<p>I have a couple of schools that are high on my list of choices and one of them is Northeastern. Since their early action application is non-binding is there a reason I wouldn't want to apply early? Is there a benefit? Or a downside to applying early? </p>
<p>My stats-</p>
<p>GPA 3.51 unweighted out of 4.0, weighted 4.06
Class Rank 10 out of 180
SAT 1 2160- CR 800, Math 700, writing 660, plan on taking again to increase writing.
SAT 2 US History 760, plan to major in Poli Sci. Also plan to take SAT 2 in English Lit and Math 1 in October.
My school doesn't have many AP classes as a Junior I took AP English Lang and got a 5 and AP US History and got a 4. Sr year taking AP English Lit and AP US Gov, </p>
<p>Marching Band, Mock Trial lead attorney, Stage crew lighting director for both musical and play all 4 years, Academic Team, Science League, National Honor Society, Teen Council, TSA. </p>
<p>Yes there are several benefits of EA and no drawbacks as far as I can see, since it is non-binding.</p>
<p>The benefits are:</p>
<p>Higher acceptance ratio - but they probably have better applications, so it may not be a real benefit</p>
<p>If you don’t get in, you still have a chance in RA.</p>
<p>If you get in, a big burden is lifted from your shoulders and you can relax the rest of the year (just don’t get senioritis)</p>
<p>Save time and money - if you get in, you don’t need to spend money applying to safety schools.</p>
<p>Save more money - find out earlier who gives the best scholarships, giving you more time to plan for the best value for your tuition.</p>
<p>You might also get better recommendations from teachers if you get them to write letters earlier in the year before they get swamped by RA applicants. </p>
<p>There are probably more benefits I haven’t thought of.</p>
<p>The only reason not to apply EA (since it is non-binding and non-restrictive) is if there is something about your first six months of senior year that might swing a decision in your favor (grades will be boosted a lot, better score results, some national recognition, etc). If not, go for it -nothing to lose.</p>
<p>Other reason to not do EA is when people are too focused on why they should do it…</p>
<p>If your application is no where near to being complete, your recommenders only have a week and you’d like to take the SAT again but wouldn’t meet the EA deadline, then don’t apply EA. But if your normally fine and it’s just a matter of checking the EA box or not, then do EA.</p>
<p>My daughter applied EA and got the maximum dean’s scholarship amount. Another benefit to EA is the early admitted students day in February (you usually have to wait until April for admitted students days for RD applicants)</p>
<p>I’ve heard that you are more likely to get merit aid if you apply EA. It worked for my daughter. EA is fantastic - knowing you are in somewhere makes the rest of the year much less stressful. And the Feb. accepted students day was really nice too - we weren’t busy trying to see multiple schools in a small time frame.</p>
<p>Is the February accepted students day for students who have made the decision to definitely go to Northeastern or a get to know more about Northeastern for those on the fence with their decision? </p>
<p>Also a question for those who have already attended the February accepted students day…How is this visit different from a fall open house?</p>
<p>The Feb. open house is for students who have been accepted - whether they have decided or not. When we went my daughter didn’t think Northeastern was her first choice - it moved up quickly after the open house. We didn’t attend the fall open house, so I can’t compare. But one guess from other schools we attended, is the fall open house discusses admissions a bit, which of course they don’t discuss in Feb. The tone of the discussion is different since everyone attending has already been accepted.</p>
<p>February accepted students days at Northeastern is very different from an open house. They are split into different programs on different days for the different schools, including those in the undeclared program. The topics and presentations are very different - since you are all in - now is time for them to sell the school - which they do very well. There are sessions on internships, student life, tours, etc. As somebody else stated the tone is different - these kids are already in - no wasting time talking about SAT scores - instead time to get a real look at what your life would be like if you attend.</p>
<p>EA may have an advantage for getting into Honors - my daughter is friends with two freshman at Northeastern from the same HS. The lower ranked kid who applied EA is in honors and the valedictorian who applied RD is not.</p>
<p>Merit aid, certainly major merit aid ($20,000), goes to the top 25% of admitted students. For the freshman class of 2011, that would mean SAT scores above 2140 and ACT scores above 32 based on their published student profile. GPA would need to be comparable.</p>
<p>Data point -
my daughter was accepted regular decsion, honors in engineering, $20K/yr merit.
She had not considered NEU as a top choice, but that was before a serious campus visit. After a 2nd visit (easy - we live in MA), she changed her mind and now she’s a very happy Freshman at NEU. go Huskies!</p>