Application Information and Deadlines
All first-year and transfer applicants must apply with either the Common Application or Coalition Application. Please use the links below to review our application requirements and deadlines, and learn more about applying as a freshman or transfer to Northeastern.
On the application and any supporting documents, please use your name as it appears on your passport.
Northeastern expects all applicants to submit an application (essays, transcripts, test scores, etc.) that is in its entirety completed by the applicant. No part of the application can be completed by persons (including paid agents, admissions support agencies, or personnel) other than the student applying for admission. Use of such services violates Northeastern policies, and will lead to the rejection of application materials, the revocation of an admissions offer, cancellation of admission, or involuntary withdrawal from the university.
High School Transcript and Academic Records
All freshman applicants will be expected (prior to enrolling) to complete a pre-university education program, earning a graduation certificate or diploma which will enable you to apply to university in your home country. Examples include your High School Diploma, IB Diploma, General Certificate of Education (GCE) Advanced Levels (A-Levels), Attestat o Srednem (Polnom) Obshchem Obrazovanii, Baccalauréat, Bachillerato, General Secondary Education Certificate, Indian Standard XII Higher Secondary School Certificate, or West African Senior School Certificate.
- All high school transcripts and academic records must be sent directly to Northeastern by your high school by the application deadline. Transcripts sent by you, your family or an independent educational consultant will not be accepted.
- If you are deferred to Regular Decision from an earlier round, your high school should send the Mid-Year Report with an updated high school transcript.
- If you’ve graduated from high school or will graduate before admissions decisions are released, your high school should send your final high school transcript.
- If your education system does not issue transcripts, your high school must provide the academic records which detail the courses you’ve taken throughout high school, and the grades which you’ve received. Examples include internal grade reports, term or semester reports, mark sheets, or promotional or provisional examination results.
If you are applying as a transfer student from an international university and wish to have courses evaluated for transfer credit after admittance, you will need to provide a certified transcript evaluation completed by a recognized credentialing agency, such as the Center for Educational Documentation (CED), SpanTran, World Education Services (WES), or another recognized credentialing agency and the credentialed evaluation must include the following:
- An indication that the institution is accredited in US terms
- A course by course credit and grade conversion
National Examinations
- If you were required to complete any national examinations to progress into your pre-university education program, your high school must submit a copy of your results certificate. Examples include any GCSE, IGCSE, GCE O-Levels, Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate, Indian Standard X Secondary School Certificate, or Malaysian SPM exams.
- If you are applying from an overseas high school and your secondary education culminates in national high school graduation examinations, the Admissions Committee highly recommends sending either predicted grades (if final results are not available until after the application deadline) or final results (if final results are available by the application deadline). Examples include any IB, GCE A-Level, Cambridge Pre-U, French Baccalauréat, Indian Standard XII Higher Secondary School Certificate, Australian ATAR (and senior secondary certificate), CAPE, HKDSE, Malaysian STPM, or WASSCE exams.
Predicted Grades
While excluded from our standardized testing policy, the Admissions Committee highly recommends predicted grades for applicants from overseas high schools whose secondary education culminates in externally assessed high school graduation exams or university entrance exams.
- If you will not receive your final results until after the application deadline, your high school can instead submit predicted grades.
- If your final results are available before the application deadline, final results must instead be submitted by the examination board or your high school.
- Furthermore, all enrolling students will be required to submit final exam results, even students who applied “test optional” to Northeastern, as final exams also serve as proof of high school graduation.
- If you are applying from a high school in the United States, submitting predicted grades is not required but entirely optional. Instead, you are encouraged to submit your first semester or first trimester grades once they become available, and your mid-year grades if you applied for Regular Decision or were deferred to Regular Decision from an earlier round.
Predicted results should be submitted with the High School Transcript, Secondary School Report, or Counselor Recommendation; or submitted by a designated school official from a verifiable school email address, using either Northeastern’s Predicted Grades Request Form or your high school’s own predicted grades form.
If your final test scores are not within an acceptable range of your predicted results, Northeastern reserves the right to rescind any offers of admission.
Application Requirements for Common International Education Systems
American Patterned Education/American Overseas High Schools/DoDEA High Schools
- High School Transcript with final grades for U.S. Grades 9, 10 and 11, and as much as is available for 12th Grade by the application deadline.
International Baccalaureate
- Requirements for U.S. Grades 9 and 10 will vary depending on the curriculum:
- Typically, we require your transcript from 9th and 10th Grades.
- If you were enrolled in an education system which required you to complete compulsory secondary school leaving examinations, such as any GCSE, IGCSE, or GCE O-Level exams, your high school should submit copies of your final results certificates.
- High School Transcript for IB Year 1 (U.S. Grade 11), and as much as is available for IB Year 2 (12th Grade) by the application deadline.
- Predicted or Final IB Results (sent by High School or Exam Board)
British Patterned Education
- Final GCSE, IGCSE, or GCE O-Level Results Certificate (sent by High School or Exam Board)
- Final GCE AS-Level Results (if applicable)
- Predicted or Final GCE A-Level or Cambridge Pre-U Results (sent by High School or Exam Board)
Chinese National Curriculum
- Senior Middle School Transcript with final grades for Year 1 and 2, and as much as is available for Year 3 by the application deadline.
- In addition to providing the documents included above, please note the following:
- If you are studying the British curriculum, you must also provide all documents which are required from students studying in British Patterned Education.
- If you are studying the IB curriculum, you must also provide all documents which are required from students studying in International Baccalaureate.
French Patterned Education
- Final Brevet Results
- Bulletins from each trimester in Seconde, Première, and as much as is available for Terminale by the application deadline.
- Predicted or Final Bac Results (not Bac Blanc) for all subjects, on the 20-Point Scale (sent by High School or Exam Board)
Indian National Curriculum
- Final Standard X Exam Results Certificate (sent by High School or Exam Board)
- Class XI and XII Marksheet (optional, if providing predicted or final Standard XII results; required, if not providing predicted or final Standard XII results)
- Predicted or Final Standard XII Exam Results Certificate (sent by High School or Exam Board)
Standardized Testing
Optional Standardized Testing: For the 2022-2023 academic year, Northeastern University is test-optional and does not require applicants to submit standardized testing to be considered for admission.
- All complete applications will be fully considered for admission to Northeastern, invitation to the University Honors Program, and any merit scholarships.
- If you choose to apply without standardized testing, you will not be penalized or disadvantaged.
- If you choose to submit standardized testing, you may submit the SAT(CEEB Code 3667), ACT (College Code 1880), or both.
- Northeastern super-scores and will only consider your best score between the two types of tests.
- All applicants from U.S. and international high schools will be able to choose to submit standardized testing (SAT or ACT) or not.
Non-native English-speaking applicants must continue to submit official results from an approved English Language Test or request a waiver through the Application Status Check. For additional information, please read the English Language Proficiency section below.
English Language Proficiency
Northeastern students will be exposed to not only a rigorous academic environment but also a fast-paced experiential one. In order to be successful in both, all freshman and transfer applicants, regardless of citizenship, must demonstrate proficiency in English to be considered for admission to Northeastern.
Requirement
Once your application is submitted, received, and processed, you will be able to access your Application Status Check. If you are required to provide further information regarding your proficiency in English, you will be able to complete the requirement in several ways, depending on your familiarity with English, and the frequency with which you use English each and every day:
- Non-native English-speaking applicants will be required to submit official and valid results from one of the following English Language Tests:
- However, based on your academic environment and the primary instructional language in either your high school or university, you may be eligible for a waiver. All waivers must be submitted through your Application Status Check. For additional information and to determine whether or not you are eligible for a waiver, please read the section below on waiving the English proficiency requirement.
Please note: Northeastern’s Admissions Committee reserves the right to request proof of English language proficiency from any applicant, regardless of citizenship or first language, at any time during the evaluation process.
English Language Testing
If you are required to submit English Language Testing, you must submit results from one of the five tests listed below. Your results must be both valid (i.e. no more than 2 years old by the application deadline) and official (i.e. sent directly to Northeastern from the testing agency). The ranges provided below represent the middle 50% score ranges for students who were admitted and enrolled as first-year students in Fall 2020 and Spring 2021. Please note: the scores provided below are not cut-off scores, but for estimating purposes, and in no way represent a promise or guarantee of admission.
- 185 to 204 on either C1 Advanced (CAE) or C2 Proficiency (CPE)
- 120 to 130 on the Duolingo English Test (DET)
- 7.0 to 8.0 on the IELTS Academic
- 68 to 76 on the PTE Academic
- 99 to 108 on TOEFL Internet-Based Test (CEEB Code 3667)
For prospective students applying for the 2022-23 academic year, Northeastern will also consider results from the TOEFL iBT Home Edition and the IELTS Indicator. Results from the TOEFL ITP Plus for China will not be accepted.
Additional Information
- Results should be submitted to Northeastern by the application deadline. If you plan to take an English language test for the first or an additional time, once the application is submitted or the deadline has passed, please indicate planned future test dates on your application.
- Results submitted to Northeastern after the application deadline will still be accepted, but we cannot guarantee we will be able to wait to receive your scores before making an admissions decision.
- Northeastern will focus on your most recent English language test results. While some applicants may submit results from multiple English language tests across multiple test dates to provide additional context, Northeastern will not superscore results from English language testing or consider MyBest scores from applicants who choose to submit the TOEFL iBT.
- If your English Language Testing indicates a need for additional study and support, but you otherwise meet the academic requirements for the degree-seeking program to which you applied, you may be considered for admission through N.U. Immerse, a one-year transitional acculturation and English language support program.
Waiving Your English Proficiency Requirement
- You achieved 4 or 5 on either AP English Language & Composition or AP English Language & Composition
- Your either achieved or you are predicted to achieve any of the following International Baccalaureate (IB) results:
- 5 or higher on English A: Language & Literature or English A: Literature (HL or SL)
- 6 or 7 on HL English B
- 7 on SL English B
- You either achieved or you are predicted to achieve B or higher on GCE A-Level or AS-Level English Language or English Literature
- You achieved B/6 or higher on GCSE English Language or English Literature
- You achieved B/6 or higher on International GCSE or IGCSE English Language or English Literature (including First Language English, English A, English B, and Literature in English)
- You achieved B or higher on GCE O-Level English Language
- You were enrolled in the American or British Option Internationale du Baccalauréat (OIB) section and you achieved or you are predicted to achieve 12 or higher on English Language & Literature
- For applicants whose high schools did not offer AP, IB, or A-Level courses: Northeastern will consider your waiver request if you completed your secondary education in a majority native English-speaking country, and you received no grades lower than a B (or the international equivalent) in any English language, literature or composition courses, including your high school’s standard 12th Grade English course (or higher).
If you were enrolled in any courses or programs which were designed for English Language Learners, such as any English as a Second Language courses, during the 4 years immediately before enrolling at Northeastern, you are not eligible for a waiver unless you can provide final results from one of the exams indicated above (i.e. AP English, IB English, A-Level English, or (I)GCSE). If you cannot provide final results, you should plan to submit results from an approved English language test.
If you meet the criteria for a waiver, you can submit a waiver request through your Application Status Check. Once submitted, if your application is otherwise complete, your request will be reviewed in 3-5 business days.
Interviews
Northeastern does not offer alumni or on-campus interviews, but Northeastern will consider and evaluate third-party, unscripted video interviews submitted through InitialView and Vericant, which will allow you to personally discuss your academic and personal background. Please note: neither will replace English language testing when testing is required.
In order for the Admissions Committee to review your interview before any admissions decisions are finalized, your interview must be received by the following deadlines:
- Early Decision I: November 15
- Early Action: December 1
- Early Decision II: January 15
- Regular Decision: February 1
Declaration and Certification of Finances (DCF)
All international students applying to Northeastern are required to complete and submit the Declaration and Certification of Finances (DCF), which is designed to assist the Admissions Committee in obtaining complete and accurate information about each applicant’s anticipated financial support. Each applicant must verify your ability to fully finance your Northeastern education, including tuition and fees, room and board, and personal living expenses. Information is necessary as the financial support for international students at Northeastern is limited:
- International students are not eligible for financial aid at Northeastern which includes both institutional need-based grants and federal student financial aid. Additional information for international students is available here.
- International students are eligible for merit scholarships which range from $10,000 to $30,000 per year. No additional application is necessary, as your application for admission serves as your scholarship application. Merit scholarships are extremely competitive, however, and do not cover the full cost of attendance.
Once your application is submitted, and processed by the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, you will be given access to your Application Status Check. You can access the DCF through your Application Status Check. Instructions are provided here. You should also review our frequently asked questions document for additional information.
Sending Documents
Documents should be submitted online through the Common Application or Coalition Application. Documents not submitted through an application can be sent from a high school or university email address to admissions@northeastern.edu or mailed. Mailing instructions are also available below.
- Test results must be sent directly to Northeastern from the testing agency or examination board.
- Transcripts must be sent directly from your high school or university.
- Results from national examinations, which are only released to the student, can either be scanned and sent to Northeastern from a verifiable high school email address, or a certified copy can also be mailed to Northeastern.
- Official English translations will be required for documents which are provided in languages other than English. A school official or a translation agency accredited in the country of the educational institution can issue the translation.
You can send your application fee or fee waiver requests (if being sent separately from the application) as well as FedEx, UPS, or Priority Mail packages to:
The Office of Undergraduate Admissions
200 Kerr Hall
Northeastern University
360 Huntington Ave.
Boston, MA 02115-5000 USA
Transcripts and recommendations which were not submitted online can be mailed to:
Northeastern University
Application Processing Center
P.O. Box 8210
Portsmouth, NH 03802 USA