Northeastern: The School with Offerings

Last week, we were honored to be able to host Olivia Harris, Assistant Director of Admissions at Northeastern University for a Live Q&A, in which she revealed to us that Northeastern isn’t your typical top-50 college. Olivia’s tagline was simple: “We have a lot of offerings.”

What (and where) is Northeastern?

Northeastern University is a top-50 college… in Boston, Mass. Or is it in Oakland, California? In London? In Glasgow? In Greece?

Northeastern has campuses and partners in all of these places – and then some. Some Northeastern students start in Boston, some spend a year first in Oakland or London, and some start their first semester in Europe and then go to do a paid work-study (“co-op”), either in the USA or worldwide. One joke that Olivia told us is that some Northeastern students don’t actually wind up in Boston until their junior year!

“Literally,” Olivia said, “no two students have the same academic experience.” Maybe the only thing that’s assured at Northeastern is that this is a top-50 school and you’re getting one of the best educations out there – in any part of the world.

Three “pathways”

One of the first things that came up – one of our most extensively-discussed topics of the evening – is that there are multiple ways to be admitted and to attend Northeastern. There are three “pathways”: Boston, “Global Scholars” (or “NU Bound”), and N.U.in.

Boston

Boston is what it sounds like: students start their freshman year at the Northeastern campus in Boston. This is the most straightforward entrance pathway of the three.

Global Scholars/NU Bound

Through the Global Scholars program, or NU Bound, students start at one of the other two Northeastern campuses: their Oakland, California campus or their London one. You spend your freshman year at this sister campus, and the following year (or whenever you’re done with whatever co-ops you’re doing during this time), you move to Boston. 

N.U.in

But perhaps the most intriguing of the pathways is “N.U.in” – which stands for “Northeastern University International.” Entering via this pathway, students spend their fall semester of freshman year – their very first time, for some, away from home – at one of Northeastern’s partner campuses in Europe or in Oakland, California.

N.U.in students are all with other Northeastern students, and the entire program is taught in English. There are also trained “resident directors” from Boston who accompany the students abroad. In fact, the entire experience is a wonderful bonding opportunity – check out what some N.U.in participants had to say about it in one of our student panels last year! Here is some great info from the University itself on the particulars, as well.

Advantages and disadvantages

As Olivia was quick to point out, “The pathways are always great, because they enable us to bring in a bigger class than our Boston campus right now can hold, facility-wise.” However, if you’re admitted into an alternate pathway (N.U.in or Global Scholars), that’s your only way to attend Northeastern – you can’t make the decision to go to the Boston campus straightaway after you’ve already been accepted to initially go to one of the other campuses.

You acknowledge your interest in a pathway simply: “In your application, you can check a checkbox. If you check the box, we consider you for that pathway.” But be careful of checking the boxes unless you’re truly ready to enter Northeastern by that unconventional pathway. If you’re admitted by that pathway, that’s your only way in.

Co-op

The other thing about Northeastern that makes it stand out among schools is its “co-op” system, which stands for “cooperative education.” As Olivia points out, Northeastern is “founded in this whole idea of cooperative education.”

During co-op, students don’t take any classes (or pay any tuition). Instead, they spend six months in a real-life, practical internship, where they gain career experience, form connections, and build their work résumé before they’ve walked on stage to hold their diploma.

Additionally, these co-op internship positions are reserved for Northeastern students. In other words, when you vy for a co-op opportunity, you’re not competing with anyone else from the job market. 

Co-op is why Northeastern students often don’t spend all that much time in Boston. “You can do [co-op] anywhere in the U.S. – or really anywhere on the globe,” Olivia informed us. “Actually, one of my tour guides is headed out next week to Paris to co-op in the embassy!”

Miscellany

We covered a huge amount, briefly touching on the below:

Early decision and demonstrated interest

Early decision, as we’ve covered in the past, is a binding application option promising a school that, if you are accepted, you will attend their institution, no takebacks. Because ED is fundamentally a contract of attendance, it is one of the strongest ways a student can demonstrate interest in a college or university – and Northeastern, it seems, tracks demonstrated interest with great value, with Olivia noting that “Early decision is the ultimate way to demonstrate interest”, and greatly improves a student’s chance to be admitted.

However, she warned us not to do it unless Northeastern was hands-down your number one choice. “[M]ake sure you’re a social fit, financial fit, [and] academic fit,” she said (and we at ILUMIN strongly agree).

Test-optional

This is Northeastern’s second cycle as a test-optional admissions school, joining the ongoing trend of schools across the country. On whether to submit a score to the university or not, Olivia said: “We're of the mind that if they're not in the application, we are not thinking about them.” However, she also noted that the admissions committee “can't ‘unsee’ them once they're on the application – so they will be a factor we consider [if you send your scores].” 

In other words, Northeastern won’t suspect you of concealing poor scores or something of the like if you don’t submit them with your application, so “if you feel like your scores don’t represent yourself, don’t send them.”

Financial aid

Unlike many other institutions, Northeastern actually offers early financial aid reviews for any prospective student considering applying to their school ED – an opportunity for students to get an idea of the cost they might be facing at Northeastern, before they make the ED commitment. This is a great option for students considering Northeastern who may have some concerns about financial aid and scholarships. 

This option is notably only applicable for need-based aid, however, not merit aid. For merit aid, Olivia notes, the award process is more straightforward: “We typically award the top 10% to 15% of the applicant pool merit aid.”

Conclusion: “We love complexity and choice at Northeastern!”

Northeastern University is not your typical college, and therefore, will probably not be the school for everyone. But they thrive in what they do provide for students who want it, and so you’ll know if Northeastern is a fit for you. That’s all that admissions boards are looking for: a student who is a social and academic fit for their school.

If you think you might be one of them, do your research into this amazing and intriguing school! Peruse the website. Get in touch with the admissions team – Olivia shared the email admissions@northeastern.edu at least three times throughout the webinar, so the chance to learn more and demonstrate your interest is readily available to all prospective students. If you live in Northern California, ask specifically for Olivia Harris, or her co-worker Mark Donnelly, who shares the region with her – and send them your specific questions. If you find that this unique academic experience is a perfect fit for you, you may want to consider applying ED.

(If you found this useful, feel free to check out our blog for transcripts of other Live Q&As, where we’ve hosted admissions officers from other schools, such as Pomona and UCSB. And if you’d like to know more about how we at ILUMIN can help your specific student in their college application process, feel free to sign up for a free consultation with us!)