You’re probably right. This is a small sample. As I stated earlier, I’ve watched parents here struggle with telling their own child no to ED, so it’s sort of horrifying to think of people intentionally being disingenuous with the process.
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Do we think that enough people switched to ed2 recently to impact the admit rate compared to previous years?
Here is a link to an article that discusses whether NE will let you walk from an ED decision if you don’t get enough merit aid…
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They seem to be working to manage their yield, last year and again this year with a low target. This will help with the housing issues. But then people complain about such competitiveness to get in or them gaining the system. They can’t seem to win.
It’s the same at many schools. At UCs, campuses are forced by the state to take far more students than the infrastructure and academic system can handle…it hurts everyone. (I speak from knowledge working at one for more than two decades.) at least NU is working to manage its yield.
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This article doesn’t really provide anything new and could be written about any college that has ED. While ED is “binding”, no one can keep you to it, but it hurts the student more than anything. No college that has gone TO can objectively predict merit bc many used to go strictly by test score averages. NU has used a more holistic approach even before going TO. They can’t use GPA on an NPC bc every school used a different system and NU admissions even recalculates every kid’s GPA for apples to apples comparison.
For class of 2026, 880 kids were accepted ED1 so, 18-26 turned them down, presumably pretty quickly… not a big impact. This means that most accepted their offers with merit, FA, or are full pay. Most who get the offer, maintain their end of the bargain.
I respect that NU offers merit based not entirely on scores and grades. But if they do offer merit to 59% (or even 36%…the article lists two different figures) who don’t receive need-based, is it really in bad faith to apply if your kid has the grades + scores + holistic elements (subjective, of course), and you would commit with average merit (which in NU’s case seems to be an not-insignificant $18K).
The high yield of ED also indicates that Northeastern is delivering on aid and/or communicating well. So, again, good job, NU.
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Definitely. Not sure how people found out about it. We had no clue. One other school my daughter applied to mentioned a preread for ED1 in response to a question at an open house. The info should be more widely shared to be equitable.
I am trying to remember how we found out. It may have been the website. I don’t know how they could market it more aggressively without ending up with 90K pre-reads to go through. It was a bit onerous for us because my husband is a partner in a small business; I don’t know how difficult it would be for most people to get their financial forms together.
Northeastern sent information about the pre-reads in email.
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Did anyone else who received the leather binder from NEU back in the fall get deferred?
Merit is given to many who get need based aid as well! It is not just for the affluent. Merit can also range from $2,500-$28,000 (ranges I’ve seen here, with average I guess being $18k as you share.)
Honestly, I’m done with this discussion. ED is meant to be binding, so a family should do their homework and know what they are committing too, whether they get merit or not IMHO. Is the college process a screwed up system, yes. By that article, most people 97-98% follow the “rules” and the ED offer if provided. Moving on.
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It was on their website.
We had a student at our school apply ED1 to NEU, did NOT apply for financial aid. He was accepted but the parents somehow thought he would get a huge merit award and when he didn’t, they pulled out of the offer for financial reasons. Not very cool, and makes our school look bad.
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I am not trying to drag you back in, but yes, I do know that merit is not just for people who do not need financial aid. I was bringing that up as an example of a person for whom financial aid would not absorb the merit. I agree people should follow rules. We are just reading the rules differently.
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We received an email about the pre-read. My daughter did not indicate she was interested in ED, but received several emails about the pre-read and fee waivers for ED.
She did visit NU and also signed up for admissions information.
All colleges and so much marketing, though, it is easy to miss the important stuff.
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You’re lucky. We visited last summer but did not receive preread offer or waiver. Tells me acceptance is unlikely for whatever reason.
My son received this email September 27. Did your daughter not receive this?
Subject: Early Decision at Northeastern
Dear (Tamagotchi’s Son),
I am reaching out to encourage you to consider applying through our Early Decision Program if Northeastern is your unequivocal first choice. You have two Early Decision (ED) options to choose from: ED I (November 1 deadline) or ED II (January 1 deadline).
To recognize that Early Decision applicants make a commitment to us, we’re making a commitment to you by offering additional benefits to those considering applying Early Decision and to those who are ultimately admitted through the Early Decision program.
Before Applying Early Decision
- Early Need-Based Financial Aid Reviews: In order to provide you and your family with the ability to make an informed financial commitment before applying Early Decision, we are committed to providing you with an early estimated need-based financial aid review. In order to receive yours, you must submit the following no later than Friday, October 21:
- Early review application
- CSS Profile
- Any additional financial aid documents (such as federal tax returns) that may be required by Student Financial Service
*Please note that early reviews for merit scholarships are not possible, as these are tied to the admission review and selection process.
- Application Fee Waiver: A waiver will be offered to students who apply at Early Decision I or II and apply for financial aid.
Once Admitted Early Decision
- Ability to earn credits through NU Accelerate Scholarship: You can launch your Northeastern academic experience before graduating high school through remote, asynchronous coursework offered by the NU Accelerate: Pre-College Programs. Leveraging coursework curated specifically for first-year students, you will be awarded a scholarship to take up to two courses between the Spring and/or Summer terms.
That’s what I heard that the school can also contact other schools that this student reneged the ED, making the student looks untrustworthy.
I believe Duke sent an email last year informing students that they can get out of ED if financial situation is prohibitive. I believe they must have done an exhaustive research and discussions and these involve extraordinary unfortunate situation (e.g. death of parent(s), loss of job, other significant changes that has adverse financial impact, etc). I guess schools will understand and will not hold the students if these situations occur, but in other cases (like the parents don’t like the financials or trying to game the system), then they might inform other schools.
And sometimes people forget: it’s a small world.
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Unfortunately, no. NU was def in her top 3 or 5 and would have considered with a preread. That’s why I think it’s going to be a no for us - prob targeted certain applicants.
I really do not think it was a targeted thing. It may have just gotten stuck in spam. It seemed to be part of an enticement to get students to apply ED.
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