What You'll Actually Pay
Price after grants
$1,764 to $48,777 a year, depending on income.
College Scorecard 2024 estimate
See the price at your income ↑Sticker price
Full cost before aid: $91,250 a year. Average need-based aid package: $68,883.Aid and debt
40.8%
receive need-based grants
$41,330
average debt at graduation
37
students got merit aid
about 0% of undergraduates
$28,837
average merit award
Getting In
Admit rates
7.5%
admitted overall
20.4%
admitted Early Decision
5.8%
admitted Regular Decision
Early Decision
Early Decision applicants were admitted at more than 4x the Regular Decision rate, and Early Decision is binding: you commit to attend if admitted.
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Some of that gap reflects who applies early (recruited athletes, legacy applicants and highly committed students concentrate in that pool), so it isn't proof that applying early would raise any one student's own odds.
Key dates
Transfer Deadlines
Test scores
SAT, middle 50% of those who submitted: 1520–1560 · 48% of the class submitted
ACT, middle 50% of those who submitted: 34–35 · 25% of the class submitted
What they value
- Very important
- Course rigor (AP/IB)
- Class rank
- GPA
- Personal essay
- Recommendations
- Extracurriculars
- Special talent
- Character
- Considered
- SAT/ACT scores
- First-gen status
- Legacy status
- Where you're from
- Volunteer work
- Work experience
- Demonstrated interest
- Not considered
- In-state residency
What this means for you
Northwestern rates four things you can work on as Very Important: course rigor, your essay, your recommendations, and your activities.
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Rigor means AP, IB, and dual enrollment carry real weight — make sure your mix of AP or IB courses is strong. The essay is weighted like your GPA. Choose recommenders who can be specific about you, not just confirm your transcript. And depth in a few activities beats a long list.
Northwestern rates demonstrated interest 'Considered' — it can tip a close decision, without being decisive.
Source: Common Data Set 2025–26, Section C7 (admissions factors)
Northwestern just showed you what it values in an application. Use that to write a Why-Northwestern essay that's actually about you — not a template.
Get sourced starting points for your essayStudent Life
76.8% of Northwestern classes have fewer than 20 students.
76.8%
under 20 students
16.3%
20 to 49
6.9%
50 or more
Every class section counts, labs and seminars included; first-year courses tend to be larger. Northwestern CDS 2025–26, I-3.
6:1
student:faculty ratio
Campus life
55%
live on campus
~18%
in Greek life
Greek-life participation from Northwestern Fraternity & Sorority Life office (2025) — not reported in Northwestern's 2025–26 Common Data Set.
Who attends
- White27.7%
- Asian22.7%
- Hispanic15.1%
- Black8.9%
- Multiracial7.9%
- Unknown / other5.3%
Enrolled undergraduates; international students are counted separately and not included. Northwestern CDS 2025–26, B2.
Popular majors
Will They Graduate?
85.3% of Northwestern students graduate in 4 years.
85.3%
finish in 4 years
Entered fall 2019
96%
finish in 6 years
Entered fall 2019
97.5%
return after first year
Finishing late means paying for extra semesters, so the 4-year rate is the one that shows the cost.
Students with Pell Grants
96% finish in 6 years, against 96% of all students.
Pell Grant students finish at about the same rate as everyone else.
City & Culture
Beyond the data — what it's actually like to spend four years in Evanston.
Evanston is a leafy Lake Michigan suburb with its own walkable downtown of restaurants and shops just blocks from campus, but the CTA Purple Line and Metra put downtown Chicago about 30 minutes away — free for Northwestern students on the university-issued Ventra card.
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That gives students a quiet, tree-lined campus town most days of the week and a full major city on the doorstep whenever they want it, without needing a car.
The City
Major city
Evanston, IL
Best For
Notable alumni
Notable Alumni
Gwynne Shotwell
President and COO of SpaceX; earned her BS in mechanical engineering and MS in applied mathematics at Northwestern.
David Schwimmer
Emmy-nominated actor known for playing Ross Geller on Friends; earned his BA in theater at Northwestern in 1988.
Otto Graham
Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback who led the Cleveland Browns to ten championship games; played football at Northwestern.
Seth Meyers
Host of Late Night and former head writer of Saturday Night Live; earned his BA in radio/TV/film at Northwestern's School of Communication.
Meghan Markle
Actress and Duchess of Sussex; graduated Northwestern in 2003 with a double major in theater and international studies.
Alumni selected for name recognition and range of fields. Not from the Common Data Set.
Traditions
Traditions
Painting the Rock
A campus landmark since 1902, the Rock can be repainted by any student group willing to guard it for a full 24 hours before covering it in a new design at midnight.
Dance Marathon
Since 1975, more than a thousand students have stayed on their feet for 30 hours each spring in one of the largest student-run philanthropy events in the country, raising over $23 million for dozens of organizations to date.
Armadillo Day
What started in 1972 as a party thrown by Texas-native students has grown into the largest student-run music festival in the country, drawing about 12,000 people to Northwestern's lakefront each spring.
Weekend escapes from Evanston
Weekend Escapes
Within driving distance from Evanston
Milwaukee, WI
About 1.5 hoursA full lakefront city with its own brewery scene, the Milwaukee Art Museum, and a much smaller crowd than Chicago.
Lake Geneva, WI
About 1.5 hoursA classic Midwest lake resort town of shoreline paths, water sports, and small-town shops.
Indiana Dunes National Park
About 1.25 hoursLake Michigan beaches and dune hiking trails on the opposite shore of the lake, without the crowds of Chicago's own lakefront.
Getting there and game days
Getting There & Game Days
Nearest airport
Chicago O'Hare International (ORD)
25 minutes from campus
Flies international — you can start a trip abroad from here.
Pro sports nearby
- Chicago Bulls NBA
- Chicago Cubs MLB
- Chicago Fire FC MLS
Internships and jobs nearby
Career Proximity
Northwestern sits directly on the CTA Purple Line, which puts the Loop's trading floors, consulting firms and media companies about 30 minutes away with no car needed — and Chicago's concentration of finance, consulting and consumer-marketing employers means a large share of internships never require leaving the metro area.
Top Industries Nearby
Major Employers
- McDonald's Corporation
- United Airlines
- Abbott Laboratories
- CME Group
- Northern Trust
Downtown Chicago (the Loop) — about 30 minutes from campus by CTA Purple Line
Who thrives here
Who Thrives Here
Northwestern runs an unusual calendar for a school this selective — three 10-week quarters rather than two semesters — which compresses the academic year into faster, more intense terms and helps explain why the four-year graduation rate (85.3%) trails the six-year rate (96%) by more than most peer privates: double majors and dual degrees, especially pairing Medill journalism or the Bienen School of Music with a second school, are common enough to push some students into a fifth year. Only about 18% of undergraduates join a fraternity or sorority — modest for a Big Ten campus — and just over half (55%) live in university housing, so life outside the classroom tends to spread off campus into Evanston and the CTA line into Chicago rather than concentrating in Greek houses.