Is there any way to ask for reconsideration regarding a merit award, not financial aid? We did not apply for FA and D21 was accepted EA without a scholarship. This was before her Fall semester was complete. And, she only had pass/fall grades last semester. Plus no SAT score due to cancelled exams. She just had a great Fall semester with all AP’s/honors and expects a nice boost to her GPA. Her counselor is going to submit a mid-year report with her grades and new GPA in a week or two. Could D possibly earn scholarship money at this point based on her new GPA? (I don’t know exactly what the GPA boost is just yet). Thanks.
I do not know if this applies to Northeastern, but my daughter and I were able to increase her merit award a couple of years ago at another selective school. We were able to leverage another much larger scholarship my daughter received at a competing school. She wrote to the financial aid office (and cc’ed regional admissions rep) that the school in question was her first choice, but that she couldn’t ignore the financial difference between the two choices, could they at least bridge part of the difference with more merit money? We also cited a few “new” accomplishments which were basically her first semester grades (like your daughter). The institution responded by increasing the award by $2000 per year, which represented about a 10% increase. Not a huge differnce but it made us both feel better about her attending the school despite the still significant price difference.
I think you have nothing to lose to ask. It seems like the timing of such an ask would be later in the admissions season when you have other acceptances/aid packages to compare and the school itself has a better handle on its yield and finances.
FWIW, My younger daughter was just accepted to Northeastern and received a modest merit scholarship. NU is my daughter’s first choice, so far, but it will still be expensive for her to attend. We are going to wait to see how other admissions decisions/finances fall out before asking NU to reconsider. In the prior circumstance with my other daughter, it really helped that the letter we sent represented an honest appraisal of the situation, which helped the letter be more sincere and presumably convincing. Also, I want to emphasize that a competing offer must be from another school that Northeastern would consider a peer institution.
One last thing. In the correspondence where they increased my daughter’s merit, they cited the new information (i.e., the great first semester grades). They did not mention the other offer. So, outwardly, they were rewarding the accomplishment and not negotiating with a competing offer. Subtle difference. Make sure to really highlight the updated activities and grades that the school can use to justify the reconsideration.
Status: Accepted EA
GPA: 4.0 UW
SAT: 1530
Major: CS + Design
Did you apply for FA? Yes, $16k merit + a small amount need-based. Son is NMSF, so hoping for more merit.
We just attended a Khoury online session for admitted students and it was great. Love the vibe of saying yes, you can do that…combine programs, take courses in other departments, change your major, change from 2 co-ops to 3, travel, etc. A real contrast to some of the other schools he’s been accepted to.
Anyone who got accepted into honors know how to access the “Welcome to Honors” session they have scheduled for 8 tonight? I’ve seen it advertised on their instagram but I see nothing on my application portal / accepted events page about it
same, deferred EA
4.42 GPA
1440 SAT
nursing major
IB diploma candidate, several varsity sports, president/officer of multiple clubs, 2 jobs, shadowing…
I also attended the Khoury session this afternoon. My S21 was accepted ED with a Dean’s scholarship for CS + Game Development. I was truly blown away and am so excited for the opportunities that await him at Northeastern for the next four years.
Decision: Deferred
SAT/ACT: ACT - 33
GPA: 4.0 UW/ 4.25 W
State/Country: Washington
Major: IR
Did you apply for FA?: No
4 APs + 4 Honors/Accelerated classes
ECs - strong: sports, clubs, outside clubs, job. Leadership roles.
Did all of the ‘express interest’ things that were available online.
Not happy about being deferred - top choice, but no where to say that in the app.
@jwmarks6260 Just want to say please take everything you read on here with a grain of salt. I believe I was the person Tom is referring to (from 2016, may I add, a bit odd he is still referencing it). I never made a post bashing northeastern, nor discouraging students from applying. I replied to a “What’s the difference between BU or Northeastern” thread saying that they’re both great schools, but I didn’t like that you had to either go to school for 5 years at Northeastern or go to summer school to graduate in 4 and he stalked my posts back to 2014 to see that I had made a comment that northeastern was my dream school. At the time, I’d never even toured Northeastern and didn’t care that I didn’t get in. I meant my dream was to go to school in Boston (which I did end up doing!! BU 2019!!). Don’t believe everything you read
