I just found out that the University Scholars Program was discontinued. 
NEU implied they’d be replacing it with a better program, but they’ve said nothing and I haven’t been able to glean any information from CC or NEU’s website. I highly doubt I’d be able to afford NEU without something approaching a full ride scholarship. Can any EA/ED applicants who received merit aid tell me what are they offering now??
I have a 36 ACT/3.9 Unweighted GPA and 15 AP’s (plus 5 dual enrollment semesters)
NEU has risen sufficiently in the rankings and popularity that it no longer needs the expansive scholarship program it had in place to attract high stats students. I don’t believe you have any chance at near a full ride, despite your excellent stats. See the EA thread for amounts that similar students are receiving.
The only full rides that Northeastern has ever offered are to select graduates of Boston public high schools and the TORCH program for disadvantaged students. Scholars was full tuition. The max merit aid is $30,000/year, the NMF award.
Now that Northeastern meets full need they appear to have cut back on the merit maximum. What is your EFC?
I see… But I wasn’t able to take the PSAT during junior year so I don’t qualify for NFM or NHRP. Am I basically screwed? (Side question: why is financial aid based on PSAT anyway? Why not make it directly based on SAT/ACT? That makes more sense to me)
Oh, and my EFC is $21k but our medical expenses are really quite high… so that’s a bit high.
There is actually not much weight put on NMF at NEU as compared to other schools.
It honestly doesn’t matter how much merit aid you receive unless it’s a full tuition/full ride scholarship. Any merit aid you receive will be subtracted from you financial package which seems to be more than 30k a year.
https://npc.collegeboard.org/student/app/northeastern fill this out to see how much needs based aid you’ll receive and get back to us!
Edit: financial aid is based solely on you financial position. NMF scholarship is a merit award, meaning it doesn’t matter how much you family makes. Merit is based on achievements and stats.
So… let me get this straight. Merit aid is not added to need based aid, but rather subtracted from it? Then what’s the point of even OFFERING merit aid?
Merit aid is most beneficial for what I call “donut hole” families: too affluent to qualify for need based aid but not affluent enough to pay $60,000/year for 4 years. That and families that only qualify for a small amount of need based aid.
Few universities will stack need and merit aid.
Welp. In that case, I suppose my question is essentially nullified. Sigh. Just to ask another question without starting a new thread, do you know if Cornell (Dyson) does stack merit and financial aid?
MOST schools do not meet full need like NEU does. That is a blessing in itself for students with financial need.
Perhaps merit aid would not benefit you, but there are many full pay students out there that would only attend NEU if they were rewarded for their high stats and accomplishments.
Merit aid is not subtracted, but rather not considered if your needs package outweighs your merit. If the amount they promise you is 40k needs-based aid, you won’t receive more than that unless your merit aid is greater than 40k.
EDIT: Cornell offers no merit aid, neither do any of the ivy league schools and many of the top 30 schools. All of their aid is via need. You should really use the calculator link I posted for you. There is no way of knowing how much you’ll pay until you enter your numbers.
Each school has a different way of quantifying need. The EFC FAFSA gives you is not the amount you’ll pay at all schools. Some schools will give you more of less even with the same income and assets.
Here is cornell’s calculator. http://finaid.cornell.edu/cost-attend/financial-aid-estimator
No Ivies offer merit aid.
I used the calculator and it said an estimated cost of $31k. (5.5k student loan, and “remaining cost” of $25k)
Yeah, I’m not going to be able to pay that. Especially not for a safety school.
Also, I believe Cornell Dyson does offer a sort of merit aid: https://dyson.cornell.edu/undergraduate/student-life/dyson-scholars
Is that 31k tuition or 31k total? If it’s total, that’s not too bad. Did you do the calculator on Cornell as well? Cornell will probably give more money.
I was not aware of the Dyson scholarship. Contact Cornell and see what it is. See how much it is and if it is added onto financial aid.
Ah, don’t be surprised if you are waitlisted or offered NU In!
I’d actually prefer NU In, actually 
I’ve studied abroad in Japan for a year and would love the opportunity to go in freshman year of college. Why are those delayed admission programs considered second rate? I see them as quite the advantage 
NEU uses the NU program for college ranking purposes. If they admit you in the spring semester, they don’t have to report your stats or acceptance to US News, but they still get you as a student and your money in the spring. It is all for rankings purposes.
Also, how certain are you that the university honors program is being replaced? I just received my confirmation email from NEU and it said in it, “There is no separate application for the University Honors Program. Admission into Honors is by invitation only. If you are invited to join, you will be notified in your admission letter.”
The honors program is not being replaced - the university scholars program just admitted its last class of freshman this fall, which is a separate program. What we have been told is that the honors program is being significantly changed, with the new program being rolled out starting in the fall. However, as of now it seems that the final decision was not to award full tuition scholarships this year, but that’s separate from the honors program.
@AllizedQuant Its a little disconcerting they are rolling out an entirety new program in the fall of 2017, but have made zero mention of the requirements of the new program to students who have just received admission for fall of 2017. How big are these changes? Will they add course requirements?
I doubt if it will be an entirely new honors program.