Absolutely, it’s all part of the equation. But it’s a known thing they did a better job than most or all schools with working up the rankings by reverse engineering the formula best. This brought them better students, and more applicants, better alumni money, and on and on. One of the reasons we applied!
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Interesting. And thank you! Tell me more about the reverse engineering for ranking. What are the elements that go into ranking that NU focused on?
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They got USNews to use the 6 year graduation rate instead of the 4 year rate.
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There are many metrics. Average sat scores, GPAs, graduation rates, campus ratings, average pay after graduating, acceptance rate, low income acceptances, alumni network, rigor of studies, and dozens more.
Yield percentage is one of the key metrics. It supposedly represents how badly a given student wants to go to that school. However, you can tweak that number a lot by only taking ED students and target students who are very likely to accept (even if not the best). Northeastern isn’t alone in doing this. It’s a business after all.
Many schools play the ranking game. For instance, U Chicago is notorious for going all out to maximize the number of applications, which in turn reduces acceptance rates, which helps their ranking.
Northeastern is an excellent school, especially with the experience based co-op system.
If you search the web for “northeastern gaming rankings” you can find articles about it.
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There’s no doubt that Northeastern tactically moved up the rankings. That’s common to all schools and NE does it particularly well. But it’s not just a numbers game. The opening of the EXP and ISEC centers gives the college world class facilities to rival those of any college. Plus, there has been a shift to experiential learning generally in US higher ed, and NE was already a national leader in that area. Northeastern is well placed to take advantage of the way that students and parents are thinking about higher ed – i.e. it should be a meaningful experience with a tangibile career focus. In that sense, NE’s increased popularity and move up the rankings reflects shifting educational priorities as much as gaming the system.
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There was only one article that referred to Northeastern as “gaming” the system. It was the infamous Boston Magazine article, which once you get past the clickbait headline was a very positive article about the university. That article was reprinted in other publications, often without credit.
In a bit of karma, Boston Magazine had its offices in Horticultural Hall down the street from Northeastern. The university bought the building and notified the magazine that their lease would not be renewed. 
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Yeah. The incorrect word here is probably gaming, which may be taken by some as being disingenuous. They just were better than most at analyzing how rankings worked and folding that into their process, just as they were ahead of the curve with the experiential co-op learning (you’re right about the fact that many parents now see that as THE most important factor in choosing a school)
I think the rankings “game” and the merits of the school programs have been symbiotic. One drives the other. The rankings drive demand, allowing the school better students, outcomes, more income to work off of, and that in turn allows the school to invest further. In the same manner that circles around and also improves rankings from that side, and the cycle continues.
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My son got in RD, if you received merit, where did you find it?
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Jeff Selingo’s book, Who Gets in and Why, has a whole section about Northeastern, how its president several years ago set out to move the school up in the US News rankings, and how the school changed to accomplish that goal.
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I came here to say just that! The book is a good read, whether or not you are interested in the Northeastern chapter
Typically merit is given with admissions in a separate tab in their admissions portal
Results for D24
Rejected for computer science and bio:
Rank: Top 10
GPA: 4.64 W/ 4.0 UW
ACT: 36
SAT: 1550
15 APs, 350 community service hours, varsity tennis, part-time math tutor, USABO semifinalist, computing award, national merit semifinalist, selective summer program
We are a little disappointed but not incredibly surprised because of how competitive the applicant pool has become.
Those are incredible stats. Your daughter might have got into top schools and good programs. Don’t worry about one school.
All the best ! This May be yield protection by NU
Congrats to your kid, those are super stats and no doubt she would have gotten other great college acceptances. Unfortunately, NU seems to be yield protecting here.
Daughter waitlisted by NEU.
UW GPA 4.0. Weighted GPA 4.71. Advanced in music. College level research in Senior Year. Test Optional. Varsity Swim team and Frisbee team.
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Did your daughter apply for music?
My daughter got in RD and just realized yesterday (when looking for info on admitted students weekend in the portal) that she got merit aid. I think she said it said something like “Click here for your financial info” and she had skipped it because we don’t qualify for need-based aid (and didn’t even apply). They still gave her $5000 for her first year and $2500 per full semester during her upperclass years. I don’t understand the language of “$2500 per full semester during her upperclass years.” Wouldn’t it just be $5K/year?
She won’t get it when she does co-op.
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Can merit aid be used towards NUin?
I don’t know. Good question for the financial aid office I guess.
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