Northeastern University Top Questions

I have friends involved in a wide variety of clubs, from the Catholic Center to NUBiLAGA. I’ve attended meetings sporadically for a few of them, but I’ve dedicated most of my student activity time to Campus Girl Scouts. I don’t think in a school as large as NU that a student could feel out of place. People wear everything from business casual to sweatpants and UGGs to class, depending on the class and time. Being in Boston, most students lean left, but there are active conservative groups on campus, such as the College Republicans.

My personal experience is mixed. Because of the cost there is a certain amount of socio-economic imbalance at NU but I think it is a pretty open school. Since my arrival, there have been some issues with racial/anti GLBT events (notably public displays on walls by racist/homophobic idiots who feel the need to express themselves anonymously. Go figure.). I think students tend to stick into groups though. I tend to mix in multiple groups but there definitely are "groups" of students with different views/lifestyles/opinions/etc.

students talk about politics and the future a lot. interaction is mostly in the dorms, not in classes unless there are group projects.

They seem pretty cool haha. I've never had any problems with the student body. We aren't as close as many smaller colleges, but there are definitely sects in which you can see work being done and fun being had. Different types of students interact, there are many financial backgrounds. I am a middle class girl who has to work to pay her own rent and take on massive amounts of debt to be here, and then you go down the hall and there is a kid who's parents pay for everything and not a cent of scholarship money. You get a little bit of both and most times they don't bother you, there are plenty of kids at Northeastern to find a group that you can fit into. As for politics. I'd say being in Boston, the student body tends to lean a little to the left, but generally are very tolerant of other groups, political or social.

Smart; goal driven; Work hard-Play Hard!

I think everyone would pretty much fit here. I don't notice much racism/prejudice or anything. Most students wear sweatpants, and interaction between different "types" of students is somewhat common - it definitely isn't something no one does - but people tend to stick in groups. Lots of rich kids here, but also lots of middle-class. Many are from MA, NY and New England, or else California. Students are primarily left-centered in terms of politics, fairly politically active. Only business students really talk about how much they'll earn one day, I've noticed.

It's diverse enough. Definitely more caucasion people than any other group but it's still diverse. I would say the majority are middle or upper middle class. What people wear to class varies greatly, some are preppy and clean cut, some are jeans and a t-shirt, some wear pajamas, some look like white trash, some look way too over done. Anything goes really. Most northeastern students are from the Northeast since, well, we're in the northeast. NU is predominantly a liberal school but there are republicans out there, somewhere. The 4 tables of students: sports people, partyers, the loners (1 or 2 people taking a table), and the other more normal in between people.

I would say that everyone is accepted at northeastern, however if you come from a very diverse high school, NEU might seem a little less diverse than you're used to. I came from a very homogenious high school, so Northeastern was much more diverse than I was used to. I loved it. I'd love to say most students wear sweats to class every day, but that's just not true. They aren't wearing sundresses and Chinos either, though. Students dress casually, but mostly in trendy clothes. There are 4 tables of students in the dining hall: 1) The freshman--they all have meal plans and it's a great way to see people you've met in class or at parties. It often leads to hilarious and embarassing encounters with people you met on a weekend. 2) The RAs--they get a meal plan as a part of their compensation, so they use it as much as they can handle. They often sit together, since everyone else there is a freshman (although the freshman RAs will often sit with their residents--it's a good way to bond with your RA). 3) The Athletes--many have scholarships that include a meal plan, so they are often in the cafeteria. You can tell who they are because they are usally 3-4 times bigger than anyone else in the cafeteria 4) The random older people--sometimes there are professors eating there but sometimes it's obvious that they are not professors. I have no idea who they are. (5) sometimes you get the occasional homeless guy. They are harmless. They load their tray up with bagels and walk out the door with a buldging bag. This also happens with freshman. Most students are relatively politically aware. I remember my freshman year watching the elections on TV with my whole hall. We were all rooting for Kerry except one kid who was all for Bush. He was our friend, but he was still getting a lot of crap from everyone. This was a huge change for me, since I came from an extremely conservative neighborhood.

The campus is diverse (not really racially, but otherwise), and people are very open for the most part. Students wear a wide variety to class: some show up in sweats, others in full suits because they have co-op interviews to go to. Politically, people run the gamut, but outside of the active people, most are apathetic. There's an active liberal side (we live in Boston for crying out loud), but the conservatives definitely have a voice. Most kids that go to school here are from the North East region (MA, NH, CT, NY, NJ). This seems to be changing though in my 4 years here. NU kids are always talking about how much they make, probably because we start trying to make money our sophomore year on co-op. The engineers make tons on co-op, but the liberal arts kids are lucky to find paid co-ops. After graduation prospects are also highly debated.

I find it hard to believe that any student would feel out of place at NU. No one tries to exclude anyone and every race religion and group has their own club so you can meet people who are the exact same as you. Talking about classes, most kids wear some combination of jeans and sweatpants, no one really gets dressed up for class unless they have an interview for co-op right before or after. I would have to say that most NU kids are either from massachusetts or the west coast somewhere. We also have a pretty big international population and kids from all over the US, but a lot of people are from the New england area and the west coast.