Local vs College vs Gap Year

DadOfJerseyGirl
Thu, 23 Mar 2023 11:50:02 +0000

Bill_Marsh:

I was beyond shocked last year when Northeastern received 90,000 applications. It was never considered a top tier school, but there it was with a 7% acceptance rate.

That acceptance rate was unusually low last year because they had over enrolled the previous year and had to cut down the class size drastically. Should have been 10-12 points higher. Still a crazy low number for NEU, I agree. They’ve done a fantastic marketing job over the past decade to attract applicants from all over. They combine that with fee waivers and no supplemental essays to increase the number of applications.

Bill_Marsh:

The funny thing is that the dive to 21% will instantly make it more appealing to more applicants despite the back story.

You’re absolutely right - and these schools know it. Lowering the acceptance rate makes a school look more attractive because people associate “highly selective” with “great school”.