By Amy Sullivan
Northeastern officials are saying the university has become more selective in choosing which students to accept because of the increase in applications over recent years, and next year’s freshman class will be no different.
In fact, Northeastern’s admissions office received approximately 27 percent more applications this year than last year. According to Director of University Communications Ed Klotzbier, about 21,400 high school seniors applied for admission to NU in the fall of 2003. Of those applicants, the university is aiming for a class of 2008 numbering at about 2,800 students. This is the same number Northeastern hoped for last year, though the university overshot that figure by 173 students.
Klotzbier said this is due to the fact that “more students have accepted invitations in recent years; more students who have been accepted are coming.”
“We read every application, and that took a lot of time,” said Dean of Admissions Ronne Patrick. “One of our staff members read 2,100 applications. We had to make a lot of adjustments and we had to get it done.”
Although it is too early to tell what next year’s freshman class will look like, those applying had a mean SAT score of 1131, up nearly 19 points from last years pool of applicants, according to Patrick. She also noted that the average GPA of last year’s applicants was around a 3.0, where as this year’s applicants are averaging a 3.3.
Northeastern President Richard Freeland said that NU has been able to do something in recent years that opens the eyes of prospective students.
“It definitely has something to do with us really resonating with young people today,” Freeland said. “Now, Northeastern’s name adds some more value to your degree when you graduate.”
Freeland also attributed much of Northeastern’s rise in popularity to the national advertising campaign over the last few years.
“If you’re a younger place and you haven’t been around for 300 years like Harvard and you want people to know what you’re about, you have to tell the story,” Freeland said.
Senior Vice President of Enrollment and Student Life Philomena Mantella said that the higher number of applicants means Northeastern will become more selective in choosing who is accepted to the university.
“With that many applicants, we become more selective, by virtue of the fact that we have received so many more applications but are still taking the same number of students,” she said.
Over the past few years Northeastern has continuously received more applications, allowing the university to accept about the same number of students it has in past years, though the percentage of the applicant pool that is accepted has steadily decreased. According to Patrick, this means that the university is selecting more “talent” to add to the Northeastern community.
“Admissions at Northeastern is competitive,” she said. “In competitive admissions, you try to select the best applicants from the applicant pool. With this year’s pool we will automatically be selecting more talent.”
Freshman journalism major Christina Peaslee does not mind.
“The more selective the university becomes, the more prestigious it gets, and that only means that a degree from this school will look better by the time we graduate,” she said.
Senior biology major Sara Thorsrud, far removed from the admissions process, believes she still would not have a problem getting into Northeastern if she were to apply now, despite the higher standards.
“I didn’t know there were higher standards,” Thorsrud said. “I think Northeastern needs higher standards.”
According to Patrick, Northeastern does not have predetermined standards for admissions. She said that the Admissions Office is shaping next year’s freshman class based on many factors.
“We have so many students applying who have the potential to be very successful here,” she said.
The significantly higher number of applicants has left many wondering what exactly is making the university so appealing to prospective students. Patrick pointed out that such an immense increase was not the typical demographic increase. She said Northeastern’s application increase was much larger than most colleges and universities this year.
Freeland attributed some of NU’s appeal to “our formula for providing students with a full university experience and also a leg up.”
“When U.S. News ranks co-op number one in the country, it makes students interested. It gives Northeastern that much more of a brand recognition,” Klotzbier said.
Mantella said no one factor brought on the increase in NU’s popularity, but that there were a number of contributing factors.
“There is never one silver bullet that makes more students apply. Everything from the admissions effort to the look of the campus contributes,” she said.
Mantella believes that one of those contributing factors is more national recognition of the university.
“When students have good experiences they share them with other students, and it opens up a whole new market,” she said.
