Deadlines & Decisions

If Northeastern is your number one college choice, and you are committed to attending if admitted, Early Decision is the admissions program that is right for you. Early Decision is ideal for students who are confident that we are the right fit—academically, socially, and financially. Fall 2023 Early Decision applicants will be bound to their first-choice preference if they are admitted into that program. This is a new policy for this admissions cycle and will be true for preferences of any of our five enrollment options. ED applicants will not be bound to an enrollment program if they are admitted into a program that was not their first-choice preference—a non-binding decision would be issued. All applicants are asked for their program preferences in the institution specific section of the application; however, ED applicants will be sent a communication clarifying this policy and with the option to confirm or adjust their preference. Additional information regarding our enrollment opportunities may be found here. Please note, if you receive a binding admission, you are committed to attending and required to withdraw all applications from other institutions.

You will have two opportunities to apply for Early Decision consideration: by November 1 for Early Decision I or by January 1 for Early Decision II. Early Decision II allows students who realize that Northeastern is their first choice later in the application process to still show their high level of interest.

Learn more about our Early Decision Benefits.

Choose Early Action if Northeastern is a top choice—and you feel that you can put your best foot forward at this earlier date, since the Admissions Committee will not see your senior year grades or late fall standardized testing.

Early Action is non-binding.

Choose Regular Decision if you would like the Admissions Committee to review information from the first semester of your senior year, and to have additional time to put the finishing touches on your application.

Regular Decision is non-binding.

Northeastern will not be considering transfer applicants for Spring 2023 enrollment. The next available entry term will be Fall 2023.

The application for Fall 2023 entry will be available beginning January 5, 2023. While you are welcome to begin and submit your application at any time, please note that application follow-ups will not begin to be sent until March of 2023.

To ensure that your application is reviewed for fall admission, all required documents should be received by the application deadline.

Fall Deadline: April 1

Our financial aid deadline for the FAFSA is aligned with the CSS Profile deadline, allowing us to deliver more complete award notifications to admitted students at the time of their decision release.

For additional information regarding aid, please see our Applying for Financial Aid page or contact Student Financial Services directly.