Northeastern University Top Questions

I am in a lot of introductory classes this year so they're kind of large. My math classes are smaller so my professor knows my name there. My favorite class is Psychobiology because it starts going into more detail (and I'm away from most of the people I see all the time). My least favorite class is Calculus 1/2 but that's because I hate the subject. The whole studying thing is broad. A few people study constantly, a few none at all, and the rest are in between. I personally have learned to study more and better so I've increased my studying time since the beginning of the year. I major in behavioral neuroscience and honestly, I think if you want to major in that, you might want to choose a different school. However, give it a couple more years and we should be getting new classes devoted specifically to neuroscience instead of just psychology or just biology. The NEURONS club is great though. The only professor I spend time with outside of class is my research professor. Nortehastern is GREAT when it comes to research opportunities in the sciences, you just have to start asking around early if you want a research opportunity as a freshman. The core requirements aren't bad. The education here is geared for both getting a job and for preparing you for grad/med school, despite what other people may say. You have a much better chance of getting a job if you've done CO-OP which is a big thing here. Co-op is when you work for 6 months at the place of your choosing in the area of your choice. I haven't done it yet but I hear that it's great for your resume and if you arent sure what you want to do after college yet e.g. I'll work in a hospital setting and in a research setting so that I can compare the two.

Academics range pretty widely. I am lucky in that I am able to take classes with a smaller class size, since I am an honors student. Some of my teachers I've hated, some i've really enjoyed, and some I don't even remember (and I'm sure most don't remember me). Unfortunately, I don't think there are really any professors that I've had that I could say have made a huge impact on my life. In 5 years, I doubt i'll remember any of their names. My favorite (and maybe most unique) class that i've taken was "Social fact from fiction." It was an honors seminar in which we read a novel a week, and then analyzed how effective the book was on a basic level and then as a social problem novel. As a business major, it was pretty rare for me to get the opportunity to take a class like this, so I really enjoyed it. There are some classes in which I have spent a lot of time with the professor and TAs outside of class. When I did this, it was really helpful. Some professors are more available than others, but in general they are all more than willing to help you outside of class. Academic requirements range widely depending on your major. I find it strange that one major could get twice as many electives as another major. This doesn't seem right to me. Education at Northeastern is definitely geared toward getting a job. While this is a good thing in many ways, it does kind of eliminate the "education for its own sake" aspect, which in my opinion is really too bad.

Academics here are very much what you make out of them. If you go to class and participate, professors will know your name and be very willing to help you how ever they can. Classes here can be good and bad. Professor Barreto in the Poli Sci department is amazing (I had him for International Law), but Prof. Panford in the African Studies Dept was the worst teacher I've ever had. As to having intellectual conversations outside of class, it totally depends on who you are friends with. I have been surrounded by honors program kids for most of my time here, so I do have good conversations. I wonder about the rest of the student body though. NU is definitely all about getting a job. Co-op man! Don't come here if you don't have the faintest clue what you want to do.

Academics at NU are great, every professor i have had has known my name. Classes are usually about forty kids max, unless you take a gen. ed. class. You just have to make an effort to get to know the professor and it will pay off in no time. My favorite class would have to be marketing management, the professor is so laid back that he makes the class awesome, most of the faculty is that way unless you really find a way to piss them off. With studying i would say that most kids either go to the library or study in pairs or small groups just to make it easier. Class participation is almost always a common thing it is usually part of your grade but even if it isnt they always encourage us to ask questions and go to office hours. Students at NU definitely take pride in their work and that carries on to their outside conversations as well. We are all competitive but thats probably due to the fact that we all want sick co-op jobs that pay outrageous amounts for college kids. The most interesting class i have heard of would have to be scuba. My friend took it last semester and it sounds ridiculously awesome.As far as my major, i am International Business with a concentration in german finance and marketing. And in every class i have taken, education here is getting you ready to work in the real world and get ready for co-op, but its also educating for the sake of educating the population.

Class participation is relatively common, and professors usually are happy to answer questions, of course this varies. Class size is small when it matters - the biggest class I've had was 60 or so people, and that was just an entry level class.

Northeastern tries for pretty small classes (at least in my major and most of the electives I took), so the professors really do know your name and try to get to know you. My favorite class was Dallimore's Interpersonal Communication course. It was a tough class, but I learned so much in it, and also got really into the service-learning component of the course. My least favorite was probably Organization Communication because it was boring and I felt like I could have taught the class, since the professor practically just read the textbook the whole time. I have no idea how much students study. I can say that I didn't study much because I discovered that simply going to class and doing the assignments was enough for me. Class participation is common among certain professors. I noticed that in the classes where professors were poor facilitators, the students tuned out. Of course NU students have intellectual conversations outside of class! My work-study job practically had a discussion of the week about topics like gender, religion, or anything else controversial. I never noticed much academic competitiveness among students. My major (Communications) was great. I got to take classes in tons of different concentrations within the field, some really great people end up as comm majors, and the professors are some of the most laid back (but competent) out there. I didn't spend any time with professors outside of class, but it's said to have happened. The academic requirements seemed fair to me, if not a little lax. Getting my degree was definitely not the hardest thing I've done in my life. Education at NU being geared toward getting a job or learning for its own sake is completely dependent on the student. My academic track was absolutely geared toward getting a job because of co-op and the types of classes I took. Other students choose not to do an internship and really hit the books with the intention of getting higher and higher degrees. Of course, both are totally possible.

If you want to learn, you can. If you want to slack off, you can. The school is totally what you make of it.

Students are super academically involved. Professors know your name if you make an effort. Professors hold other careers, not just professors. THey use their real world experience in daily lessons. Former Governor Dukakis teaches here! NEU is geared at getting a job!

A lot of my professors know my name. English classes are usually pretty small and the discussions mean we all get to know each other. Actors and Acting was a great course. Students get to play a lot of games in order to act better. I think the education at Northeastern is definitely geared toward marketable skills, rather than learning just to acquire knowledge. Students seem to have different study habits depending on their majors. Almost no one I know studies on weekends. I think some students are competitive, but not all.