Is Northeastern or McGill harder to get into?

Northeastern is harder to get into overall. McGill is very well respected, but for most applicants its process is more numbers-driven and often more predictable.

One big difference is how decisions are made. Northeastern uses holistic review, which means grades, course rigor, activities, essays, and application timing can all affect the outcome, and that makes admissions less transparent. McGill relies much more heavily on academic results, especially curriculum and grades, so applicants who meet the published standards often have a clearer sense of their chances.

Another differentiator is the applicant pool and enrollment strategy. Northeastern attracts a huge volume of applications from students drawn to its Boston location and co-op model. McGill also gets many applicants, especially internationally, but its admissions process is usually less opaque and less influenced by the same kind of yield management.

That means Northeastern tends to feel tougher because even very strong applicants can be denied or redirected for reasons that are not obvious from academics alone. McGill can absolutely be difficult for certain programs, especially the most competitive ones, but as a university-level comparison, Northeastern is typically the tougher admit.