Why is Northeastern (NEU) so popular with both parents and students these days?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of the objective rankings these days and elite tech firm recruiters rank NEU in the top 5 for both CS and engineering, why are people upset that it's just a fact most students pick NEU over schools like Cornell, Chicago, and Harvard for tech?

Sure they do.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think the majority of students pick a school because it has a football team.

It is a nice feature, but I doubt that one kid was swayed to go to Stanford because they play P5 football (except for the recruited football players).

Likewise, BU dropped football, that hasn't hurt the school. NYU doesn't play it. Northeastern doesn't play it.

A school like Georgetown does quite fine with a low-level, academic football team. Same for Villanova.

Of course, VT has an incredible football culture, but that isn't why students go there.

Mine picked ND for football. It’s the whole experience and traditions. He didn’t even consider ivies because of the lack of football. He was very high stats too.

Does he play?

I do think many Southern kids choose schools based on their favorite college football team. Girls with sororities that require bleached hair and weight checks.

Nah, just was interested in a place that had a lot of school spirit and fun football weekends that also offered top notch academics. He got into all of his schools, and this one had it all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:All of the objective rankings these days and elite tech firm recruiters rank NEU in the top 5 for both CS and engineering, why are people upset that it's just a fact most students pick NEU over schools like Cornell, Chicago, and Harvard for tech?

I can only hope all my competitors will do as quoted text suggests.

[Anonymous]

Kids pick schools for all kinds of reasons other than academics, because, well, their brains aren't fully developed. One of mine only looked at D1 sports schools (that kid was a National Merit Scholar and had a 36 on ACT). One only wanted New England LACs because they imagined Dead Poets Society or something.

Guess what, both kids are healthy young adults, employed and making their way in this world. There is no reason to pick on another student's choice, there is a right college for everyone

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think the majority of students pick a school because it has a football team.

It is a nice feature, but I doubt that one kid was swayed to go to Stanford because they play P5 football (except for the recruited football players).

Likewise, BU dropped football, that hasn't hurt the school. NYU doesn't play it. Northeastern doesn't play it.

A school like Georgetown does quite fine with a low-level, academic football team. Same for Villanova.

Of course, VT has an incredible football culture, but that isn't why students go there.

You’re stuck in the Northeast bubble, which doesn’t appreciate college football like the rest of the country.

Even if kids don’t pick a school because of their particular football team, a LOT if students across the country want bigtime football as a part of their college experience.

They see schools like Northwestern, Duke, Vandy, Stanford, ND, Michigan, UVA, Wake , BC very differently than they see no-football schools like Emory, Tufts, BU, NYU, Hopkins.

Between these two extremes are Ivies, Georgetown, Chicago, MIT etc which have “football,” but it’s nothing to get excited about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even if kids don’t pick a school because of their particular football team, a LOT if students across the country want bigtime football as a part of their college experience.

They see schools like Northwestern, Duke, Vandy, Stanford, ND, Michigan, UVA, Wake , BC very differently than they see no-football schools like Emory, Tufts, BU, NYU, Hopkins.

Between these two extremes are Ivies, Georgetown, Chicago, MIT etc which have “football,” but it’s nothing to get excited about.

This is true, albeit to a lesser extent, for basketball too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think the majority of students pick a school because it has a football team.

It is a nice feature, but I doubt that one kid was swayed to go to Stanford because they play P5 football (except for the recruited football players).

Likewise, BU dropped football, that hasn't hurt the school. NYU doesn't play it. Northeastern doesn't play it.

A school like Georgetown does quite fine with a low-level, academic football team. Same for Villanova.

Of course, VT has an incredible football culture, but that isn't why students go there.

You’re stuck in the Northeast bubble, which doesn’t appreciate college football like the rest of the country.

Even if kids don’t pick a school because of their particular football team, a LOT if students across the country want bigtime football as a part of their college experience.

They see schools like Northwestern, Duke, Vandy, Stanford, ND, Michigan, UVA, Wake , BC very differently than they see no-football schools like Emory, Tufts, BU, NYU, Hopkins.

Between these two extremes are Ivies, Georgetown, Chicago, MIT etc which have “football,” but it’s nothing to get excited about.

The problem is schools like Vandy, BC, Wake, etc. don't play "big time" football if big time is defined as playing in big games. They are perennial doormats for the likes of FSU, Clemson, Alabama, USC, Oregon, etc.

Attendance at BC and Wake Forest average 30,000 a game. Michigan, Ohio State, Alabama, etc. average close to or over 100,000 fans.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The problem is schools like Vandy, BC, Wake, etc. don't play "big time" football if big time is defined as playing in big games

As you've basically conceded, "big time" has no objective meaning.

Sure, some people use your definition, but I could just as easily say that being in FBS already makes a Vandy, BC, and Wake "big time" compared to FCS, D2, and D3 college football. Plus they play the FBS royalty teams each year, even if usually the recipient of a beat-down. And these schools have all made multiple bowl games in the past decade. WF played in a bowl game each year in the 2016 to 2022 seasons.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think the majority of students pick a school because it has a football team.

It is a nice feature, but I doubt that one kid was swayed to go to Stanford because they play P5 football (except for the recruited football players).

Likewise, BU dropped football, that hasn't hurt the school. NYU doesn't play it. Northeastern doesn't play it.

A school like Georgetown does quite fine with a low-level, academic football team. Same for Villanova.

Of course, VT has an incredible football culture, but that isn't why students go there.

Mine picked ND for football. It’s the whole experience and traditions. He didn’t even consider ivies because of the lack of football. He was very high stats too.

Does he play?

I do think many Southern kids choose schools based on their favorite college football team. Girls with sororities that require bleached hair and weight checks.

Yeah, all the essential choices when deciding where to get your education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Kids pick schools for all kinds of reasons other than academics, because, well, their brains aren't fully developed. One of mine only looked at D1 sports schools (that kid was a National Merit Scholar and had a 36 on ACT). One only wanted New England LACs because they imagined Dead Poets Society or something.

Guess what, both kids are healthy young adults, employed and making their way in this world. There is no reason to pick on another student's choice, there is a right college for everyone

As a parent, it is your job to guide your kid back to reality just a bit. Sure they may want good sports and team spirit, so you search for that as well as good academics. But you don't let sports be the final decision. At least not with my money.

[Anonymous]

In most cases I suspect sports is a tiebreaker (which seems reasonable) and nowhere near the driving factor.

[Anonymous]

I don't ever want to hear "UVA booster" again... NEU boosters are next level. It's like if you put SLAC, Tulane, and Georgetown boosters together and created a super booster.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The problem is schools like Vandy, BC, Wake, etc. don't play "big time" football if big time is defined as playing in big games

As you've basically conceded, "big time" has no objective meaning.

Sure, some people use your definition, but I could just as easily say that being in FBS already makes a Vandy, BC, and Wake "big time" compared to FCS, D2, and D3 college football. Plus they play the FBS royalty teams each year, even if usually the recipient of a beat-down. And these schools have all made multiple bowl games in the past decade. WF played in a bowl game each year in the 2016 to 2022 seasons.

Oddly, schools like BU, NEU, and Tufts are probably in a better place with respect to sports than BC. While BC, for now, plays in the P5, conference, the P2 is gobbling up all the resources. Athletes playing football or basketball are essentially pros now, with the advent of NIL. Vandy, BC, Wake, etc. can't compete in that arena. So they are left in a sort of nether layer, between sucking at big time sports and having the veneer of academics still the main mission of the school. In no way does the calculus favor academics.

BU, Tufts and NEU don't even have to navigate that problem.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't ever want to hear "UVA booster" again... NEU boosters are next level. It's like if you put SLAC, Tulane, and Georgetown boosters together and created a super booster.

I get the sense that NEU is a great school, with incredibly qualified, high achieving students, but because it is new money there is a need to validate it to the old money.

To put in a sports-themed perspective, they are kind of like UConn basketball. The blue bloods don't want to acknowledge them because they are too recent. The UConn fans point to the championships and say, "this isn't the 1970's anymore". NEU boosters point to the high SAT scores, selectivity, engineering and comp sci recruitment, grad school outcomes, and say we go toe to toe with the best and say "this isn't the 1970's".

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think the majority of students pick a school because it has a football team.

It is a nice feature, but I doubt that one kid was swayed to go to Stanford because they play P5 football (except for the recruited football players).

Likewise, BU dropped football, that hasn't hurt the school. NYU doesn't play it. Northeastern doesn't play it.

A school like Georgetown does quite fine with a low-level, academic football team. Same for Villanova.

Of course, VT has an incredible football culture, but that isn't why students go there.

Mine picked ND for football. It’s the whole experience and traditions. He didn’t even consider ivies because of the lack of football. He was very high stats too.

Does he play?

I do think many Southern kids choose schools based on their favorite college football team. Girls with sororities that require bleached hair and weight checks.

Yeah, all the essential choices when deciding where to get your education.

+1. I spit out my coffee this morning. Thank you, this is classic. And so true.