Major: Chemical Engineering 

Minor: Mathematics

Email: plratsep@gmail.com

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Questions about Academics and COVID-19

 

What were your classes like in your first year or in your major/concentration, especially transitioning from Shen? 

Realistically it wasn’t all that bad. I came in with AP Calc AB and AP Chem credit, which I used and would strongly recommend others to use, therefore my first semester I took Calc 2 and Physic 1 rather than Calc 1 and General Chem. STEM classes in college are never easy per se, but in my case it was bearable and as expected. First year writing was not bad, which is a requirement university wide. Cornerstone of Engineering is a course they designed to allow you to dabble in the disciplines so that you take an educated approach to choosing what sort of engineering you actually want to get a degree in. I don’t think it was designed well to fit that purpose as it is very coding heavy. They tell you that no experience in coding is necessary but as always in life, those who have experience will have an easier time with it and the risk of falling behind exists. Last time I checked, Shen didn’t offer a plethora of classes to teach that so be ready. It’s possible to do, but difficult.

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What academic experiences have stood out to you at your college in either positive or negative ways?

Just finished my first co op Jan-June 2020! Wonderful experience, but that’s mostly due to the fact that I worked for an incredible company that prioritized it’s employees in the middle of the pandemic. I lucked out and was assigned to the best co op advisor I could’ve asked for. My advice if you are come to NU: be gracious towards your co op advisor because when it comes down to it, that person will advocate for you and help you in ways that no other type of advisor will even consider doing.

Other than that, no experience seems to stand out. Class is class, you get out of it what you put in. I chose to study arguably one of the hardest majors at this school. Even if you give it your all, do not expect a 4.0. This is not Shen. You don’t regurgitate info from a worksheet or test book and get a 100.

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How was your online learning experience at your college? What resources did your college provide you during this time?

I’m currently in online classes (probability/stats for my minor and thermodynamics 1 for major). The only reason it’s posing any difficulty is because I just got off a 6 month co op and haven’t been fully in classes since early December. Very different dynamics. Otherwise, Northeastern seems to be doing fine with it but it really depends on the class and the professor. I haven’t heard of anything to outrageous happening with online classes.

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What did your college do well or poorly to support students and communities when COVID-19 first hit?

To be blunt, Northeastern is trash at communication and it showed back in March. On Wednesday they said everyone could stay in housing, on Saturday they said everyone needs to be out of on campus living by Tuesday. They told the Residence Directors the same time they told the students, so imagine the employees getting bombarded with calls about something they didn’t even know about. The situation was utter chaos and if I told my own situation I’d be here for the next hour. Little assistance was offered to those in need, a lot of whom were international students who had nowhere to go. I know coming from Shen and the nice suburb of CP there’s a good chance you’re not based in a country elsewhere, but remember those who are.

When the time came, they did reimburse for the time that people were not in housing, which was helpful. They also offered a program students could apply for and they would receive money if they were displaced or struggling to pay bills. I have a lot of friends who benefited from this.

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Questions about Student Life

 

If students are interested in your major/concentration, what extracurricular activities do you recommend they do at your college?

I’m involved in Greek life and that’s pretty much it. I’ve met some wonderful people and my chapter has a load of engineers which has proven extremely helpful

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What are common things to do on weekends? Do students commute back home for the weekend or are there events on campus?

You get out what you put into your social life. Unless you live super close to Boston, no one really just casually goes home for the reason just to do it.

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Are you involved in athletics at your college? How do you balance sports, academics, and extracurricular activities?

Some people can have a full course load, play a sport, be in 4 clubs, and still have time to do things with friends. I am not one of those people. That was a very difficult thing to come to peace with in college. In high school I used to be a varsity athlete, straight A student, senate rep, etc. Now I wake up in the morning, drink lemon water, and proceed to have an existential crisis on my floor for 2 hours before I do literally the bare minimum to get by. So to answer the question more directly, I literally just don’t balance all of those things

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Do you have a job during the school year, or is it common for students to have on-campus jobs? What is that experience like?

Super common for people do have jobs during the school year whether it’s on or off campus. To have an on campus job you need to have work study. I’ve never had a job during classes but I’ve heard it’s completely manageable

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Extra Questions

 

What advice would you give to current Shen students when applying to your college?

Regarding the application: I don’t know I still don’t know how I got in and got the grant that I did lol

 

Regarding choosing the school: I would say visit if possible I mean people are still allowed to walk around campus but that’s probably super inaccessible to a lot of you so if you have specific questions just email me we can even set up a FaceTime and chat idk

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What makes your college special to you?

Even though I complain a lot and implode on a daily basis I literally cannot picture myself anywhere else. Also there are some smart people in the College of Engineering which you could probably guess but like they are smarttttt

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What do you wish you knew about your college when you were a senior at Shen?

First: something I did actually know was which dorms were the best to live in for first year. I can tell you all my secrets

Second: wish I knew that graduating in 4 years like a normal person is actually really hard!

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Before COVID-19, what was the housing like at your college? What would you recommend to Shen seniors to find their roommates?

Me and my freshman year roommate found each other through Instagram then snapchatted for months, because best friends, met at a welcome day, decided to be roommates, and then became even closer friends and to this day she’s one of the greatest people I know!

That story I just described is a rare occurrence. If you want to reach out to people and try to pick a roommate, have at it but it’s just as lucky if you end up like living with them as if you were to go random and like living with that person.

Having a friend and living with said friend are 2 different things.

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How is the financial aid situation at your college?

I can’t speak for other people and I don’t want to because I know many who have veryyyy different experiences from my own, but I received an incredible package.

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Is there anything else you'd like to share about your college experience that hasn't been addressed yet in this questionnaire?

They might bring out husky puppies before finals but don’t let that distract you from the absurd lack of mental health professionals offered at the school<3  sorry that was a hard blow but also northeastern rocks and it’ll take you for the ride of your life but I’ll be graduating with a good degree and 1.5 years of experience along with the majority of other people at this school, if you come here you’re going to give industries a run for their money.

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