Northeastern University Pre-College Programs Experience Marketing Pre-College Program

Each day runs from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., starting with check-in at 9:00 and broken up by a lunch break. Northeastern mixes classroom work on marketing basics with time out in the field, studying how places like Times Square, Broadway and the Museum of the City of New York pull in their audiences.

It's a commuter program, so you head home after class each day. Northeastern says students in all its programs should expect some work outside class hours, usually group projects, so plan on some evening time with your pitch team as the week goes on. It also notes that the schedule and course content it publishes are illustrative and may change.

Northeastern says most of its pre-college programs are led by Northeastern faculty, supported by other faculty, instructors or graduate students, with current Northeastern students sometimes working as teaching assistants. It hasn't named the instructor for this program, and it calls the faculty assignments it lists illustrative.

A typical program has 15 to 30 students, so you'll be in a fairly small group. The people judging your final pitch come from outside the classroom, too: a panel of marketing and entertainment professionals.

The program is for students who'll be rising juniors or seniors in high school. Northeastern reviews applications holistically, modeling the process on its own undergraduate admissions and giving the academic and extracurricular parts equal weight.

The application is short: an online form, 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. Since the whole program is about noticing why people choose one experience over another, a statement that shows you already pay attention to how brands and venues win people over speaks directly to it.

Getting in doesn't guarantee a seat. Northeastern admits more students than it has spaces and fills them in the order deposits arrive, and it says programs typically fill before the deposit deadline.

Tuition is $995, which covers the program and all course materials. There's no housing, and lunch isn't provided, so budget for lunch each day and your own travel to and from campus. Northeastern also requires every participant to have health or travel health insurance for the length of the program.

Once you're admitted, a non-refundable deposit of 20% of tuition after any aid holds your place, which is $199 if you're paying the full $995. The balance is due by 1 May 2027 at 11:59 p.m. ET. There's no formal payment plan, but Northeastern asks families who need more time to email the pre-college team, and families have used 529 college savings funds in the past after checking with their plan provider.

Every admitted student is considered for need-based aid, which usually comes as a scholarship or tuition discount. The application asks for your household's adjusted gross income and number of dependents, and any award arrives with your admission decision. Children of benefits-eligible Northeastern faculty and staff get 33% off, and some partner high schools and community organizations sponsor students.

You leave with a Recognition of Completion signed by a faculty member, plus a marketing concept you built and pitched with a team to working professionals. Northeastern awards no credit and issues no transcript for the program, and it makes no claim that taking part affects admission to Northeastern or anywhere else.

Applications go through Northeastern's pre-college admissions page, and every deadline falls at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time.

1. 1

   The online application for summer 2027 opens in early December 2026.

2. 2

   Submit it with your transcript and personal statement by the priority deadline of 15 January 2027, the regular deadline of 28 February 2027 or the late deadline of 15 March 2027.

3. 3

   Decisions arrive by email in early February for priority applicants, mid-March for regular and early April for late, together with any aid award.

4. 4

   Pay the deposit by 18 February, 1 April or 15 April 2027 depending on your round, and sooner is safer because seats go to the first deposits in.

5. 5

   Pay the remaining tuition by 1 May 2027.