Crunch time
It's officially finals here at Northeastern, and it's nearing the end of your time to make a decision. With the nice weather too, it's been really busy around campus the past few days. People have been out studying on the quads and the admissions tours have been full all the time. We also just had elections for BESS, I'll be president starting next week after our current president graduates. Last week we also won Community Service Organization of the Year at the Student Life Awards.
My exams start tomorrow and Wednesday and Thursday CenSSIS has guests in town for the Site Visit, where a team of NSF evaluators come and check up on the center and make sure that the grant money is producing quality work. Last week the other student I work with and I put together our poster to present there Wednesday afternoon. After the day of research presentations & the poster session, we have a closed student meeting with the NSF team, and then we're going to Jillians for a group outing. This is a great opportunity to meet the other students in the center, especially those at RPI and University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez.
As you're making your final decision feel free to ask questions.
Last week I got a question asking about how to get a merit scholarship, so here's an answer: Most scholarships that Northeastern offers are offered to you with your acceptance letter. All students are automatically considered for the university's merit scholarship programs. If your aid package doesn't include any that doesn't mean there's no chance. Always look around at home for more help for your first year, a lot of towns have scholarships that are available to people graduating from high school. You can also talk to financial aid if your situation has changed since you initially filed your forms. Another thing to remember is that what you're awarded upon acceptance isn't necessarily all you'll have the entire time your here. If you can do well in your classes once you're here more scholarships are available, especially if you have financial need.
Also one financial difference between Northeastern and other schools is the coop program. The fact that Northeastern is generally a five year program doesn't mean that you pay more tuition, you still only attend 8 semesters worth of classes, just like any other bachelor's degree. However, in those breaks when you're not in classes, depending on your major, you could be making a good amount of money, and if you live at home while on coop you can save a lot of that money to help pay for school when you get back.