Hey!
For CS majors with extensive experience, it can actually be a hindrance if you’re not careful - for the first semester, forget everything you’ve done in CS. Come in as a blank slate. If he’s done Java, the syntax alone will be fighting against his instincts from Day 1. I made sure to focus on that and I think it went a loooong way for me. I’m now a TA for the first class, and I see it every semester - learning not just how to code but how to problem solve and design is much more important and will follow you for the rest of your classes. After that first semester/year, then go back to what you learned before and add it in.
For professors for CS2500, there are a lot of options, all decent to amazing, but I would recommend Shivers or Lerner for most students. If he wants a tough professor that really challenges you, go for Felleisen if possible (he’s the creator of the program and the author of the essay below).
If he hasn’t already, have him read this essay (I spread it like wildfire because it says everything I want to, nicely):
http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/matthias/Thoughts/Growing_a_Programmer.html
Once you get into it from your first year onward, the department does a great job of leading you where you need to be. Just make sure to get on the co-op search early and in career fairs, not just through the online system. Many people get tons of offers in CS before official resumes are even sent out just by on-campus networking. Oh, there’s also a Northeastern CS group on Facebook that is a great way to get advice from upperclassmen for professors, classes, co-op, anything. It’s part of the Northeastern Facebook group family, which he should join ASAP for everything, not just CS.
Hope that helps!