That’s crazy! It was probably lack of demonstrated interest
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yeah, or overqualified! northeastern is super into keeping their yield high so they tend to defer and expect more interest to accept very good candidates so that they’re more likely to attend if they’re accepted
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DS had very high stats and was admitted so I do not think anyone was deferred due to too high stats. He is very interested in attending NE so he tried to be diligent about logging in and looking at NE’s website and other info very regularly so I imagine that is what helps a lot.
I got deferred with a 4.5 W, somewhere in top 10 percent of class, 10 APs with mostly 5s, and then with roles like city’s teen council president, international curriculum business, chapter president for STEM NPO, tutor 5x a week, student gov, ASB, podcast series, and a bunch of CC credits and idk what went wrong :/? demonstrated interest?
We did take an on-campus tour pre-covid but that was it. Not a fan of having to throw ourselves at a school. We toured it, kid applied early, should be enough to express interest.
Anecdotally, a few years ago, my older kid got into northeastern in the early round with low-ish merit and no honors. A good friend (with equally comparable awesome stats) was deferred in the early round at northeastern but got in during RD with bigger merit than my kid.
Northeastern didn’t do itself any favors when they didn’t accept my older kid into honors, then sent an email that said “welcome to the honors program”, and then another email a few minutes later that said “please disregard that last email; it was sent in error”. 
My kid ended up at HYP and the aforementioned friend who was initially deferred ended up at a prestigious full ride pre-med program.
Long story short: Northeastern crafts the class they want and it’s hard to discern what they will do. It’s a good school and I can see why it’s a top choice for many. But, if you were deferred or rejected, it doesn’t mean you’re not a stellar applicant.
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Sorry l have no insights on your STEM question, as my son is a business and political science major.
BTW we’re in NorCal as well. Also, are you interested in Tufts? My 3rd son goes to Tufts.
Not overqualified. Lack of demonstrated interest showed that the student was using Northeastern as a safety, which appears to be the case.
Congrats to your son!! I certainly don’t want to imply yield protection for all high stats kids. Not at all 
Northeastern’s acceptances can just be unpredictable. I see many high stats kids who were accepted and many who were deferred. It’s hard to sort out rhyme or reason. Congrats again to you son…well deserved and I hope he has a blast should he attend. It’s a great school in a great location.
Well, no, not using it as a safety and I’m not sure you should make that assumption. My kid quite loved the campus and the engineering facilities. Also loved the co-op.
I’m hard pressed to say we showed a lack of demonstrated interest. We toured the school with my older child. We also took the general tour again with my younger kid and did the engineering tour. And, we did the last tour when younger kid was a sophomore since we knew it was an early favorite.
What more should we have to do?
I just don’t believe in clicking into virtual sessions when you already have a good feel of the school just to “demonstrate interest”.
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Well I know a lot of us got deferred, could it be that they just didn’t get through all of our decisions ?
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Given that your student ended up at HYP would he have chosen Northeastern if he had been admitted with honors and major merit aid?
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Your son is likely to get admitted during the RD cycle, as many higher stat kids that got deferred will as well if they continue to demonstrate any interest (a simple letter of continued interest will likely do). My oldest son also was deferred initially and then offered a large merit scholarship during the RD cycle.
If truly interested, students should not let a deferral dissuade them or sour them on a school, if it is a good fit. I saw that happen with my son and I think it was to his detriment (he ended up at a good school and is happy, but I don’t think he looked at the schools that deferred/waitlisted him initially as objectively when he got in later).
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Yes! I am applying to Tufts engineering, as well. Not sure if I have a shot regular decision, but hoping I might. Definitely also one of my top choices!
Since you asked…
Both of my kids had NU classified as “match” schools…which I think is fair given their stats.
My older kid got into HYP off the waitlist. So, in other words, just barely. Yes, my older kid would have been happy at NU with honors and major merit. But, ultimately, would not have chosen it over HYP.
Kids are all told to chose a mix of safety, match, and reach schools. For some, NU may be a good match, for others a reach. I certainly don’t think it’s a safety for anyone.
Again, congrats to all accepted and chin-up to all deferred…it’s not over yet!
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Status: Accepted EA
GPA: 3.97/4
AP: 2 junior year, 3 senior year
SAT: none
Clubs: Head of three clubs, member of two others
President of the School
Half-year internship at Johns Hopkins University
Submitted dance video as supplemental
Lots of demonstrated interest
National Recognition Program
Merit: 30k
Major: International Affairs and Internation Business
Status: Deferred
GPA: 4.0UW, 4.6W
ACT: 35
AP: 1 sophomore year, 5 junior year, 4 senior year (all 5s)
4 years varsity swimming, top 10 in state
4 years MUN, won 5 awards
Congressional intern
Several other good ECs
Decent personal statement
Showed very little interest (prob what killed me)
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I got 16k a year in Honors Scholarship. I have a 34 ACT and 3.98 UW 4.31 W. Would it be possible to negotiate my merit scholarship? Tulane gave me 24k a year and I was hoping Northeastern could match that. I emailed my admissions counselor so I’m hoping for the best.
Son accepted to NU in!!
ACT: 34
GPA: 3.8 UW
State/Country: NY
Major: Biology
Competitive High School, Solid EC’s, Essays, Mix of honors, AP’s, CP
Did you apply for FA?: No, but received $8k per year scholarship
What is HYP?
Sorry if this has already been asked but how do we get our usernames and passwords for MyNortheastern? They just sent an email out with a link to the site but my usual user/pass for the portal doesn’t work
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