@bluedog3140 I wouldn’t stress about it too much. Colleges love to see high test scores. And I only applied to a few safeties that were actually more matches, (so he’s not in the same boat). He sounds like a strong applicant, March should be a happy surprise for your family from what I can see.
@bluedog3140 *not the only one in that boat
I’ve been thinking about the whole deferred situation and came up with the following:
Deferred ED- really only 1 scenario: you are a viable candidate but they want to see how you fit into the overall class profile- qualified candidate, but in with a pool of equally qualified candidates- nothing to really set you apart or you don’t fill a needed slot -sports, drama, marching band etc.
Deferred EA- 2 scenarios
- you are a viable candidate but they want to see how you fit into the overall class profile- qualified candidate, but in with a pool of equally qualified candidates- nothing to really set you apart or you don’t fill a needed slot -sports, drama, marching band etc.
- you are a excellent candidate but they are worried that you are using them as a back up and therefore need to see more commitment before they can take up a potential spot (likely you don’t bring anything to the table that they need to fill a slot- sports, drama, marching band etc. so they have to weight the risk of your non acceptance on the final class size
With the overall holistic approach for admissions, I would love some insight on how they statistically model the overall acceptance pool to insure that the number of acceptances by the school eventually leads to the target number of students attending- is this done with algorithms based on test scores, geographical location, somehow incorporate the ECs- undershoot and the difference can be made up from the waitlist, overshoot and there is a logistical nightmare for rooms
I think they use deferred as a tool. Let’s see how these EA/ED students stack up against our RD pool before we commit to them. Especially for ED, where an acceptance should lead to a guaranteed enrollment.
With over-enrollment last year, I would expect to see more wait list this year.
There is also no reward for an accepted EA candidate to commit to attending (no first choice at rooms etc.) So EA acceptances can linger around and commit at the same time as RD acceptances. (I know my daughter did this, committed only after she got her RD acceptances and had attended their admitted student days). This also makes enrollment management harder.
My son got the same email yesterday. For those who are curious, it said they’re still considering his application and:
"It is important to note that while the undergraduate academic experience will take place across two colleges, upon graduation, one degree will be conferred by one academic college. Due to accreditation and academic requirements, students admitted into _______ College cannot change the college affiliation for their major.
Your application is in review and being fully considered, admissions decisions will be released by April 1. If you would like to change your major, please make that request via your Application Status Check. Should you have any questions, please feel free to reach out."
Wish they didn’t send out such confusing emails 
I’ve seen posters taking that to mean they can’t change majors besides outside of their college, which is not true. The distinction of what college grants the degree means little to nothing in most cases.
Maybe they ARE changing the policy this year.
No way they would, and why for only combined majors? The wording if read carefully is clear, but you need a fine tooth comb practically…
Thanks for the reassurance-the timing of the email threw us off. If it had arrived when he first applied we wouldn’t have thought much of it. But one month before decisions come out, it made us wonder if he’d be more likely to be admitted if he were to alter his major on the portal.
I think all of this has to do with the difficult task of offering financial aid under limited funds and keeping the yield rate attractive. It’s a tough business.
I just attended an admitted students tour and the tour guide and information packet said there were 62,000 applicants this year with an available pool of 2800 in the freshman class. I don’t know why she would lie about this figure but that seems unrealistic (ab 4.5% acceptance rate) can anyone confirm or clarify this?
@PengsPhils My son got the email about not being able to change the college affiliated with his major. While I didn’t take it to mean he couldn’t change his major at all, it is still confusing. He applied to CCIS and chose a combined Computer Science and Math major. From the email, I assumed that meant CCIS would confer his degree. What if he had applied to the College of Sciences and chose a Math and Computer Science Major? Would they accept him to the College of Sciences, or tell him because of the combined major he was accepted to CCIS?
@FIFAIDS Another accepted student indicated that their letter said there were 62,000 applications. The 4.5% acceptance rate you are imagining would require that every student offered admission would attend. That is not the case at any college. Northeastern’s yield rate (percentage of students admitted who enroll) last year was 21%. So about 1 out of 5 accepted students attend.
With 62,000 applications the acceptance rate would be about 21% so about 13000 students will be accepted. If the yield rate stays at 21% that would yield a freshman class of about 2800.
The tour guide was not lying or exaggerating. The yield rate was missing.
@fifaids they accept more students than their seats available. What is NE’s yield? 18% or so? Meaning they would have to admit admit around 17K to fill their class of 2800, so a 28% acceptance rate. Around 60K applications sounds about right for NE. All schools see a massive increase in applications. Students applying to 20+ schools is why.
With 54,000 last year and an acceptance rate of ~27%, this year applicant count is 15% higher, which is a huge bump. Knowing that they overenrolled last fall, I think there will be a lot more wait list kids and a lower admit rate.
Link to last year’s numbers:
http://chsguidancedept.blogspot.com/2017/01/did-you-apply-to-northeastern-read-this.html?m=1
Wondering why this year was such a big increase in apps. Last year was a 6% bump from the previous year.
This link was provided by someone here on CC a few months ago. It summarizes admission stats for the past 5 years.
http://www.dacbond.com/GetContent?id=0900bbc78020d399
I too am curious about the 15 % increase in applications this year.
@bethanylm291 I think all combined degrees have a specified “home college”, so if you apply to a combined program, you apply to that home college technically. Again, this is all pretty meaningless in the end and wish the email was more clear
does anyone know what the party scene is like at NU. I’ve only heard bad thingsd
There’s a pretty decent scene for apartment parties and the like, usually smaller more intimate groups. It’s not a frat party type of scene but this is a bunch of college students - there are of course parties. I get invites to bigger parties (20-30 people) at least monthly and regularly go out with friends in groups. You’ve also got the entire city to do things on the weekends besides drink in a frat house, which I think is why that type of party is uncommon.
Do we have an estimate of when RD decisions come out based on last year’s date?