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