Engineering An NU Experience

Hi! My name is Kristen Coletti and I am a fifth year chemical engineering major with a minor in mathematics. I grew up in the small suburb of Smithfield, Rhode Island. This fall I will continue my role as President of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). Along with SWE I am a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) and the Northeastern University Dance Company (NUDANCO). I am also a freshman chemistry tutor for the College of Engineering. For fun, I enjoy playing intramurals on campus. I have completed all three co-ops thus far; my first at EMD Serono Research Institute, my second at Shaw Energy & Chemicals and my final co-op at GE Water & Process Technologies.

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How did you get the job for GE? If you don't mind me asking, was it a long and consistent effort?

I did my last co-op for GE Water & Process Technologies in Burlington, MA, which is how I found out about the GE Power & Water Edison Engineering Program. The application process started early July, but my first interview was not until August. My last interview was in late October before receiving my job offer. It was a long and drawn out process because of the number of applicants they receive and because they have a multi-step interview process. If you are interested in a leadership program you definitely need to start looking for them the summer before your senior year because most companies interview and hire early for those type of programs!

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The End.

So as my last post before starting my new job in the real world I thought I would list what I think are the top five best things about Northeastern (in no particular order):

1. Co-op: Who else graduates from college with 18 months of full-time work experience? Not only does co-op help you beef up your resume, but it also helps you figure out what you want to do with your major before you graduate. You also get a chance to practice networking, applying, and interviewing for jobs before starting your full-time job search.

2. Campus: Although Northeastern is in the heart of Boston, it has a gorgeous and defined campus instead of being random buildings dispersed along the city streets.

3. Boston: Boston is an incredible city to live in. It is truly a city that survives on the colleges and universities that inhabit it. It is a city full of history that I am proud to have called my home for the past five years.

4. Research: Northeastern focuses it's research on the three major themes of health, security, and sustainability. Professors in all colleges and across all majors are doing ground breaking research right on Northeastern's campus and all are always willing to take on new and enthusiastic students from freshmen to PhD students.

5. Opportunities: I know that sounds vague, but pair a fantastic co-op school with the heart of an incredible city and the result is an endless list of opportunities for Northeastern students. You can study abroad, co-op abroad, be apart of hundreds of student groups, create your own student groups, run a marathon, volunteer at a food bank, present at a national conference, tutor fellow students, research the next cancer drug, invent the next cyber security program - at Northeastern anything is possible and everyone will do their best to help you achieve your dreams!

As I'm sure you can tell by now Northeastern has been the defining factor in what has been the best fives years of my life. Deciding to attend Northeastern was the single best decision I have ever made and I hope for some of you reading this blog you can say the same thing one day!

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I will be a fall transfer and was wondering about how I could get into the honors program. I looked at the website but it says for engineering you need a 3.85? Why is the COE gpa minimum so so so much higher than any one else's? Thanks! Congrats on graduating by the way!

Hello! I am not sure why the COE GPA is higher than others, but I know that for the 3.85 GPA you were looking at the Honors in the Discipline Program. There is also a university wide honors program, which differs from the COE College Honors Program in its requirements. I know for non transfer students, if you did not get into the university Honors Program when you were admitted as an incoming freshman you have the opportunity to apply after freshman year and you must have a minimum 3.8 GPA. I am not sure what the requirements are for transfer students. Here is the website for the university honors program: http://www.northeastern.edu/honors/

If the website doesn't give you information for transfer students I am sure you could contact the Honors Program office and they would be able to help you! I hope that helps! Best of luck!

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Hi! Kristen. Thanks for answering my earlier queries. Congratulations! for graduating with summa cum laude. I have my admission decision from Northeastern University, and I am considering joining NEU this fall. I read on your bio that you did 3 Co-ops, How many Co-ops one can do in his graduate studies? Also, I read the average pay is around $25. Which one is better, living on-campus or off-campus? (The rent around Boston is quite high), the last question, please comment on on-campus jobs scene?

Thank you and you are welcome! Congratulations to you as well on your acceptance! If you are doing a Master's degree in the College of Engineering you can do one co-op that will last from 4-8 months. The duration of your co-op would depend on your preferences and your schedule (when you need to take classes and such). You are correct, the average pay for graduate students in engineering is around $25. Undergraduates that average pay is less and other majors the averages also tend to be lower. Living on or off campus is totally personal preference. To my knowledge, most graduate students live off campus. I am not even sure if you would be offered on campus housing as a graduate student - so I would check that with Housing & Residential Life. On campus housing is very nice and is much more convenient because of its proximity to campus, but is really no cheaper than off campus housing. Off campus housing surrounding campus can be pricey. Students who want to save some money live a little further from campus in the Mission Hill area (about 20 mins walk to campus or can take the green or orange lines). There are a bunch of on-campus jobs available to all students. Some jobs require students to have work study, but not all jobs do. Once you decide to enroll you will be given a myNEU username and login. From this site one of the things you can access is the student employment website, where you can search and apply for on campus jobs that are hiring based on if you have work study or not. I had work study my first year and then did not have it my remaining 4 years and never had a problem finding an on campus job!

Hope that answers all your questions! Let me know if you have any more!

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Graduation! Cannot believe I am officially a Northeastern alum.

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Senior week events: Red Sox Game, Kickoff at the Greatest Bar, Boat Cruise & Six Flags!

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The End of an Era

As of yesterday I took my last final exam and my undergraduate studies are complete. Senior week starts tonight with a kickoff event at the Greatest Bar near the TD Garden. I can't wait for all of the events this week. Graduation is only one week away!

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Hello, I will be a Freshman at NU in the fall and I will be studying ChemE. I'm a girl and I'm a little confused about the Living Learning Communities. I was wondering if you could tell me about the difference between the Engineering LLC and the Connections LLC. I've heard that they are simply engineering for men and engineering for women, but I want to make sure before I make my housing decision. Are they exclusively separated by gender? If not, do many girls live in the engineering LLC? Thanks

Hello! You are correct - the Engineering LLC is for engineering males and the Connections LLC is for engineering females. They are exclusively separated by gender, but many times you will be in the same building so that you all get to know each other! I lived on the Connections LLC floor my freshman year and highly recommend it! You get to know people right away taking the same classes as you for homework help and study groups. The night before a big exam the floor is also very quiet because you are all studying. Your RA's will also most likely be upperclass engineering females and many of the student groups advertise events and meetings through the RA's, so that you know about what's going on in COE freshman year! Let me know if you have any other questions and congratulations on your acceptance and decision!!

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HI! Kristen, I am a prospective student, I am applying for Fall 2014 semester, my major would be Mechanical Engineering. Since you're an engineering major too, Can you please elaborate on the Co-op opportunities/Internships for foreign students around Boston, How easy is it for someone to get to work as a Co-op? also, shed some light on the research facilities and on Professors. I have read a lot about NEU from website, I want to hear a current student's perspective. If you could, please.

Hello! The co-op opportunities around Boston are great! Every major has co-op advisors whose sole job is to help students find co-op jobs whether that be in Boston, somewhere else in the U.S., or internationally. All the advisors work really hard to make sure students are placed in a co-op that they will not only enjoy, but also that they will be successful in. We have a whole online database that lists job by majors, so that you can mark which jobs you want your resume sent to. Once your resume goes out the process is very similar to finding an internship or full time position. It's at the manager's discretion who they call in for interviews and who they give offers to. With that being said, almost everyone if not everyone gets placed into a co-op every semester. I think the placement rate within the College of Engineering is somewhere around 98-99%. The research facilities here are also fantastic! We have numerous national centers as well as many professors doing exciting and innovative work. Although I have not worked in a Professor's lab personally, I have many friends that do. Professors are willing to take on undergraduates from freshman to seniors to work in their lab. Depending on where your interests lie, you also do not have to work in a lab that is in your department (for instance you could work in an electrical engineering Professor's lab even if you are studying mechanical engineering). Professor's really just want to take on students that are interested in their research and that are hard workers. Many of my friends have had the opportunity to present work they have done through a Professor's lab at different conferences and competitions. Northeastern has also just begun to build a state of the art research facility on campus that will be done in 2016, which I am sure will only fuel more innovative research. I hope that answers your questions! Please let me know if you have anymore!

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Picked up my graduation tickets today. I cannot believe it's only one month away!

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Date Set For Late-Night MBTA Service

Officials from the T announced that the new late-night MBTA service would begin on March 28. Trains and buses will run until 3 a.m. on weekends.

FINALLY!

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Spent an amazing spring break on a cruise with a few of my friends. I got to go swimming with the dolphins on my 23rd birthday in Cozumel and enjoyed 80's and sun for six days. It was a much needed vacation to relax and rejuvenate before the final push of the spring semester!

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Beautiful day on campus. It's starting to feel like spring!!

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Proud to be a part of the College of Engineering and Northeastern. Too bad it won't be done before I'm gone. I guess I'll have to come back as an alum to check it out!

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I went around and asked fellow Huskies to share why they are proud to be a part of Northeastern and here are their replies.

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Had a great time cheering on the men's hockey team at the first round of the Beanpot tournament last night at TD Garden. The team defeated Harvard 6-0 and will be advancing to the championship game next Monday night. My friends and I even had our 5 seconds of fame on the megatron during the game!