A private R1 research university in Evanston, IL, admitting 7.69% of applicants, on Lake Michigan north of Chicago.
Evanston, Illinois
Thinking about Northwestern University, a college in Illinois where more students graduate in Business than anything else? The four things worth knowing are what it actually costs after aid, whether you would get in, whether students finish, and what they earn after they do.
Northwestern University is a private R1 research university in Evanston, Illinois, founded in 1851, located on Lake Michigan 12 miles north of Chicago. It enrolls 9,201 undergraduates and 14,457 graduate students across six undergraduate schools: Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, McCormick School of Engineering, Medill School of Journalism, School of Communication, Bienen School of Music, and the School of Education and Social Policy.
Social sciences account for the largest share of bachelor's degrees, followed by communication, engineering, and computer science. Northwestern holds a Doctoral University: Very High Research Activity (R1) Carnegie classification and is accredited through the Higher Learning Commission (HLC).
Official website: northwestern.edu
UCD scores every college on four pillars: Outcomes, Value, Affordability, and Selectivity. Within peer group A (four-year selective institutions), Northwestern scores 79.97 overall, rated Good. Outcomes (98.30) and Selectivity (98.69) reflect a 95.13% six-year graduation rate and competitive admissions. Affordability scores 16.18, driven by an average net price of $29,167 and a high federal loan rate of 17.08%, the highest among elite private universities in the peer group. Value scores 63.14. All scores use verified federal data only.
Northwestern admits 7.69% of applicants, slightly more accessible than peer elite universities while remaining highly selective. Northwestern is test-optional; submitting SAT or ACT scores is not required. Students who submit scores typically average 1,533 on the SAT, with the middle 50% scoring between 33 and 35 on the ACT. Northwestern offers Early Decision with a November 1 deadline; admitted ED students must enroll. The Regular Decision deadline is January 3. Applicants apply directly to one of Northwestern's six undergraduate schools; Medill, Bienen, and the School of Communication have distinct audition or portfolio requirements alongside the standard application.
Acceptance rate over the last five admission cycles. The trend tells you whether Northwestern University is getting harder, easier, or staying about the same.
Northwestern charges $68,322 in tuition plus $21,126 in room and board, bringing the estimated total cost of attendance to approximately $92,000 before aid. Northwestern meets 100% of demonstrated financial need for admitted U.S. students, with no loans in aid packages. The average net price after all grants is $29,167. For families earning under $30,000, the average net price is $1,764. For families earning between $75,001 and $110,000, the net price averages $18,282. For families earning above $110,000, the average net price is $48,777.
The average hides a wide spread by household income, so it is worth estimating what a family at your income would actually pay before treating this as the price.
Published cost of attendance, the sticker price before grants and scholarships. Most students underestimate room & board and other expenses.
Application fee: $75 (one-time, due at submission)
Aid is need-based, so net price varies by family income. Here's what each bracket typically pays after grants and scholarships.
Cumulative federal-loan debt across the full borrowing distribution. The 10th and 90th percentiles bracket the typical range; the median sits in the middle.
Median federal-loan debt at graduation broken down by demographic. Each slice's size is proportional to the dollar amount that group typically borrows.
Northwestern completes the large majority of the students it enrolls. The six-year graduation rate is 95.13% for full-time, first-time bachelor's-seeking students. The four-year rate is 88.28%, and first-year retention stands at 97.78%. Northwestern's quarter system, which runs three 10-week terms per year rather than two semesters, allows students to take more courses per year and contributes to higher-than-average course loads for students in professional undergraduate programs like Medill and Bienen.
Completion and earnings carry the most weight in this college's score, and how the UCD Score weighs each measure sets out exactly how they are combined.
Northwestern graduates earn above the national median for private research universities. Median earnings are $76,844 six years after first enrolling and $89,363 at ten years. At the ten-year mark, 90.67% of former students earn more than a typical high school graduate. The ten-year median is lower than at some peer institutions, partly reflecting the concentration of Northwestern graduates in journalism, arts, and communications, which have lower median earnings than finance or engineering. Northwestern's federal loan rate of 17.08% is the highest among elite private universities, and median debt is $15,000.
Median annual earnings 6, 8, and 10 years after students first enrolled.
Mean annual earnings 10 years after entry, segmented by demographic. Reveals gaps the headline median can't show.
Median earnings for female grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Median earnings for male grads ten years after first enrolling here.
Earnings of grads from the bottom-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the middle-third of family incomes at entry.
Earnings of grads from the top-third of family incomes at entry.
Share of completer-cohort borrowers paying down at least $1 of principal at the 1-, 3-, 5-, and 7-year mark. Climbing rates show graduates settling into careers and managing debt; flat or declining rates are a warning.
Northwestern enrolls 9,201 undergraduates on its Evanston campus, with additional facilities in Chicago's Streeterville neighborhood housing the law school, medical school, and professional programs. White students account for 30.56% of undergraduates; Asian 21.22%, Hispanic 15.75%, and Black 8.38%. Eighteen percent of undergraduates receive Pell grants, and 15.16% are first-generation college students. The Evanston campus provides a residential college-town environment while Chicago remains accessible by commuter rail in under 30 minutes, giving undergraduates practical access to the city's media, finance, and healthcare industries.
Undergraduate student body composition reported to the US Department of Education.
Where students live, learn, and connect at Northwestern University. The campus setting, housing profile, and signals that shape day-to-day life here.
After that comes the national picture for Engineering graduates, which shows what the field pays across every college rather than just this one.
Northwestern University offers an extensive catalog of programs: 231 distinct programs across 26 majors. Below are its strongest majors, each with flagship programs and typical earnings. Open a major to explore it in depth, or browse the full program catalog.
Northwestern operates at a 6:1 student-to-faculty ratio. 82.97% of instruction is delivered by full-time faculty. Instructional spending per full-time equivalent student is $48,932 per year, lower than at most peer elite private universities. The endowment stands at $10.98 billion. Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management, Pritzker School of Law, and Feinberg School of Medicine are each highly ranked graduate programs that contribute to the university's research output and alumni network.
2,442 instructional faculty across 5 ranks. The rank mix shows how many senior faculty are teaching versus contingent or junior staff, with average salary equated to a 9-month contract.
| Rank | Faculty Count | Share | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full Professors | 1,063 | 44% | $235,198 |
| Associate Professors | 622 | 25% | $142,202 |
| Assistant Professors | 641 | 26% | $115,824 |
| Instructors | 17 | 1% | — |
| Lecturers | 99 | 4% | $85,232 |
Northwestern's strongest assets are its Outcomes score (98.30), its professional undergraduate programs in journalism (Medill) and communications (School of Communication), and its Chicago-proximate location. Medill is consistently the top-ranked journalism program in the country; Kellogg is among the top MBA programs. The challenges are clear: Affordability (16.18) and Value (63.14) are weaker than peer institutions.
Northwestern's federal loan rate of 17.08% and average net price of $29,167 suggest that, relative to endowment size, the financial aid program is less generous than at peers. Best fit for students targeting Medill, Bienen, or the School of Communication; students at lower income levels who qualify for substantial aid; and students who want a major research university with Chicago access without living in the city.
Read against a single profile these cut both ways, which is why it helps to put two colleges side by side on the same measures rather than judging one in isolation.
The questions below address what students and families most commonly search about Northwestern: how selective admissions are, what makes Medill and Kellogg distinctive, how financial aid compares to peer elite universities, and what graduates earn.
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Across 1,645 four-year colleges, graduation rates climb steadily with selectivity, from 54% at open-admission schools to 93% at the most exclusive. The gap is real.
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