Aaron B.
Yelp
Northeastern is the type of school where you either love it or hate it. All factors aside, the way you view your experience at Northeastern is mainly dependent on your social life and Co-ops.
Socially, Northeastern University has a lot to offer. If you stayed in on campus housing, didn't join a fraternity/sorority, and looked no further than your 'pre-med' or business club for friends , then you have no one to blame for your loneliness but yourself. I joined a fraternity and became very close friends with a great group of guys. (ie. 'paying for friends' is actually paying for the parties/trips/social events that fraternity/sororities take part in. Beer is cheaper in bulk...) Through the Frat, I branched out to other groups and by now, in my fourth year, I can barely walk down a single street in the Northeastern area without running into a couple close friends. Not to mention, Northeastern University is DOWN TOWN BOSTON. If you can't find something to do on a Friday/Saturday night with 200,000 college kids surrounding you, again, it's not the school's fault you're lonely.
The Co-ops offered through Northeastern University vary in their awesomeness. I have finished three full 6-month Co-ops, doing research in the bio-tech industry. I have independently lead 3 projects, presented a poster at a major pharmaceutical company's international science convention and given countless presentations at management level meetings. (Not to mention scientists love to get their drink on.) Co-op has given me a unique advantage in my application to medical school.
That being said, I have heard plenty of horror stories about terrible Co-ops. They generally go something along the lines of, "sat at my small desk and surfed the web 8-hours a day for 6 months." You get out of your Co-op what you put in. Business major? 2.8 GPA? Your co-op is probably going to suck, but at least you will make $15/hour. Music major? Awesome GPA? Your co-op will probably rock but pay you nothing. This is the truth behind the co-op. Just because the Northeastern Co-op program is world class, you're not guaranteed to have a world class experience. Work hard, and if you can't find a Co-op that you're truly interested in, find one on your own.
[Take the lesson of my close friend: Mediocre music major fired from his first, non paid co-op because he was miserable and "brought the moral of the company down". Two years later, the same guy is now interning for Ultra Records in Manhattan because he contacted the company and set up his own Co-op.]
Northeastern University has a lot to offer. Sure, they may be suffering from growing pains in the organization of departments. But if you really take the Co-op program seriously, I guarantee you will have a stellar resume and a bright future unparalleled by most other college graduates.
-AB