and landed a job at UBS.
They told us that Northeastern was not a target school for the top investment banks and he had to network himself to land the job. He did enjoy his experience there.
That was a few years ago so maybe it’s changed.
In case anyone was interested.
I’ve always thought of Northeastern as a safety for kids who wanted to attend a more prestigious school in the Boston area like Harvard, MIT, or even Tufts and BC. The co-op program was just icing on the cake.
Kudos to Northeastern’s market team for drumming up so much interest in the school. Of course, the ability to apply by simply pressing a button on the common app helps. Given the schools rankings and outcomes, however, the juice is just not worth the squeeze. I wonder what their yield rate is?
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My NU student had zero interest in Tufts or BC. BC in particular is quite religious and after the campus tour my child had no interest in applying. As for the “juice isn’t worth the squeeze” comment, for many kids the global opportunities, co-op program, location in Boston, ease of choosing or changing majors make it a great fit. No school will appeal to everyone and that’s okay too. I’m very big on fit over rankings.
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50ish %. But half comes ED. Still very high.
Lots of apps but not a lot of admits.
I agree - rank does not equate to each individual kid will have the greatest experience and outcome.
For some NU will be terrific. For others not.
The same could be said of S Connecticut State or Lamar or Wyoming.
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Why is Northeastern allowed to keep from their stats all the kids who are admitted and enrolled in the satellite campuses? That, to me, is the biggest issue.
We have very mid-stat/full-pay kids who announce on Instagram they are going to Northeastern, and their parents are posting on FB pages, but the kid is headed overseas or to Oakland. The parents and the students certainly are not carving themselves out in some lower rung, so why is Northeastern allowed to not include those kids in their stats?
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No school is required to post the stats for alternative freshman entry programs. For example, Boston University enrolls 600 students to its CGS program in January. Those students are not included in their published stats. Many colleges offer January admission to fall applicants.
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