Northeastern University Pre-College Programs A Taste of History: Research and Writing through Food

Classes run on weekdays from about 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with a break for lunch, and evenings and the Saturday are for dinner and optional social activities. Northeastern's sample schedule, which it says may change, uses the first week for research basics, with sessions on sources and citations, time in the Northeastern Archives at Snell Library, digital archives work and talks on food, migration and Boston history, plus trips to the Museum of Fine Arts and Jamaica Plain.

In the second week the focus moves to your project. There's a media literacy workshop on food in the media and a guest speaker, along with trips to Chinatown, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and a Boston by Foot (and Food) walk, while outlining, peer review groups and a session on annotating bibliographies keep the writing moving. Final presentations take up the last Friday morning, and move-out is at 1:00 p.m.

Northeastern hasn't named this program's instructor. It says most of its pre-college programs are led by Northeastern faculty, with support from other faculty, instructors or graduate students, and current Northeastern students sometimes act as teaching assistants. Programs typically have 15 to 30 students, which Northeastern says is small enough for personal attention from faculty.

You need to be a rising junior or senior in high school by the time the program starts. Northeastern reviews applications holistically, giving academics and extracurriculars equal weight, much as it does for undergraduate applicants. You send an unofficial transcript or report cards and a personal statement of no more than 250 words about why the subject excites you, why you want to enroll and what you hope to gain. Naming a teacher or counselor as a reference is optional.

Being admitted doesn't guarantee you a place. Northeastern admits more students than it has spaces and accepts deposits first come, first served, so programs typically fill before the deposit deadline. International students are welcome to apply, but Northeastern doesn't sponsor student visas for non-credit programs.

You apply through Northeastern's pre-college admissions page, and the priority round is the safest bet, because Northeastern may close a popular program after that deadline.

1. 1

   Early December 2026

   The online application opens, with the financial aid questions built in.

2. 2

   15 January 2027

   The priority deadline is at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time. Decisions arrive by email in early February, and the deposit is due by 18 February 2027.

3. 3

   28 February 2027

   The regular deadline. Decisions come in mid-March, and the deposit is due by 1 April 2027.

4. 4

   15 March 2027

   The late deadline. Decisions come in early April, and the deposit is due by 15 April 2027.

5. 5

   1 May 2027

   Full tuition is due, whichever round you applied in.

The program costs $6,995, which covers tuition, course materials, a room in a residence hall, meals and social activities. You'll also pay to get to Boston, and Northeastern requires health or travel health insurance that covers you there for the whole program. It also says most of its programs require a personal laptop.

Once you're admitted, you pay a non-refundable deposit of 20% of tuition after any aid or discount, which comes to $1,399 at the full price. The rest is due by 1 May 2027. There's no formal payment plan, but Northeastern will consider requests for more time, and some families have paid with a 529 college savings plan. Every admitted student is considered for need-based aid, usually given as a scholarship or a discount. You apply for it within the application by giving household income and the number of dependents, and the award arrives with your admissions decision.

Northeastern staff live in the residence hall with students, and Residential Life Proctors staff the entrance 24 hours a day. Everyone has to be back in the hall by 10:00 p.m. each night. Most students share a room with a roommate and a bathroom with suitemates, and you can request a roommate on the program form.

On off-campus social outings you may get time to explore a set area on your own, but staff fix a meeting point and time and ask everyone to buddy up. You can leave campus alone only if a parent or guardian submits a leave request. Allergies and dietary needs go on the program form, and staff work with campus dining to meet them.