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Hi, I was recently accepted as to NEU as a Computer Science major. I'm really into learning languages and was wondering how easy it is for CS majors to take languages classes especially in their first year?

Congratulations on your acceptance! I apologize for the delayed response, things have been quite busy for me lately. It’s great that you are interested in learning languages, and yes you could use an elective space on it as soon as your first semester depending on how your schedule works out! You make your schedule during orientation with your academic advisor, so just mention it then. Additionally, there’s an organization called NuCalls (https://www.nucalls.com/) where you can learn languages for free. They offer free language classes (usually at night) that meet once a week and have classes for various levels (begginner, intermediate, etc.) and a plethora of languages. If you are particularly strong in a language, you can join the organization as an instructor as well. This would be great experience plus would help you master your skills in order to instruct. In short, yes you can take language classes! But, if it doesn’t fit in your schedule or you want to learn them for free, check out NuCalls as well!

Hi, I got into NEU EA and I'm really excited to pursue a major in CS, but I'm worried I might be behind everyone because I don't have much CS background beyond an intro course I took. I'm really interested in CS, but there just weren't many opportunities for it at my school. How well does Northeastern do with helping students new to CS that still want to pursue a major in it?

Congratulations. Anon!Northeastern’s CS curriculum is designed for everyone to come in at an even playing field. They assume no prior knowledge in CS, which is great because they can teach everyone equally and as you progress through the major, the courses can more easily build on each other. Like you, I had only two intro courses in which I didn’t learn too much before coming to Northeastern. There is definitely a learning curve to CS, but I would encourage you to not get discouraged if you struggle. Most people find difficulty at some point during their first semester or two of CS which is why CCIS employs tens of tutors, TAs, and professors so that you can get help virtually any time you need it. Additionally, the Northeastern community is extremely helpful, and you’ll find that CCIS has an awesome support group of peers as well. With all that said, plenty of people do come in with a lot of experience and will take advanced versions of Fundies 1 and/or´ Fundies 2. This just makes the class move faster with slightly more challenging assignments. Coming in with little to no experience is absolutely, perfectly okay and assumed by CCIS. Congratulations again!

northeastern-alexishester

Is it common for Northeastern students to double-major?

I don’t know if it’s common, per se, but it’s definitely not unusual. I think a lot of students tend to go the multiple minor/concentration route over double majoring. That being said, though, there are tons of options for double majors. Lots of programs are set up already - for example, one night I was procreating studying for Orgo by looking into what majors I could switch to, and I found a bunch of Bio double majors, including Bio/English which I thought was awesome. If you’re interested in creating a double major not already structured, you can talk to your advisor and do that pretty easily.

northeastern-matthewdunn

I wanted to highlight this for those interested in combining majors with something in CCIS, whether it be Computer Science, Information Science, Data Science, etc. Many Northeastern students have interests across fields, and that is encouraged. That being said, sometimes doing a full double major is tough when you also want to do co-ops, global experience, research, etc. That’s where combined majors come in super handy, and is extremely common in CCIS especially. Computer Science can be applied to just about any field, and CCIS is constantly expanding it’s combined major program. It’s one major where you get 75% of the experience from each program, rather than having to complete the full major for each school. The combined majors offered now through CCIS are listed here: https://www.ccis.northeastern.edu/academics/undergraduate/combined-majors/

Don’t see a combined major you like? Talking to your academic advisor can help to create a new program. Just about every year there are new programs being created because of student requests to build them.

#combined major #CCIS

Hi! I applied to Northeastern Regular Decision to the College of Engineering for computer engineering and computer science, but I am not 100% sure this is what I want to study. If I get accepted am I allowed to change my major to another school before I start to choose classes?

Hi anon! Yes you can! Once accepted you can do this via the MyNortheastern portal and then just make sure the change goes through before you select an Orientation time so that you can meet with the right advisor, etc. During Orientation you’ll meet with your academic advisor so it’s definitely best to change it before then if you know!

Hi, I was recently accepted to Northeastern's College of Science, but since submitting my application I've realized I would rather pursue a major in computer science. There is a spot on the myNEU portal to change my major but I'm not sure if this is something I can do before classes start?

Well first of all, congratulations on your acceptance! You can go ahead and change your major on the portal and that should take into effect pretty much immediately. When you start getting emails to sign up for an orientation slot, just ensure that you are signing up for a CCIS one. If this doesn’t show up by then, then I would call the Registrar’s Office and they’ll be able to help you. But for now, doing it on the portal should be all you need to do, and then make sure you check your email to make sure the change goes through before orientation! Also, if you are still interested in a major from the CoS and want to think about a combined major with Computer Science, you can look at the current combined major programs as well: https://www.ccis.northeastern.edu/academics/undergraduate/combined-majors/

Hi! I've recently been accepted to Northeastern and I'm really interested in Northeastern's global opportunities. I want to study computer science, but I also really want to study/work abroad. How common is it for computer science students to do co ops in Europe or do Dialogues or study abroad?

Hey there! Congratulations on your acceptance! Getting a global experience while also studying computer science at Northeastern is definitely possible, and many of my friends have done so. CCIS also has been working to make it easier for students to do this by partnering with more institutions and making schedules more flexible. So with that in mind I’ll detail ways in which CCIS students go abroad!Global Co-opThis is the least chosen option by CCIS students, mostly because the pay just doesn’t come close to what you will find in the states because of VISA reasons, cost of living, etc. With that in mind, I know I have heard of CS students taking co-ops in Germany and Japan. However, if it is something you are really interested in, it is possible.Dialogues(If you don’t know, now you know) http://www.northeastern.edu/geo/dialogue/ CCIS students won’t find any of their core CS classes on a dialogue, but a ton of students do them and fill their NUpath requirements, minor requirements, or elective requirements using them. Unless it’s major or program specific, you can choose any of them, and I’ve had CS friends go all over the world on dialogues, especially during their first summer. It’s really common for CS students to do these.Study AbroadThis will require more planning with your academic advisor, but good news is that we teach you how to plan your schedule on your own and with your advisor for this in your Overview 1 class. If you already know you want to study abroad, you’ll be just fine doing so in CCIS. It just gets harder the later you decide you want to do it because you have less classes to play around with. For reference, I’ve had friends study abroad in CS at University of Auckland in New Zealand, University of Edinburgh, Budapest, and a few others that currently escape me.In short, it is common for students to do Dialogues and Study Abroad, but more uncommon for them to do global co-ops in CS because of the drop off in pay. Congratulation again!

New Year, New Job

I've been holding out on this information for almost a month now, so it's about time I let you all know what I'll be up to now that I've graduated! I'm very happy to announce that I will be working as a Software Engineer with Charles River Analytics working on security research starting in February! I'm really excited to stay in Boston, and I'll continue to use this blog to update you on what life is like while working in the city, in addition to how Northeastern has prepared me for this opportunity!

So long, Northeastern classes!

As of this afternoon, I am officially finished with my undergraduate requirements at Northeastern! I finished up my last final strongly and look forward to starting my next chapter in 2018! I’ll be dropping some great news for you all on what that next chapter is soon, so stay tuned! I’ll also be maintaining this blog until the end of the spring of 2018; so don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.

#graduation

Congrats to ED1 Huskies!

Congratulations to everyone who got accepted to Northeastern yesterday as an Early Decision 1 admit! It’s an exciting time for sure, and as I literally finish up my classes at Northeastern I can recall the excitement of getting my Early Action acceptance in December of 2012. What’s my age again? If you’ve got questions, I’ve got answers! Send them in and I’ll see what I can do!

#congratulations

A Dino Day

Helping out at the parade on Thursday with friends from home was a real blast! There were a lot of extra balloon handlers assigned to Dino, so I was a crowd hype man. I spent the parade starting chants, getting the crowd excited, and having fun being a part of the parade. My group is pictured below, and then you can also see a picture of our Dino that I snapped right before the balloon was on TV!

#dino #macysthanksgivingdayparade

I’ll be a balloon handler in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade again this year! This year I’ll be a handler for the Dino balloon from Sinclair Oil. Last year I was a handler for the Pillsbury Dough Boy, but keep a look out for the Dino handler with long blonde hair if you’re watching the parade tomorrow!

#Dino #macy's thanksgiving day parade

Tunnel Vision

My friend Katie Kerr, an awesome roommate, artist, and person, completed her mural on campus about two weeks ago! If you’re visiting campus or attending, you can find her mural (see below) in the tunnels underneath Ell Hall!

Katie also makes a whole bunch of other cool stuff using laser cutting on campus, including cute coasters for our apartment! Additionally, she has made fun coloring books for her friends, and has continued to find awesome ways to produce art while at Northeastern. If you have a question for me or Katie (I can pass it along!) feel free to ask !

#art #mural #lasercutting

Tuesday Tips #3: Conserving Money

We’re back with another Tuesday Tips! First off, you can notice the title is not Saving Money. It’s possible that you might not have the luxury of being able to save money while you’re in college, but you can still conserve it. I’ve definitely found ways to spend more money than needed (see previous post of items I got at the World Series), but that has also taught me ways to cut back to make up for my mistakes. This post is all about strategies to surviving and conserving money on a tight budget. Bring lunch to work (co-op, part-time, etc.) Depending on where you work and where you go out to work, lunch could cost you $7-10 a day. Sandwiches cost much less than this, as does doing food prep for lunches during the week. This is a big money saver. Use your entire meal plan If you’re on a weekly meal plan, you should always end each week with the same amount of meals left: 0. Northeastern lets you convert meals for points at Outtakes to get to-go items like milk, cereal, fruit, soft drinks, snacks, etc. and so you can do this with meals that you might have leftover at the end of the week. Sometimes clubs provide food, you’ll go out to eat at a restaurant, etc. and you shouldn’t let that meal swipe go unused. It can save you from spending extra money to stock up on supplies.

Take advantage of student deals There are college discounts on most things, from Amazon Prime, to Hulu, to Spotify. You’ll want to make sure you check any existing services you pay for now that you can switch to a student account once you get your husky email address. As a quick example, Spotify is basically half priced for students. Consider Alternate Transportation Biking has saved me a ton of money in T fares, as well as Uber/Lyft rides. The T is $2.25 each way and so every day I commuted to work by bike was an extra $4.50 I saved. That adds up. Buy in Bulk (if you have space) If you have space in your room, apartment, etc. make sure to try to buy in bulk to save on shipping costs, and take advantage of bulk deals. For example, I love sunflower seeds. It is exclusively my study snack. Instead of buying them a bag at a time, I typically buy them in packs of twelve on Amazon. It saves me money, and then I know I shouldn’t run out for a while! Build a budget Keeping yourself to a budget helps you become aware of your spending. You can use apps like Mint or once you’re on Northeastern’s campus talk to Thrive: Northeastern’s center for financial independence. It’s a student run organization that helps Northeastern students learn to manage their money! There are more strategies I use as well, but these are my top tips. If you’ve got questions about finances or anything in general, feel free to ask!

A “Strong” start

Now that the World Series and midterms are over, I’m finally getting back to my normal routine, which includes utilizing the Marino Center! The Marino Center is Northeastern’s main gym facility on campus (although there are a few more!), and is my favorite one to use. I personally like the floating track and weight room on the third floor, as well as the machines and basketball courts on the second floor. Today, I was back to my routine of using the track to warm up and then working out in the weight room. However, this workout was the first I did using “Strong” to track my workout. I’ve used a variety of things over the years, but I like the sleekness of Strong’s interface, the ease of adding new exercises and tracking workouts, as well as showing your performance over time on individual exercises as well as workouts! I’m all about tracking health, fitness, and workout goals over time, so this looks like it’ll join my arsenal of tracking apps that also includes Fitbit, 10k Trainer, and more. If you have any questions about Northeastern’s recreational facilities, feel free to ask me anything!

#MarinoCenter

finally made my way to Acorn street this weekend and managed to get some pictures in without the crowds!

#fall #boston

A World (Series) of Distraction

I have not posted much since the World Series began, even missing a Tuesday Tips in the process. I’ll get back to more routine posting next week, but to close out the week I wanted to give some background as to how I became an Astros fan and attend the World Series last week! If you’re interested, read on:

#WorldSeries #Astros

Hi Matthew, I noticed that you have scuba listed. I have been scuba certified since 9th grade and have gone scuba diving in the Florida Keys. Do you do scuba with the school or outside of the school

Hey there! I’m currently taking the Beginning Scuba class that Northeastern offers through the Marine Biology department. It’s a 1 credit course, and at the end of the course we get a certificate and just need to complete our open water dives to get the certification. They run them in the spring here, but not in December! We do our training in the Cabot Center pool, and since it’s a collegiate diving pool it’s deep enough for us to work in. You can actually dive here in New England, but you would need to be equipped with/rent a wet or dry suit depending on where/what time of year you go!

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