Northeastern University
Responses from the Student Interview
From a student who identifies as Major: Finance
Minor: None as of yet, I’m thinking of picking up Economics though.
Student Self Identifies as: Caucasian Heterosexual Male
Summary
I’m in the Finance and Investment Club, the Husky Environmental Action Team, and I’m in a fraternity.
Background
Gender Identity: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Caucasian
Sexual Orientation: Heterosexual
High School Experience: Private school in Baltimore, MD with a graduating class of about 100 students. There was a culture of going to college.
Major: Finance
Minor: None as of yet, I’m thinking of picking up Economics though.
Extracurricular Activities: I’m in the Finance and Investment Club, the Husky Environmental Action Team, and I’m in a fraternity.
Did any of your extracurricular activities have a particularly big impact on your experience?
Finance and Investment Club sometimes has speakers. My friends and I joined it as a group. Husky Environmental Action Team as an outward impact. I just like being involved in a different way and getting out of the typical groove of being in a frat.
Academic Experience
Can you describe the weekly coursework for your major?
You do lots of case studies and company valuations in Corporate Finance. There are also online problem sets in other classes and some papers here and there. The major assignments are exams.
Is there anything you especially like or dislike about your major’s department?
One of the things they do well is they bring in good professors that have been in business before. It feels more applicable to what I want after school because they have more real-world experience to give us. One thing that I dislike is that it’s difficult to find time to go see professors, their office hours are crowded.
Why did you pick Finance?
I didn’t really know what else to pick. Going in, I had no idea what I wanted to do but found it be as applicable as possible to my early life. I’d say I’m happy. I might be at the point where I figure out what I want to do with it. I’m on co-op and am finding that the corporate world may not be for me but I may find an alternative path for it.
Reasons to Attend
1) Co-op. It’s just a great experience.
2) The fact that it’s a bigger school is fun because there’s a lot going on and a lot of different types of people. [There are about 18,100 undergraduates.]
3) The class structure is pretty nice and focused. It’s nice to have the business focus right off the bat.
4) Pot is going to be fully legal in Massachusetts in 2018.
Reasons Not to Attend
1) The size can be an issue for people because it can be unexpected.
2) Being around people who are very driven on getting their next co-op and internship can be stressful for some people.
3) Being under 21 in Boston is difficult.
Around Campus
Where have you lived on and around campus?
Freshman: I was abroad in Ireland first semester, and then when I came back I lived in a standard freshman double in Stetson West. It’s in a great location with a dining hall and it’s close to a gym.
Sophomore: West Village A North in a double room that shared a bathroom suite-style with another double. The whole wall was a window that could see into Fenway Park.
Junior: I’m moving up to Mission Hill. I’m living in a 2-floor apartment with five other guys. Right next to me there will be ten other guys we’re friends with.
What was your favorite living situation?
Stetson West was great because you’re in a freshman dorm and can meet random people. It’s super beneficial. It’s a shame because they’re putting in new freshman dorms that have less camaraderie. West Village was also fun because it was big enough that we could host things.
What is your favorite off-campus restaurant?
There are a lot of chains right near our strip. I like Blaze Pizza which is in the Fenway area. I don’t go out too frequently because it’s expensive. Also, Wings Over Boston is open all night.
What is your favorite place to get away from campus?
Going down to the Seaport District. I just jump on the train to go down there. There’s a lot down there.
Social Opportunities
What kind of weekend activities or nightlife do you like to participate in?
That can depend. For the most part, the group I hang around will do stuff most nights depending on what’s going on. Thursday-Saturday are the nights when we really do things, and then occasionally other nights as well.
What do you do on a typical night?
We usually go to a buddy’s house, hang out, and figure it out from there. A lot of people live on Mission Hill so we usually end up there and then bounce around from place to place. If there’s a designated plan, we’ll go to that or maybe go to bars.
What’s an alternative to going to a party or a bar that you like for a night out?
There’s a lot going on around campus. There are tons of organizations doing stuff, like going hiking. Around Boston you can go to House of Blues, which is right next to Fenway Park, or you can go to TD Garden for a Celtics or Bruins game. One of the biggest benefits of going here is that there’s a lot going on pretty consistently. I still get immersed in the city because it has so much else to offer.
Do freshmen boys have trouble getting into parties?
Yeah, for sure. Fraternity parties aren’t that big for guys unless you’re in one, but girls go. If you’re going to a frat party as a freshman, it’s not going to happen. I didn’t find it too bad, you can definitely figure it out.
Campus Culture
How did you make your closest friends?
I met my closest friends in the N.U.in program in Dublin, which I did the first semester of my freshman year. After that, I moved into a floor with a lot of guys that are similar to me and they adopted me into their friend group. That created my core group of friends. This year, I became closer with the older guys in the fraternity. It’s easy to make friends in classes, and, in general, it’s easy if you join clubs and stuff like that.
How would you describe the overall social scene?
I definitely would describe it as cliquey in the fraternity and sorority sense. It is weird because there are so many people that you see and don’t see again. Once you join the Greek social scene, there are people you see that you see more often, then it becomes cliquey. It’s not on the forefront of my mind, but within Greek life, it exists.
Do people of different races and sexual orientations mix socially?
I would say yes. There are different kinds of groups of people and you find your group. People mix, within Greek life, there isn’t as much mix but there are gay people in fraternities. Overall, nobody’s going to go out of their way to be mean. People are not trying to have issues happen.
What is the impact of Greek life on the social scene?
The fraternity is nice because being at a big school without a smaller community makes it a little more difficult. I decided that I liked being with those people and joined. Northeastern doesn’t have a hardcore frat scene and it doesn’t dominate my life so it’s a nice in between. Fraternity formals also really fun but very different.
Do people seem happy with Northeastern by senior year? Do you think people leave loving Northeastern?
Yeah, and I think a lot of that comes with the Co-Op Program. It creates a really driven student body that knows what the focus is. You have to have focus and fun without getting scared of what’s going to happen later on. People are happy because they get so much experience and come out with good jobs. There is so much going on on-campus that if you’re able to get involved, you’ll have a good time.
Careers
Has the alumni network helped you with internships or jobs?
Yes, there’s a pretty involved alumni network. A lot of people I work with now have either been in co-ops or they know Northeastern well. The fraternity also has a strong alumni base. The opportunities are there but you have to do your networking on your own.