NorthEastern University in Boston - weirded out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was basically a commuter school when I lived in Boston many years ago. They’ve admitted that they purposefully spent enormous resources to game the rankings and voila, it worked.

Exactly this. I went to a top school in Boston a m million years ago and NE was basically the equivalent of a CC. They spent millions of dollars over the past decade doing exactly this to appear more selective and gamed the system. The more selective a school is/appears to be, the more people apply, regardless of how selective it is in reality. Make something appear unattainable and suddenly everyone wants it.

In the late 80's, early 90's, NU lagged behind many Boston area schools but it was NOT the equivalent of a community college. I hope you are speaking of a time before then and not just being obnoxious. They have invested in tangible ways in the school and programs - this is not all just smoke and mirrors. For the right student and right major, it is a solid school.

No one said community college. Commuter school is different.

I assumed CC above meant community college, as I doubt anyone would say it was a country club. Maybe PP meant something different by "CC"???

[Anonymous]

PS - for many families, having a strong educational option that is commutable makes college accessible and affordable. This is the same diss thrown at George Mason by so many haters.

FWIW - everyone I met from Northeastern while I was in school and everyone I know of now is not a commuter.

NU is always going to feel inferior with all the big hitters in Boston, that's just the way it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was basically a commuter school when I lived in Boston many years ago. They’ve admitted that they purposefully spent enormous resources to game the rankings and voila, it worked.

This. Our kid is not applying because we don't think the quality of the education is remotely in line with the rankings (dual academic family here.) The co-op approach is great for some kids/majors/professions, but it's a VERY mixed bag. And everyone we know who has sent a kid there has wound up spending freshman year in Europe. It's a con game - much better to aim for any of the other highly ranked Boston schools (not just Harvard/MIT but Tufts, BC, BU or Brandeis are all far superior to Northeastern.)

The first semester in Europe thing is a specific program that students can opt into--it's a choice and many kids decide to do it (as an alternative to a gap year).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was basically a commuter school when I lived in Boston many years ago. They’ve admitted that they purposefully spent enormous resources to game the rankings and voila, it worked.

This. Our kid is not applying because we don't think the quality of the education is remotely in line with the rankings (dual academic family here.) The co-op approach is great for some kids/majors/professions, but it's a VERY mixed bag. And everyone we know who has sent a kid there has wound up spending freshman year in Europe. It's a con game - much better to aim for any of the other highly ranked Boston schools (not just Harvard/MIT but Tufts, BC, BU or Brandeis are all far superior to Northeastern.)

The first semester in Europe thing is a specific program that students can opt into--it's a choice and many kids decide to do it (as an alternative to a gap year).

PP here - it's actually a way for NU to over-admit and under-resource.

[Anonymous]

I can’t imagine having such strong feelings about a school to which I don’t have a personal connection.

[Anonymous]

Here’s the whole story of how Northeastern played the ranking game successfully: https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2014/08/26/how-northeastern-gamed-the-college-rankings/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It was basically a commuter school when I lived in Boston many years ago. They’ve admitted that they purposefully spent enormous resources to game the rankings and voila, it worked.

This. Our kid is not applying because we don't think the quality of the education is remotely in line with the rankings (dual academic family here.) The co-op approach is great for some kids/majors/professions, but it's a VERY mixed bag. And everyone we know who has sent a kid there has wound up spending freshman year in Europe. It's a con game - much better to aim for any of the other highly ranked Boston schools (not just Harvard/MIT but Tufts, BC, BU or Brandeis are all far superior to Northeastern.)

The first semester in Europe thing is a specific program that students can opt into--it's a choice and many kids decide to do it (as an alternative to a gap year).

PP here - it's actually a way for NU to over-admit and under-resource.

I remember when I was applying to colleges years ago that most SLACs had a program like this and those weren’t schools I’d accuse of over admiring or under resourcing. Have things changed that much?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PS - for many families, having a strong educational option that is commutable makes college accessible and affordable. This is the same diss thrown at George Mason by so many haters.

FWIW - everyone I met from Northeastern while I was in school and everyone I know of now is not a commuter.

NU is always going to feel inferior with all the big hitters in Boston, that's just the way it is.

It WAS a commuter school. It isn't one now and hasn't been for years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the whole story of how Northeastern played the ranking game successfully: https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2014/08/26/how-northeastern-gamed-the-college-rankings/

Wow! Every parent and student considering NU should read this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the whole story of how Northeastern played the ranking game successfully: https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2014/08/26/how-northeastern-gamed-the-college-rankings/

Wow! Every parent and student considering NU should read this.

It's a fascinating article...BUT, here's the thing...it now attracts top-notch students and professors. The facilities are excellent, it's in the heart of Boston, and its graduates do very, very well. The co-op program--if that is something that interests your student--is second to none. So, it is true that they gamed the rankings. But the rankings are stupid in the first place (as is evident by the fact that they can be gamed).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They’ve got an 18% acceptance rate, so they’re doing something right that appeals to students

Yes, they know the system. They ‘accept’ a lot of kids with below desired admission stats, the catch is they force those kids to do their first year abroad. This allows them to back fill the higher stat drop outs in the spring semester with the returning abroad students. Those students studying abroad do not get included in the fall admission data. If they did NE’s admission data would be much lower.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s the whole story of how Northeastern played the ranking game successfully: https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2014/08/26/how-northeastern-gamed-the-college-rankings/

Wow! Every parent and student considering NU should read this.

It's a fascinating article...BUT, here's the thing...it now attracts top-notch students and professors. The facilities are excellent, it's in the heart of Boston, and its graduates do very, very well. The co-op program--if that is something that interests your student--is second to none. So, it is true that they gamed the rankings. But the rankings are stupid in the first place (as is evident by the fact that they can be gamed).

Here is the last part of the Article on the Value of its degree:

"Concerned about the skyrocketing costs of a college education, the White House is launching a federal rating system that, unlike U.S. News’s, will focus less on student inputs (e.g., SAT scores) and more on the resultant value of a degree—weighing a school’s tuition costs, graduation rates, and postgraduate salaries. The government hopes to implement the system this fall. Don’t expect to find NU at the top: In Money magazine’s 2014 “Best Colleges for Your Money,” which uses a similar methodology, Northeastern landed at the bottom of the third quartile, at number 433."

[Anonymous]

Four pages and no one has mentioned it is a 5 year undergrad program.

[Anonymous]

NP
I did't grow up here and obviously did not go to college here but can someone please explain what is bad about a commuter college?
Does it just mean it used to be poor, having no options to board on campus?

[Anonymous]

I'd rather do Northeastern than UVA or UMD.

Change my mind.