Freshman Admissions

As a valued member of the Northeastern community, you will have the opportunity to be submersed into a diverse, global, and thriving environment. You will explore new opportunities and chart your own path to degree. We are excited to have you join us, and look forward to the strengths and experience you bring with you.

Applications Materials

  • Completed Common Application or Coalition Application
  • Application fee of $75
  • Guidance counselor and teacher recommendations
  • Secondary school transcripts with final junior year grades. First-semester or first-trimester grades should be submitted when they are available; first-quarter grades are not required. If you have been out of high school for more than one year, you must send the most up to date version of your transcript. Transcripts should be evaluated by a recognized credentialing agency (For transfer applicants who have earned credits at an international institution, please visit The Center for Educational Documentation).
  • Early Action and Early Decision candidates should send their first-term grades as soon as they are available.
  • Official SAT or ACT results. Northeastern’s CEEB College Code is 3667 / ACT College Code is 1880. Test scores must be sent to Northeastern directly from the testing agency. January test scores for regular decision candidates if received by February 15.*
  • Portfolios are required for Studio Art, and are encouraged for majors within the College of Arts, Media and Design. Beginning in Spring 2018, a portfolio is no longer required for Music Technology applicants. Northeastern uses SlideRoom for online portfolio submissions. Visit these pages to learn more details regarding the portfolio requirements forStudio Art, Music Technology, and all other CAMD majors.
Application Information
  • General Equivalency Diploma (GED) recipients should provide their official GED score reports and their most complete high school transcript.
  • Home-schooled applicants should submit an academic portfolio/transcript consistent with their state guidelines. This should include grades for each course. They must also provide proof that they will have met by the end of May of the year of graduation all requirements for an official high school diploma and submit an official final transcript, a GED, or a certificate of completion from your local school district or state board of education by the end of July of the year of matriculation. Home-schooled students must submit either the SAT exam or the ACT with writing exam. In addition to the ACT or SAT, two SAT subject tests, including mathematics and an additional subject test of the student’s choice, are required. Students who are applying for majors in the Bouvé College of Health Sciences, the College of Computer and Information Science, or the College of Science should take a science subject test as their second exam. Applicants to the College of Engineering should take the physics subject test unless they are applying for chemical engineering, in which case the chemistry subject test is required.
  • Non-traditional grading policies: Students who attend schools where narrative evaluations are used instead of traditional letter grades are required to submit the narratives to complete their applications.
  • English proficiency: Northeastern seeks to enroll the most talented and academically qualified students. Even if your English proficiency falls below our recommendations, we have the expertise and necessary academic infrastructure to support students who need to improve their English skills. Our support system includes many on-campus resources and a dedicated pre-matriculation program called American Classroom. We require students’ English proficiency score are a 92 on the internet-based TOEFL exam (reading sub score 22, listening sub score 22, speaking sub score 24, and writing sub score 22), 6.5 on the IELTS exam (no band below 6.0), or a 62 on the PTE exam (no band below 62). Only students with these scores and above will be eligible for merit scholarship considerations.

*For applicants applying from outside the United States, SAT or ACT scores are not required and will not be considered for admission if submitted. Applicants are encouraged to submit results from nationally accredited exams that signify completion of secondary education and are required for entry into universities in their home country. Applicants who attend a high school in the U.S., or student athletes who must meet NCAA eligibility requirements, are required to submit their official SAT or ACT results.

Note: It is your responsibility to ensure that any test scores are submitted directly to Northeastern University by the testing service.

Enrollment Checklist

Please view your Application Status Check to view your enrollment checklist and next steps/important dates to note in order to enroll at Northeastern.

Next Steps

You will receive a number of communications in the coming months, including information on financial planning, registering for spring admitted student events, registering for New Student Orientation, housing and roommate assignments, and moving in, among other items. Please be sure to contact the Office of Undergraduate Admissions if your email address changes. In addition, make sure to check your Application Status Check and your MyNEU Admitted Student Portal for the most up-to-date information.

What to Expect, and When

Here’s what admitted students can expect, and when.

  1. Offer of Financial Assistance: Available At Time Of Admission Decision
  2. New Student Orientation Information: In April, After Deposit Is Received
  3. Health Report Form: In April
  4. Information On Financial Planning, Billing, And Loans: May–July
  5. Housing Assignment: Beginning In Mid-June
  6. Information About the Mandatory Office of Global Services Sessions Scheduled For International Students With F-1 Visa: Beginning In Mid-June
  7. Move-In Instructions and Campus Information: 
Beginning In Mid-August
  8. First Billing Statement: Four To Six Weeks Before Start of Term
  9. Health Insurance and Waiver Information: Four To Six weeks before Start Of Term, along with First Billing Statement
  10. Student Employment Registration Information: During Orientation
Enrollment Information