Northeastern University

“Active in extracurricular activities, good SAT scores, good GPA,Mar 04 2009Political Science
Active in extracurricular activities, good SAT scores, good GPA, all that jazz on princetonreview.com and USNews. Northeastern admissions seems pretty superficial--I don't think my essay was all that great. I'm sure a good one can make up to some extent for not so great grades. I applied early admission, found out in late January. It is a pretty selective school. I think that my year, for every student that was admitted, 11 were turned away. Every year it gets more competitive. Every year, the caliber of student goes up.
SAT: 1900 Female

“I had a pretty solid SAT score (old version)Aug 18 2007Design Arts - Industrial Design/Graphic Design/etc
I had a pretty solid SAT score (old version) I scored in the 1300's, I remember taking the ACT but the score was pretty much equivalent. I had a lot of extracurriculars in high school.

Make sure you have extracurriculars pertaining to your major. I as a design/multimedia applicant brought attention to including the fact that I was Art Club President, National Art Honor Society VP, Student of the Year and attended an Art Program at a college for credit.

Also on your college resume bring out leadership roles and anything that shows consistency, for me I was on varsity golf team all 4 years and was captain both my junior and senior year.

If you're applying make sure to call the school, and if you live nearby set up a time to go and visit, expressing interest in the school. Even if you don't live nearby set up an interview and make sure to have a copy of your resume in hand. This really helped me in a lot of my interviews.

Also, NEU usually tours to different city and does Q&A/information sessions, make sure to attend one of these if at all possible, it shows your interest.

Bring out unique qualities of yourself: When in High School I wrote a qualitative research paper (as a part of a program) discussing How as Math Progressed throughout History art was affected because of it's progression. It doesn't need to be anything "impressive" just something to make you "pop" and appear well rounded.

When writing your essays it's good to also try and do something unique to stand out. Something satirical, personal, or funny would be best. Don't be like "oh I respect my mom because she's the best", they've seen that line 10,000 times. If you did something like, write a childrens book, then tell the story.

Also, get a good strong letter of recommendation. Try to get it with a teacher in a core subject. I also got a letter of reccomendation from an academic mentor who is also a professor at William and Mary. Find an author, read their book, and write to them...setting up your connections now are really going to help.

Feel free to contact me with more questions, I know a lot of this seems cookie-cutter but I really want to help kids who really want to go here...get in.
ACT: 29 SAT: 1340 Female

“I transferredFeb 08 2007Journalism
I transferred. While I didn't do too well in high school (I was an athlete), I did very well during my freshman year at my other college. I applied to NYU, Fordham, N.U., Tufts and B.U. and got accepted to all five. After touring every school I was torn between N.Y.U. and N.U., but eventually chose N.U. because of its campus, for starters. Just do well and write a great essay. And speak highly of the co-op program. This is the core.
Male

“Admissions:Jan 02 2007Unknown
Admissions:

Getting into Northeastern is harder than ever. I heard that the university received over 8500 EA applications this year (up from 6500 last year). The university expects to receive over 30,000 total applications this year (up from 27,100 last year) for the 2800 seats in the frosh class. In the past five years the number of people applying to this school has more than doubled and the average SAT has gone up by more 200 points. The acceptance rate is currently a low 44% but I expect that it will be even lower this year. The most successful applicants are those who not only have excellent stats but have "shown interest" in the university. How do you show interest? Here are a few tips:

1.Apply Early Action (non-binding)

2.Visit the school and take a guided tour (yes, the admissions office keeps track of this info). If you cannot go on a tour make sure that you e-mail the admissions office and explain why this is not possible for you;

3.Speak to professors in the major that you are interested and attend open houses;

4.Explain somewhere in your essay why you want to attend Northeastern and how you would benefit from the co-op program and studying in Boston.

5.If you have a parent or relative who is an alum, make this known to the admissions office; and

6.If you have a friend who is a current Northeastern student, make this known as well.

Good luck! Getting in is no easy task.

“To get in, i was sent a "preferred admissionApr 26 2005Business - Management and Administration
To get in, i was sent a "preferred admission." Don't ask me why I got it - I don't know. But I filled it out and was accepted. No essays, no interview.

However, I have one high school friend at the university now who had to go through the whole application and essays and got in. I had another friend who applied with the normal application and got denied. I can't really offer advice because I didn't do the essays, but...

I KNOW THAT THE ADMISSIONS DEPT. wants to hear why the ideals of the school (i.e. co-op, hands-on learning, experiencial learning, and diversity) are matches with you!
SAT: 1210 Male