Northeastern University Fall 2015

[taik]

Hi, 

 

Did anyone here attend the Open House at Northeastern? Can you share your experiences? Thank you! 

 

 

[phaedra]

I did not attend the open house, but was accepted and got in touch with a current Master's student via a mutual acquaintance to ask her some questions. Overall, she was very positive about the program. She said the classroom and clinic facilities are very nice, recently updated. In her opinion, the biggest strength of the program is the clinical experiences. She loves the program director, Dr. O'Neil; finds her to be very friendly and supportive. She also thinks the placement coordinator, Susan Fine is great and says she takes students' preferences into account when assigning them placements.

 

Some details she gave about the clinical placements: those without the ComD background (half of the 40 students in each class) take a clinical procedures course in the fall and start clinic in the spring. Those with the background participate in a Language Literacy Program at a local elementary school (or preschool? can't remember) as well as on campus clinic in the fall and then a school-based placement in the spring. She really loves the clinical placements.

 

She said (though I would take this with a grain of salt as I think every school is naturally biased toward themselves) that the placement coordinator said that Northeastern students are tops for placement interviews: the Northeastern student will get a placement 90% of the time over someone from another Boston school.

 

I asked specifically if she thought the program had any weaknesses, and she said that some of the professors are more focused on their own research than on teaching, but she still thinks she is getting a great educational experience.

 

I'm still waiting to hear from a lot of places but I'm strongly considering Northeastern. I don't know if I'm accepted at the other Boston schools, but I wonder why they (MGH, BU, Emerson) are all seen as better (ranks in the 20s vs. Northeastern's rank #52, and people on here seem more interested in them). If anyone as any insight into this I'd appreciate it. Northeastern seems like an excellent school regardless. 

[taik]

Hi Phaedra! 

 

Thank you for this detailed description. Could you also connect me to this current grad student? It seems like that we both applied to all the 4 schools in Boston and haven't heard back from them yet, except Northeastern. I didn't attend the open house because I was interviewing at BU and Emerson that weekend. After receiving the letter, I took more serious thought about attending to Northeastern. It is always nice to hear some insights from others. 

 

PS. How did you make the stats under your post which says GPA, GRE, applied schools etc. 

 

-Kathleen 

Edited March 2, 2015 by taik

[phaedra]

Hi Kathleen, 

 

I'm going to PM you about contacting the grad student.

 

I also was at the interviews for BU and Emerson so couldn't attend the Northeastern open house. In their email they said they'd be hosting another one March 14th, which I'll probably go to, but looking on their website I'm not sure how SLP-specific it is.

 

I know Emerson has sent out some acceptances already, but hopefully there will be more coming out this week!

 

Did you receive the Northeastern letter in the mail yet? If so could you tell me what it says? I've only gotten the one online. Thanks!

 

To make your "signature" (stats at the bottom of your post), assuming you're on a desktop, click on your username on the top right of the screen, then the black box on the right that says "edit my profile," then "signature" on the left.

[taik]

Hi Phaedra, 

 

Thanks! How should I address you when I introduce myself to that current grad student? 

 

I would love to attend NEU open house but I live in San Francisco, and very unlikely that I will fly out again until April. Would you mind telling me more after you attend the open house? I would love to hear your insights about the schools, since you must have also toured BU and Emerson. If you wouldn't mind, we can connect on FB, which make this conversation more personal. :-) 

 

Yes, I have received the acceptance mail from NEU. The school sent out on 2/20 ( I received the electronic acceptance notice on the portal on 2/19), and it arrived on 2/23, the day I flew back from the East Coast. My acceptance is "conditional" due to the missing official transcripts. Is yours too, "conditional"? 

 

I am going to PM you my FB info. so you can add me if you like. 

[phaedra]

Yes, I can post about Northeastern after I visit it for you and others visiting this forum!

 

I didn't get my acceptance online until 2/24 so hopefully that is why the letter is being slow in arriving. Mine is also "conditional," I'm assuming because I'm not graduating from undergrad until the spring.

[taik]

I see. I guess the mail probably just got delayed because of the weather. It will arrive soon. :-)  

 

Btw, do you know if students need to complete all ASHA-required science classes before matriculation? How about 25 observation hours? 

 

I still have a couple classes and 10 hours to finish. The letter doesn't address anything about it so I just assume that I can complete those later. Is that right? 

[phaedra]

Got my letter today.

I don't think you need to complete the science prereqs before matriculation, only the speech ones according to their website, but I'd contact them to make sure! I think you can do the hours once in the program but again I'm not really sure. Their website isn't the most detailed.

[onedayslp]

Is anyone else still waiting to hear back from Northeastern? It seems like they started sending out notifications a lot earlier this year than in the past. Hoping they're not done sending acceptances!

 

Also, phaedra- I'm surprised to hear that NU students would get preference for placements over students in other Boston programs. My feeling was (similar to yours) that NU was the lowest ranked of the 4 and not as highly esteemed. Obviously this could be wrong, but that's just the impression I've gotten from this forum. Someone in a past thread also mentioned that NU is the only Boston school that requires students to have a car for placements. 

 

Anyone have more insight on Northeastern?

[phaedra]

Also, phaedra- I'm surprised to hear that NU students would get preference for placements over students in other Boston programs. My feeling was (similar to yours) that NU was the lowest ranked of the 4 and not as highly esteemed. Obviously this could be wrong, but that's just the impression I've gotten from this forum. Someone in a past thread also mentioned that NU is the only Boston school that requires students to have a car for placements. 

 I was also pretty surprised to hear that so my gut says it's not true (not that they would specifically lie, but they're probably not calculating things right). I think one reason why the other schools get more applications (which may contribute to the high ranking/esteem) is that they are all on CSDCAS and Northeastern is not. I think some people apply solely to CSDCAS programs.

 

I've also seen that about the necessity of a car. My guess as to why is because if they are truly not as good as the other schools, they can't compete with them to give their students as many placements in Boston, so they have to send them further out of the city. Or, it could be possible that they're just covering all the bases, and most students get all their placements in Boston, but they're saying that just in case.

 

I don't know if you are from the area, but even though it's not as highly esteemed as the others in speech, I find that Northeastern in general is viewed as an excellent school by people around here.

[AnxiousAlice]

Is there a group for accepted students yet?

 

Also, there is a rotation for the placements in Boston for all four programs. Each program has just as many students in hospitals and schools within the Boston area. The necessity for a car is just a precaution, since many of the school placements will not be accessible via public transportation. This information was explained by Dr. O'Neil at the recent Open House.

[phaedra]

Also, there is a rotation for the placements in Boston for all four programs. Each program has just as many students in hospitals and schools within the Boston area. The necessity for a car is just a precaution, since many of the school placements will not be accessible via public transportation. This information was explained by Dr. O'Neil at the recent Open House.

 

Thank you for clarifying!! I did not go to the open house so it is good to get that information.

[maddieg]

Anyone not hear anything from Northeastern yet?? I am wondering if this means I am waitlisted. Any one have insight, maybe from the Open House?

[onedayslp]

Anyone not hear anything from Northeastern yet?? I am wondering if this means I am waitlisted. Any one have insight, maybe from the Open House?

You're not alone! I still haven't heard. Last year they were accepting people way into April, so I wouldn't assume it means you're waitlisted. 

[Lyra1960]

I was accepted and am planning to attend the March 14th open house. Hope to meet some of you there : )  From what I understand, it is a open house for all graduate programs but individual departments will be represented. You can rsvp online and the communication disorders program is an option you can choose. 

[AlreadySLP]

Is anyone else still waiting to hear back from Northeastern? It seems like they started sending out notifications a lot earlier this year than in the past. Hoping they're not done sending acceptances!

 

Also, phaedra- I'm surprised to hear that NU students would get preference for placements over students in other Boston programs. My feeling was (similar to yours) that NU was the lowest ranked of the 4 and not as highly esteemed. Obviously this could be wrong, but that's just the impression I've gotten from this forum. Someone in a past thread also mentioned that NU is the only Boston school that requires students to have a car for placements. 

 

Anyone have more insight on Northeastern?

 

As a graduate of the program (not comfortable saying when but it was within the last three years) I can speak to this. While Boston is a city of numerous medical and educational institutions it is impossible to place every student from all four schools within the city of Boston for their placements (if you think about the average cohort size being around 25 students (obviously some programs are larger but some are smaller and I am underestimating) that is 100 students that need placements PER SEMESTER.) Too many students and too few supervisors make this an impossibility. So yes, having a car is helpful as it expands the number of placements you are able to have. However it is not necessary. I did not have one. It did mean that I had to take public transportation and as a result maybe spend a little more time on my commute but it was worth not having a car in a major city where driving is notoriously painful. Full disclosure I opted for an out of state placement for the summer and therefore did Zip car a couple days a week for 10 weeks, but that could have been avoided as well. 

 

As far as Northeastern Students getting "preference" that is not actually the case. As someone else said, NO one school gets preference anymore. There may be a slight exception to MGH because they are institutionally bound to well, MGH. However, I will say that in my cohort the four major medical placements that require an interview and only go to ONE student (Tufts peds dysphagia, Tufts adult dysphagia, Boston Children's dysphagia and Beth Israel Voice) all went to Northeastern students. So that is perhaps what Susan meant by a 90% (I also know that the Tufts peds went to a NEU student in the cohort above mine). Northeastern students are also placed at the Children's AAC program every semester (also requires an interview). So we get good placements. However, it is not a highly medically focused school. If you really want to do medical SLP and got into MGH (and all/any other Boston schools) obviously MGH is the right decision. But you can still get good medical experience while at NEU. I know people that got CF positions in a hospital after graduating form NEU. 

 

I can't speak on the other schools but I am 95% sure that no student from any school is placed 100% within Boston city limits and that they would all benefit from having a car, but all can manage without. 

 

And as people have said numerous times (not in this forum but others) ranking doesn't really matter. Certainly not for finding a job and not for quality of placements (those are 90% what you make them). If you want to go into research then yes, higher ranked schools typically have that focus and would be a better fit for you. But if you want to be a clinician (at least initially), just graduate and pass your Praxis. I applied to 5 CF positions. Got three offers. Of the remaining one was already filled by the time they received my application (they did not update the website fast enough) and one wasn't for a CF (but I applied anyway because you never know). Also if you want to do research your focus should be on what kind of research you want to do and whether or not there is a professor doing that research at the schools you are interested in. There is something to be said for a school doing cool research (if you haven't already watch Dr. Patel's Ted Talk on Synthetic Voices) where the demand to help in these labs is lower. 

 

If you have questions about NEU feel free to ask them and I am happy to answer. 

[phaedra]

Hi AlreadySLP,

Thanks so much for the detailed information. I was wondering if you knew how scholarships work at Northeastern. Are there any offered at all? How common are they and how much are they typically for? Do students find out at the time of admission, or after?

I was offered a large scholarship at MGH, so unless Northeastern offers a similar one, I will most likely not be going, even though it seems like a great program.

Edited March 7, 2015 by phaedra

[AlreadySLP]

Hi AlreadySLP,

Thanks so much for the detailed information. I was wondering if you knew how scholarships work at Northeastern. Are there any offered at all? How common are they and how much are they typically for? Do students find out at the time of admission, or after?

I was offered a large scholarship at MGH, so unless Northeastern offers a similar one, I will most likely not be going, even though it seems like a great program.

No idea. I didn't have the stats to award me one, so I didn't even ask. I would email Dr. O'Neil. She is almost frighteningly responsive (she responded to me late at night on a Saturday when I had questions before attending). But I say go where the money is. Especially if you like MGH equally. 

[phaedra]

No idea. I didn't have the stats to award me one, so I didn't even ask. I would email Dr. O'Neil. She is almost frighteningly responsive (she responded to me late at night on a Saturday when I had questions before attending). But I say go where the money is. Especially if you like MGH equally.

Okay thanks, I'll contact her.

[AnxiousAlice]

AlreadySLP,

 

Were you accepted to other Boston schools? What made you choose NEU? I am deciding between NEU, NYU and MGH. I would love to know more about what helped you make your decision!

 

Thank you!

[AlreadySLP]

AlreadySLP,

 

Were you accepted to other Boston schools? What made you choose NEU? I am deciding between NEU, NYU and MGH. I would love to know more about what helped you make your decision!

 

Thank you!

I wasn't accepted to any of the other Boston schools (applied to Emerson but did not get in). I was deciding between Touro, Georgia State and Northeastern. I picked NEU because I wanted a school that would offer me a well rounded education with good research options should I decide I wanted to work in a lab (I did not end up doing so) but had a very strong clinical focus. Northeastern would allow me to start in the on campus clinic my first semester. And the Boston area has a lot of options for clinical placements so I knew I would be able to get diverse experience. I also went to an open house before I applied and found the professors (Dr. Rielly and an audiology professor who's name I don't remember) to be nice and approachable. Plus Boston was a city I have always wanted to live in. I was not (and am not) all that interested in medical speech pathology (at least not in practice, in theory/the classroom I find it very interesting). So MGH, Rush, UWMed were never programs I even considered. I have friends who went to MGH and they always seemed a little more stressed than my friends at Northeastern. The academics there are very very demanding. They also go a whole semester (summer semester but still) longer than Northeastern, so as opposed to finishing in April/May you would finish in August.

 

 

This is not to say Northeastern is without its faults. My biggest issue with Northeastern is that from an administrative standpoint (so not academically) the department seems to have pragmatic difficulties. What I mean by this is that I felt as if my personal worries (about things like comps, clinical placements etc) were dismissed and at times I was treated like a child (but not one that was ever allowed to ask for help). From an academic standpoint, the professors are (for the most part) really good. And they really LOVE to teach and want you to learn the material. I found the academic part of it relatively stress free because I felt like my professors were rooting for all of us to do well. My friends at MGH said that they felt that the professors there were more interested in their own research and in proving to the students that they were smarter than the students. (but you should ask an MGH student about that as I don't have any personal experience with them). I just found that outside of academics the department was a bit...cold (but that may be an East Coast mentality thing, idk I'm not from the East). 

 

The on campus clinic is also very intense and not representative of SLP life in the real world (again I should mention I am NOT in medical SLP so while my clients and their families DO depend on me to change their lives they don't depend on me to SAVE them). However, I suspect this is the case with ALL on campus clinics as a) it is your first clinical experience and therefore is stressful and schools want to put out the best clinicians possible as their reputation rests on it. 

 

When it comes down to it, ALL programs will give you a good education and if you pass your praxsis and graduate you will get a job (and multiple offers). The things to consider are: 

 

1) Where is it located and can you live there for two years? 

2) Do you have a specific area of interest and does that school line up with that interest?

3) ditto professors doing research?

4) how much is it going to cost you (not only in terms of tuition but also cost of living in that place)? 

5) Do you have any MUST haves/CAN'T haves (for example you CAN'T go until August of your second year)

 

Hope that is helpful. Just remember whatever decision you make, you will be fine. 

[mackayk.12]

Hi! I am in a similar situation as you! I am having a really tough time choosing between Northeastern and Emerson! I am not sure that there are too many differences between the programs except that Northeastern tends to do more accent modification than Emerson does. I must say, reading about the Northeastern students getting more placements is definitely something to think about! 

[maddieg]

Anyone still not heard from NEU? I'm starting to get really nervous. I will be attending the open house this weekend, but I really hoped to hear something from them before that. I know last year they sent acceptances out later, but it seems that they are offering admission differently this year. Any one else in this boat and feel discouraged?

[atrochemoche]

Anyone still not heard from NEU? I'm starting to get really nervous. I will be attending the open house this weekend, but I really hoped to hear something from them before that. I know last year they sent acceptances out later, but it seems that they are offering admission differently this year. Any one else in this boat and feel discouraged?

You're not alone - I haven't heard anything from them either. As nobody has posted in the results list about having been waitlisted, I'm not too worried yet.

I'm not going to be attending the open house as I live abroad and never got an invite anyway. Is the open house for anyone or only Fall 2015 applicants?

[AnxiousAlice]

If you're getting nervous, contact Dr. O'Neil! She is wonderful at getting back to you via email and NEU as a whole is helpful over the phone.