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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My DD applied to NU, really just because everyone else was and there was no supplemental essay. To our surprise, she got in - for NUin. At first we were super excited for her but then came to the conclusion that she should not go to Europe her first semester (for a variety of reasons) so I was sure that NU would let her just take first semester off and start second semester. I figured why wouldn’t they? I mean if she won’t be on campus first semester, why would they care? And with so many kids coming and going to coops, it seems it wouldn’t matter. Well, they wouldn’t let her and that was disappointing and convinced me that they are a money making operation. That’s not to say they aren’t attracting good students and don’t provide a good education, but I worried that it wouldn’t be the best experience. DD turned it down for a lower ranked school that gave her lots of merit aid. [/quote]

They have marketed the NUIn and NUBound well and they are money makers fro them.  A guaranteed flow of spring start and fall transfer students, who pay $~35-40K/semester while abroad for the experience.  Most other schools do allow students to select where they take courses, or if they take a semester off, before starting in the spring.

You researched and decided it was not for your DD.  Rankings do not matter that much.  Your DD is at a school that's affordable that allows her to have the full 4 year experience.  That can go a long way towards a successful college experience. 
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Tha ms for those kind words.it was an agonizing decision for her (made at 10:30pm May 1) but it was definitely the right one. Although her chosen school is lesser ranked, she’s in into their two best programs, ones that are highly regarded and which have very good job placement. I also think she will have a better experience there than at NU. Not to dump on the school, I just don’t think it was the right choice for her.[/quote]

Rankings do not matter that much.    Kids should go where they will fit in and that's for a variety of factors (including Cost)  Kids who are happy at college do better---the more involved you are at college the more you get out of the experience in every aspect.  My own kid knows they want the traditional experience of not living abroad any part of first year; they were excited about the coop experience at NEU but recognize as an engineer they can do that at almost any school they attend---they are not an extrovert and were concerned about fitting in on campus essentially as a transfer student soph year (got NUBound).  Even before getting the decision my kid had decided that the campus might be too large for them and that 5-6K undergrad size is a better fit for them. Ultimately my kid is attending a school that is ranked ~20 higher, but also seriously considered WPI (not ranked nearly as high as it should be---amazing school)   The attraction of Boston as a location was tempting, but my kid smartly (for them) choose a better fit, better ranked, smaller school despite the "not the best location".  Each time we visited campus my kid lit up and I could just see something I did not see on any other campus (except their ED school which ultimately rejected them in RD).  So Fit is extremely important.  
If the parents have a positive attitude I find that goes a long way towards a kid being successful as well.  So many kids think they are disappointing their parents because they didn't get into the "elite/perfect" school.  And that's sad, because these kids with 1350+ SAT will do well wherever they go, if they choose to[/quote]

This is good to know. Mine was initially interested for the coop aspect, but we are turned off by the over enrollment, the abroad situation and the crazy boosters who think it's an Ivy League rival.  I'm all about being "true to your school," but there is some craziness out there.  Can you share what school your kid chose? Also, can you add to thoughts on WPI? Thanks![/quote]

WPI and RPI were on my kids list. 
Never applied WPI. Not a good part of Boston area, and clearly a step down from Northeastern.
Liked RPI better. Variety of good tech favored programs, but location is not good and looking kind of drepressing. Got in.
No need to consider these schools after getting in Northesatern(direct main campus).  
I udnerstand the hesitation if got in as NUIn.  
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See how everyone will have differing opinions?!?!  
We visited RPI and my kid hated it.  As soon as we drove into town, I got back on the highway and took them to see Albany is only 15 mins away and RPI is "not in the middle of nowhere".  My kid actually suggested that perhaps we don't even bother with the visit as there was no way in hell they would attend here.
 
For us RPI/troy was too remote, and more importantly we had researched and understood the financial issues RPI has been having.  You could see this during the visit---of the 10+ campuses we visited, it was the only one where every single building I saw looked like it needed maintenance and not just today, but more likely 5+ years ago.  All of the wood windows on multiple buildings were rotting and had no paint left---should have been painted/maintained 5+ years ago.  Other than the performing arts center, the next newest building on campus was built and dedicated the same week fall freshman was born.  We only went into the 2 newest building on campus and briefly into 1 dorm (due to covid nothing else was open).  But I have to wonder if the school is having financial issues, what that means for academic resources, lab equipment, etc...  Considering every college campus I have ever been on seems to spend a fortune on making the campus look nice, almost to an extreme.

Add to that the Mandatory Summer arch program which doesn't seem well thought out and seems more like a way for RPI to get more $$$.  Nobody really wants to take a full semester of junior year engineering courses (ie Higher level engineering) crammed into 6 weeks sessions over the summer.  But it's required and difficult to get out of (just check out Reddit comments).  This gets RPI more $$$ because the students are also REQUIRED to live on campus for the summer, so it makes it difficult to start a lease living off campus for junior year when you are supposed to be on Coop/Internship for fall or spring semester as well, and that coop most likely will not be near RPI (because RPI is not a  in a large city).  So many students are simply forced to choose on campus housing (and dining that ensues) for the semester they are allowed to be on campus junior year because it's slightly cheaper than the full year lease and living off campus would be.   
For my kid, RPI had a bit too much of a "nerd" vibe and the students we saw did not seem happy.  Our tour guide was not able to answer many of the questions that students/parents had---it just was not inspiring.  Tour did nothing to sway our opinion at all.

My kid really liked WPI.  The students seemed happy, excited, etc.  My kid liked the open curriculum and it was in their top 3 ultimately.  But decided that the 7 week terms might not be the best thing for someone who is a major procrastinator.  They have worked over the last decade to get close to a 50/50 male/female split.  While the town is not as exciting as Boston, it's 1000 times better than Troy (IMO and my kid's opinion).  I don't consider it a step down from NEU.  Rankings for engineering at USNWR are almost 100% a "popularity" contest.  It has to do with how others in the college realm rank you.  So of course the larger, more traditionally well known schools do better (besides being known by more, I can only imagine the behind the scenes "payments"/"discussions" that go into "if you vote for me, I'll vote for you" etc.) 
  WPI is a hidden gem that is actually much better than the rankings place it, IMO  Their hand on approach to learning coupled with the opportunity to do internships and/or coops is well established.  Yes, not everyone does coops, but plenty do and it's available if you so desire.  Many kids graduate and stay in the general Boston area as Boston tech sector knows the value of a WPI grad.

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Thank you. This is very helpful. I had heard about the RPI issues. Thanks for the WPI info. May add that to the list![/quote]

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