For the class of 2026, Northeastern received a record 90,000 applicants, accepting around 6,000. Their selective admissions have placed the university on par with prestigious institutions like Northwestern and Washington University in St. Louis, which were ranked significantly higher in previous years. So how did an institution once classified as a commuter school’s acceptance rate drop to 6.7 percent during the 2022-23 admission cycle?
During the 2021-22 cycle Northeastern admitted almost 14,000 students, its highest population of students to date. Yet, this resulted in several issues, the most noticeable being overcrowding.
Northeastern’s facilities, like its three dining halls, became notoriously packed, with many students unable to find a place to sit and eat after using up a meal swipe. Marino Recreation Center, the primary student and faculty gym, became virtually impossible to find empty, with long lines frequently forming around popular equipment.
“I feel like I’m always overstimulated in Marino. I go at off hours — like 7 a.m. or 2 p.m. — and it’s crowded no matter what,” said Soph Berdan, a first-year pharmacy student.
To compensate for the number of students, the university implemented forced doubles, triples, and quads in residential buildings; rooms designed to fit one to two students can now house up to four. Despite modified, cramped accommodations students pay the same price.
As space on campus filled up, a separate tower of the Sheraton Hotel was purchased, a hotel located a few blocks from campus that has previously been used to house extra students. Although there are some advantages to the accommodations, like private bathrooms and extra space, the distance from the campus left some students feeling detached from student life.
“I enjoy living near Prudential and Copley, but I’d prefer to live closer to campus. It becomes really inconvenient to go back and forth so often,” said Tessa Joseph, a first-year health and data science major.
Now, Northeastern is attempting to resolve overcrowding with even more selective admissions. A spot on the Boston campus is more elusive than ever and deferral to Northeastern’s first-year global experience program N.U.in where students spend their first semester abroad — and NU Bound — where students spend their first year at the Oakland or London campuses — have risen. Most recently, the university announced itthey had acquired another campus in Miami.
In an email from President Aoun, Northeastern described these acquisitions as “a transformational step forward for our global community.” Although alternative placements have freed up space, existing students at the acquired campuses have expressed concerns over losing existing campus culture.
For now, applicants continue to spike, which some suspect could be due to the lack of supplemental essays required as well as the new, external prestige the university has developed. As Decision Day approaches for the class of 2027, it will be crucial to see how admissions play out.