the traveling husky

Hi! I’m sorry for how late this reply is!! If you want a slew of excuses, I’ve been in the midst of studying for finals, traveling, and then dealing with returning back from Paris and Edinburgh to a completely crashed and useless hard drive…. in the week that I have an exam…. so, things got a bit hectic and I’m sorry to keep you waiting!

I think Northeastern can improve on helping students staying connected to Boston when they’re away. There are a lot of programs in place to help co-ops connect with each other when outside of Boston (for example, hosted events for students on co-op in different cities), but it’s always hard to stay connected to campus. I think it’s a struggle that everyone is aware of and constantly trying to work on, but it’s a huge, difficult task. I don’t know if there is really any given solution for this, especially because it most definitely is a two-way street between the school and the student that is away. 

Hello! Congratulations and I hope you find Northeastern to be as amazing of a second home as I have! :) From the transfer students that I have met, they seem to transition fairly well. Since we have opened a new residence hall since I’ve been on campus, this could have changed, but I believe transfer students living on campus are usually in the same building, so you can easily meet other students who are going through the exact same thing you are. You will also be able to meet other students in classes and student organizations, of course. We have an orientation and everything to help you get adjusted to Northeastern before you start as well, so you will have plenty of chances to meet people, ask OLs (orientation leaders) questions, and get to know the city and campus!

We have advising available and you can set up appointments with your academic advisor through myNEU, our online portal, to sit down and talk about class choices, what you want to do, choosing a major, etc. I believe the process would be similar as any other student trying to find his or her footing! You’ll have flexibility with electives and the NU core to take classes outside of your major, while simultaneously taking classes in your major to figure out what is the best fit.

Hey! I’m going to be completely honest with you and say I’m not 100% sure on this. While I do know some people in nursing, we met after our first year of college and we never went back to talk about applying. The “apply” link on our BSN Nursing Program’s website took me straight to the general admissions information, so I’m inclined to say there isn’t anything extra to do, but Bouve will use the same material you send in when you apply for the school as it does for the program specifically. I do know that when you apply on the Common App, there is a section where you can mark down which major you are interested in. If you put down nursing there and are accepted through that, you will be entering in the program. If not, switching into it may be another process.

I should be writing one of my final papers right now, so obviously, instead, I’m going on random throwbacks to our crazy spring break trip! Here’s a video from our time in Budapest. This was definitely one of my top spots of our entire trip -- I’m gonna say top 10 (get it... because we went to 10 places, not counting day trips... okay, I’m done).

The thing about Northeastern is that there are so many clubs that you can join! Whatever you’re interested in, we probably already have a student organization for it. We have over 340 student organizations and that number is just constantly growing. For me personally, I have consistently been involved with Student Government, Fashion & Retail Society, Husky Ambassadors, and Northeastern University Figure Skating Club. (I feel like I’m missing a name in that list…) I’ve also briefly worked with Her Campus Northeastern, Huntington News, and Woof Magazine. If there isn’t an organization out of the 340+ that fits your interests, you can start your own, which is why I say the number is always growing!

With all these organizations, there is always something going on on campus, whether it’s an event in Blackman Auditorium with an organization bringing a celebrity to campus, or the dance troupes holding their annual show. If you keep your eyes open walking around campus, it’s very, very hard to miss all the signs and posters for the hundreds of events that go on constantly.

This is definitely something I was worried about going into Northeastern because I already knew that I wanted to do co-ops outside of Boston and study abroad as much as possible. Not gonna lie to you, not being constantly surrounded by your friends makes it harder to keep in touch, but it is also completely doable. I feel like my best friends and I are much closer because of the extra effort we have to put in to keep in touch than we would be normally. It just depends on how much effort and work you’re willing to put in. While I was in California during my previous co-op, one of my best friends and I tried to FaceTime at least once a week. The occasional time that I walked home from work, I’d call someone to catch up and I’d try to make sure it was someone different each time, so I was keeping in touch with everyone rather than just one or two people.

Northeastern students love Boston, but we also love to get outside of Boston, so the campus is constantly changing and moving. It’s just a part of regular student life for us and soon, you’ll realize it’s not out of the norm for people to be spending multiple semesters away from campus.

If you’re co-oping nearby (outside of the greater Boston area, NYC), it’s easy to take weekend trips to Boston or for your friends to take weekend trips to you to visit. If you’re co-oping in Boston, your friends in classes will be there and your friends on the same co-op cycle who choose to co-op in Boston will still be there. Not having to worry about schoolwork and being able to meet up for drinks after work is a huge perk here.

For classmates, you end up on similar co-op cycles with the people you are in class with again and again, so it’s always a great reunion when you walk into class and see familiar faces that you hadn’t seen in a while. I remember coming back from my first co-op and being able to walk in and see my classmates who had also been on co-op and just immediately catching up like no time had passed.

Hey there! I just got back from my travels today, so I really hope this is still helpful in some way, despite my late response. First off, congratulations!! Both are phenomenal schools. To be honest with you, I’m biased towards Northeastern. (I don’t think that’s very surprising.) As much as I love Cardiff, my heart and allegiance lies with Northeastern, but this is my personal preference. Both schools have phenomenal professors and programs. I know more about Northeastern than I do about Cardiff’s program, but I can tell you from what I’ve experienced so far that it seems like Northeastern puts a much heavier emphasis on real-world experience than Cardiff does. Cardiff’s teachings, for me, have been much more theoretical and academic research-based, whereas if I were taking these classes at Northeastern, I would be writing articles and investigating stories rather than doing the background research for the more academic side of things. They’re both completely different approaches and I personally think the Northeastern approach is more more practical and useful.

Boston and Cardiff are both great cities. I feel like I haven’t actually been in Boston in quite some time though and I miss it a lot. Cardiff has been amazing as well. I’m not sure if you’re an international or US student, but I have really loved studying abroad in Cardiff because I don’t feel like a tourist. I feel like I’ve really become a part of the community. It certainly helps that it’s not a crazy big city like London and it’s not constantly swarmed with tourists. Think of it this way (I’m not sure if this will help, but…) – London is to New York as Cardiff is to Boston.

I don’t know if I can speak on Cardiff’s student life since I’ve only been here a few months and have spent more time with other study abroad students and first years who have only been here slightly longer than I have. As for Northeastern, there is a lively student life. Our campus is constantly moving and changing. There is always something to do, somewhere to be, something to see – you name it. If Greek life is something you want to be a part of, the UK does not have fraternities and sororities, so that may be something to consider. You also pay membership fees in the UK to join student organizations. That has certainly deterred me from getting as involved as I do when I’m back home at Northeastern.

Let me know if you have any other questions and I hope this has been helpful! I’ve only been in Cardiff for a few months as opposed to my almost four (omg…..) years at Northeastern, so I have a lot more opinions and knowledge about Northeastern, but I can try to answer as many questions as I can about either school.

So I had this whole long answer typed out and then accidentally somehow left the page, so I’m sorry if this answer isn’t that great… --

Firstly, congratulations!!!!! (And apologies for the delay, I missed this in my inbox last time I was on!)

I LOVE Northeastern. I think that’s easy to tell since I wouldn’t be writing this blog if I didn’t. I honestly think the students at Northeastern are some of the most ambitious, driven, and self-motivated people I’ve ever met. You have to be in a setting with so many opportunities just laid out in front of you. It’s up to you to pick your path, so you have to stay self-motivated. Being able to make your own path and unique college experience is also something else I love about the school. I have friends all over the world right now and it’s amazing not only how easily Northeastern makes that possible, but also how much they encourage it. I think the students are just so, so, so beautifully passionate about what they love, whether it’s politics, music, medicine, fashion, communications—you name it. And if it’s not your major and you still have something you’re passionate about that you want to pursue outside of the classroom, we’ve got so many organizations that people invest so much time in. I seriously think we have such a vibrant campus with so many voices and activities going on at all times because the people are so passionate about what they love.

Difficulty of classes is a little harder to try to gauge for you without knowing specifics. For example, science is totally not my strength, so while I wouldn’t be caught anywhere near any chemistry class ever, one of my best friends would rather do hours and hours of his hardest organic chemistry homework than write a single essay. Unless you receive AP or IB credits and don’t have to take these classes, freshman year will mainly be introductory classes for your major or general NU classes if you’re undeclared. I think, overall, the difficulty is definitely there to challenge you, but you can also handle it. If you don’t mind sharing specifics, I can try to give you a better answer to this as well!

I am in Husky Ambassadors (which means if I weren’t in Wales and were in Boston, I could potentially be giving you your tour when you visit!), Fashion & Retail Society, Student Government Association, Northeastern University Figure Skating Club. I was also on SGA’s Communications and Events Committee and TRACE (Teacher Rating and Course Evaluation) Committee last time I was on campus. I feel like I’m missing a couple organizations right now, but I haven’t been in Boston in ages…

Hi anon! When I’m in Boston (which has been rare lately…), I go to as many games as I can! Embarrassingly (especially with my last post and having a friend on the dance team), I haven’t been to a basketball game before, although I’ve always meant to. I do go to as many hockey game as I can though. The Doghouse—the student section at hockey games—is truly such an energetic, amazing thing to be part of.

HUGE CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR NEW HUSKIES!!!!!!!!

It’s just now dawning on me that I found out about my Northeastern acceptance four whole years ago now... Way to make me feel old ;)

This is such an exciting time in your life, seniors. Take a moment and pat yourselves on the back. Let yourself celebrate and just soak in the feeling of accomplishment when you read that acceptance letter before you start stressing about where you want to head off to for the next four, five, six (if you choose Northeastern) years of your life.

If you have any questions, my inbox is open for you! I will try to make this process as easy and painless for you as I can.