Northeastern University Early Action / Early Decision for Fall 2023 Admission

Colleges and Universities A-Z Northeastern University
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2829

Again, NU has not “added” the EA option in recent years to game the system. Both my D’s applied EA starting back in 2011 bc we could not commit to any university for financial reasons, and we appreciated the EA option. Due to higher numbers of applications (again out of interest, bc their process has not changed since 2011 at all except TO) they do need to defer more students. I stand corrected in that they have added ED2 like many colleges in recent hears, but again, this is not unique to NU.

This is a tool they can use to weed out those that think they are using NU as safety or that extra application and where NU is not really a top choice for them.

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2830

They are pretty clear up front that while they consider an applicant’s preference, they decide how will they offer admission.

My S21 was offered Nu.in. He had checked no for that. He considered it, but ultimately decided on a different school.

My S23 was more serious about NEU. He knew all the possible outcomes. We talked about how he would react to each possible outcome, even if it meant walking away from an offer that didn’t meet his needs or preferences.

I know not every kid has an obsessive Mom researching schools for their college-bound kid :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:, but I’m a little surprised that people did not know they may get an offer they didn’t request.

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2831

I think people are surprised because other schools will only offer an alternate route if the student indicates they are open to it on the application.

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2832

The reality is, NU has limited space at its Boston campus and it’s approach to experiential learning is in high demand as shown by the interest. These alternative offerings are a way to accommodate many more students with this type of learning, and some have become quite popular and are actually requested by many as their first choice, esp NUIN which has been in place longer.
Students offered these alternative programs inc Oakland and London admissions, even NUIN and Global scholars, would otherwise be rejected from NU. This is not bc they are not qualified but bc there is limited room. They are interested in the student and see a good fit, but they cannot accommodate them at Boston in the fall. If this alternative program does not meet your child’s needs, then you turn it down. I have seen many posts here from folks offered these programs who are researching it and seriously considering them equally with other offers from other schools, even if London or Oakland or starting first year abroad was not on their radar.
It is different but it seems their website is very clear about options and the common app allowed students to show preferences. As families have asked me about our children’s experiences at NU, I have always been very clear that it is NOT a school for everyone… it is far from traditional, and these offerings are an example of that. But clearly it is in high demand (even if 10-20,000 applicants are just “adding” to their list) and those who attend tend to stay.

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2833

I don’t think I said anything about “adding” it in recent years.

You asked why people are questioning NU’s admissions practices specifically, not the Ivies. This is what I am responding to.

The Ivies and peers do not offer both EA and ED, it is one or the other, again with the U Chicago exception which explicitly started offering both (not recently…recency does not matter for my point) as part of a program to increase its image compared to what it considered (rightly, IMHO) peer institutions by increasing applications, thus lowering the admissions rate, and increasing yield.

That is exactly my point. NU should NOT be viewed as a safety school anymore for anyone but it is still going into admissions with the mentality that it is a safety, or at least a back-up, for the students it wants to attend. And this mentality means there will be a lot of high stats students that NU actually would want who will pay their fee and get deferred…not because NU genuinely wants to compare them to the RD pool, but because they don’t want to accept students who will ultimately get into a preferred choice and not enroll. Thus, yield protection.

If NU offered only ED, like Brown, Columbia, etc., or REA, like Stanford, Yale, Harvard, Princeton, Caltech, it’s application numbers would go down.

If NU offered only EA, its yield rate would go down.

The Ivies accept the students they want and do not focus anywhere near as much on yield protection. Harvard assumes if you are applying, especially early, even though it is non-binding, that they are among your top choices, probably your first choice.

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2834

The fact is, NU is not an Ivy nor will it ever be based on systemic issues in higher ed and society views. Im not sure they want to be an Ivy, but they do want to be a very competitive, unique school.

As long as schools are clear online upfront about their process, I see no reason why they need to change. Seems NU is very clear upfront as most schools are. Folks can apply where they want.

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2835

I will add one more thing about the Ivy League that makes a difference IMHO, even for candidates willing to commit. The Ivies only offer need-based aid. You can apply ED if their NPC looked acceptable to your family. There is no mystery merit money.

I do like that NU offered a financial pre-read to ED candidates this year. I do not know if they did an estimate of merit money and how close those estimates came in (I would love to hear from families with kids who took this route).

I still find offering both EA and ED (especially ED 1 and 2) to be a disingenuous practice that is put forth as benefiting the students by giving them choices but is really not an actual choice at all and is all about polishing the college’s numbers. If it isn’t, then colleges doing this should put out numbers for each plan. How low is the EA acceptance rate?

However, I do think this is a step in the right direction to make the process more fair for students for whom NU is their top choice and who may have the need to see the financial aid package before they commit.

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2836

I was responding to your Ivy reference.

I don’t really think the colleges that offer EA AND ED 1 and 2 are clear at all.

What is the acceptance rate for the EA round? If they broke their admissions rate down by plans, that would be clear.

Why hide the numbers?

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2837

NEU is trying to have their cake and eat it too. Offer unrestricted EA and then defer all top candidates who should be admitted, compared to those who were actually admitted in EA. Clearly this is to manipulate the numbers for admission % and yield. If they don’t want to admit top students in EA, then why have EA. Just go with ED1, ED2. Of course that will drastically reduce the applicant pool. So they are essentially in my opinion manipulating the process and numbers like in CDS (common data set). Can’t blame them as the college admission process is unregulated and is approaching used car dealership process with folks guessing using tea leaves at this point. Colleges have information asymmetry advantage over students and parents and there is no transparency and and that’s why there is so much angst in the college confidential boards.

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2838

We did the pre-read. Very grateful for that opportunity as we could not have let our son apply ED otherwise. The promise that his COA would not go up was also a huge plus.

The financial aid was far more generous than we expected. They gave no indication of merit aid and he did not get merit aid. It’s a moot point since they do not stack financial aid and merit aid.

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2839

I actually do think NEU has to be more mindful of yield as it is nowhere as high as Harvard and other schools.

I understand the frustration of people who truly want to attend NEU but have the profile of a student who would apply to all the competitive schools. If you cannot apply ED, there is no way to indicate that you are seriously interested. (Although two students from my son’s school who graduated in 2022 reached out to their NEU admissions counselor and sent a “why Northeastern” essay via email).

If you read enough of these boards, you see (a small sample but possibly indicative of a bigger group) plenty of students and parents who are miscalculating what is a safety or even match - not just NEU but many schools that are not Ivy level but still very competitive. And kids who apply to Boston schools probably apply to several. We did a BU tour and in the whole group session the admission counselor made a point of reminding the students that when they write their “Why Boston University “ essay, they needed to triple check that they had the right school in the essay. They said they get lots of essays that read Boston College :rofl:. The students would change it out in the title, but miss it other places on the essay.

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2840

The BU admissions director once reported that an applicant wrote a “Why BU” essay touting the benefits of a Jesuit education.

2841

This is why I don’t think a Why This School essay will deter applicants all that much.

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2842

In another CC forum a parent was complaining that her student was deferred at Northeastern and waitlisted at UNC-CH after “you’ve been assured you are a “shoe in”.” I have no idea who assured her of this. It was not likely an admissions officer at either school nor anyone here on CC.

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2843

I saw that post. While I understand that UNC is much easier for in state than OOS, I was shocked that anyone would describe their chances as “shoe in.”

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2844

My cousin works in college admissions in Massachusetts ( a small not as competitive college). People who know her come to her wanting advice and encouragement because their straight A student with good SAT scores want to go to an Ivy. They get defensive when she tells them the truth…apply away, hope for the best, but the odds are not good.

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2845

Yes and the focus on volume and no supp essays, backfired in my D23’s case. She was one of the lucky high stat kids who was accepted EA. NE’s acceptance came a few days after an acceptance at a top OOS public. She had put in a tremendous amount of time & effort with the supp essays/short answers at this other school’s app. When she got this other acceptance, she was super excited and felt proud. This was in contrast to her acceptance to NE which honestly was pretty subdued. When I pressed her about her different reactions she explained that she felt like this other school “got her”, whereas NE’s acceptance felt more random, similar to winning the NE’s EA roulette.

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2846

My son had the opposite reaction. When he got his NEU acceptance, he was glad he didn’t apply to more schools and spend any more time on essays for schools that were not his first choice.

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2847

Other schools do offer alternative programs to applicants who don’t express interest. One of my daughters is at UMD and they offer the “Freshman Connection” program to many even if they haven’t expressed interest, and my friend’s son was offered spring start at FSU last year even though he said he’d only consider a fall start. Another friend’s daughter was offered fall semester abroad at BU without having shown interest in the program. I believe this to be the case at many schools.

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2848

I was referring to programs that start students at other locations, i.e. Carolina’s first semester abroad, or Emory’s Oxford campus.

I agree that it is not uncommon for schools to push students who aren’t offered admission for fall semester to a later or earlier start date, but those are at the same campus. Freshman connection is definitely not the same as those students start at the same time and same campus, but are only offered afternoon classes.

Here, some students were offered the entirety of their education at a campus they didn’t select.

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