Ujima Scholars and Honors at Northeastern University

[AzolesRale]

Hello! I’m very interested in Northeastern University and I had questions about their Ujima Scholars (I will refer to it US) and Honors programs.

Honors:
There are many threads about the Honors program already so I’ll keep it short.
1: What do Honors candidates look like in terms of stats?
2: Do EA or ED increase the likelihood of being accepted? Does anything else help?
3: For NEU Honors students: Has the Honors program enhanced your NEU experience and if so, to what extent?

Ujima Scholars:
There’s not much about this on CC, and I’m super interested in this program.
5: What do US candidates look like in terms of stats?
6: How can applicants demonstrate interest in the program? What is the program looking for?
7: For NEU US: Has the US program enhanced your NEU experience and if so, to what extent?
8: For NEU US: What have you accomplished as a result of being in the program?
9: Was your financial need actually met? Did the program make NEU affordable for you?

General:
10: Are the programs “stackable”? Can a student be in both?

Please answer whichever questions you can. Thank you very much!

[AzolesRale]

^ Bump.

[ffdiwtkh]

I can answer some questions! Students can be in both – when I received my decision yesterday I was put into the honors program and Ujima scholars. I founded an African American heritage club at my school, so I feel as though this may have had some impact on my acceptance into the US program. Through US I got a 15k/year scholarship so it definitely increased affordability.

I applied ED I and my stats were:
1410 superscore SAT
3.75 UW, 4.232 UW GPA
Strong essays and recommendations
Lots of community involvement, VP of Chorus and another club that I founded, NHS, Beta Club, Social Studies Honors, Spanish Honors, English Honors
Internship
Demonstrated interest and made lots of contact with my admissions counselor

[AzolesRale]

@ffdiwtkh Wow! Congratulations! You must be super thrilled!

If it’s financially possible for my family, I really want to apply ED at NEU. It’s so cool to see someone who’s both in Honors and US, since that’s what I’m trying to go for!

Do you have any hooks? I’m a URM at a PWI and that’s pretty much it. I was also wondering how one demonstrates interest in the program. Thanks in advance!

[ffdiwtkh]

I’m also a URM at a PWI! I’m also from a suburb in Georgia, and I believe there is only one other ED admit from my state.

If you’d like to demonstrate interest in Northeastern, definitely go for a campus tour/visit and one of the information sessions for your major. Start emailing your admissions counselor the summer before senior year just to introduce yourself, express interest in Honors and US and present any questions that you have about the programs or the school in general! Hope I could help

[AzolesRale]

@ffdiwtkh That’s awesome! I’m in New England, so I bet there’ll be a ton of ED applicants from my area.

I’m definitely planning to visit as soon as possible. How do you know who your admissions counselor is? Do you just email admissions? I’m a sophomore so I’m still in the learning phase of the college admissions process.

Which college did you apply to? I’m 95% sure I’m going to apply to the College of Science for their behavioral neuroscience program.

Also, if you don’t mind me asking, was cost a concern for your family? My family is middle-class but we live in a very, very high cost-of-living area and paying for college is a major concern for us, not to mention how expensive NEU is. That’s pretty much the only thing that would prevent me from applying ED.

Being in Honors or US would be a huge help financially, plus the programs sound super fascinating. I think I’d have a good shot with US because I have a lot of diversity work under my belt and it’s something I’m super passionate about. Honors might be a long shot for me due to a) living in an applicant-dense region b) I have similar grades to you but at an incredibly competitive school and c) I have a C on my transcript (in AP Chem, but still.) I guess we’ll have to see during junior year.

Thank you so much for your thoughtful answers! I really, really appreciate them.

[ffdiwtkh]

I was able to find my admissions counselor here: https://www.northeastern.edu/admissions/connect/admissions-staff/

I applied to the College of Computing and Information Sciences as a Computer Science and Information Science major (lol). Cost was definitely a concern for my family. Like you, my family is middle-class in a upper middle/high-class area. I was concerned about not being able to get financial aid that would meet my family’s needs when I applied ED, but I was assured by my admissions counselor that I would be able to receive a package that would meet our needs 100%. I still have not received the details of my financial aid package, but I’m sure that it will help my family and meet my needs!

I do think I should clarify, though. The honors program does not provide any scholarships or aid money; however US does. I also think you have a very good chance for US, and if you are passionate about diversity and community work I would encourage you to seek leadership positions! You also have a good shot at honors, but from what I heard there’s no exact formula to honors participants: it’s pretty much holistic, but with a larger emphasis on academic GPA and test scores. I also don’t think the C from AP Chem would deter anything – that’s a high rigor course and it shows your commitment to your desired major!

[AzolesRale]

@ffdiwtkh Thanks for the admissions counselor info! When will you receive your financial aid? I just assumed they tell you with your admission decision.

If it’s relevant, I got a 1450 (220 cutoff score) on the PSAT, which is awesome since I’m trying to be a NMSF next year. Just 3 more selection index points! And I managed to raise my C to a B-, so I’m pretty happy. I’m hoping that’ll help me stand a chance in the huge pool of applicants from New England. I wonder what the criteria for Honors is. From the other CC threads, it’s super hard to predict. Hopefully, I’ll get lucky in two years. Thank you so much for answering my questions! Is there anything else about either of the programs you can tell me?