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

[Anonymous]

US News' focus on equity is driving its rankings now. If that is important to you, then the rankings might inform your decision. For some, they might focus more on student outcomes. Everyone has a different approach towards selecting a collge.

The fact that Northeastern's co-op program means a leg up in gaining employment or grad school admissions is important to some. I would guess that the typical enigneering student or comp sci student or med school applicant cares more about getting a FAANG job, or into med school then equity rankings.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:https://www.forbes.com/sites/emmawhitford/2024/04/29/exclusive-employers-are-souring-on-ivy-league-grads-while-these-20-new-ivies-ascend/

Hmm, seem to be missing a school

LOL. Great and timely article to put this Northeastern issue to rest.

LOL you have posted this article on at least THREE threads this morning. You are surely on a mission, aren't you? Would that mission be for parents who get their college info from anonymous boards?

Hilarious! That chip on your shoulder sure is heavy.

PP here. No I just posted the photo as many might not click on the link provided. I didn't post that link and it was the first time I saw the article, which does NOT include Northeastern. Case closed!!

They picked 10 schools outside of like T15, and some of the highly selective and popular schools like WashU, Tufts, NYU, BU, WF, Northeastern, etc. are not on that random list. So what? but if it makes you feel better LOL

+1. And other PP is so emotional and off kilter too. "Case closed!!" LOL. Thank you for this. OMG this is great.

But please, keep posting your meaningless lists, by all means.

All the schools you listed are all sinking, including Northeastern. All on their way down. That's why they are not on the list.

2023/2024 USNWR Ranking:
WashU 15/24
Tufts 32/40
NYU 25/35
BU 41/43
WF 29/47
NEU 44/53

Uh huh. Keep telling yourself that. Maybe you will stop posting here about the same subject. But it is doubtful.

I am not telling myself anything. Just looking at the data.

The data says these schools are much more selective with higher stat kids and performs better than most of the higher ranked publics that went up rankings for having more poor students.
Check the data.


outperform most of the

There were a handful of schools that moved up. NEU fell nine spots. Other stronger schools went up or stayed the same. The weaker schools fell. That’s the bottom line.

Only if you think USNWR is your Bible

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:https://www.forbes.com/sites/emmawhitford/2024/04/29/exclusive-employers-are-souring-on-ivy-league-grads-while-these-20-new-ivies-ascend/

Hmm, seem to be missing a school

LOL. Great and timely article to put this Northeastern issue to rest.

LOL you have posted this article on at least THREE threads this morning. You are surely on a mission, aren't you? Would that mission be for parents who get their college info from anonymous boards?

Hilarious! That chip on your shoulder sure is heavy.

PP here. No I just posted the photo as many might not click on the link provided. I didn't post that link and it was the first time I saw the article, which does NOT include Northeastern. Case closed!!

They picked 10 schools outside of like T15, and some of the highly selective and popular schools like WashU, Tufts, NYU, BU, WF, Northeastern, etc. are not on that random list. So what? but if it makes you feel better LOL

+1. And other PP is so emotional and off kilter too. "Case closed!!" LOL. Thank you for this. OMG this is great.

But please, keep posting your meaningless lists, by all means.

All the schools you listed are all sinking, including Northeastern. All on their way down. That's why they are not on the list.

2023/2024 USNWR Ranking:
WashU 15/24
Tufts 32/40
NYU 25/35
BU 41/43
WF 29/47
NEU 44/53

Uh huh. Keep telling yourself that. Maybe you will stop posting here about the same subject. But it is doubtful.

I am not telling myself anything. Just looking at the data.

The data says these schools are much more selective with higher stat kids and performs better than most of the higher ranked publics that went up rankings for having more poor students.
Check the data.


outperform most of the

There were a handful of schools that moved up. NEU fell nine spots. Other stronger schools went up or stayed the same. The weaker schools fell. That’s the bottom line.

Only if you think USNWR is your Bible

+1. Oh look, other PP is the "case closed", "bottom line" poster! Fund! Finale! Mutunga! Fen! Opin! Karshen! Einde! Fin! Son! Kaput! Koniec! Einde! Kraj!

I'm dead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:US News' focus on equity is driving its rankings now. If that is important to you, then the rankings might inform your decision. For some, they might focus more on student outcomes. Everyone has a different approach towards selecting a collge.

The fact that Northeastern's co-op program means a leg up in gaining employment or grad school admissions is important to some. I would guess that the typical enigneering student or comp sci student or med school applicant cares more about getting a FAANG job, or into med school then equity rankings.

+1. Everything about NEU bothers OP or PP and it is most satisfying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote: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.

Compare the athletic department budgets/professional sports league prospects of those at Vandy, BC, Wake vs. the other Boston schools.

[Anonymous]

The coop program has always seemed genuinely cool to me.

That said, in the areas I'm familiar with, the quality of the faculty are not remotely competitive with similarly-ranked universities. And it is extremely common knowledge that the president spent years gaming the USNWR rankings in every way possible--the entire institution was organized around that goal. It worked! But I don't think it represented any big increase in quality, and the people I know who worked there during that era all despised the way it governed everything.

I would guess the popularity means that there's a much bigger market for coop type programs than people used to think. And I definitely understand why many people would prioritize that over having access to "world class faculty" or whatever. If your kid isn't going to do academic research, then the difference between the faculty at Northeastern and at Harvard is probably immaterial.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The coop program has always seemed genuinely cool to me.

That said, in the areas I'm familiar with, the quality of the faculty are not remotely competitive with similarly-ranked universities. And it is extremely common knowledge that the president spent years gaming the USNWR rankings in every way possible--the entire institution was organized around that goal. It worked! But I don't think it represented any big increase in quality, and the people I know who worked there during that era all despised the way it governed everything.

I would guess the popularity means that there's a much bigger market for coop type programs than people used to think. And I definitely understand why many people would prioritize that over having access to "world class faculty" or whatever. If your kid isn't going to do academic research, then the difference between the faculty at Northeastern and at Harvard is probably immaterial.

Thank you for your opinion on the quality of the faculty at Northeastern. I am sure it has been proffered to help save the world from the evil Northeastern Borg.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The coop program has always seemed genuinely cool to me.

That said, in the areas I'm familiar with, the quality of the faculty are not remotely competitive with similarly-ranked universities. And it is extremely common knowledge that the president spent years gaming the USNWR rankings in every way possible--the entire institution was organized around that goal. It worked! But I don't think it represented any big increase in quality, and the people I know who worked there during that era all despised the way it governed everything.

I would guess the popularity means that there's a much bigger market for coop type programs than people used to think. And I definitely understand why many people would prioritize that over having access to "world class faculty" or whatever. If your kid isn't going to do academic research, then the difference between the faculty at Northeastern and at Harvard is probably immaterial.

So it's really more of a trade school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

So it's really more of a trade school?

Trade school is harsh, but if what you mean is that it's a good fit for students who are prioritizing getting experience that will set them on a career path over pure academics, then yeah.

Which is fine! As a college professor, I am painfully aware that 99% of students are not choosing their school based primarily on quality of academics, and the strengths of the coop program make much more sense as a reason to go to Northwestern than campus architecture or the quality of dining hall food, which are other reasons I often hear for college choices.

[Anonymous]

Obviously I meant Northeastern.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote: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.

Compare the athletic department budgets/professional sports league prospects of those at Vandy, BC, Wake vs. the other Boston schools.

I would rather be an NEU or BU right now than BC with respect to athletics. With BC you are half pro sports/paying athletes and half a university paying to get an education. If you long to fight with Ohio State, Michigan, Florida, USC, Alabama, Notre Dame, Clemson, FSU, etc. you are going to have to go the pro route. And spend a ton of money to have what is essentially a minor league pro sport's team.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The coop program has always seemed genuinely cool to me.

That said, in the areas I'm familiar with, the quality of the faculty are not remotely competitive with similarly-ranked universities. And it is extremely common knowledge that the president spent years gaming the USNWR rankings in every way possible--the entire institution was organized around that goal. It worked! But I don't think it represented any big increase in quality, and the people I know who worked there during that era all despised the way it governed everything.

I would guess the popularity means that there's a much bigger market for coop type programs than people used to think. And I definitely understand why many people would prioritize that over having access to "world class faculty" or whatever. If your kid isn't going to do academic research, then the difference between the faculty at Northeastern and at Harvard is probably immaterial.

So it's really more of a trade school?

Curious how many trade schools have an average SAT of 1500?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Thank you for your opinion on the quality of the faculty at Northeastern. I am sure it has been proffered to help save the world from the evil Northeastern Borg.

Ha! Northeastern isn't evil, it's a perfectly good school, the academics just aren't remotely comparable to other schools with similar acceptance rates. You can see that private schools with similar USNWR rankings, like University of Rochester and Case Western, have much higher acceptance rates.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

So it's really more of a trade school?

Trade school is harsh, but if what you mean is that it's a good fit for students who are prioritizing getting experience that will set them on a career path over pure academics, then yeah.

Which is fine! As a college professor, I am painfully aware that 99% of students are not choosing their school based primarily on quality of academics, and the strengths of the coop program make much more sense as a reason to go to Northwestern than campus architecture or the quality of dining hall food, which are other reasons I often hear for college choices.

It's amusing that a college professor would spend time answering so many back and forth in this thread. Obviously a true academic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Curious how many trade schools have an average SAT of 1500?

Average SATs are completely meaningless for schools that don't require scores. There's a strong selection effect.