Northeastern University received 49,822 undergraduate applications for 2,800 seats in the Fall 2014 freshman class—more than in any previous year and a ratio of 18 applicants per seat. The group of admitted students exceeds all previous benchmarks in terms of academic achievement, total applicants, and geographic diversity.

The mean SAT score of this year’s admitted students also increased to 1421 from 1400 a year ago, while the mean GPA of this same group was 4.1, up from 4.0 a year ago.

The consistent increase in the quality and quantity of students applying to Northeastern year after year is reflective of the university’s world-class faculty, global co-op and experiential learning opportunities, a vibrant entrepreneurial environment, and access to research.

“Northeastern is a place where entrepreneurial spirit thrives,” said Joseph E. Aoun, president of Northeastern. “Our students want to know every inch of the world through global co-op and experiential learning opportunities, through working with world-class faculty in research labs and classrooms, and through launching ventures fueled by passion for innovation and social entrepreneurship. This is the Northeastern Advantage that keeps attracting the best and the brightest and keeps producing global citizens with successful careers and fulfilled lives.”

The 49,822 undergraduate applications represent a 5.2 percent increase from the previous year. Close to three-quarters of applications came from students outside of New England, compared to 67 percent a year ago.

The applicants hail from 156 countries, up from 143 last year. In tandem with that growth, Northeastern received a spike in applications from areas where the university has launched regional campuses in the past two years. In the Southeast, applications have increased by 32 percent since launching the Charlotte campus in 2012. Applications in the Northwest—where Northeastern opened its second regional campus in Seattle—have increased by 47 percent since launch. Over the past two years, applications from North Carolina and Washington state increased by 25 percent and 31 percent, respectively.

Northeastern offers a wide range of experiential-learning opportunities worldwide, providing students with skills and knowledge that give them a distinct advantage in the competitive job and graduate education arenas. Students have been placed in experiential-learning opportunities—including study abroad, research, and the university’s signature co-op program—in 114 countries between 2006-07 and 2012-13. There were also nearly 8,000 co-op placements in the 2012-13 academic year, and global co-op placements have increased 345 percent since 2006-07.

Furthermore, the Northeastern experience gives students a career edge after graduation. More than 90 percent of graduates from 2006 through 2011 were employed or enrolled in graduate school nine months after graduation. Eighty-seven percent of 2011 full-time employed graduates are doing work that is related to their major. Within that group, 50 percent received a job offer from a previous co-op employer.