Northeastern University
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Computer Engineering
Minor: Mechanical Engineering
Student Self Identifies as: White Straight Female
Summary
I’m in a sorority, I did undergraduate research, and I’m in an engineering club.
Background
Gender Identity: Female
Race/Ethnicity: White
Sexual Orientation: Straight
High School Experience: Public high school in Norfolk, Massachusetts with a graduating class of 360 students. There was a culture of going to college.
First-Generation College Student: No
Major: Computer Engineering
Minor: Mechanical Engineering
Extracurricular Activities: I’m in a sorority, I did undergraduate research, and I’m in an engineering club.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
The sorority consumes a lot of my time. I was also in a lab a lot over the summer, so when I wasn’t in classes or at home, I was in there. It’s cool to do academic stuff that isn’t Northeastern related.
How easy was it to get involved in undergraduate research?
It’s pretty easy. I just emailed one of my professors and he gave me a list of projects he had in his lab. He assigned me a mechanical engineering lab, but a computer engineering lab is easier to get into because you can apply directly to your professors and there is also a major-wide forum that you can fill out to get involved. They also have major-wide forms you can fill out to do research in the mechanical program.
Academic Experience
Can you describe your weekly coursework for Computer Engineering?
The freshman curriculum has a lot of labs, but after your second year, you’re more into your major courses. All of the courses in engineering are exam heavy, so you usually don’t get graded on your homework unless it’s a problem set that requires 8-10 hours of work, then you have three exams each semester for most classes. Some of the exams are course-wide, and your teacher isn’t writing them. Your teacher could be assigning different problems based on how they choose to teach the class.
Is there anything that you feel the Computer Engineering department does especially well or especially poorly?
The Mechanical Engineering program is very strict on what classes you have to take, but for the Computer Engineering program you can tailor your degree to what you want to do because you do have four course electives. You can take them within the Khoury College of Computer Science if you want to do more software-heavy stuff outside of school once you graduate.
How would you describe the learning environment? Do you think it’s particularly competitive or collaborative?
The classes are small besides one or two lectures I’ve had. Most of them are around 30 people, so it’s really easy to find someone in your classes to work with. A lot of people share study guides within your whole class, and the professors are always there to help encourage working with other students. [The average class size is 20 students.]
How accessible have the professors in your department been?
I’ve had one professor give out his cell phone number to get extra help, but most professors are excited and willing to help you when you contact them over email. I feel that a lot of people don’t take advantage of that resource. Once you contact your instructor, they’re very welcoming and want to help you.
Why did you choose your major? Are you happy with your choice?
I just switched because of the Cornerstone Program all engineer students take freshman year. I never had any coding or computer science background in high school. With the Cornerstone, the final project incorporates all areas of engineering. You learn C++, MATLAB, and other basic coding languages. That exposes you to every realm of engineering. I really enjoyed coding and problem solving that has to do with that.
Reasons to Attend
1) Co-ops.
2) The location of Boston.
3) All of the resources. There are lots of professors that do research and there are so many new facilities to do research and to learn. Those opportunities will help you so much with your career.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) If you’re looking for a very social or spirited school.
2) If you don’t want to be directly in a city. A lot of students don’t get housing after their second year, and you have to move off-campus. The off-campus options are very urban.
3) You’d be doing five years. If you want to get your degree done in four and not have to take summer classes you should not attend Northeastern.
Around Campus
Where have you lived over the past three years?
Freshman: White Hall with one roommate.
Sophomore: West Village in a duplex. It was two floors with three bedrooms. There were six girls.
Junior: Off-campus with two other girls.
What was your favorite living situation?
I love my off-campus apartment because I had so much more space and it was cheaper than living in a double on campus. Living in West Village was so central and felt like it was on campus, where right now it doesn’t. It now feels like I’m living in Boston.
Can you describe the level of safety you’ve experienced on and around campus?
I always see police officers and blue lights are everywhere. Sometimes when you get further off-campus, they are hesitant to give escorts if you’re already off-campus which I feel like goes against what they say they can do.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
I’m in a sorority, so we have a lot of social events where we get together with another sorority or fraternity and throw something. Because we’re in Boston and all the housing is limited, so there aren’t actual fraternity or sorority houses. People have these parties in apartments on Mission Hill, but I’d say I mostly go out to bars around Boston. There is a bar close to campus called Two Saints Tavern where everyone in Greek life goes. When you’re under 21, you go to a lot of the frat parties on Mission Hill.
What nights of the week do you regularly do things?
I’m on co-op right now, and a lot of people think you have more time, but I only go out on Friday and Saturday. When I’m in classes I usually go out Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. With varsity athletics, they can’t go out during the week, so they have a lot of stuff on Sundays.
Can you describe a typical night going out freshman year when you were less socially established?
I wasn’t in a sorority freshman year, but a bunch of my friends were. We’d stay in the dorms until around 10, then have someone in our sorority tell us what parties were happening. We’d Uber to the address and meet up with our friends, then we’d come back and get pizza and go to the dorm.
What is the impact of Greek life on nightlife?
Most people in Greek life go out together to the same places. Because Greek life is so small at Northeastern, everyone knows everyone and it’s not like if you’re in one sorority, you can’t associate with a different sorority. Everyone is friends and makes plans to go out together. [About 17% of students are involved in Greek life.]
How happy are you with the nightlife at Northeastern? Is there anything you would change if you could?
I like the nightlife at Northeastern, but it would be better if people actually had houses.
Campus Culture
How did you meet your closest friends?
I met two of my closest friends through the Facebook group. I met my two other best friends doing my part-time job. It wasn’t even on campus, it was at a retail store. I made another best friend through my sorority.
How would you describe the overall social scene at Northeastern?
My social scene is pretty much Greek life. The community is small, and everyone knows each other. When you’re under 21, it’s hard to go out on the weekends if you’re not in Greek life. If you’re not in Greek life, the international students have their own community, and there are a lot of business frats. The dance teams are also big in their own community.
To what extent do you feel people of different races and sexual orientation mix socially?
I haven’t seen any issues, everyone is very accepting. There are lots of international students here. [In Fall 2018, the student body was 16% Asian, 8% Hispanic, and 6% Black, and 1% Native American.]
How would you describe the student body?
There are a lot of international students. Everyone is very career-oriented because we have a co-op program. Everyone is driven to do things, people are always networking and making connections. Most people are doing things now that will impact their career in three or four years. People think of the future, and because of co-op it’s even more so.
Do you feel more so like you’re a resident of Boston then a student at Northeastern?
Right now, I feel like a resident of Boston because I live off-campus and I’m doing co-op. I live in my apartment and go to my 9-5 job, then come back. I’m on campus once a week for [sorority] chapter, and that’s about it. Northeastern does host co-op events for students to meet other people and be more involved in campus, but I haven’t gone to any of those.
What is the social impact of the co-op program?
A lot more people go out during the week. I haven’t had time because I have a lot to do, but a lot of people will go out to dinner or drinks after work, which will turn into a night out on a weekday. It also divides friendships because there is a Spring and a Fall cycle, and if you’re not on the same cycle, I find it hard to coordinate. Sometimes you won’t get home until 5 PM and if you want to work out and eat you only have a little bit of time, which is when my friends will do their homework. A lot of people go abroad for co-op as well so you could go for six months without seeing them.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you find co-ops or jobs?
I haven’t reached out to any alumni, but being in the sorority house, we have a list of everyone who has done previous co-ops who can give you recommendations and keep you updated on job postings. A lot of the co-ops are founded from students that have gone to Northeastern and either make their own co-op and then the company wants to continue their relationship with Northeastern, or that they work at a company that reached out to Northeastern.
What have you used the career office for? How helpful have they been?
It’s very helpful. Everyone gets their own co-op advisor which checks in on you. You have a bunch of goals and assessments that you have to fulfill every few months to make sure you’re getting work experience to better your opportunities in the future. You have a professional development class that will help you build your resume, and it’ll teach you how to behave professionally in the workplace. My advisor always answers their phone and emails. Since the school is growing, they’re adding more co-op advisors.
Have you learned any computer programs or computer languages that will be helpful professionally?
I know C++, Python, Java, HTML, CSS, MATLAB, and those are from the introductory courses.