The Belvedere dorm, formerly part of the Sheraton, has been renovated with all the facilities a college dorm needs: workout rooms, laundry, student lounges etc. The rooms are much larger than most traditional dorms. It is 0.8 of a mile from the main campus, closer than BU’s West Campus is to their Central Campus. Although it may be time that Northeastern start a shuttle bus like BU and BC already have.
As for off-campus rents, the entire Boston area is ridiculous, not just areas near the colleges. My hometown of Chelsea commands $2300/month rent for a one-bedroom apartment. When I was young it was the type of place we could not wait to get out of.
The proposed 1370 student dorm on Columbus was held up for three years awaiting City of Boston approval, which it recently received, finally.
And as for the student complaining about not being able to skateboard across campus during class changes due to the crowds…good!
My son is a freshman at NU, studying in London. They definitely differ in their education model/ethos and fit a unique type of student. It is very forward-thinking and career-orientated. Unlike many other schools, there is no real liberal arts “discovery” period (although they have the discovery program). That being said, the students he is surrounded by are bright, engaged, and career-oriented. They are all very high achievers; many are national merit scholars and valedictorians–and this holds true for satellite campus students. The student pool is definitely not “watered down” because of fee waivers or lack of essays; the high number of applications has resulted in an extremely competitive admission.
I’m curious about the curriculum in London. My son was admitted to the London’s Scholar program and it appreared as though there were very limited course offerings? He wants to study biochemistry and it did not appear to be many science classes? Also, I read that the London campus is really just a few buildings? Can you share a little more about the set up and your childs experience? How many students are in the London program each year??
Every kid I know at Northeastern is super happy—whether they started abroad or on the Boston campus. It wasn’t a fit for my D22; she was turned off by the career orientation when we toured before her senior year. I wonder what she’d make of it now, as a junior at UCLA who is interviewing like crazy for summer internships (with no support from the school).
Thanks for the link. Seems like they are dealing with the same issues with limited co-ops in these areas. Limiting to 100 is not necessarily bad, while on some reddit forums students are encouraged to apply to more than 1000 to secure an internship!
I have heard that CS students are having a difficult time getting coops. FYI, depending on the major, coops are not mandatory. My son is a health science and business major and health care coops seem fairly abundant.
My son was in Oakland in the fall and is now in London (he is a Global Scholar, and they are not doing that program next year). He is a health science major and is taking science classes in London right now. The classes are definitely limited, but it is not a big issue. His lab is at a different location, so he needs to tube there, but next year, they are adding labs to the new Portsoken building. The campus is definitely not a traditional college campus. The main building is Devon House, which is located on the Thames by Tower Bridge. There are a few student housing buildings, and all students have a single flat with a kitchen (there is no meal plan). Students need to be independent and adaptable. For the right student, it is an amazing experience. My son has been there for about a month and has already visited Paris and Copenhagen.
NU London is an actual UK university. You can stay there and get a UK degree (lots of econ and IB students are doing that) and then return to Boson for a year for a dual degree (it’s called the 3+1 program). They operate under UK education standards. 70 and above is an A, and their grades are based on one large project, paper, presentation, or two exams. I think there are about 1200 students there.
That is the enrolment in London for students intending to move to Boston for their sophomore year. There are also many students who intend to comlplete their degrees in London and many graduate students. Those students apply directly to NU London through UCAS.
He would still have to fill out the grade form which takes an hour and total pain in the a$$ otherwise it’s just a defer until complete I’m pretty sure. Probably more work than copy and pasting a secondary essay.
N=1 but my kid is at a T5 medical school and their friend/classmate went to NEU undergrad and received one of the prestigious scholarships you mentioned (not sure if it was Marshall or Truman) Regardless NEU is more pre professional but yes there are many “intellectually curious” students at NEU.
Amazing! I wish these stories were what the U and its fans were publicizing instead of the constant drumbeat “Joanne majored in International Business and got a job working for a bank making six figures thanks to her coop experience”. Mostly because that bank also hired dozens of new grads who did NOT do a coop. Doesn’t take anything away from Joanne-- but it does leave one with the impression that Northeastern equals high salary and that narrative isn’t universally exciting.
Especially for kids who have no interest in banking…
Many schools use this approach. UF has pace program & innovations program and none of those admits are included in acceptance numbers. Cornell has the guaranteed transfer which is similar to NEU where they go to another school first year (only the student can attend any school they choose their first year and then transfer to Cornell if requirements are fulfilled. Emory has Oxford campus which they transfer to Emory campus after two years. Columbia has the trinity program where they go to Ireland for 2 years then transfer to Columbia and receive degree from Columbia. I could go on and on.
My youngest just got into the Boston campus w honors and merit money (EA so not binding) (not as much as the friend got years ago seems like they really cut back on the merit money over the years) . This person is encouraging her to take it as they were in the honors as well and felt they had so many opportunities at NEU (not just the co opps) But I can see where you are coming from as NEU is not the traditional liberal arts college experience and that’s something to consider when applying.
Northeastern never has been, never aspired to be that.
When I was an undergrad accounting major at Northeastern (back in the Paleolithic Age) the class was invited to an evening reception at the Boston office of Arthur Andersen (RIP). It was hosted by an Andersen partner who had a BA from Harvard and an MS in accounting from Northeastern. He said that Harvard taught him how to be a deep thinker, Northeastern taught him how to earn a living.
I agree that a number of colleges have some other programs, but I believe on this thread, when that was mentioned, the number of kids for UF’s program compared with the overall enrollment is a blip compared with the large numbers of kids in the Northeastern programs.
I don’t think that @shmom41 was trying to make fun of those kids and parents. I think the point was that when families are sharing on social media about their acceptances, and other students/families know the general academic profile of those students, it can influence their expectations for themselves. As in, students with X GPA and Y test scores got into Northeastern, so with my X+ GPA and Y+ test score, I should be able to get accepted to Northeastern at Boston for fall semester, too, not realizing that those students start in the second semester or at a non-Boston campus which is a nondesirable option for this later student. And if a student crafted their college list thinking that an acceptance to Northeastern-Fall Boston was more likely than it was (and if that was something important for them), then it can be particularly disappointing.