Northeastern 2011 Applicants Forum

[darkgreenfruit]

How about the interview? I didn't do one.

Nope. To be honest I didn't even know they offered interviews.

Good luck!

Holy crap. I meant Northwestern. Wrong thread.

Fail.

[firemed]

So they gave me the $8500/yr scholly... which is sweet. And I love Boston. And my wife wants to go there for her own reasons.

On the other hand, I really don't want to spend $30K a year if I can help it.

So, I gots two questions for anyone who might know:

1) How generous are they with the need based aid? I am independent, but I have a job... on the other hand I have a kiddo (possibly two by the time school starts... you never know)... and while my pay is adequate for living in NM, it is almost poverty level for living in Boston.

2) How do they feel about negotiating higher merit aid? Has anyone tried this, or heard of someone who had? Anyone know if they have a history of increasing aid for people they want later on in the cycle?

[aidez-moi]

So they gave me the $8500/yr scholly... which is sweet. And I love Boston. And my wife wants to go there for her own reasons.

On the other hand, I really don't want to spend $30K a year if I can help it.

So, I gots two questions for anyone who might know:

1) How generous are they with the need based aid? I am independent, but I have a job... on the other hand I have a kiddo (possibly two by the time school starts... you never know)... and while my pay is adequate for living in NM, it is almost poverty level for living in Boston.

2) How do they feel about negotiating higher merit aid? Has anyone tried this, or heard of someone who had? Anyone know if they have a history of increasing aid for people they want later on in the cycle?

Exact same boat (minus a wife) and I have the same questions.

Unfortunately, I don't have any answers. But you're not alone!

[santisuk]

Just received the official acceptance letter-- and I DID get the $20,000/year + $3,000 co-op stipend award! What a great way to start my cycle! Northeastern, you are doing a great job wooing me...

Here's to good news for the rest of you Northeastern hopefuls!

[aidez-moi]

Should this be moved to the acceptances etc. section?

Or does someone want to start a new thread over there...

Or do we just want to roll with this one

[firemed]

Should this be moved to the acceptances etc. section?

Or does someone want to start a new thread over there...

Or do we just want to roll with this one

Whatever y'all want.

I am going to stalk last years threads and see if anyone successfully bargained for more $$$ in merit aid, or if their need based was generous...

[firemed]

Okay... searches reveal that people who tried to negotiate for more merit aid were unsuccessful, receiving a letter which indicated that "Northeastern University School of Law does not match offers made by other schools."

So, basically that is a no go.

I wonder how many/much money there is available in the designated law scholarships fund... hmmm.... I am going to file my taxes ASAP in the new year. Will let you all know when I know more.

ETA: BTW, I will probably try anyways, and see what happens. I would really, really, really love to go to Northeastern, but if I get a full ride at a T3 and nothing more from them, I don't know what I will do....

[snapdragon]

Fire, I'm in the same boat as you. Got the $8500 scholly today, and while it's appreciated, probably not enough to tip the scales, especially since I'm in at higher ranked schools and hopefully will be in at my state school, which is higher ranked and would be a better deal, even with the scholarship. I love Boston and I actually do love the co-op program, but I'm not sure I can justify the expense.

[ItsMyTimeBoston]

So they gave me the $8500/yr scholly... which is sweet. And I love Boston. And my wife wants to go there for her own reasons.

On the other hand, I really don't want to spend $30K a year if I can help it.

So, I gots two questions for anyone who might know:

1) How generous are they with the need based aid? I am independent, but I have a job... on the other hand I have a kiddo (possibly two by the time school starts... you never know)... and while my pay is adequate for living in NM, it is almost poverty level for living in Boston.

2) How do they feel about negotiating higher merit aid? Has anyone tried this, or heard of someone who had? Anyone know if they have a history of increasing aid for people they want later on in the cycle?

Exact same boat (minus a wife) and I have the same questions.

Unfortunately, I don't have any answers. But you're not alone!

I live in Boston and am currently applying to law schools. I love the area and have been intensely researching schools for the past two years. Northeastern would give out more money if it could, but they simply do not have the money to pass out to students. I have a feeling that their $8,500 scholarship is the equivalent of other schools giving 1/2 tuition scholarships. Anything over the 8.5 and they are really throwing everything they've got at you. Northeastern seems like it would be an absolutely wonderful place to spend three years--in terms of the students, faculty and co-op situation--but the high price of attendance coupled with the lack of grades and the current legal economy makes attending a proposition that must be weighed carefully.

That said, I'm anxiously waiting a decision from them!

[aidez-moi]

I live in Boston and am currently applying to law schools. I love the area and have been intensely researching schools for the past two years. Northeastern would give out more money if it could, but they simply do not have the money to pass out to students. I have a feeling that their $8,500 scholarship is the equivalent of other schools giving 1/2 tuition scholarships. Anything over the 8.5 and they are really throwing everything they've got at you. Northeastern seems like it would be an absolutely wonderful place to spend three years--in terms of the students, faculty and co-op situation--but the high price of attendance coupled with the lack of grades and the current legal economy makes attending a proposition that must be weighed carefully.

That said, I'm anxiously waiting a decision from them!

Thanks for this. It's nice to know that I'm not absolutely crazy for thinking about attending Northeastern.

If you have any thoughts about the location of the school/anything else, please let us know!

(and good luck!)

[ItsMyTimeBoston]

I live in Boston and am currently applying to law schools. I love the area and have been intensely researching schools for the past two years. Northeastern would give out more money if it could, but they simply do not have the money to pass out to students. I have a feeling that their $8,500 scholarship is the equivalent of other schools giving 1/2 tuition scholarships. Anything over the 8.5 and they are really throwing everything they've got at you. Northeastern seems like it would be an absolutely wonderful place to spend three years--in terms of the students, faculty and co-op situation--but the high price of attendance coupled with the lack of grades and the current legal economy makes attending a proposition that must be weighed carefully.

That said, I'm anxiously waiting a decision from them!

Thanks for this. It's nice to know that I'm not absolutely crazy for thinking about attending Northeastern.

If you have any thoughts about the location of the school/anything else, please let us know!

(and good luck!)

Feel free to PM me with any specific questions and I'll give you my take on things.

[ldboston]

I also live in Boston, and have visited Northeastern twice. Each time I've been pleasantly surprised with the people, classes, and general vibe of the school. Its a great location downtown, and well-recognized in the Boston law community. The job competition is tough with the other schools here, but I work in legal services now and everyone loves Northeastern.

With the scholarship they offered me they are definitely higher on my list of schools to attend. I think its a great place to go to school--esp if you've been out of school a bit and like the idea of getting breaks from full time classes to work.

[firemed]

You also have to take into account that the schollys we got are not grade dependent. While this might seems like a "duh" statement, you have to remember that most of the others (if not all) that you get will be... and there is a good chance you could lose it. Half tuition for one year somewhere is worth less than the Northeastern one in that case.

Still haven't decided... but that is something I have been thinking about.

[ItsMyTimeBoston]

I also live in Boston, and have visited Northeastern twice. Each time I've been pleasantly surprised with the people, classes, and general vibe of the school. Its a great location downtown, and well-recognized in the Boston law community. The job competition is tough with the other schools here, but I work in legal services now and everyone loves Northeastern.

With the scholarship they offered me they are definitely higher on my list of schools to attend. I think its a great place to go to school--esp if you've been out of school a bit and like the idea of getting breaks from full time classes to work.

While I wouldn't call Northeastern's location "downtown," I, too, have visited the law school a couple of times and attended an info session and enjoyed the vibe I got from the admissions officers, the students and professors I briefly interacted with. I would say that Northeastern would be an ideal school for someone who wants to work in Boston and does not have the numbers to get into BC or BU, and who wants to do public interest or small to midsized firm work. Moreover, while Northeastern places a slightly higher percentage of its graduates in biglaw than Suffolk, the lack of grades makes it hard to distinguish one from one's peers. Of course, this lack of grades seems to provide students with a more relaxed 1L.

[Krodizzle]

Just got in! 157/3.8 URM