Our “magnetic” cover story provides an apt metaphor for this column: People and organizations are being drawn to Northeastern like never before. The university’s appeal among prospective undergraduate students led to a record 43,000 applications for 2,800 seats across our seven colleges this fall. In engineering, 5,200 students— double the number of just five years ago—applied for this fall’s 500 first-year slots, with academic credentials surpassing those of any previous class. Meanwhile, at the Graduate School of Engineering, applications increased by 40 percent, continuing a significant growth trend over the past several years. New doctoral programs in bioengineering and information assurance are particular draws…