smele13

Northeastern is the school that popularized the system of cooperative education for universities. The concept that practical experience, whether it be or professional or research-based, is essential in fostering a meaningful education, and building a foundation for post-graduate success is the CORNERSTONE of Northeastern University! Internships, which we call co-ops here at Northeastern, are not required, but are highly encouraged, and the vast majority of students participate. It is actually one of the defining factors for many students deciding to come to Northeastern in the first place! Northeastern's academic period of attendance is non-traditional. Students who participate in co-op attend school for either 3 or 4 semesters and then take 4 or 6 months off from classes to work full-time, usually from January-June (Spring, Summer 1 semesters) or July-December (Summer II, Fall semesters). But, they keep their full-time student status, and it doesn't affect their scholarship eligibility, or require lengthy "leave of absence" paperwork. Students complete between 1 and 3 co-ops in their time at Northeastern. This professional experience is a huge reason why Northeastern currently has the best Career Services according to Princeton Review and has one of the highest real job-placement rates of any university in the country. Northeastern has built strong, mutually beneficial relationships with employers that are the leaders in their field. And, Northeastern students have built a great reputation with the employers we've worked with over the years, so options for students continues to grow. Not only do students have access to an incredible variety of existing "co-op" employers, but Northeastern students are highly encouraged to create their own positions with new organizations, both domestically and abroad. Our International Co-op program is strong and growing, and provides an opportunity in our globalizing world for Northeastern students to get international experience, while learning an intimate understanding of a new nation, language and culture. A unique facet of Co-op is that a much higher percentage of these positions (compared to an average internship) are paid! This is often due to the level of depth/skill required of the position, and our strong employer relationships! This allows students to learn financial independence, and many students use this program strategically as a tuition-free period where they can earn and save money, and even pay down student-loans! Overall, the co-op program is one of the most strong and distinctive characteristics at Northeastern!

This grade comes only from the lack of consistency. There are AMAZING dorms at Northeastern, but there are also super old god-awful dorms. So, I can't give a totally high or totally low grade because it all depends on where you live! The freshman Honors housing, International Village is swanky. I had a single that had a connecting bathroom to ONE other girl. We had a gym in our building, a bamboo garden outside on our floor, and a huge laundry room down the hall. I was the second person to ever live in my room. There are also really nice dorms in the West Villages. These 7 buildings (A-H, except D (??)) all have really nice upperclassmen options from 3 single-bedroom suites, to 3-double bedroom suites and everything in between. There are also utter disasters. Since Northeastern is an urban campus growing at a ridiculously fast rate, it has apartment buildings that it leases out and manages for its students. This option means that the level of care to these converted apartments is often lower, and the fact that they weren't built as DORMS makes the experience much less positive for a lot of students. There are also some REALLY old dorms that aren't in great shape. Thankfully, there is tiered pricing for housing based on building, so if you're on a budget, you can accomodate those needs too! So, overall, considering that there are about 30 residence buildings at Northeastern, the condition of on-campus living is pretty good! There are a few weak links, but there are PLENTY of options, so you should be able to find a dorm with the combination of amenities, location, and price that suits you!

Northeastern invests a lot of time and money to make our campus, even though it is in the middle of a city, FEEL like a college campus. It has a larger amount of green space (grassy quads and commons, lots of trees, flowers, and plants, great natural landscaping) especially considering it is an "urban" campus and it is structured so as to have natural gathering areas for students. The library is open 24-hours and just got a technological makeover. The four-story building now has "The Hub" for group work, a Media commons with TVs, projectors, and state-of-the-art computers, the massive computer lab is now 50/50 PCs and Macs for the growing creative community within Northeastern. We have an innovative print system that allows for remote printing from your own computer, and Northeastern's online database is great. There is also a coffee shop in the library!The Curry Student Center was JUST renovated and is absolutely gorgeous. It is in a great, central location on campus. The food court is brand new and has a variety of food offerings as well as tons of seating for casual study, serious study, conversation, or impromptu group meetings. It has many student organization offices inside, a dance studio, a student-run art gallery, a huge auditorium for big name performers and conferences, a ballroom. It acts as the hub for group meetings and events on campus! The academic buildings are almost ALL new and are very modern and comfortable, but the A- score comes from the few buildings that have been neglected! Beware the Ryder elevator, it may decide not to open its doors to let you out! Luckily, it is clear that Northeastern puts a top priority on making sure it has excellent facilities for its student body, and with its recent growth, I'm sure the remaining "old" buildings on campus will be new within coming years!

Northeastern gets mixed reviews on this one. The positives are that we have strong, thriving fan communities for certain sports, such as hockey and basketball. We treat our student athletes extremely well, with lots of swag, perks and academic resources. Our athlete training facilities aren't huge, but they are quite new and high quality. Northeastern also has some very competitive sports, especially hockey (D1!!!) For non-competitive sports, we have a strong and varied intramural and club sports offering. This is a way for non-serious athletes to do sports in a social environment, and students love it! We even have strange (but hugely popular!) offerings such as Broom-ball and Quidditch! The negatives of athletics at Northeastern definitely have an effect on the final score. First of all, there is no unifying sports-based school spirit at Northeastern; we are not a school with a strong athletic focus overall. I believe that this can be attributed to the second major issue, NO football program. Northeastern doesn't have a football team, one of THE most important collegiate sports. Football games are a big part of the American tradition, and we lose out on a lot of athletic spirit by not having one. If you're a diehard football fan, not having a team at school to support might be a factor for you. But, otherwise, sports fans, there ARE options at Northeastern to get involved!

Northeastern has a surprisingly attractive student body! There are an assortment of styles and types of both sexes on campus, especially considering how many students from all over the world we have! Thanks to Northeastern, I have a great Colombian boyfriend, and friends from South Africa, Switzerland, the Dominican Republic, Sweden, Venezuela and more! Social life can be a bit tough to break into initially considering the non-traditional schedule of alternating co-op and classes, but there are a ton of great clubs for ANY interest or type of friend/person you're looking for! And, if not, you're encouraged to make your own club on campus, I did! So no matter who you are, who you like, and what you're interested in, you can find your niche (or a prospective significant other) at Northeastern if you put your mind to it!