Private · Evanston, IL
Northwestern University
Northwestern University merit aid, cost of attendance, freshman GPA and SAT/ACT scores, net price by income, and graduate earnings.
Costs, merit aid & admissions
- Acceptance rate
- 8%
- Undergraduates
- 9,201
- Avg merit aid / yr
- $21,215
- Cost of attendance
- $94,878
- SAT 75th percentile
- 1570
- ACT 75th percentile
- 35
Costs are annual prices before aid. Average merit aid is the average non-need-based award to freshmen who got one — not an offer to every applicant.
Northwestern University incoming freshman academic profile
- Average high school GPA
- Not reported
- SAT composite middle score
- 1,5402024-25 CDS · Source
- ACT composite middle score
- 342024-25 CDS · Source
Average GPA of enrolled freshmen (scale may be weighted or unweighted). SAT/ACT are median scores of students who submitted them — not scholarship cutoffs.
Northwestern University net price by family income
Historical average cost after all grants and scholarships — not need-based aid eligibility. 2024–25 academic year.
| Family income | $0–30K | $30–48K | $48–75K | $75–110K | $110K+ | All |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual net price | $1,427 | $7,536 | $8,811 | $18,954 | $56,074 | $34,420 |
Families earning $150,000+ should not assume they'll get need-based grants; the "Over $110K" group mixes very different incomes.
At what family income does financial aid stop at Northwestern University?
There's no universal cutoff. Need-based aid depends on income, assets, family size and college rules; merit scholarships are based on grades and scores, so high income doesn't rule them out. Use Northwestern University's net price calculator for a personal estimate, and the federal aid estimator for federal aid.
Graduation, earnings & student debt
- 6-year graduation
- 96.1%Fall 2019 / 2019–20 entering cohort
- First-year retention
- 98.1%Fall 2023 entering cohort; return in fall 2024
- Median earnings, 10 yrs after entry
- $104,2552011–12 and 2012–13 entering cohorts; earnings in 2022 and 2023, in 2024 dollars
- Median federal debt
- $17,017Federal fiscal years 2024 and 2025, pooled
Historical group figures, not individual predictions. Debt excludes private and Parent PLUS loans. Source: College Scorecard (ID 147767).
Colleges with acceptance rates similar to Northwestern University
Northwestern University accepts about 8% of applicants. These colleges have the closest reported acceptance rates.
- Swarthmore College · Swarthmore, PA8% acceptance
- Rice University · Houston, TX8% acceptance
- Washington University in St Louis · St. Louis, MO7% acceptance
- Pomona College · Claremont, CA7% acceptance
- Colby College · Waterville, ME7% acceptance
- Washington University of Science and Technology · Alexandria, VA7% acceptance
- Cornell University · Ithaca, NY8% acceptance
- Bowdoin College · Brunswick, ME7% acceptance
- Williams College · Williamstown, MA9% acceptance
- Bard College · Annandale-On-Hudson, NY9% acceptance
Colleges with merit aid similar to Northwestern University
Northwestern University reports average merit aid of $21,215 per year. These colleges report the closest average non-need-based awards.
- Bentley University · Waltham, MA$21,176 avg merit aid / yr
- University of Southern California · Los Angeles, CA$21,399 avg merit aid / yr
- DePaul University · Chicago, IL$20,876 avg merit aid / yr
- Messiah University · Mechanicsburg, PA$20,859 avg merit aid / yr
- Boston College · Chestnut Hill, MA$20,795 avg merit aid / yr
- Lehigh University · Bethlehem, PA$21,666 avg merit aid / yr
- Lipscomb University · Nashville, TN$20,758 avg merit aid / yr
- Hope College · Holland, MI$21,711 avg merit aid / yr
- Pratt Institute-Main · Brooklyn, NY$21,746.758 avg merit aid / yr
- Wesleyan University · Middletown, CT$20,553 avg merit aid / yr
Data sources & limitations
Admissions, costs and merit aid: collegedata.fyi (Common Data Set + federal data), imported Oct 2026. Net prices and outcomes: College Scorecard, Oct 15, 2026 release, matched by federal ID. SAT 75th percentile adds section scores; 90th-percentile and GPA match thresholds are estimates. ROI compares four years of average net price with median earnings 10 years after entry, ranked in thirds across colleges. Blank means not reported — never estimated. Confirm costs and scholarships with the college.