Not sure I understand your comment. It is sad that they are making students pay for NU’s over enrolled class of 2025 by doing what? Providing another campus option? They are landlocked in Boston and can only accept so many students, so it would seem that the school’s options are (1) find ways to expand into other geographies or (2) decline even more applications, which at 6.9% Boston acceptance last year was already Ivy-league-level low. Providing transfer options after a short time in Oakland would only exacerbate the space issue in Boston. It’s all about supply and demand, and right now demand for NU is off the charts (as it is for many highly regarded schools in the TO world).
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There is also the option of doing the right thing by not padding their stats to say we got 100k apps by giving out free app waivers, eliminating supplemental essay to many students and thereby actively inviting applications that they can decline. But doing the right thing is so hard.
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The reason @premed_equestrian was originally confused and unsure about the policy is that the policy you listed seems to be different from this other link that they found: Campus Transfer and Location Change - Office of the University Registrar at Northeastern University
My feeling is that when there are different links which state different things, and especially when it’s a big enough question that it would affect whether the student attends or not, it’s best to try to confirm with a live person at the university.
As I stated, I don’t work there. I have no inside information as to the quality of the faculty or enrollment of the students. Those are questions to ask if you are considering accepting the admissions offer to that campus.
I do not think “location change” applies to Boston. I don’t think Boston is considered a regional campus.
Either way, I would not encourage anyone to accept one campus with the intent to get to the other unless that has been explicitly promised to them. That form is a request, not a guarantee, and I suspect it would be VERY difficult to get accepted to Oakland and transfer to Boston in a semester.
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There has never been a supplemental essay and doubt the Admissions people have time to read 100,000 essays.
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Well, other schools that receive as many or more applications have essays. Why would a school that cares so much about demonstrated interest, commitment, etc. not require a “why us?” essay? Hmm 
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I’ll call Northeastern after school and see what they say on the matter… it just doesn’t make sense when I explicitly put that I only wanted to be on the boston campus and they put me in Oakland. The only reason I want to transfer from Oakland to Boston in a semester or so is because I want to be in-state, and Northeastern would’ve been a great choice on the table if I had been put on the Boston campus. Still waiting to hear from BC and other schools. Sorry for all the commotion about this!
I don’t agree with all of the sour grapes posts here. Fortunately there are a few thousand colleges to choose from and no one is forced to apply to or attend NU. To each their own.
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Absolutely agree with you that no student should accept one campus with the intent to transfer to another, unless they have an explicit promise from admissions. This is why contacting admissions is good, if this possibility is what makes the difference for the student.
The link mentions both “campus transfer” (which could include a transfer to Boston) along with “location change” (temporary visit to a regional campus). @premed_equestrian noted the sentence, “Students requesting an official campus transfer, or a location change are encouraged to apply one month prior to the start of the effective term.” A student might interpret this statement to mean that it would be possible to apply for a campus transfer to Boston only one month in advance.
I agree with you that the form is a request, not a guarantee. I also think the information on this page might predate the creation of Oakland and London degrees… they might need to update it now. But I think the information on this page is indeed confusing… it can suggest to a student that they might be able to get this campus transfer approved.
Because many students have been admitted to Oakland and London, it would be a good idea to get clarification from Northeastern about how this page’s information meshes with the other stated policy. It would also be a good idea for Northeastern to hear from a student that the information on this page is confusing, and add more information to this page specifically about campus transfer from Oakland or London.
I teach high school in Florida, and I see students and parents shocked when their kids don’t get into FSU or UF. Both schools have become incredibly competitive. It’s a vicious cycle that kids are applying to so many more schools, so schools have to carefully manage their yield, there are more deferments and pathway options, so kids apply to more schools. UF is a yes or no OR a guaranteed transfer after a year. No deferments, and no waitlist. I don’t know which way is better.
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Think of it like applying for a job. You don’t get the job, but they offer you a different job within their company - one you had not applied to or even given much thought to. Now it’s up to you whether you want to accept the job.
Many students are offered a different path than what they applied for. Not just at NEU, but at other schools too. The alternative is they simply give you an acceptance or denial for the campus you applied for without offering you an alternative. I know a few students who checked NO for NUin, got offered NUin and ended up taking it.
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Let’s not forget that all the Oakland, London, Global Scholar and NU In acceptances are not part of the 6% (or whatever it is) acceptance rate, but are part of the 100,000 (or whatever it is) applications received. Another Hmmm.
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I appreciate that perspective, but there’s a multitude of factors as to why I need to be in-state, so I may reject NEU’s offer- dependent on a lot of other things, especially if I get into my ED2 school. But I’ll keep NEU on the back table as I hear from other schools.
I think that is your answer. If you need to be in-state, NEU is probably not your school. Good luck with your ED2 and other options.
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My D23 applied to many schools with supplemental essays that have been seeing exponential growth in applications. Agree that supplementals may dissuade some from applying, but not significantly when you look at the high-achieving caliber of students who are applying to NU who are likely to do an essay anyway.
I think the high app levels are driven more so by the popularity of the co-op, the ability to get meaningful merit at a time when many top schools have moved to 100% needs-based aid (although NU merit seems to be dwindling, or at least not keeping up with the pace of tuition increases), and the test optional policy.
A school like Drexel also has co-op, merit, and test optional, but its acceptance rate is higher… which makes it a lot less exciting.
Northeastern is a great school. But you must also acknowledge that part of what makes it so exciting to applicants is the low published acceptance rate, which encourages students to associate it with other schools that have single digit acceptance rates… and which is a bit misleading, because they admit so many students through these alternative programs which are not reflected in their acceptance rate. My son was accepted through NUin, but as far as Northeastern’s acceptance rate is concerned, this will look like a denial.
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It’s also in Philadelphia, not Boston
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Of course. There is no similar Boston co-op school for a perfect apples to apples comparison to Northeastern.
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I agree with you @tamagotchi … there is certainly a herd mentality at play when it comes to the popularity of this school and others where acceptance rates have dropped substantially. I also agree with @MAmomto4 that Boston is a big draw compared to Philly. RIT is another solid co-op/merit/TO school with fabulous co-op outcomes, but not everyone wants to live in Rochester.
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