A Letter to Mills @ Northeastern | NU Oakland

Описание: Here is a brief overview of my experience at Mills College at Northeastern, told through a video letter. Thank you to everyone who made my semester in Oakland as memorable as it is.

DISCLAIMER
All the information in this video and in the description are subject to change. They only detail my personal experiences.

Background

I spent my first semester of college at Mills at Northeastern, as part of the NU.in Bay Area program. At the time of filming, Mills had just been acquired by Northeastern University, and we students had no idea what to expect. This year (2023), Mills at Northeastern has become a permanent satellite campus for Northeastern. Since there is a lack of available online resources at this time, apart from the Mills College Instagram page (which is honestly a bit sugarcoated), I wanted to release this video to give my perspective as a former student there.

Pros

Beautiful campus; great opportunities to connect with nature
BOMB desserts and fruits
Housing is pretty solid; ain't no way you're getting a single on the main campus without accommodations
Relatively easy access to Berkeley and SF; we were provided student clipper cards to take the bus for free
Every student was given a complimentary 5th generation iPad Air with 64 GB storage and a year of 5G, a magic keyboard, and 2nd Generation apple pencil to keep
School-sponsored excursions (Yosemite National Park, Monterey Bay, Alcatraz, Muir Woods, etc.)
Tighter-knit community (mainly undergrads on campus)
24/7 security at the campus entrance and proctors at dorms
Safety Shuttles on a fixed loop route each day to Dimond, Lakeshore, and Rockridge
Frequent school-sponsored events with catering (Food Trucks)
Some dorms have nice utilities provided (microwave, fridges, oven, stove, television with an HDMI cable, etc.), which the main campus lacks
Beautiful library with comfortable studying spots and reservable study rooms
Free-to-visit museum on campus
Decent gym facility (imagine a hotel gym, but with more equipment; two rooms, one with mainly cardio and free weights and the other with yoga mats, more cardio, and some weight machines) with a gymnasium, tennis court, and outdoor pool
Free Group Fitness classes at the gym (ex: kickboxing, Pilates, soul cycle, self-defense)
Free laundry
In-room heaters
Hired help to move your luggage for you during move-in week

Cons

Isolated campus
Lack of clubs and activities on campus (can be boring sometimes)
Frequent gunshots outside the campus walls (I wouldn't say this is any different from most major cities though; also, I've never felt unsafe on campus)
Limited food options on campus; if you don't like what's available at Founder's and the Tea Shop is unavailable (you only get 3 meal exchanges there per week), you're out of luck (that said, second semester students received a $100 to spend on Grubhub); it can also be more difficult to find variety if you have dietary restrictions
Somewhat small facilities that close rather early / have shorter hours (compared to main campus; that said, the Mills population is smaller too)
Lack of air conditioning
No in-person college-specific advisors on campus (they're all based in Boston)
Treated as different from Northeastern students in terms of credits; considered as a transfer student if you decide to switch to Boston campus
Certain parts of campus are inaccessible (ex: the Hill, Founders)

Tips

Apply early to campus jobs to increase your chances; definitely within the first week of move-in as some jobs (ex: library assistant) are super competitive
Keep an eye out for school-sponsored events and excursions; there may be limited space so to make the most of your time there, definitely capitalize on sign-ups early
Bring a fan, Brita Filter, and (potentially) ant traps
Download the Citizen App if you're paranoid
Bring layers, it does get surprisingly cold at times
You can bring self-heating / electric cookware (but technically only if you use it in the kitchen area)
Have fun! Enjoy your time at Mills!

Mills Acknowledgement Statement

Mills historically served as a safe educational space for women, non-binary, transgender, gender fluid, and gender nonconforming students. Mills has a longstanding history of student activism in preserving the campus as a safe haven for women and the LGBTQ+ community by protesting administrative attempts to switch to co-ed. So, while the Northeastern merger welcomes a new chapter of co-ed education on campus, it also has in a way undone years of activism by Mills students. It’s important that we prevent the erasure of Mills College’s legacy and to acknowledge the rich history and culture of the Mills Community, much in the same way that Mills acknowledges their campus as being the original homeland of the Ohlone people. Whether you look forward to or dread your time in Oakland, that you respect the campus, its history, its culture, and its people.