While talking to a parent the other day, they explained that their son was admitted to Northeastern University in Boston but to begin the following year. They said he would be admitted after attending another school for a year and if a 3.0 GPA was maintained they could enroll that following fall. I had never heard of such a thing. Can anyone confirm that Northeastern does this?
Here in MA, there has been lots of talk about Northeastern attempting to game the US News rankings to more up. Is this a symptom of that? I can see how if the person’s stats would not count as he would be classified as a transfer student. Is this similar to them sending first semester freshman overseas first and then having them enter in the spring in Boston as spring enrollments are not counted either?
Not looking to bash NEU as I believe all the schools try to game the rankings.
I am looking to verify this information. It just seemed so strange to hear. I have never heard of any school ever doing this before. Do other school do this also?
Other posts do show a couple of kids being offered sophomore admission in EA/ED round for the first time ever. NEU is not the first to do this. Some ivies have done it for years, i.e. Cornell, and others like BU too. Tulane I think also did this for the first time too, probably helps rankings but it does offer admission to some who really want the school but it may be a reach for… I’m not a fan but it is not that uncommon.
Cornell is well known for this, also called guaranteed transfer admissions. Two of my friends had that and eventually did eventually decide to transfer to Cornell
Cornell also offers September applicants admission in the following January if their stats are not quite up to their standards. Based on reports here on CC this is the first year that Northeastern has offered guaranteed sophomore transfer. “Everyone is doing it” is not an excuse but it seems that everyone is doing it.
I have wondered if this is why the Scholars program is being phased out: they were losing Scholars to Cornell? The student got free tuition for freshman year then transfers to Cornell.
I can confirm that NU is in fact offering this option. My daughter was offered the guaranteed transfer and I posted about it here, see link below. There is another recipient who posted about it first in the ED thread. The offer is specific to the school and program that DD applied to initially and If DD accepts the offer, NU saves a spot in her requested school/major for sophomore year. The offer letter includes a list of all of the courses that she needs to take freshman year, maintaining a 3.0 average. Though we were unfamiliar with the guaranteed transfer concept and initially confused when we received this offer (not to mention that the letter is weirdly crafted), my understanding is that this new program is modeled after the BU and Cornell options.
I think there may be several reasons for it, including rankings for sure - NU has lots of initiatives to change those. But one thing I haven’t seen discussed is that we are having somewhat of a housing shortage…
Regardless, it’s another program to consider the drawbacks/benefits. I wouldn’t want to transfer into NU myself, seeing as it’s already kind of an in-and-out culture, with everyone going on co-op. It’s already sort of hard to put down roots and find a friend group when starting college, and I think not having a true freshman year to settle in would make it even more difficult.
@mamafid that sounds exactly like the guaranteed transfer offer from Cornell my son (Northeastern freshman) received. We thought it was kind of weird but we kept it as an option in case he chose to do it. My guess is that schools offer this as they know they will lose a certain amount of students for various reasons and they can refill those spots.
LkL5789, can you confirm that Cornell’s offer included an initial admissions decision (rejection) first before the offer of guaranteed transfer? Interestingly, NU does not and almost makes it seem like this is an acceptance. It’s an interesting approach which I find a bit sketchy.
@mamafid Thanks for providing that link. I did not see your post as i would not have started a new thread.
I find this all very strange. I guess it is a good program for tippy top schools. I am not sure how many people here would object if Sanford or Harvard said you can come your sophomore year. I suspect the Cornell deal would be just as encouraging.
I understand the initial reaction to the letter or program but if the end game is to get a diploma on your wall from Harvard or Stanford, then it should not really matter you did a year at another school. This is almost like a fancy take on the start at a CC and transfer to a four year college.
Did i understand right that the letter might specify which schools qualify? So then the onus is on the student is to then apply to one or more schools on that list and get accepted?
I hope this “game” does not expand too much. It would make for a very different landscape.
“Did i understand right that the letter might specify which schools qualify? So then the onus is on the student is to then apply to one or more schools on that list and get accepted?”
@MassDaD68 thanks for sharing your thoughts; I think that I understand your question. The offer letter “admits” my daughter to NU’s College of Science, Environmental Science major for her sophomore year – the school/major that she had applied to for freshman admission. While the letter lists the courses that she needs to take during freshman year, it does not specify any particular college or university that she should attend EXCEPT to say that she can attend the College of Professional Studies (CPS) at NU for her freshman year if she wishes.
@mamafid I am not familiar with the CPS. Is that a part of the NE system like UMASS has the college of engineering and the college of business? If so, then my theory that this is done to game the US News ranking would not be correct. But if NE was somehow able to steer students to a college associated but separate from NE, then they could game the system.
My understanding is that CPS is part of Northeastern, but has a separate admissions process and is aimed towards non traditional students and includes online studies and part time enrollment, etc. Students who are part of the NUIn program are enrolled through CPS initially so that their stats go unreported. When they return from their semester abroad they are considered transfer students from CPS to NU. Similarly, if my daughter chooses to attend CPS for freshman year – which she will not – her stats would not be reported. If she attends another college for freshman year and then transfers directly to Northeastern (not through CPS), she will be considered a transfer student.
CPS at Northeastern is equivalent to Metropolitan College at BU, Harvard Extension School and LPS at NYU. NYU also offers admission to LPS for students who don’t make it into their preferred program.
BU started a CGS January-London program for students who do not qualify for regular admission or even for September admission to CGS. It is a game but if you want to eventually attend that university you have to start out in one of these alternative programs. Everyone is free to attend a different university of course.
There must have been a different letter because a parent posted their child and his friends received letters welcoming the students to the class of 2022 which she was confused about.
@mamafid I don’t remember the exact wording but the first paragraph was very clear that it was a rejection. The transfer option was offered at the end of the letter. If I can find it I will post it. I remember my son was like oh I was rejected then oh maybe I am accepted?? It was weird.
@MassDaD68 to your point above – if you a student really really wants a degree from Cornell or another top school – I don’t think they would mind this option–versus no option.
“Thank you for applying to Northeastern University. After careful review of your application and accompanying credentials, the Admissions Committee is unable to offer you admission for the fall semester. However, in recognition of your academic potential . . .”
@Paveyourpath thank you for posting a link to this letter. My daughter’s letter is almost identical but does not include the opening sentence quoted above. i don’t have access to it right now but I recall that DD’s letter did not include a decision regarding her application for admission for the fall semester, which is why we found the letter very confusing. The transfer offer itself obviously implies a rejection, but I think it’s strange that NU sent out different versions of the letter and DD’s did not include this opening statement. This is why is I questioned @LkL5789, above, about whether Cornell’s offer included an initial rejection along with the the guaranteed transfer option. Interesting.
“Thank you for applying to Northeastern University. After careful review of your application and accompanying credentials, the Admissions Committee is pleased to offer you a special future opportunity to enroll at Northeastern University for the Fall 2018 semester.”
I just accessed DD’s account. I copied the beginning sentence of her offer letter, above, to contrast with the other letter linked earlier in this thread. Different from the letter the other candidate received in that it does not include an explicit admissions decision for fall 2017, but rather implies a rejection. The rest of the letter appears to be the same. There is an accompanying cover letter which also implies a rejection for fall 2017 without making an explicit statement.
I think it’s the same guaranteed transfer offer, just with a different opening sentence.