Northeastern is a prestigious private research university, and they receive about 100,000 applications for first-year admission each year. The first-year acceptance rate for the Class of 2029 on the flagship Boston campus was 5.6%, a jump of half a percentage point from the previous year.
The university is in high demand, and they use a waitlist to help them fill their first-year class to the brim. The function of the waitlist is to allow Northeastern admissions to admit as few students as possible, lowering the acceptance rate, without risking a partially full class. If spots are open in the class after the May decision date, admissions officers turn to the waitlist. How often they do this, though, is hard to say…mostly because Northeastern doesn’t always share.
Northwestern did not share any waitlist statistics in the 2024-2025 Common Data Set report, the most recent available official statistics from the university. This means we don’t know how many applicants were offered a spot on the waitlist, how many accepted that offer, and how many were eventually accepted for first-year admission for the fall of 2024. They didn’t share any waitlist data in the 2023-2024 Common Data Set, either. If you look even further back, there isn’t anything to see. They simply choose not to share this data, and they argue that it is actually in your best interest. “The number of students on the waitlist and offers of admission from the waitlist varies significantly from year to year,” admissions says, “and we do not believe that sharing these numbers is helpful to a student’s decision-making process.”
What this means is that we don’t (or, rather, can’t) know what your odds are when it comes to the Northeastern waitlist. However, we know they have one and that they use it. We also know what they want to see from you to increase their confidence in and enthusiasm for your application. That’s what we’ll dig into below.
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There are four steps that you need to be taking, as a student who has received a waitlist offer from Northeastern, to stay in the running and increase your chances for admission.
Step One: Join the Waitlist
Being offered a spot on the Northeastern waitlist is not the same as being on the waitlist. So, it’s time to join. If you want to continue to push for a Northeastern acceptance, you need to confirm that you would like to be on the waitlist (typically by April 1st, but refer to your letter from Northwestern to confirm). And remember, while the waitlist is not ranked and those who respond sooner aren’t at the top of some imagined list, a swift response does communicate enthusiasm — which is exactly what you want Northeastern to see.
Step Two: Commit to a College
Next up is the most uncomfortable part of the waitlist process. Yes, Northeastern is the goal. However, even without official statistics we know that the odds are long. For comparably selective universities, it’s normal for less than 5% of students on the waitlist to be offered a spot in the first-year class. This means that, even if you do everything right, you most likely aren’t going to get in. Downer, maybe. But necessary to say because it also means that you need to hedge your bets.
To do that, you are going to pick your favorite of the schools you have been accepted by and enroll. Yes, enroll. That means confirming your spot and submitting the deposit — which is typically non-refundable, by the way.
If you get into Northeastern, you can choose to withdraw from the school you picked, relinquish the deposit, and commit to Northeastern. If the waitlist doesn’t work out, though, you’ll still have a school for the fall. Remember, too, that transfer is an option if you aren’t super excited about any of your acceptances so far.
Once you have a school lined up for fall, it’s time to pivot your attention back to Northeastern.
Step Three: Update Northeastern
Updating Northeastern is a critical piece of the waitlist process. If you do not take action to help your application rise to the top, they will not give it serious consideration again. Luckily, Northeastern offers guidance as to what they want to receive.
The first thing that Northeastern wants to see, but not necessarily what will first be ready to send, is an updated grade report. Specifically, they want your third quarter/second trimester grades once they are available, and they should be submitted in official form either by your school or in the form of an official transcript through the applicant portal. It is possible that you will not receive a final decision from Northeastern until after graduation. If this is the case, you should send your final grades, too.
Northeastern also invites candidates on the waitlist to submit a letter that updates your application and reinforces your interest. This is called a LOCI, or Letter of Continued Interest.
Each LOCI is unique, your Northeastern LOCI included, but they should all follow a few rules. First, a LOCI must be one page with size 12 font, ideally Times New Roman. The margins should also be standard, not made super skinny to try to fit more text. Next, there needs to be four sections:
Opening: This is a letter, so it should look like one. Start with “Dear Northeastern Admissions,” or the name of your regional representative if you know it. Follow that with a short introductory paragraph that must do a few things:
Introduce yourself and your status as a waitlisted candidate.
Share your prospective major.
State that Northeastern remains your first choice, and that you will enroll if accepted.
Keep this opening to only three or four sentences, as what comes next is truly the most important bit.
Update: Northeastern liked your application enough not to reject you, but not enough to find you a spot in the first-year class — yet. The LOCI offers you the opportunity to give them the information they need to see how outstanding you are.
In the update section, you want to include 2-4 substantive additions to your application, pulling from both academic and extracurricular sides of your life. These could include new awards or recognitions, but the updates do not need a trophy to be important and useful. We love updates that spotlight ways that you serve your community and work with your peers to accomplish big goals.
Reinforce: The next piece of the letter should underline your interest in Northeastern and emphasize the specific aspects of the academic opportunities at the university that are exciting to you. Do not simply reiterate what you put in the application. Instead, bring in new courses, professors, or programs that align with your interests and build on your academic pursuits as you close out your high school career.
Closing: The end of the letter should be efficient and compact, leaving more of the page for the meat of the letter. Thank the admissions team for their time and state (yes, again) that you will enroll if accepted. Close with “Sincerely,” “Respectfully,” or a similar sign-off.
Once you’ve written your draft, edit carefully, sleep on it, then submit.
Step Four: Wait it out.
Northeastern typically closes out their waitlist by August 1st, so you may be waiting a while to hear a final decision. Do keep your eye on your email, though, and make sure that your cell phone voicemail message isn’t embarrassing. It is not unheard of for admissions to call or email waitlisted students to confirm again that they are still interested in joining the first-year class before officially offering you a spot.
As you wait, consider checking out the various campus options at Northeastern, as students on the waitlist are in consideration for programs like the Oakland and London campuses, the N.U.in Program, and Global Scholars.
We help strong students get off of the waitlist and into their dream school. Email us to learn more.