Northeastern ED vs EA

Our family has been talking about this for a while now and thought we would get some outside advice. My daughter’s first choice is Northeastern but we’ve hesitated for her to apply ED because there’s some other options we’re encouraging her to look at. I don’t think it’s a good idea to apply ED and think to yourself, “what if I had applied to ABC school… would I have gotten in?” So Is there a clear advantage to ED over EA ? And I mean a huge advantage. I just can’t find the percentages. The plan right now is to apply to Northeastern EA and some other schools (Boston U, Stanford, Harvard, George Washington, and some other others) RD. This at least gives her some options if Northeastern works out and doesn’t work out. She took the ACT and didn’t do as well as she had hoped and was planning on taking it again when Covid-19 hit. She wanted to take it again and improve her score but she will not put it on her application. Maybe I’m being too optimistic but without the standardized tests on her application she has enough things that I think would impress an admissions person.

I am assuming you have run the NPC and found the cost to be affordable for you. ED is a binding agreement and she is expected to attend if accepted. I don’t see anything appealing about their EA plan because it still has a very early deadline but a pretty late notification date and I think the best part of EA is finding out early as a confidence booster and to relieve some of the pressure. To me, it is still putting on the pressure of getting the app in early but not giving the decision payoff. If Northeastern is her clear first choice, she should apply ED but if there are other schools or you need to compare financial aid offers, I wouldn’t do it. I get the “would I have gotten in at ABC” because D20’s got all of her apps in before Halloween, got into her ED choice and had to withdraw the other 9. There is a bit of that wondering about the rest but she was overjoyed with the outcome.

Northeastern, and many of its peer schools, look at student interest in admissions If a student has superior stats and a better than average chance of being admitted to a top 20 school the adcoms may judge that the student is using them as a safety. This often results in an EA deferral or an RD waitlisting.

The best way to show interest is to apply ED. Otherwise it would be important to visit campus as a registered visitor. If onsite tours are not possible this fall then register for one or more of the many virtual admissions events that are offered online.

I’m guessing then that ED has much higher rate of acceptance than EA at Northeastern.

Last cycle a GC posted a link to stats that showed the ED acceptance rate was about 50%.

Do you know what EA is ? Thanks

I will share that my son was deferred from NEU early action and got two other early acceptances, which was a big relief so he knew by Christmas he had some good choices. He got accepted to NEU regular decision with merit aid and is going there, so don’t be discouraged by an early deferral. And we are really pleased and impressed with their COVID-19 plans.

Found it! This was posted last January. EA and RD acceptance rates are about the same.

In recent years, the EA pool has actually been bigger than the RD pool, so its a bit more competitive, and most EA applicants are deferred to RD, so don’t be surprised if you apply EA and get deffered. I applied to NU as an ED applicant and I think it definitely helped me get in because my test scores weren’t as high as their median scores (but of course there’s a lot of other factors). If you’re hesitant about applying ED in November, Northeastern does offer ED 2 in January. It’s the same binding agreement, but offers you a bit more time to decide whether you really want to apply ED there.

I was absolutely positive that I wanted to go to Northeastern and it was the only school I could see myself at, and that’s why I applied ED. This (as well as knowing whether its a good financial decision for your family) is how your daughter should feel if she wants to apply ED.

Hope this helps!

Stanford & Harvard is a reach even with perfect grades (for anyone)

@RonaldP66 This year Northeastern is taking 50% of their class from ED. That is more than usual so it will make EA and RD more difficult than usual-which is already very competitive. So a greater chance of admission and knowing early which is less stressful are the benefits I see. You have to make the best decision for your family though as it is binding. If your student is truly competitive at schools like Stanford and Harvard I understand wanting to try there as well. Demonstrate a lot of interest and be patient if deferred early if your student does not get in first round with EA. It’s a great school and the Co-op program is fantastic! Good luck!!

Your daughter should only apply ED if she will be absolutely happy to attend NEU and not know if she would have gotten into other colleges. I think that college acceptances this year will be different from any other year at all colleges, and it is hard to predict how. You should read up on the college admission adviser websites, they usually post articles about their opinions. My D applied to NEU EA with perfect scores, extracurriculars, lots of research experiences, and was accepted with 35K per year merit scholarship. But what I think was probably the most important thing in her application to NEU was DEMONSTRATED INTEREST. I don’t know if it impossible to visit now, but your daughter can set up a Zoom meeting with someone in the department in her intended major and introduce herself like that, and ask questions from that person. Good luck!