Northeastern Admission Requirements

Acceptance Rate

How hard is it to get into Northeastern and can I get accepted? The school has a 18% acceptance rate ranking it #8 in Massachusetts for lowest rate of acceptance. Last year, 11,240 out of 62,263 applicants were admitted making Northeastern a very highly competitive school to get into with a low chance of acceptance for typical applicants.  Academically, it has exceptionally high requirements for admission test scores, generally admitting students who score in the top 4 percent. Northeastern University typically accepts and attracts "A-" average high school students. Only 27% of those admitted chose to enroll in the school. Most incoming freshmen graduated in the top quarter of their high school class.

SAT Requirements & Average SAT Score

SAT Scores you need to get in

What are the SAT requirements for students to be admitted to Northeastern University?

Northeastern University typically requires applicants to be in the top 5 percent of SAT test takers. The school consistently takes SAT composite scores down to 1390 on a 1600 scale, below which admission should be considered a reach. We estimate some students could be accepted with SAT's as low as 1310. The estimated average SAT composite for admitted freshman is 1470 out of 1600. The school ranks #5 in Massachusetts for highest average SAT composite score. 39 percent of applicants submit SAT scores to the school.

Estimated Chance of Acceptance by SAT Score

ACT Requirements & Average ACT Score

ACT Scores needed to get accepted

What are the ACT requirements for prospective students to get into Northeastern?

Admission data indicates that Northeastern regularly accepts students with ACT's of 32 and above. Successful applicants typically send ACT scores in the top 3 percent nationally. We estimate the school accepting minimum ACT composite scores around 30 in some instances. Prospective students submitting an ACT composite of 34 or higher should be in the upper half of applicants - and students with a 35 and above have very competitive chances. The school ranks #4 in Massachusetts for highest average ACT composite score. 45 percent of applicants submit ACT scores to Northeastern University.

Estimated Chance of Acceptance by ACT Score

Estimated GPA Requirements & Average GPA

What GPA do you need to get into Northeastern University?

Applicants require exceptionally good grades to get into Northeastern. The average high school GPA of the admitted freshman class at Northeastern University was 3.91 on the 4.0 scale indicating that primarily A- students are accepted and ultimately attend. The school ranks #6 in Massachusetts for highest average GPA. Meeting these GPA requirements alone is not enough to gain admission as Northeastern is a very selective school.

 What do these ratings mean?

*This school has not released high school GPA data for its incoming freshmen. In these cases, CollegeSimply employs an artificial intelligence (AI) process to predict GPA based on this school's test scores and a large sample of other colleges' data. 3.91 is an estimate of the school's average incoming freshman GPA.

High School Class Rank

64% of Northeastern University freshman were in the top ten percent of their high school graduating class.

Admission Statistics

Fall 2021 Application Deadline

Admission Requirements

What are the requirements for admission to Northeastern University and what student information is used for admission decisions?

Credits Accepted