Required Materials

Every avenue to Northeastern is unique. Please take a moment to find the required application documents and deadlines for your path.

You are considered a first-year applicant if:

• You are still in high school
• You graduated from high school or earned your GED, but did not enroll in a degree-seeking program at a college or university

If you took college courses in high school, plan to attend a college summer session immediately after you graduate from high school, or are in a dual-enrollment program (receiving your high school diploma and an Associate’s degree at the same time), you would still apply as a first-year.

Northeastern University has a long-standing commitment to the city of Boston, including Boston Public High School students and graduates. If you are a current Boston Public High School student or recent graduate, please view our Northeastern University and the City of Boston pamphlet for more information.

First-Year Application Requirements

Application

• You may submit either the CommonApplication or Coalition Application
• Your application must be submitted by the deadline, along with either the non-refundable application fee ($75) or a fee waiver request.

Transcripts

• Your high school should submit the Mid-Year Report if you were deferred to Regular Decision.
• You will need to provide an official translation for any transcripts which are not provided in English.
• If you are applying from a high school with non-traditional grading policies or narrative evaluations instead of traditional grades, you are required to submit your narrative reports in order for your application to be complete.
• If you have been out of high school for more than one year, you are still required to submit your most recent transcript.
• If you earned your GED, you must submit an official GED score report, along with your high school transcript through the final year you completed.

Advanced Credits

• Freshman are eligible to receive credit from Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) examinations, or from certain international maturity certificate examinations. Learn more here.
• If you received credit for any courses completed at a college or university, you must request for an official college or university transcript to be sent directly to Northeastern.

Standardized Tests

Counselor Recommendation and Teacher Evaluation

We require one teacher recommendation and one school counselor recommendation. If someone else has written on your behalf and offers a different viewpoint, you may submit 1-2 additional recommendations if you would like, but please know that due to the number of applications we receive we may not be able to consider all of them as part of our evaluation. Please ask your recommender to send their letter as a PDF to admissions@northeastern.edu.

English Proficiency

All first-year and transfer applicants, regardless of citizenship, must demonstrate proficiency in English to be considered for admission to Northeastern. You can complete the requirement in the following ways:

• You are a native English speaker.
• You are a non-native English speaker, and you submit official results from a valid English Language Test. Northeastern will accept the following:
  • C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency (Cambridge English)
  • Duolingo English Test (DET)
  • IELTS Academic
  • PTE Academic
  • TOEFL Internet-based Test (Northeastern will accept either the in-person iBT completed in a test center, or the online iBT Home Edition. Northeastern’s TOEFL Code is 3667.)

  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.

  Other Requirements

  • If you are applying to the College of Arts, Media and Design, you can submit a portfolio under your Application Status Check after applying to Northeastern. Applicants are encouraged to complete all forms, including Academic Profile, Media Uploads, and Personal Statement (500-word limit). Please only submit one portfolio. Additional submissions will not be reviewed. Click here for more information and deadlines.
  • If you are a U.S. Citizen, U.S. Permanent Resident or eligible noncitizen applying for need-based financial aid, you must submit the FAFSA and CSS Profile.
  • If you are an international student, you must submit the Declaration and Certification of Finances (DCF). Please read the International Applicants page for more information.

  You should review the information found below if:

  • You are a non-U.S. Citizen applying to Northeastern from a high school or university in any country around the world, even the U.S.
  • You are a U.S. Citizen applying from a high school or university outside of the U.S.

  You will find application information under Applying, enrollment information under Admitted Students, and additional details about services available for students, under Support.

  International application requirements

  Application

  • You may submit either the CommonApplication or Coalition Application
  • Your application must be submitted by the deadline, along with either the non-refundable application fee ($75) or a fee waiver request.

  Transcripts

  When reviewing your application, Northeastern’s Admissions Committee will initially focus on your academic records, which include your high school transcript; final or predicted results from any national, regional, or international examinations; any university transcripts. Provided below are additional details on the academic records which Northeastern requires from all first-year and transfer applicants. All first-year applicants will be required to self-report their coursework and grades. The platform to submit will be available this fall. All applicants will receive an updated communication on next steps.

  High School Transcripts

  • All high school transcripts must be sent directly to Northeastern by your high school by the application deadline. Any transcripts sent by you, your family or an independent educational consultant will not be accepted.
  • First-year applicants must provide a transcript which includes final grades from grades 9, 10, and 11 (or the international equivalents). Additionally:
    • If 9th Grade in your education system is considered middle school, please exclude 9th Grade.
    • If you apply for Regular Decision, or 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 (with date of graduation).

    University Transcripts

    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 Exams

    If progression or promotion in your country or education system requires you to complete any externally assessed examinations, please read the following section, as Northeastern will require you to submit your final results (or predicted grades, if your final results are not available until after admissions decisions are released).

    • If promotion into your pre-university education requires externally assessed exams, your high school must send a copy of your final results certificate to Northeastern. Examples include your GCSE/IGCSE/GCE O-Level exam results, Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) exam results, Malaysian SPM exam results, or Indian Standard X board exam results.
    • If you are applying from an education system that culminates in any externally assessed national, regional, or international high school graduation exams which are required for admission into a bachelor’s degree-seeking university program in your home country, Northeastern highly recommends sending final results or predicted grades along with your application. Examples include results from any IB exams, GCE A-Level exams, Cambridge Pre-U exams, Baccalauréat exams, Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Exams, Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education (HKDSE) exams, Malaysian SPM exams, West African Senior School Certificate Exams, or Indian Standard XII board exams.
      • For students who will graduate before admissions decisions are released: final results must be submitted by the exam board, or as a certified copy by your high school.
      • If you will not receive your final results until after admissions decisions are released: predicted grades should instead be submitted by your high school should.
      • 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 statement. 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

      While Northeastern’s application requirements are largely identical for all first-year applicants and all transfer applicants – the application with Northeastern-specific questions, your academic records, secondary school report or college report, recommendation letters, standardized testing (optional), and English proficiency – the documents which ultimately satisfy those requirements, specifically for the academic records, will sometimes vary by education system. Below are the application requirements for common international education systems. If you do not see your education system listed below, contact admissions@northeastern.edu.

      • American Overseas High Schools
      • IB Diploma Program
      • British A-Levels
      • Chinese National High Schools
      • French Baccalauréat
      • Indian Standard XII

      Standardized Testing

      Northeastern University is test-optional for the foreseeable future 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 first-year and transfer applicants, regardless of citizenship, must demonstrate proficiency in English to be considered for admission to Northeastern.

      Requirement

      • Most non-native English-speaking applicants will be required to submit official results from a valid English Language Test. Northeastern will accept the following:
        • C1 Advanced or C2 Proficiency (Cambridge English)
        • Duolingo English Test (DET)
        • IELTS Academic
        • PTE Academic
        • TOEFL Internet-based Test ( CEEB Code: 3667) – Northeastern will accept results from either the in-person iBT completed in a test center or the online iBT Home Edition.

        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

        Northeastern will consider your official results (sent directly from the testing agency or exam board to Northeastern) from any valid test (i.e. no more than 2 years old from the test date) for one of the approved English Language Tests indicated on this page.

        Northeastern does not have minimum score requirements. Instead, we publish the middle 50% range for enrolling students, which means 25% of the enrolling students received a higher score, and 25% of the enrolling students received a lower score.

        Please note: the scores provided are not cut-off scores, but for estimating purposes, and in no way represent a promise or guarantee of admission.

        • 190 to 202 on either C1 Advanced (CAE) or C2 Proficiency (CPE)
        • 130 to 145 on the Duolingo English Test (DET)
        • 7.0 to 8.0 on the IELTS Academic
        • 68 to 81 on the PTE Academic
        • 99 to 112 on TOEFL Internet-Based Test (Northeastern will accept either the in-person iBT completed in a test center, or the online iBT Home Edition. Northeastern’s TOEFL Code is 3667.)
        • Northeastern does not accept results from the following tests: IELTS Indicator, PTE Academic Online, TOEFL Essentials, or TOEFL ITP.

        Additional Information

        • Results should be submitted to Northeastern by the application deadline. If you plan to take an English Language Test for a first or additional time, once the application is submitted or the application deadline has passed, please indicate planned future test dates on your application. Results will still be accepted after the deadline, but we cannot guarantee we will be able to wait for your results before making an admissions decision. Northeastern will focus on your most recent English Language Test results, and does not superscore results 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 NU Immerse, a one-year transitional acculturation and English language support program.

        Waiving Your English Proficiency Requirement

        Northeastern will waive the English proficiency requirement for applicants who meet the following criteria:

        • You submit a waiver request through your Application Status Check portal. (Your waiver request will typically be reviewed within 3-5 business days, once your application is otherwise complete.)
        • Immediately before enrolling at Northeastern, you will complete 4 consecutive, full-time academic years at institutions where native English was the primary instructional language for all courses except foreign language acquisition courses.
        • Students are also strongly encouraged to provide either predicted or final results, which meet the minimum score requirements, for any of the exams listed below:
          • 4 or 5 on AP English Language & Composition
          • 4 or 5 on AP English Literature & Composition
          • 5 or higher on IB English A: Language & Literature (HL or SL)
          • 5 or higher on IB English A: Literature (HL or SL)
          • 6 or higher on IB English B HL
          • 7 on IB English B SL
          • B or higher on A-Level or AS-Level English Language
          • B or higher on A-Level or AS-Level English Literature
          • B/6 or higher on GCSE/International GCSE/IGCSE English Language (including First Language English)
          • B/6 or higher on GCSE/International GCSE/IGCSE English Literature (including Literature in English)
          • B or higher in a university course (completed on a university campus, with other university students, and taught by university faculty) which is considered as an equivalent to Northeastern’s First Year Writing (ENGW 1111). Review the Transfer Equivalency Database to learn whether your course is considered as an equivalent course.

          Please note: If you were enrolled in courses which were designed for English Language Learners (such as any ESL courses) for more than one academic year (during the 4 years being reviewed for your waiver request), you are strongly encouraged to submit either final results from one of the English exams indicated above – AP English, IB English, (I)GCSE English or A-Level/AS-Level English – or official results from an approved English Language Test.

          Interviews

          Northeastern does not offer alumni or on-campus interviews, but we 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. Neither will replace English language testing however, when testing is required.

          While there is no deadline for submitting any virtual third-party interview, you must submit your InitialView or Vericant interview by the following dates, if you would like either interview evaluated by the Admissions Committee:

          • 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 $28,000 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.

          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
          101 Belvidere, 3rd Floor
          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

          You are considered a transfer applicant if:

          • You will have completed at least 12 semester hours of college-level coursework (after your high school graduation).
          • You have attempted at least one semester of full-time coursework and maintained enrollment through the add/drop period.
          • You already received your bachelor’s degree from another college or university but you are choosing to apply for a second bachelor’s degree.

          If you are currently in a dual-enrollment program, earning your high school diploma and an Associate’s degree at the same time, you should apply as a first-year student. Dual-enrollment courses can be considered for transfer credit.

          If you’re an international student or are applying from a college or university located outside of the United States, you should also read the International Applicants page.