Webinar Transcript: Live Q&A with Northeastern Assistant Director of Admissions
Elton Lin
Anthony Su: Good evening everyone – glad that everyone could make it today to listen to Wendy a little bit from Northeastern!
We're really glad that she could make it and tell us a little bit more about the campus culture and the community, given a lot of seniors are getting ready for admissions! Or maybe there are a couple students who are wanting to do a little research early – really great for them!
I'll jump off in a little bit, and then Azure and Wendy will chat – and Wendy has a whole presentation prepared for us – so that we can go through the many different ways that you can get into Northeastern, and the different programs that they have. Then I'll come back and toss your questions to Wendy. So feel free to put things there in Q&A.
I'll pass it over to you, Azure and Wendy. Have a good day.
Azure Brown: Thanks, Anthony. Yeah, Wendy, thanks for joining us today. I know that Northeastern does have so many options that we get a lot of questions – and students trying to figure out what the right option is for them. So we can go ahead and get started with your presentation, and then we can talk a little bit.
Wendy Snyder: Awesome. Thank you so much to both of you, Anthony and Azure, for inviting me to speak to your community.
My name is Wendy Snyder. I use she/her pronouns. And I'm actually situated here on the Oakland Campus of Northeastern – which is a new development.
There are about 20 slides here. I'm just going to go through – and I look forward to your questions.
Here we go.
Northeastern’s distinct advantage
Wendy Snyder: Northeastern has a lot of unique qualities. One is that it is a top-tier research institution that really focuses on bringing the experience that you develop (by doing something called “co-op”) into your education, and really informing the things that you're studying… and vice versa. Also, Northeastern has many different programs that allow students to experience living in other countries, living on different campuses… and really encourages students to find their own unique way to do college – and also gain work experience. I'm going to get into all those things.
Our global network
Wendy Snyder: It's pretty exciting, because I joined Northeastern (for full transparency) just in June. Before that I was a high school college counselor. It's pretty fun and interesting to be on this side of the desk… and Northeastern is a very dynamic institution.
Most of you probably know about the Boston campus – and that is the quintessential college town. I just went to the Boston campus a couple weeks ago: it's a very vibrant campus that is in the hub of Boston and has 15,000 students there.
The Oakland campus – where I'm situated – is a new development. It used to be Mills; we actually refer to it as, “Northeastern at Mills,” “Mills-Northeastern…” you might hear, “Northeastern Oakland.” It's a very different vibe here (I would say) – with 135 acres. It's more of an enclosed campus. It is in East Oakland: up in the mid-hills of East Oakland… and just has that small college feel to it.
The London campus is a very unique situation. I'll talk more about that as well. That's in the heart of the city, and actually near some of the landmarks in London… and really has that city feel to it.
Rigorous academics led by world-class faculty
Wendy Snyder: Northeastern has many different colleges and programs, nearly 300 majors, and what are called “combined majors”, which I'll talk a little bit more about. It's unique in that it has well-respected industry experts and professors who are all involved in research – and you have access to those professors with our really great student-to-faculty ratio, as you can see [on the slide: 15:1].
Northeastern really prides itself on allowing students to personalize their education and follow their passions, and not just be siloed into one area of study. It's encouraged to study multiple subjects.
Northeastern University Oakland
4 majors serve as foundation blocks
Biology
Business administration
Computer science
Health science
10 combined majors
Wendy Snyder: In Oakland these are the foundational majors that we're starting with. I know it sounds small, but they're in development to roll out even more majors. Those are the four majors – and on the next slide I'll show you the combined majors, and talk a little bit about that.
If you don't know what you want to study and you want to come to the Oakland campus, Discover Oakland is a program for those who haven't decided on a major. And then everybody in Oakland gets access to entrepreneurship: learning how to be an entrepreneur, and having that experience of creating a business. That's really exciting, just so close to Silicon Valley.
Northeastern University Oakland
Business administration
Communication studies
Design
Economics
Computer science
Biology
Business administration
Communication studies
Design
Economics
Health science
Business administration
Communication studies
Wendy Snyder: This shows you the combined majors.
The combined majors are not double majors – the difference being that if you study business administration with economics, you're going to have your business studies informed by the study of economics, and you're also going to have your economic studies informed by business. So, in other words, the courses aren't going to be necessarily all separate. There are specific courses that the School of Business and the School of Communication Studies (for example) have designed to really enrich the intellectual life of the classroom – and just look at subjects from different perspectives. That's what a “combined major” is.
Combined majors are designed so that you can graduate in four years. It's not like sometimes when people do double majors: they end up taking longer than four years to graduate.
That's the Oakland campus.
Northeastern University London
Wendy Snyder: The London campus has a few more areas of study. They've been around since 2019. What's unique about London is that you can get a degree in the UK in three years – that's how they do it over there – and you can come back to Boston for your fourth year and obtain a U.S. degree. That's pretty unique.
Academics enhanced with powerful experiences
Co-op
Global experience
Research
Service
Wendy Snyder: In the next slides I'm just going to highlight some of the things that make Northeastern unique.
Co-op is the active ingredient in your Northeastern degree
Wendy Snyder: The first one is the co-op. Perhaps many of you have heard of co-op. “Co-op” is just short for Cooperative – and it's the cooperation between the university and many many different big and small companies, as well as non-profits.
The co-op is something that students have access to their second year – so their sophomore year. They're going to have a “co-op advisor” (in addition to their academic advisor) – and the co-op advisor will coach them through the process of getting their résumé together, deciding on what they would like to do in the co-op (they can work in all kinds of industries), getting their interviewing skills together… and in the spring (January to May) they will spend time in their co-op, and actually get paid!
It's not an internship. It's similar to an internship, but not like an internship – because it's a real job, and you're actually getting work experience on your résumé. This is where you're looking at, “Do I want to work in Health Sciences? Do I want to work in Tech? What are the things that people do all day in those fields?” And that can inform. Many students change their major when they experience their co-op – and either decide they love something, or decide it's not for them. That's all very good information.
Northeastern has a network worldwide – so these are not employers that you're having to search for. You get a lot of support in accessing those jobs. And you also can create your own! It's really encouraged: creativity is really encouraged.
You also can do up to three co-ops – although that might make it so you graduate in a little longer than four years.
That's the co-op experience.
The advantages of a global university
N.U.in program
Global Scholars program
Dialogue of Civilizations
Global Co-op
Traditional study abroad
Wendy Snyder: Some of you may already be in the Common App, and maybe you have Northeastern on there, and you can see some of these programs actually. The first two in particular I'll highlight
The N.U.in program is something that you might say that you would be interested in – because it is an opportunity to go with a cohort of students to another country. Most of them are currently in Europe right now. You would go to that city. You would study in that city with a group of students – about 150 students. Then you would come back, the second semester of your first year, to the Boston campus.
It's simply a different way to get started at Northeastern. If you're open to that, definitely put that as one of your preferences on the Common App!
The Global Scholars Program is a way that you can experience all three of the main campuses. We have 300 Global Scholars students who just started here in Oakland – and in the spring they'll go to London… and then, their second year, they'll go to the Boston campus. And vice versa: some students are starting in London, and then coming to Oakland, and then returning to Boston for the rest of their college experience.
The Dialogue of Civilizations is something that we just want to mention – because it's a very unique six-week program during the summer where an even smaller group of students would go with a professor to some part of the world and study that part of the world. This is something that is offered to students, as well as the global co-op.
I mentioned when I was talking about co-op that there are up to 3,000 opportunities worldwide. You might actually work in another country as part of your co-op!
And then we also offer a more traditional study abroad program, which would be most likely a semester somewhere your junior year.
Engage in research the helps solve the world’s challenges
Wendy Snyder: We are an R1 Global Research institution – and you can actually start doing research as early as your first year. It's not just STEM. The research could be in the social sciences. It could be in humanities. It could be in any subject. We have a database, and students gain access to that – and can pursue their interests in research: something very unique! (Not all institutions allow undergraduates that access to research.)
Service Learning
Wendy Snyder: We do have a lot of “service learning” opportunities – which, you may know, is a volunteer experience. So you're not getting paid, but you're making a difference in your community. For example, here in Oakland we have a lot of connections with community organizations surrounding the campus – and students have the ability to bring their skills to those community organizations. It's also a very important partnership that the university has with the local community. Just wanted to highlight that.
A diverse and welcoming community
Wendy Snyder: We have students from all over the world, and that's what makes us [the] #2 leading host institution [for international students]. We have students from all 50 states, and we're really committed to building a diverse student body.
Who we have here on the Oakland campus: we have about 500 first-year degree seeking undergraduates, as well as the Global Scholars that I mentioned (that will be here for a semester before they go to London). We also have some graduate students, as well as some continuing Mills College students. (We have I think about 100 students who were formerly at Mills College.)
Explore your passions
Wendy Snyder: Students can really get involved! I just went over to what they call “the Center” (for short, because it's a really long name that I haven't memorized yet; it's like “the Center for Student Life and Engagement”). It's really a vibrant place.
It's really easy to set up a student organization or a club or intramural sports team: You have to get (I think) one other student and a professor to sign, and then you’re a student organization! You have access to resources, you have access to meeting space, and all that kind of thing.
The Boston campus is very well-known – also, and on a bigger scale – for having many different cultural centers and activities and sports teams.
Living on campus in Oakland
Wendy Snyder: On campus here, students are guaranteed housing – and they're actually required to live on campus their first year… with some exceptions of students who maybe live in the area: maybe they live in Berkeley or San Leandro (if you know this area), or they live in Oakland. There are a handful of students who don't live on campus, but the majority do. We also have the Living Learning Communities that are organized by different themes. We have great food in our dining hall; they actually use some of the food from (I forgot to mention) the Mills Community Farm. I actually get my produce and my flowers from there every week! That's a really great feature of the Oakland campus.
Transition to the Boston campus
Because the Oakland campus is so new, a lot of students are really wanting to go to Boston. My bias is: stay here in Oakland for all four years! However, we do have this message: students know that if they're not finding what they want on the Oakland campus (because maybe they change their major), they can transfer to the Boston campus their second year.
Admissions and financial aid
Several ways to join the Northeastern community
Wendy Snyder: This is a little bit of an overview of the ways that you can join the Northeastern community.
For Boston and Oakland that's pretty straightforward on the Common App. You also would check if you were open to doing the N.U.in program – which (I mentioned) was the program where you're going to another country for one semester before you go to Boston. And then Global Scholars is Oakland/London or London/Oakland, and then back to Boston. You can put those preferences in.
NU Immerse is a program that we always want to mention – because it's for students for whom English is not their first language. This is only on the Boston campus… but NU Immerse will help them get up to speed with their academic English – and they'll still be getting their credits in their courses. That's what that is.
Your application is reviewed holistically
Wendy Snyder: We do review your application holistically. This will be my first time reviewing applications – and I'm really excited about that! I've been on the other end, helping students with their essays.
We are really looking for academic rigor. We're looking for students who have been successful academically – and also been engaged in their community in some kind of way. That doesn't mean that they're all student student body presidents [or] that kind of thing! But some form or fashion that you've been engaged with your community to make it a better place. It could be something very much behind the scenes. We're just looking for that involvement: that passion that you can then bring to the Northeastern campus.
We are going to be test-optional at least till 2026. If you're pretty confident in your test-taking skills and you want to send us your scores, please do. However, it's not going to count against you if you don't send the scores (and if you're not a good test-taker). Feel free to not send us the scores – and that's completely fine as well.
Admissions deadlines
Binding admissions programs
November 1 – Early Decision I (ED I)
January 1 – Early Decision II (ED II)
Non-binding admissions programs
November 1 – Early Action (EA)
January 1 – Regular Decision (RD)
Wendy Snyder: Just a review of the deadlines that we have.
Many of you probably know that “early decision” is making a commitment to Northeastern. We have two we call “early” – even though one's November and one's January. That's when you're making that binding commitment.
“Early action”: you can apply to multiple places “early action.” And then our regular decision.
Making Northeastern financially accessible
Wendy Snyder: And then financial aid, of course. Everybody wants to understand how you're going to pay for school.
We have about 15% of our students who do receive merit aid awards. That's 30,000 per year! We also guarantee that we're going to meet 100% of your needs based on the FAFSA – a free application for federal student aid – as well as the College Board CSS. You must be a U.S citizen or permanent resident, and we guarantee that we're going to meet that need (even as tuition increases).
Graduate with an impressive résumé and a clear head start
97% of 2021 graduates employed in their field of study or in graduate school within 9 months of graduation.
51% of graduates received a job offer from a co-op employer.
Wendy Snyder: And then, finally… this is the last slide.
This statistic is actually – I think – even at 98% for the 2022 graduates. I think it's really impressive to know that you're among students who are successful in obtaining employment and getting into graduate school. For the most part it's nearly 100% – and it's because of that co-op work experience, I'm convinced! And many of the students end up working for a co-op employer.
Thank you for visiting Northeastern University!
Enjoy your campus tour.
Wendy Snyder: So yeah, that's my presentation – and I'm looking forward to answering your questions.
Azure Brown: Thank you, that was really helpful. I know it's sort of complicated to explain all the different opportunities that Northeastern has.
I have a few questions for you before we get into Q&A. Why don't we start with: what is your role at Northeastern, and how did you get into admissions?
Wendy Snyder: Yeah. I am an assistant director of admissions. I'm brand new to the field… but not brand new to the overarching field, which is supporting students in going to college.
For the last 12 years I've been doing academic support and coordination at Oakland School for the Arts, which is a public arts charter school. And for the last six years I've been the college counselor at Oakland School for the Arts. It's been a great run – and I just was looking for something that was just a little different. I was keeping my eye on what was happening over at Mills College with the merger, and I actually went to a counselor breakfast back in December: it was a very rainy day, and I'm like, “What's happening over here?” A couple months later I applied and got the job!
I do miss working directly with students. I love interacting with students, so I'm missing that a lot. But anyways, that's the answer to your question.
Azure Brown: Great. And this is the first full year of enrollment for the Mills campus for Northeastern, is that right?
Wendy Snyder: [Nods.]
Azure Brown: So it is pretty brand new! But in terms of Northeastern, what do you think is the greatest change for admissions – and your college campuses in general these days?
Wendy Snyder: I think that the biggest change is really just getting the word out that Northeastern has different ways to join the campus. I know people are confused in Oakland – like, “What is going on over there?” They see a new name, but they still see Mills College.
I think that's really different: just having students understand (and families) the full range of Northeastern programs and first-year pathways… and the way that they can join the institution – that, coming to the Oakland campus or the London campus, they're still going to have access to the same things that a Northeastern student in Boston would have.
Azure Brown: Good. And it's true for a lot of popular colleges, but would you say for Northeastern the volume of applications [has] been going up in recent years?
Wendy Snyder: Most definitely.
Azure Brown: Yeah, it is pretty competitive – so it's nice to have these different options.
Can you share a bit about the Northeastern admissions process? How does that work?
Wendy Snyder: Being new to it, I'll do my best!
I think it is still very centralized to Boston. I know that I will be reading applications from the Bay Area, and also my territory in Oregon.
We are getting a lot of training around that. I can't say too much, but I will say I know we will be spending a lot more time on looking at those essays – in light of the fact that we're not looking at the test scores. We're also, in light of the Supreme Court decision, really just looking to build a diverse student body – by looking at the students’ stories and activities you've been involved in.
I don’t know; this will be my first cycle going through this! I know that we read together in teams. There's some sort of… I don’t know, I haven't been trained yet! But I know that it's a very collective process.
At the same time we're responsible for reading a lot of applications. I'm looking forward to reading.
Azure Brown: It sounds like the same people will be reading the same high school – so that you can see students in context. Is that right?
Wendy Snyder: Yeah – and I think that's an important point. Students need to understand: we are looking at your high school profile – they're called “school profiles” – that the counselors give us. Those tell us a lot about what your school is offering – so that we're not judging you on how many APs you took if your school doesn't offer many! We're really trying to look at you in the context of what was available for you, and what opportunities you took.
Azure Brown: This is the year we're hearing so much about ChatGPT – and so we get questions about it. Some of our students are wondering how many people are going to be using it to write their college essays. On the admissions side, are you aware of any changes – in terms of how you read the applications?
Wendy Snyder: I actually asked Brendan Graham – who is the director of undergraduate admissions for Oakland – and he said we just don't really know yet. We're going to be looking for your voice as a student, and just seeing how that comes through. If you're using ChatGPT to generate ideas, fine – but make sure that you're really telling your story in your own voice.
I don't know much more than that. I think students are becoming familiar with different screenings maybe their teachers are using to see if they've used ChatGPT to write an essay. We'll likely be using those as well.
But I think the main thing is for you to understand that we're gonna be able to pick up on whether it's your unique voice, or if you're relying on ChatGPT a little bit too much. I would just keep that in mind.
Azure Brown: Another question we get from students is: because Northeastern doesn't have supplemental essays (they just have the personal statement), sometimes they wonder if they should write about their résumé instead of something personal for the main essay. What do you think about that?
Wendy Snyder: I wouldn't recommend writing about your résumé. I would recommend just telling a story where you're authentically describing the ways in which you've grown as a person – and that might include some of the things that are on your résumé, in terms of your experience. But you're gonna have your activities list. We're gonna see. You don't need to repeat the things that you're already sharing.
The essays that stay with us after we read them really show a little bit of vulnerability in what you're talking about – revealing something about your character. That's really what we're looking for: who is this person behind these words? We don't want just to know about every wonderful thing you've done. That's great too – but that can go on the activities list.
Azure Brown: Sounds great. And what do you think is one of the more misunderstood parts of admissions?
Wendy Snyder: I like that question!
It is so hard to keep this in mind when you're 17 years old and having all this pressure on yourself, but there are so many wonderful students who are getting rejected… and you're one of them. Understand that rejection is part of this process. It's a hard lesson to learn, but I think that being prepared for that – and trying your best not to take it personally – is really important.
I think it was someone called Brené Brown who said, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” Really try to take that to heart: that you are a unique human, and it's a numbers game. I think that often students will be like, “Why? What did I do wrong?” And oftentimes it's nothing like that. It’s nothing that you did wrong on the application, or nothing that fell short. You're enough! It's just rejection is written into this game… and so be okay with that if you can. That's probably the hardest thing.
Azure Brown: Yeah. Any other advice you have for students that are looking, or just starting their admissions season right now?
Wendy Snyder: Yeah. I would say: really know your priorities of the schools. If you can do early decision, that's great. I know not everyone can make that kind of financial commitment before knowing what aid you're gonna get… but early decision or early action is a really great option. If Northeastern is your number one priority, go for it – and focus, and get that application in!
My advice would be:
Prioritize your schools.
Take a little time to rest and do nothing once in a while, even if it's just for 30 minutes – because I think the level of anxiety can be really, really high (and really be detrimental to our physical and emotional mental health).
These would be the two things.
Azure Brown: Good advice. I think, Anthony, we're ready to take some Q&A here.
Anthony Su: Sounds good.
I think one of the exciting things about Northeastern is the diversity of the options you have in being a Northeastern student – with all the different campuses and available programs. There are a lot of questions around the programs: like, “How does NU Immerse work? How does that compare to Global Scholars?”
[They move to the slide “How to join the Northeastern community”]
Wendy Snyder: Were there specific questions about it, or do you want me to just go over these again – because it is a lot?
Anthony Su: Just go over it one more time – and then I'll try to emphasize the specific things once you've gone through it.
Wendy Snyder: Yeah. The most popular option is going to be for students to apply directly to the Boston campus. That's something you can do as well at the Oakland campus. Both of those are going to be through the Common App. The London campus is going to be a little different. It's something called the UCAS. It's the United Kingdom's Common App, basically. Those are the three ways you would join the three different main campuses.
The first year programs are N.U.in – just our lingo for a one-semester study abroad to start off your college experience, and then you come back to the Boston campus. Global Scholars is when you are splitting your first year at Northeastern between the Oakland campus and the London campus, and then returning to Boston. Global Scholars is going to be with 300 students that you'll basically travel with – and end up in Boston. And then NU Immerse is a one-year program for speakers of languages other than English as a first language, and that's on the Boston campus.
Anthony Su: Got it. I almost wish we had a map to showcase the options!
Wendy Snyder: I know. It's funny, because now it all makes so much sense to me, but I remember the first time I heard it, I was like, “This is confusing!” So don't worry if you still feel a little confused; you can also reach out to me if you want to speak with any students who are in these programs – just to ask how that went for them.
Azure Brown: Can I ask: if you opt for some of these alternate programs, are you increasing your chances to be at Northeastern?
Wendy Snyder: I think you are – because you're applying through the Common App, and you're letting us know that you are open to these programs. I think that it's a good strategy to be open. That was actually one of the other pieces of advice: being open to something different. I think that will increase your chance – if you are a little bit flexible.
That's one of the values – I think – of Northeastern: flexibility… in terms of you creating the education that you want, as well as the different ways that you can access the institution.
Anthony Su: And just to clarify, because I heard you mentioned UCAS… As a Common App applicant, can you still opt for Boston, London, or Oakland as the first campus? Or is it that if you want to apply for the London campus, you have to do that application as well?
Wendy Snyder: You have to do it – because I noticed a question about the UK degree. Yeah, when you're just applying and having London as your home campus, you apply through the UCAS strictly.
Anthony Su: Yeah, that question was clarifying about that: how would you get the second degree? Is that an automatic thing that happens, or what would a student have to go through if they do want to go to the Boston campus at the end of their three years?
Wendy Snyder: They would simply transfer to the Boston campus. That option is available for them. There might be some International students who just want the UK degree, or students from the UK… but I think a lot of students will be coming for the fourth year in Boston to get that U.S. degree.
Anthony Su: Definitely.
I'll move on to a couple other topics and questions; if we need to come back to this slide, let me know.
A question about the Oakland and London campuses. The question is basically getting at: has faculty expanded since then? Are there some professors from Boston going to those other campuses? How has that program been integrated as part of Northeastern?
Wendy Snyder: That's a great question. I would just say that yes, that's what's happening. I was really surprised – pleasantly surprised – when I went to Boston and heard from the dean of CAMD (the College of Arts, Media, and Design) talking about all the things that are happening or in development in Oakland. I had been here for a couple months, and had no idea! There's a lot that's in development.
I know that in London there's a lot of cross-pollination going on – and movement among the faculty back and forth. So yes. Do I know a lot of details about this? No. But I would say that by joining Northeastern London campus or Oakland campus, you're going to have access to a lot of different programs.
In fact I just ran into a student I was chatting with, and I said (because today was the first day of class) “How did your classes go?” She said, “Well, two are in-person this week, and then two were online.” So there's still virtual learning happening. I think this student in particular wanted to take a course that was being offered in Boston, and it was offered virtually. There's also that happening.
It's a very dynamic process.
[She looks at an audience question] I'm sorry, what is the OP program?
Anthony Su: Yeah, I'm not sure what they're specifically referring to.
Wendy Snyder: If you can clarify that… I'm not sure I know what that is.
Anthony Su: I'll move on to another question, but I can come back to this as well.
A question about how the NU Immerse program works. An applicant is wondering, what if they're unsure about where their TOEFL score is? Is there a way for you to check which program would be more applicable for an international applicant?
Wendy Snyder: You know, that is a really good question. If you want to email me, I can get the answer for you – because I just don't know! But I would really like to know: how do you know if you're ready, or if you need the NU Immerse program? Please email me – and I will make sure I get somebody who knows the answer to that to tell me, and I'll let you know.
Anthony Su: Sounds good. And then just to clarify Global Scholars and N.U.in, because on that other slide, all those things were next to each other… Global Scholars is that you're between all three of the Northeastern campuses, is that correct? It doesn't have to do with international students or anything?
Wendy Snyder: That's correct, yeah. It's just the name for the program where you would start in either Oakland or London and have a semester in each of those places your first year in Northeastern, and then return to Boston. They're just calling it “Global Scholars” because you're traveling the globe before you end up in Boston!
Anthony Su: Do you know how flexible it is? (This is just a tangent question.) How helpful is it to say, “I really like the London campus; can I stay one extra semester, then decide to go to Oakland?”
Wendy Snyder: I have a feeling that that is possible. From what I've heard, I think that if you find (as a student) that you're really interested in a particular program that is being offered in London, I have a feeling that is something that could be available to you. There seems to be (like I said) a lot of flexibility.
Azure Brown: Sounds good – and within that flexibility, though, you said that students stay in a “cohort”… so they're traveling with a group of students, so it still feels like they're building relationships and making connections and so on – which is really nice.
Wendy Snyder: Yeah. We welcomed students last week, and I found the efforts that Northeastern is making to really nurture community are great. I think, even though students may be traveling from campus to campus, they are (like you said) in a group of students – and they're getting to know those students, and they're building connections. So even though they're changing places, they are with students that they're getting to know and around every day.
Anthony Su: Sounds good.
A question around how major is taken into consideration when applying. As admissions readers, are you looking at students per major… or is it just admission to the university as a whole?
Wendy Snyder: What I've been told is that it's admission to the university as a whole. I think the perspective is really that we're looking for certain criteria around your engagement with your community, your passion for different subjects… We know that your course of study might change – and will likely change!
Any more detail than that I might have a hard time answering… but someone was asking me from a high school the other day about if they applied for one particular major that's not in engineering, and then they try to get into the School of Engineering, how would that work? I know that there's a lot of fluidity to a degree – so we are not necessarily looking for X number of students to go to the School of Engineering, X number in computer science, that kind of thing.
Beyond that I can't really say in terms of numbers – but I think that we're really looking at the students holistically. We're looking at the majors, but we're looking at the student as a whole – and knowing that their pursuit of their studies might change.
Anthony Su: It sounds like (to an extent) there's some flexibility between majors – to the extent it may change for each student or each particular major.
There are some questions around early decision and regular decision. It seems like some students are just wondering: “Is there an increased chance of me getting in as an ED or an EA applicant, compared to the regular decision?” How would you recommend students think through that process?
Wendy Snyder: Like I was saying earlier, if you are really excited about Northeastern, I think that you should apply early decision – if you can – or early action. I know it's not much time from now, but I know that the acceptance rate is much higher. I don't have those numbers in front of me, but I do know (from experience as a college counselor) the track record of students getting in when they apply early.
It does put a little more pressure on yourself, because you’ve got to get that done by November 1st… but I would say it's probably worth it, because your chances are going to be better.
Anthony Su: And do you know how that EA/ED interaction works with the various different campus options, or Global Scholars and things like that?
Wendy Snyder: Sorry, no clue; I really don't! Maybe I'll know more in a couple months.
Anthony Su: I also want to give you a chance to highlight the co-ops and internships available as well – since I think that's also an area where a lot of students are interested in Northeastern: because of that integrated program. Could you just spell it out a little more?
Wendy Snyder: Sure.
Our students end up doing co-op with very big tech companies – well-known tech companies. They also do their co-ops with smaller companies.
They do it in the Health Sciences. I've just been learning a lot about the ways in which students get their clinical practice – and also the co-ops that are done in the medical field are just way above and beyond what even different interns do from other schools, because they actually have a job in these institutions! They may be working at a hospital or at a firm, and they're doing everything – not just assisting!
I would say the co-op experience is varied in every single sector – and there have been students who've created their own co-ops (just to throw out there). A student who was doing her co-op in Oakland in the admissions office was talking about one of her friends who developed a music production co-op: this is a business major who loves music production, and so proposed to be the music producer for a hip-hop artist… and got to travel with that artist through the whole summer!
So it's vast… and everything under the sun that you could think of. And what a wonderful thing: to be able to work in a field and be like, “This is really what I love!” – working at a law firm… or seeing what a software engineer does every day – and being like, “That's not for me!” That's all super valuable to your education – and then you bring that back into the classroom, and maybe refocus your studies.
Hopefully that was helpful.
Anthony Su: Yeah. To my understanding, it's also pretty common for students to do two or three co-ops if they want to as well, right? It's not just one, and then that's it.
Wendy Snyder: If they do more than two, they're looking at a little bit of a longer time before they graduate… but there are summer classes, and that may be okay because you want that experience; you're gonna maybe get employed by that third co-op, where you're really sure that this is the field that you want to work in!
Anthony Su: This is a great question! It sounds like a contentious question, but I think it’s going to work. It’s: “Why would a student apply to the newer Oakland campus versus the more established Boston campus?” Basically: what's the main draw of Oakland (and maybe London and all these other programs) compared to the traditional four-year college experience in Boston?
Wendy Snyder: I would say that applying to Oakland, first of all, you need to be interested in those four foundational majors… or have some kind of interest, even if you're in Discover Oakland – which is the program (I meant to reiterate) where you can come in undeclared.
I would say the Oakland campus just has a real community feel to it. Literally there's a meadow, there are redwood trees, there are eucalyptus trees, there are oak trees, there's a trail… and it just has that vibe of a small liberal arts campus.
I think that students should come (if you can come) and visit. I think you'll see that it's a great place to be – even if you're going to be here for a semester. It's so close to Silicon Valley, to San Francisco, and to the vibrant culture in Oakland.
I have a bias (because I live here!) but I think that you're gonna get all those Northeastern opportunities – just in a different environment. I encourage you to be open to it: come visit!
Anthony Su: Yeah, and if you're based in the Bay Area, you definitely can go and take a look.
Since we're on the same topic of the Oakland campus and the four majors, a question just asking a bit more about the combined majors. I think for some folks it might be: “How does it compare to a double major?” or something like that.
[They go to the “Northeastern University Oakland” slide]
Wendy Snyder: It's different from a double major because you're not just studying health science and communication studies separately. These departments are collaborating to create courses. (Some of them are co-taught.) They're collaborating to create courses that are interdisciplinary. That, I think, makes it unique – in that you're not studying these subjects separate from each other.
Anthony Su: And this is also available at the Boston campus?
Wendy Snyder: Yeah, I wish I had a slide for that… but that would probably be a very long slide!
Anthony Su: Is there ever a situation where a student may run into, “This program's only offered at this distinct campus”? I remember you said that the Oakland campus only has those four specific majors. If you do Global Scholars, do you need to be within the umbrella of those majors as well?
Wendy Snyder: Global Scholars, because they're ending up in Boston, there's a lot more variety. They basically have all the majors that are in Boston open to them.
I wish I had a slide for it, but there are (as we speak) some majors that are being approved and added to the Oakland campus. Some of those are in political science and philosophy. So, yeah there's more to come! (I think that will be also added to the Common App.)
Sorry, I don't have those right now… but yeah, to answer your question: there are students who come to Oakland (say they do Discover Oakland) and then they're like, “I wanna study engineering, and I need to be in Boston.” Then that's where they'll go.
Anthony Su: A question about need-based scholarships: is there a percentage, or can you talk about the students that would get need-based scholarships – and that evaluation process?
Yeah. I know that the FAFSA is going through some changes – and I'm sure most people here probably know a little bit about that. That is going to just push everything to a little bit later. I'm not sure how that's all gonna roll out, but (as you know) the FAFSA and the CSS are both the financial tools that we'll be using to evaluate the expected family contribution – which is now going to be called… I'm sorry, I forgot what it's going to be called; something “student index.”
Northeastern guarantees that we're going to meet 100% of that need. Sometimes I know that the “expected family contribution” is higher than what the families think that they can pay… but we do have that commitment of meeting 100% need – and all students who fill out the FAFSA and the CSS, we'll be looking at that to build a student body of diverse students ethnically, culturally, and economically.
I don't have much more detail than that… but please don't be discouraged from applying [by] looking at our sticker price – because that can be a little scary! You don't know what you will receive in terms of merit aid, and also need-based aid.
Anthony Su: Belinda in the chat put “student aid index.”
Wendy Snyder: Thank you! I knew it was something kind of dry!
Anthony Su: The last question for the night is: “What are the characteristics of a student that would receive merit aid or a merit scholarship at Northeastern?”
Wendy Snyder: I'm told that about 15% of students who are accepted receive that aid… and it's hard for me to say exactly. We're looking for students who just have gone a little bit above and beyond in their academics and their community involvement. That's what I would say.
Anthony Su: Do you know if that evaluation process would be together with the admission reading process, or is it a separate evaluation?
Wendy Snyder: [Nods.]
Anthony Su: It's the same. Sounds good.
Perfect. I appreciate everyone for asking these questions. Again, I’m glad that we could do the full 30 minutes of questions for Wendy. Wendy, do you mind putting down your email one more time in case folks want to reach out to you?
Wendy Snyder: I'm also going to put the Oakland Northeastern page – just because you might want to come and visit!
Anthony Su: They have campus tours; that's all open right now?
Wendy Snyder: Campus tours Tuesdays and Fridays, 10 and 2 o'clock. Lots of opportunities to come visit.
Anthony Su: Okay, awesome. Everyone, if you can make that at some point… I think – especially for seniors that might be interested in that type of experience – that would be great. So perfect. Thanks, Wendy. Thank you, Azure, for your time today.
Wendy Snyder: Thank you so much.
Azure Brown: Thank you, Wendy!
Anthony Su: Bye.
Azure Brown: Bye.
Wendy Snyder: Have a good evening everyone.