Northeastern University Pre-College Programs Engineering Innovation & Design (Oakland)

On weekdays you're in the program from about 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Northeastern says students spend much of each day designing, building and testing their projects. The session runs from move-in on Sunday 20 June 2027 to move-out on Friday 2 July 2027 and starts with orientation and welcome events.

Evenings and weekends are for optional social activities, some on campus, such as arts and crafts or outdoor recreation, and some off campus around Oakland and the wider Bay Area. Northeastern also expects some work outside class hours, usually group project work with your teammates, so not every evening is free.

Northeastern faculty lead most of its pre-college programs, with help from other faculty, instructors or graduate students, and current Northeastern students may work as teaching assistants. Northeastern doesn't name the instructor for this program and notes that faculty assignments can change.

Groups are small, with 15 to 30 students in a typical program, and Northeastern says small cohorts allow personal attention from faculty.

You need to be a rising junior or senior in high school when the program starts, which means finishing 10th or 11th grade in spring 2027. The application asks for an unofficial transcript or report cards and a personal statement of up to 250 words on your passion for the subject, why you want to enroll and what you hope to gain, and you can add a teacher or counselor as an optional reference. Since the program is built around problems like wildfire detection, water conservation and air quality, a statement that ties your interest in engineering to a real problem you've noticed answers the prompt directly.

Northeastern reviews applications the way it reviews undergraduate ones, weighing academics, activities and the rest of the file equally. International students are welcome as long as they can be present for the program, and they're considered for aid. Northeastern doesn't sponsor student visas for non-credit programs like this one, though, so check with the US authorities what you'd need to travel.

At full price a family pays $6,995, which covers tuition, course materials, a room in a campus residence hall, meals and social activities. Travel to and from Oakland isn't on that list. Northeastern also requires health or travel health insurance that covers you in Oakland for the whole program, and says most programs need a personal laptop.

Once you're admitted, a non-refundable deposit of 20% of tuition after any aid or discounts holds your place, which comes to $1,399 on the full $6,995. There's no formal payment plan, although Northeastern asks families who need more time for the final payment to email the pre-college team.

All admitted students are considered for need-based aid, which usually takes the form of a scholarship or a program discount that lowers what you pay. You ask for it inside the program application by giving your family's adjusted gross income from its latest federal tax return and the number of dependents, and the award arrives with your admissions decision. Children of benefits-eligible Northeastern faculty or staff get 33% off, and some partner high schools and community organizations sponsor students.

You live in a residence hall on the Oakland campus and have to be back in the hall by 9:00 p.m. every evening. Student Life staff, both professionals and current Northeastern students, live in the hall with you and run residential life and social activities, and the Accelerate Pre-College team, led by Senior Director Liz Quinn, oversees the programs.

Off-campus trips are chaperoned, and a parent or guardian can submit a leave request if you want to leave campus on your own. You can list allergies, restrictions and preferences on the program form, and staff work with campus dining to meet them as far as they can. Families can also email the team before enrollment to ask for academic, disability (ADA), dietary or religious accommodations.

Northeastern posts the application on its pre-college admissions page.

1. 1

   Apply

   The online application opens in early December 2026 and asks for your transcript, a statement of up to 250 words and an optional reference.

2. 2

   Pick your round

   Submit by 15 January 2027 (priority), 28 February 2027 (regular) or 15 March 2027 (late), each at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time, but a program with very high interest may stop taking applications after the priority deadline.

3. 3

   Get your decision

   Decisions and any aid award come by email in early February, mid-March or early April 2027, depending on your round.

4. 4

   Pay the deposit fast

   Deposits are due by 18 February, 1 April or 15 April 2027, depending on your round. Northeastern admits more students than it has places and says programs typically fill before the deposit deadline, so an offer only becomes a place once you've paid.

5. 5

   Pay the balance

   The rest of the tuition is due by 1 May 2027 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.