International co-op. Student housing. Springfest. Jobs and internships. Community service. Student Government Association controversy. Muggings on Gainsborough’s bridge. Having a car on campus. Co-op interviews. Forced triples and doubles in on-campus housing. Professors fired and suspended. Sports fans. Student Life awards. Sex Week. Environmental initiatives. Engineers Without Borders. Ultimate Frisbee. Resident Student Association. The NU Shuffle.

Those things might get covered in The News, but probably not in the Princeton Review books. Did you know anything about any of these before you actually started at Northeastern? Of course not.

The ins and outs of Northeastern are somewhat hidden to the outside world. If you were applying here as a freshman, you wouldn’t know any of the stories, any of the inside scoop on how Northeastern works and what you would and wouldn’t like about it. Campus tours and orientation don’t really prepare you for what a school will be like once you arrive. Maybe there are things you’ve found out about since that would’ve pushed you to go to another college had you known earlier. Maybe more kids would apply to go here if they knew about certain features.

Help out prospective students by contributing stories about your experience, not just complaining or keeping the good things to yourself, through ByStudents. ByStudents is a company seeking to write college guides by students, for students – helping students have access to the experiences of students at their prospective schools, to help them better understand what they might be getting themselves in to.

ByStudents.com has created surveys to allow students to contribute a wide variety of opinions and comments. You can spend five minutes giving a brief overview or answering one specific question – or, if you’re procrastinating on something else, write about more of the Northeastern experience. The guides are slated to be printed in 2009, and the surveys will be published in books and at ByStudents.com.

Do future Huskies a favor – tell your story. Talk about your favorite things, the things that made you contemplate transferring, tell a good story or talk up your favorite professor. List the best places to go to a concert or the best late-night delivery service near campus. Confirm or deny any Northeastern stereotypes (and warn that people outside of New England may assume you go to Northwestern).

Go to ByStudents.com, fill out a Northeastern survey and help take some of the guesswork out of applying to college.

– Marisa Levine is an intern for ByStudents.com and a junior political science major.