Northeastern Admissions

Regular Decision Release

Here in Boston we’ve turned the clocks ahead and are anxiously awaiting the arrival of spring! 

 

The Admission Committee has been hard at work reading applications and finalizing decisions. I am excited to announce that we released final admission decisions on March 12 – more than two weeks earlier than last year!!

 

We began releasing decisions at 4 pm yesterday (March 12) by geographic locations in an effort to not overload the Application Status Check. If you applied regular decision, you should have received an email by now announcing that your decision was available and with instructions on how to view your official decision letter through the Application Status Check. (If you did not receive an email telling you that your decision was available, please call our office at 617.373.2200).

 

We released four types of decisions to regular decision applicants: Admission for Fall, Admission for Spring, Waitlist for Fall, and Deny. For specific details about each decision, please continue reading.

 

Admission for Fall 2009

Students will be offered admission into their academic major program, based on their academic achievement and personal characteristic ratings in our review.  In addition, a limited number of students will also be offered admission into general studies, a one year transitional program, which prepares students to begin their major at the start of the sophomore year.    

 

Please log onto your Admitted Student Portal for more information about Northeastern and invitations to special events, including your Welcome Day. Welcome Days are college specific and are a great way to learn what it’s really like to be a Northeastern student. Remember to register for your Welcome Day and that tuition and housing deposits are due by May 1.

 

Admission for Spring 2010

We have space to accommodate over 500 new students each Spring Semester, and we are once again offering admission into our January 2010 class to well qualified students who applied for Fall 2009 admission.  Students who are admitted for January have a number of options including work, community services, attending classes at a local college or travel. We offer our Spring admitted students the opportunity to participate in one of our four pre-college study abroad options that we call “NUin”.  Whatever you choose to do for the fall, please visit our spring admitted student website for more details and advice on January enrollment options.

 

Waitlist for Fall 2009

A number of students who are well qualified for admission to Northeastern may be offered a position on our waitlist.  Since most high school students are admitted to four or five colleges, it is difficult for colleges and universities to predict how many of their admitted students will ultimately decide to enroll - so many other factors like finances, location, fit and personal preference contribute to a student’s final enrollment decision.  At Northeastern, we use the waitlist in this very traditional manner.  Students who are placed on our waitlist have until May 1 to accept or decline a spot; although we encourage students who are genuinely interested in Northeastern to accept their place on the waitlist as soon as possible.  We generally know whether or not we will have space to admit students from the waitlist just after May 1.  Stay tuned for more information as I will provide regular updates about our waitlist process throughout the spring. 

 

Deny

Given the volume of applications we received this year, we will deny admissions to a number of students.  We understand that dealing with a denial decision may be very difficult for most students and their families.  Please keep in mind that at selective institutions, like Northeastern, a denial is most often a reflection of the space limitations and has very little to do with whether or not a student is prepared to be successful in college.   The admissions team at Northeastern is always willing to assist denied students who really want to attend Northeastern understand our transfer process.   We are able to enroll over 500 transfer students each year.

 

I hope all of this information helps you and your family understand more about the decisions we released.   Thank you for your interest in Northeastern and we look forwarding to the arrival of our new students in September and January.

 

Until next time…

Greetings from Northeastern University and Happy March!  The admissions team has made great progress and we are now in committee working to finalize decisions.  I am writing today about an issue which was brought to my attention by our operations team (these are the staff members who work diligently to match student credentials with their applications so that the application may be read). The team has informed me that as of today, incomplete applications are being made inactive.  Although only a small percentage of applications are made inactive each year due to missing documentation, I always wonder why students who took the time to apply and pay the application fee fail to complete their applications.  I am especially concerned because I know a number of the students who had their applications inactivated will contact our office after we finalize decisions wondering why they did not receive a decision.  Many of these students would have been very competitive in our process.  Unfortunately, at the end of the process it is often difficult for us to reactivate an application due to space limitations. 

 

At Northeastern, we see it as the student's responsibility to make sure their application is complete.  To make this process easier, we provide each applicant with the tools to monitor the status of their application through our on-line Application Status Check system.  We even provide email notifications when materials are missing.   I hope that students who are serious about Northeastern have checked to make sure their applications are complete.  If not, there is very little we can do at this point in the process to assist you.

 

Juniors – please take note – your application is your responsibility!

 

Until next time…