One of the perks I see of northeastern (and USP especially) is the emphasis you’ll get as an individual. You’ll have a lot of chances to stand out and be a bit of a bigger fish in a smaller pond, as opposed to being one of a thousand big fish at an ivy or similar. For example, this is incredible when it comes to applying for prestigious fellowships, where I had many rounds of practice interviews and huge support from the University. This is a big contrast to people on that fellowship with me from Harvard/Yale/similar, where it was very cut throat to get the University support.
Northeastern also puts a lot of emphasis on undergraduates in general, compared to a lot of research universities I considered that cared most about graduate students, and undergrads felt like an afterthought. This means a lot of research opportunities and professors that care about you.
If I were doing things over again, I would definitely go to Northeastern again. It’s big enough to have a ton of opportunities, but not so big as to be overwhelming or get lost in. I had 3 co-ops to find my direction, 4 years of research with a professor who was a fantastic mentor, and flexibility in the curriculum to study things I hadn’t considered before I started college. It’s also paid off, winning a couple of great fellowships, and I’ll be headed to Harvard in the fall for my PhD.