Jason Fitzgerald Korb is a proud alma mater of Northeastern University, graduating in 2004 with a Marketing degree. He has made good use of his education to start an insurance business in the Virginia, Maryland, and Washington D.C. area. He highly recommends all potential northeasterners to learn about some of the great aspects to attending Northeastern University.
Unique Aspects of Northeastern University
Academics
Northeastern’s Cooperative Education Program (“co-op”) is what sets it apart from a majority of other top-tier colleges and universities. Northeastern’s co-op program is one of the oldest and broadest in the nation—it was established in 1909—and includes opportunities across the globe (148 countries since 2006) in a broad spectrum of fields.
Northeastern’s co-op program blends classroom and experiential learning to ensure students graduate with the skills and experience needed to immediately step in and make an impact after graduation. Through co-op, students alternate between six months in class and six months in a career-related experience such as employment or research.
Because of the sterling reputation of Northeastern’s co-op program, graduates are highly sought after; 93% of NU graduates are employed or enrolled in graduate school nine months after graduation. Co-op isn’t required, although almost all students participate in this valuable program.
In addition to work experience, Northeastern affords students a wide swath of academic fields to explore. NU offers more than 90 majors in areas ranging from accounting to theatre. Popular majors include business, marketing, engineering, and biological sciences, while computer science and bioengineering are among the fastest-growing majors at Northeastern.
Location
NU’s 73-acre campus has an abundance of green space and the close-knit feel of a smaller school while providing access to one of the U.S.’s most historic, healthiest, and innovative cities.
Northeastern lies in Boston’s Back Bay, which offers excellent access to nightlife and shopping, and puts the city’s iconic Fenway Park and Prudential Center within walking distance. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is located right across the street from Northeastern. The MFA contains more than 500,000 works of art and provides Northeastern students with free admission.
The “T,” what Bostonians call the subway, runs right through Northeastern’s campus, making it convenient to explore more distant parts of the city, and eliminating the need for a car.
Extracurriculars
Northeastern isn’t as notable for its athletics as some other colleges in town—after all, it canceled its football program after 74 years in 2009—however, sports have a rich history at NU. Northeastern’s Matthews Arena, founded in 1910, is the oldest hockey arena in the world, the original home of the Boston Bruins, and where the Huskies play their home hockey games.
One of the big athletic events of the year is the Beanpot Hockey Tournament. The Beanpot is a two-round tournament held every February since the 1950s between Northeastern, Harvard, Boston College, and Boston University. In 2018, the Huskies won the Beanpot and ended a 30-year drought—they subsequently won the next two (2019 and 2020) and are still the reigning champs, since the tournament wasn’t held in 2021 due to COVID-19.
Another interesting athletic tidbit is that Northeastern’s campus was the location of the first modern baseball World Series. Huntington Avenue Grounds, home of the games, may have been demolished over a century ago, but a statue of Cy Young now marks the site of the ballpark’s pitching mound.
There are numerous opportunities at NU for students with interests outside of athletics. The university is home to 45 international and cultural awareness organizations and more than 500 student clubs and organizations. The college has a global feel—143 countries are represented in Northeastern’s student body and, in 2019, it hosted the third-most international students in the U.S.
Traditions
On Parents’ Weekends, Northeastern students show who really runs the city for the now-annual Underwear Run. For this fun tradition, students strip to their skivvies and run through the city!
Another unique tradition of Northeastern is the “middler year.” Because of co-op, NU students don’t follow a traditional collegiate timeline and take longer to earn their degrees. Consequently, using traditional terms like “sophomore” and “junior” can get murky. “Middlers” is a loose term used to describe NU students who are somewhere between starting and finishing their time at Northeastern.
Unique Aspects of Northeastern University
Academics
Northeastern’s Cooperative Education Program (“co-op”) is what sets it apart from a majority of other top-tier colleges and universities. Northeastern’s co-op program is one of the oldest and broadest in the nation—it was established in 1909—and includes opportunities across the globe (148 countries since 2006) in a broad spectrum of fields.
Northeastern’s co-op program blends classroom and experiential learning to ensure students graduate with the skills and experience needed to immediately step in and make an impact after graduation. Through co-op, students alternate between six months in class and six months in a career-related experience such as employment or research.
Because of the sterling reputation of Northeastern’s co-op program, graduates are highly sought after; 93% of NU graduates are employed or enrolled in graduate school nine months after graduation. Co-op isn’t required, although almost all students participate in this valuable program.
In addition to work experience, Northeastern affords students a wide swath of academic fields to explore. NU offers more than 90 majors in areas ranging from accounting to theatre. Popular majors include business, marketing, engineering, and biological sciences, while computer science and bioengineering are among the fastest-growing majors at Northeastern.
Location
NU’s 73-acre campus has an abundance of green space and the close-knit feel of a smaller school while providing access to one of the U.S.’s most historic, healthiest, and innovative cities.
Northeastern lies in Boston’s Back Bay, which offers excellent access to nightlife and shopping, and puts the city’s iconic Fenway Park and Prudential Center within walking distance. The Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is located right across the street from Northeastern. The MFA contains more than 500,000 works of art and provides Northeastern students with free admission.
The “T,” what Bostonians call the subway, runs right through Northeastern’s campus, making it convenient to explore more distant parts of the city, and eliminating the need for a car.
Extracurriculars
Northeastern isn’t as notable for its athletics as some other colleges in town—after all, it canceled its football program after 74 years in 2009—however, sports have a rich history at NU. Northeastern’s Matthews Arena, founded in 1910, is the oldest hockey arena in the world, the original home of the Boston Bruins, and where the Huskies play their home hockey games.
One of the big athletic events of the year is the Beanpot Hockey Tournament. The Beanpot is a two-round tournament held every February since the 1950s between Northeastern, Harvard, Boston College, and Boston University. In 2018, the Huskies won the Beanpot and ended a 30-year drought—they subsequently won the next two (2019 and 2020) and are still the reigning champs, since the tournament wasn’t held in 2021 due to COVID-19.
Another interesting athletic tidbit is that Northeastern’s campus was the location of the first modern baseball World Series. Huntington Avenue Grounds, home of the games, may have been demolished over a century ago, but a statue of Cy Young now marks the site of the ballpark’s pitching mound.
There are numerous opportunities at NU for students with interests outside of athletics. The university is home to 45 international and cultural awareness organizations and more than 500 student clubs and organizations. The college has a global feel—143 countries are represented in Northeastern’s student body and, in 2019, it hosted the third-most international students in the U.S.
Traditions
On Parents’ Weekends, Northeastern students show who really runs the city for the now-annual Underwear Run. For this fun tradition, students strip to their skivvies and run through the city!
Another unique tradition of Northeastern is the “middler year.” Because of co-op, NU students don’t follow a traditional collegiate timeline and take longer to earn their degrees. Consequently, using traditional terms like “sophomore” and “junior” can get murky. “Middlers” is a loose term used to describe NU students who are somewhere between starting and finishing their time at Northeastern.