What is the Northeastern acceptance rate?
The Northeastern acceptance rate was 5.6% for the Class of 2029, the most recent figure the university has given. Chancellor Ken Henderson gave it to the faculty senate and said it counts only students admitted to the Boston campus, up from 5.2% the year before (The Huntington News, February 2, 2026). Northeastern received 105,092 applications for that class (Northeastern Global News, January 2025) and has not published the number of students it admitted; 5.6% of 105,092 is about 5,900. For the Class of 2030, Northeastern reported a record 106,907 applications (Northeastern Global News, February 24, 2026) and has not published an acceptance rate.
The audited counts come from the Common Data Set, which Northeastern files after each class enrolls. The latest filing, for 2024-25, covers the Class of 2028: 98,425 applicants, 5,133 admitted and 2,759 enrolled, a rate of 5.2%.
How has the Northeastern acceptance rate changed since 2020?
| Class | Applied | Admitted | Acceptance rate | Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class of 2030 | 106,907 | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| Class of 2029 | 105,092 | Not published | 5.6% | Not published |
| Class of 2028 | 98,425 | 5,133 | 5.2% | 2,759 |
| Class of 2027 | 96,631 | 5,459 | 5.6% | 2,744 |
| Class of 2026 | 91,000 | 6,191 | 6.8% | 2,519 |
| Class of 2025 | 75,244 | 13,829 | 18.4% | 4,504 |
| Class of 2024 | 64,459 | 13,199 | 20.5% | 3,128 |
The rate fell from 20.5% to 5.2% in four cycles. Most of the drop came in one year: between the Class of 2025 and the Class of 2026, applications rose 20.9% (75,244 to 91,000) while the number admitted fell by more than half (13,829 to 6,191), and the entering class shrank from 4,504 to 2,519. Since then the number admitted has stayed between 5,100 and 6,200 while applications have kept climbing.
What is the Northeastern Early Decision acceptance rate?
Northeastern admitted 43.0% of Early Decision applicants for the Class of 2028: 1,492 of 3,466, counting Early Decision I and Early Decision II together (Northeastern Common Data Set 2024-25). The rate rose from 32.9% for the Class of 2026 to 43.0% for the Class of 2028, and Early Decision now supplies a much larger share of the admitted group than it did.
| Class | Early Decision applications | Early Decision admits | Early Decision rate | Share of all admits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Class of 2028 | 3,466 | 1,492 | 43.0% | 29.1% |
| Class of 2027 | 3,672 | 1,420 | 38.7% | 26.0% |
| Class of 2026 | 2,707 | 890 | 32.9% | 14.4% |
| Class of 2025 | 1,979 | 1,014 | 51.2% | 7.3% |
Subtracting Early Decision from the Class of 2028 totals leaves 3,641 admits from 94,959 applicants in Early Action and Regular Decision combined, about 3.8%. Northeastern does not report those two rounds separately, so there is no published Early Action rate. An Early Decision applicant was admitted at roughly 11 times the rate of everyone else. Early Decision is binding, so it suits families who have settled both the fit and the cost.
What is the Northeastern acceptance rate for in-state, out-of-state and international applicants?
Northeastern reports admissions by residency in its Common Data Set. For the Class of 2028, Massachusetts residents were admitted at 10.8%, applicants from other states at 4.6% and international applicants at 3.8%.
| Applicant group | Applied | Admitted | Acceptance rate | Enrolled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts residents | 12,304 | 1,332 | 10.8% | 737 |
| Out-of-state | 67,424 | 3,076 | 4.6% | 1,703 |
| International | 17,616 | 671 | 3.8% | 270 |
| Residency unknown | 1,081 | 54 | 5.0% | 49 |
| Total | 98,425 | 5,133 | 5.2% | 2,759 |
Massachusetts applicants were admitted at more than twice the rate of applicants from other states. Out-of-state students still made up the largest part of the class, 1,703 of 2,759 enrolled, because they were more than two thirds of the applicant pool.
What test scores and grades do Northeastern students have?
Northeastern states that it is test-optional and does not require applicants to submit standardized testing. Most enrolled students did not submit scores: among first-year students who enrolled in fall 2024, 24% submitted SAT scores and 7% submitted ACT scores (Northeastern Common Data Set 2024-25). The scores that were submitted were high.
| Measure | 25th percentile | 50th percentile | 75th percentile |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAT composite | 1450 | 1490 | 1520 |
| SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing | 710 | 730 | 760 |
| SAT Math | 730 | 760 | 780 |
| ACT composite | 33 | 34 | 35 |
On grades, 86.8% of enrolled students who reported a grade point average had a 4.0 and another 7.7% were between 3.75 and 3.99; Northeastern left the average GPA field blank. Of the 21.9% of students who reported class rank, 68.8% were in the top tenth and 94.0% in the top quarter.
What are the Northeastern application deadlines?
Northeastern offers four first-year plans. The dates below are the ones listed by Northeastern Undergraduate Admissions and Student Financial Services in October 2026.
| Plan | Application deadline | Decision released by | CSS Profile priority date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Decision I | November 1 | January 1 | November 15 |
| Early Action | November 1 | February 15 | December 1 |
| Early Decision II | January 1 | March 1 | January 15 |
| Regular Decision | January 1 | April 1 | February 15 |
Applicants use the Common Application or the Coalition Application and pay a $75 fee or request a waiver. Northeastern does not list a supplemental essay among its first-year requirements, so the personal essay, the activities list and the recommendations carry the application.
Why does the Northeastern acceptance rate count only the Boston campus?
The 5.6% figure covers students admitted to start on the Boston campus, and Northeastern has not said which offers fall outside that count. Its cost page shows that first-year students can start in several places besides Boston: the N.U.in Program, in which students spend the fall semester of the first year in the program and move to the Boston campus in the spring; the London Scholars Program, in which students spend the first year in London; and the New York City and Oakland campuses. An applicant can therefore receive an offer from Northeastern that is not an offer to start in Boston.
The financial terms differ. For 2026-2027 Northeastern estimates $46,600 in direct costs for the N.U.in fall semester, made up of $35,122 in tuition and a program fee of $11,488 that includes housing and flights, and states that the N.U.in Program is not eligible for federal financial aid, though institutional aid and private financing may be available. The London Scholars Program is listed at $93,200 in annual direct costs.
What does Northeastern cost and does it meet financial need?
Northeastern estimates direct and indirect costs of $98,322 for first-year students on the Boston, New York City and Oakland campuses in 2026-2027: tuition $71,050, fees $1,650, housing $13,612, food $9,210, books and course materials $1,000, personal expenses $900 and transportation $900 (Northeastern Undergraduate Admissions).
Under the Northeastern Promise, the university states that it is dedicated to meeting the full demonstrated need of each admitted student eligible for federal financial aid, that its scholarship and grant funds will not be reduced during the undergraduate program for up to eight in-class semesters, and that need-based grants rise each year by the same percentage as tuition. Need-based aid is limited to U.S. citizens and permanent residents, and applicants file the FAFSA and the CSS Profile.
How should applicants read the Northeastern acceptance rate?
Three things follow from the data. Early Decision is the round where the odds are materially different, 43.0% against 3.8%, and it is binding. The headline rate describes the Boston campus only, so families should decide in advance how they would respond to an offer that starts in the N.U.in Program or in London. And with no supplemental essay and no test requirement, the transcript, the personal essay and the activities list do the work that a Why Northeastern essay does elsewhere.
For the full application strategy, including Early Decision and the co-op program, see how to get into Northeastern.
Frequently Asked Questions About Northeastern Admissions
No. Northeastern reviews first-year applications in four plans with fixed dates: Early Decision I and Early Action close November 1, and Early Decision II and Regular Decision close January 1. Decisions are released by January 1, February 15, March 1 and April 1 respectively, according to Northeastern Undergraduate Admissions.
There is no published answer. Northeastern reports Early Decision counts in its Common Data Set but not Early Action counts. For the Class of 2028, Early Action and Regular Decision applicants together were admitted at about 3.8%, against 43.0% in Early Decision. Early Action is not binding, and its decisions arrive by February 15.
No supplemental essay is listed among the first-year application requirements. Applicants submit the Common Application or the Coalition Application, a transcript, a school report, a counselor recommendation and a teacher recommendation, plus proof of English proficiency where it applies. The application fee is $75 and can be waived.
Yes. Northeastern states that it is test-optional and does not require applicants to submit standardized testing. Among first-year students who enrolled in fall 2024, 24% submitted SAT scores and 7% submitted ACT scores, and the middle 50% of submitted scores was 1450 to 1520 on the SAT and 33 to 35 on the ACT, according to the Common Data Set for 2024-25.
Northeastern lists priority filing dates by plan: November 15 for Early Decision I, December 1 for Early Action, January 15 for Early Decision II and February 15 for Regular Decision. Students seeking institutional need-based aid file the CSS Profile and the FAFSA. Students seeking only federal aid are not required to file the CSS Profile.
No. Northeastern states that the N.U.in Program is not eligible for federal financial aid, and that institutional aid and private financing options may be available. For 2026-2027 it estimates direct costs of $46,600 for the fall semester in the program, made up of $35,122 in tuition and an $11,488 program fee that includes housing and flights.
About half. For the Class of 2028, 2,759 of the 5,133 admitted students enrolled, a yield of 53.8%, up from 50.3% for the Class of 2027 and 40.7% for the Class of 2026, according to Common Data Set filings. For the Class of 2029, Chancellor Ken Henderson put the yield at 47%, as reported by The Huntington News.
The Common Data Set shows 2,759 first-year students enrolled in fall 2024, 2,744 in fall 2023 and 2,519 in fall 2022. The fall 2021 class was much larger at 4,504, the year before the number of admitted students was cut by more than half.
Sources: Northeastern University Common Data Set, 2020-21 through 2024-25; Northeastern Undergraduate Admissions, required materials, cost and financial aid and applying for financial aid; Northeastern Global News, January 2025 and February 24, 2026; The Huntington News, February 2, 2026.
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