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Northeastern University Comprehensive Profile

527 awards Ranking Badges
Fair Price Value for Your Money
5% Acceptance Rate

Find out more about how Northeastern University ranks, how diverse it is, what majors it offers, and other essential facts below.

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* Rankings

How Well Is Northeastern University Ranked?

#73 Best Colleges in Nation
#7 Best Colleges in MA
Northeastern University ranking badge

2026 Best Colleges Rankings

In its yearly rankings, College Factual analyzes over 2,000 colleges and universities to determine which ones are the best in a variety of categories, such as overall value, quality, diversity, which schools are the best for each major, and much more.

Northeastern University was awarded 527 badges in the 2026 rankings.

National Standing

According to College Factual’s 2026 analysis, Northeastern is ranked #73 out of 3,449 schools in the nation that were analyzed for overall quality. This puts it in the top 5% of all schools in the nation.

Northeastern also holds the #7 spot on the Best Colleges in Massachusetts ranking.

See all of the rankings for Northeastern University.

Is It Hard to Get Into Northeastern University?

5% Acceptance Rate
6% Of Accepted Are Women
24% Submit SAT Scores

Acceptance Rate

Northeastern University has a very low acceptance rate of 5%, making it one of the most selective out of all the colleges and universities in the nation. It’s probably a good idea to apply to other schools in addition to Northeastern just in case you don’t make the cut.

Standardized Test Scores

About 24% of students accepted to Northeastern submitted their SAT scores. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, SAT Evidence-Based Reading and Writing scores ranged between 710 and 760. Math scores were between 730 and 780.

SAT Reading and Writing Scores for Northeastern University  ( 710 to 760 )
200
800
SAT Math Scores for Northeastern University  ( 730 to 780 )
200
800

Northeastern received ACT scores from 7% of accepted students. When looking at the 25th through the 75th percentile, ACT Composite scores ranged between 33 and 35.

ACT Composite Scores for Northeastern University  ( 33 to 35 )
1
36

Learn more about Northeastern University admissions.

Faculty at Northeastern University

16 to 1 Student to Faculty
72% Full Time Teachers

Class Sizes

The student to faculty ratio at Northeastern University is about average at 16 to 1. This ratio is often used to gauge how many students might be in an average class and how much time professors will have to spend with their students on an individual level. The national average for this metric is 15 to 1.

Percent of Full-Time Faculty

In addition to the student to faculty ratio, some people look at what percentage of faculty members are full-time as a sign of how much time professors will be able to spend with their students. This is because part-time teachers may not be on campus as much as their full-time counterparts.

The full-time faculty percentage at Northeastern University is 72%. This is higher than the national average of 47%.

Full-Time Faculty Percent  72 out of 100
0
100

Retention and Graduation Rates at Northeastern University

98% Freshmen Retention
90% On-Time Graduation Rate

First-Year Student Retention

The freshmen retention rate of 98% tells us that most first-year, full-time students like Northeastern University enough to come back for another year. This is a fair bit higher than the national average of 68%. That’s certainly something to check off in the good column about the school.

Freshmen Retention Rate  98 out of 100
0
100

Academic Completion

The on-time graduation rate for someone pursuing a bachelor’s degree is typically four years. This rate at Northeastern for first-time, full-time students is 90%, which is better than the national average of 33.3%.

On-Time Graduation Rate  90 out of 100
0
100

Find out more about the retention and graduation rates at Northeastern University.

Undergraduate Diversity at Northeastern University

15,719 Undergraduate Students
44.4% Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
56.1% Percent Women

During the most recent academic year, there were 15,719 undergraduates at Northeastern.

Get more detailed information on the diversity at Northeastern University.

What Does Northeastern University Cost?

$16,772 Net Price
27% Take Out Loans
$23,528 Total Student Loans

The average net price of Northeastern is $16,772. The affordability of the school largely depends on your financial need since net price varies by income group. See the table below for the net price for different income groups.### Net Price by Income Group for Northeastern

$0-30 K$30K-48K$48-75$75-110K$110K +
$5,900$6,383$10,482$20,109$51,753

The net price is calculated by adding tuition, room, board and other costs and subtracting financial aid. Note that the net price is typically less than the published price for a school. For more information on the sticker price of Northeastern, see our tuition and fees and room and board pages.

Student Debt

Almost 66% of college students who graduated with the class of 2018 took out student loans, but that percentage varies from school to school. At Northeastern, approximately 27% of students took out student loans averaging $5,882 a year. That adds up to $23,528 over four years for those students. The student loan default rate is 3.9%. This is significantly lower than the national default rate of 10.1%, which is a good sign that you’ll be able to pay back your student loans. Get more details about paying for Northeastern University.

What Do Northeastern University Alumni Earn?

$92,538 Avg Salary of Grads
High Earnings Boost

Although some majors pay more than others, students who graduate from Northeastern University with a bachelor’s degree go on to jobs where they make an average salary of $92,538 in their early years. That’s great news for Northeastern University students since it is 88% more than the average college graduate’s salary of $49,219 per year.

See which majors at Northeastern University make the most money.

Location of Northeastern University

Massachusetts State
15,719 Undergraduate Students
Large City Campus Setting

Northeastern University is a private not-for-profit institution located in Boston, Massachusetts. The surrounding area of the school is a good match for students who enjoy city life. Get more details about the location of Northeastern University.

Location of Northeastern University

Get in touch with Northeastern University are listed below.

Contact Details
Address:360 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115-5005
Phone:6173732000
Website:www.northeastern.edu

Northeastern University Majors

26 Majors With Completions
23,264 Undergraduate Degrees

In the latest year of available data, students from 26 majors graduated from Northeastern University. The following table lists the most popular undergraduate majors along with the average salary graduates from those majors make.

Most Popular MajorsCompletionsAverage Salary of Graduates
Multi-Disciplinary Studies11,632NA
Computer Information Systems1,802$97,526
Computer Engineering1,233$88,529
Business & Commerce1,146$70,902
Other Engineering701NA
General Engineering388NA
Mechanical Engineering358$74,365
Electrical Engineering308$99,562
Computer Software Applications307NA
Biotechnology270$79,825

Learn more about the majors offered at Northeastern University along with which ones have the highest average starting salaries.

Online Learning at Northeastern

30% Take At Least One Class Online
0% Take All Classes Online

Online learning is becoming popular at even the oldest colleges and universities in the United States. Not only are online classes great for returning adults with busy schedules, they are also frequented by a growing number of traditional students.

4,641 students took at least one online class at Northeastern University.

Learn more about online learning at Northeastern University.

Comparable CollegesWant to see how other colleges compare to Northeastern? Match them up using College Combat, a free interactive tool for comparing colleges on the features you care about.

Notes and References

Footnotes

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

References

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