More selective than 98% of Illinois colleges we cover.
College Scorecard, Fall 2024 entering class
Average after grants for all families receiving federal aid. Pick your income above.
Sticker price $91,250. College Scorecard.
Higher than 98% of Illinois colleges we cover and 98% of colleges nationwide. U.S. median 54%.
Within 6 years · College Scorecard
Higher than 98% of Illinois colleges we cover and 96% of colleges nationwide. U.S. median $53,263.
Median, 10 years after starting · College Scorecard
Northwestern University acceptance rate & admissions
Of 51,769 applicants, Northwestern University admitted 3,703 and 2,111 enrolled (IPEDS, Fall 2023 entering class). The middle half of enrolled first-year students scored 1510–1570 on the SAT or 33–35 on the ACT.
IPEDS Admissions, Fall 2023 entering class
Test scores: College Scorecard, Fall 2024. Other figures: College Scorecard; IPEDS
Northwestern University tuition, cost & net price
What families actually pay per year, by income
Average net price after grants and scholarships for students who receive federal aid. Tap your income band.
College Scorecard, latest reported year (federal aid recipients)
Sticker price (before aid)
IPEDS 2023-24 cost items; total from College Scorecard
College Scorecard; Urban Institute Education Data Portal
What Northwestern University costs to finish, and how fast it pays back
Graduates of Northwestern University took 4.1 years on average to finish, so the yearly price adds up to the total below. Payback compares former students' earnings with what high school graduates earn in Illinois. The figures follow your residency and income choices above.
| Family income | Net price / yr | Cost to finish | Years to pay back |
|---|---|---|---|
| $0–30k | $1,764 | $7,232 | under 1 year |
| $30–48k | $6,099 | $25,006 | under 1 year |
| $48–75k | $7,898 | $32,382 | under 1 year |
| $75–110k | $18,282 | $74,956 | 1.4 years |
| $110k+ | $48,777 | $199,986 | 3.7 years |
Cost to finish = yearly price × 4.1 years, the average time graduates took (88% finished in 4 years; students who entered fall 2017, IPEDS). Years to pay back = cost to finish ÷ the earnings gain: median earnings of former students 10 years after starting ($89,363) minus $35,797 for high school graduates ages 25-34 in IL (Census ACS 2020-2024), a gain of $53,566 a year. Before taxes, loan interest and earnings given up while in school. Method
College Scorecard (net price, earnings); IPEDS Graduation Rates (time to finish); U.S. Census Bureau ACS (high school earnings). Calculated by EducationGuide.
Northwestern University majors, earnings & careers
Northwestern University offers 85 bachelor's majors across 10 areas. Earnings below are for this school's graduates of each major, four years after finishing.
- Social Sciences & Public Service · 17
- Humanities & Languages · 16
- Engineering · 14
- Science & Math · 13
- Arts & Design · 5
- Education · 5
- Business & Finance · 4
- Communications & Media · 4
- Technology & Computing · 4
- Health & Medicine · 3
Highest-earning majors at Northwestern University
| Major | Earnings, 4 yrs | Median debt |
|---|---|---|
| Information Science / Studies | $163,740 | $12,000 |
| Computer Science | $155,106 | $14,600 |
| Applied Mathematics | $148,740 | — |
| Industrial Engineering | $138,720 | $17,912 |
| Economics | $126,006 | $16,227 |
| Statistics | $122,682 | $14,000 |
| Chemical Engineering | $111,040 | $16,500 |
| Human Resources | $108,498 | $38,832 |
Quick list of all 85 majors
- Anthropology—
- Applied Mathematics$148,740
- Architecture and Related Services, Other—
- Area Studies—
- Biological and Physical Sciences—
- Biology$71,181
- Biomedical Engineering$102,994
- Broadcasting / Digital Media$51,471
- Business—
- Chemical Engineering$111,040
- Chemistry—
- Civil Engineering—
- Classics—
- Communication, Journalism, and Related Programs, Other—
- Communications$93,541
- Community Organization and Advocacy$84,712
- Computer and Information Sciences—
- Computer Engineering—
- Computer Science$155,106
- Dance—
- Data Science—
- East Asian Languages (Chinese / Japanese / Korean)—
- Ecology and Evolutionary Biology—
- Economics$126,006
- Education—
- Education (Elementary / Secondary)—
- Education (Subject Teaching)—
- Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research—
- Electrical Engineering—
- Engineering—
- Engineering Science—
- Engineering, Other—
- English$62,147
- Entrepreneurship—
- Environmental Engineering—
- Environmental Science / Conservation—
- Ethnic / Gender Studies$59,372
- Geography—
- Geology / Earth Science—
- German—
- History$78,966
- Human Development and Family Studies—
- Human Resources$108,498
- Industrial Engineering$138,720
- Information Science / Studies$163,740
- International Relations$74,477
- Journalism$80,258
- Legal Studies / Paralegal—
- Liberal Arts / General Studies$93,180
- Linguistics—
- Manufacturing Engineering$97,819
- Materials Engineering—
- Materials Sciences—
- Mathematics$107,072
- Mechanical Engineering$98,277
- Middle / Near Eastern and Semitic Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics—
- Multi / Interdisciplinary Studies, Other—
- Music$53,875
- Neuroscience$54,279
- Philosophy—
- Physics—
- Political Science$73,231
- Pre-Med / Pre-Health—
- Psychology$73,646
- Psychology (Clinical / Counseling)—
- Psychology (Research)—
- Psychology, Other$62,905
- Public Health—
- Public Policy Analysis$78,752
- Religious Studies—
- Science, Technology and Society—
- Slavic, Baltic and Albanian Languages, Literatures, and Linguistics—
- Social Sciences—
- Social Sciences, Other—
- Sociology$75,267
- Spanish / French / Romance Languages—
- Special Education—
- Speech-Language Pathology / Communication Disorders—
- Statistics$122,682
- Studio Art—
- Sustainability Studies—
- Theatre$49,316
- Urban Studies / Affairs—
- Visual and Performing Arts—
- Writing—
— means too few graduates to report earnings.
College Scorecard field of study, latest release
All majors by area with earnings 1 and 4 years out, and debt →Journalism → Reporter / journalist
Median annual wage for all workers in this job, not only new graduates. U.S. jobs projected to shrink 5.9% from 2025 to 2035.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35
Communications → Public relations specialist
Median annual wage for all workers in this job, not only new graduates. U.S. jobs projected to grow 1.8% from 2025 to 2035.
BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025; Employment Projections 2025-35
Living in Chicago
Overall prices in the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN area.
BEA Regional Price Parities, 2024
2 bedrooms $2,011. Housing costs 12% above the U.S. average.
HUD Fair Market Rent, FY2027
January and July average highs. 40 inches of rain a year, 34 inches of snow.
NOAA Climate Normals 1991-2020
Highest: tornado (very high); river flooding (very high); heat wave (very high); winter weather (very high).
FEMA National Risk Index, Cook County
Campus & students
IPEDS fall enrollment; Carnegie Classification; EADA via Urban Institute
Cook County at a glance
U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-year 2024
Compare Northwestern University with similar schools
Similar private colleges in Illinois by selectivity, graduation rate and size. Tap “Why?” to see where the price difference comes from.
| School | Acceptance | You'd pay | Graduation | Earnings, 10 yrs | Price gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwestern University | 8% | $29,167 | 95% | $89,363 | This school |
| University of Chicago | 4% | $14,860 | 96% | $91,885 | |
| Illinois Wesleyan University | 39% | $28,199 | 75% | $70,871 | |
| Principia College | 44% | — | 74% | — | |
| Illinois Institute of Technology | 55% | $18,425 | 75% | $82,592 |
College Scorecard, latest reported year. “You'd pay” follows your residency and income choices above.
Why the price is different
Northwestern University would cost you $14,307 more per year than University of Chicago, on average.
- Higher sticker price at Northwestern University, mostly from more University of Chicago students living at home, which lowers its average (+$1,358).
- University of Chicago gives aided families $13,417 more in grants, on average.
| Per year, Illinois resident | Northwestern University | University of Chicago | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tuition & fees | $68,322 | $70,662 | −$2,340 |
| Books & supplies | $1,686 | $1,800 | −$114 |
| Housing & meals | $20,334 | $19,221 | +$1,113 |
| Personal & travel | $3,273 | $2,400 | +$873 |
| Living-at-home adjustment | −$2,365 | −$3,723 | +$1,358 |
| Sticker price | $91,250 | $90,360 | +$890 |
| Average grants | −$62,083 | −$75,500 | +$13,417 |
| You pay | $29,167 | $14,860 | +$14,307 |
“+” means Northwestern University costs more; “−” means it costs less. Grants are the sticker price minus the net price. Cost items: IPEDS, on-campus budget. Sticker and net price: College Scorecard, latest reported year; the adjustment reconciles the two. Net price is an average for first-time, full-time students receiving federal aid, not a quote.
Common questions about Northwestern University
What is the Northwestern University acceptance rate?
Northwestern University accepts 8% of applicants (College Scorecard). In the latest IPEDS admissions year, 3,703 of 51,769 applicants were admitted. The middle half of enrolled first-year students scored 1510–1570 on the SAT or 33–35 on the ACT.
How much does Northwestern University cost per year?
The sticker price (cost of attendance) is $91,250 a year. After grants and scholarships, students receiving federal aid pay $29,167 a year on average; families earning $0–30k pay $1,764 and families earning $110k+ pay $48,777.
How much do Northwestern University graduates earn?
Former Northwestern University students earn a median $89,363 ten years after starting college, compared with a U.S. median of $53,263 across the colleges we cover.
What is the Northwestern University graduation rate?
95% of first-time, full-time students graduate within six years, and 98% return for their second year.
How long does a Northwestern University degree take to pay off?
For a family earning $48–75k, finishing at Northwestern University costs about $32,382 after grants ($7,898 a year for 4.1 years, the average time graduates took). Former students earn a median $89,363 ten years after starting, $53,566 more than high school graduates in Illinois ($35,797), so the cost is repaid in under 1 year of that gain, before taxes and interest (EducationGuide calculation).
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Sources on this page: U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard and IPEDS; U.S. Census Bureau (ACS); Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections); Bureau of Economic Analysis; HUD; NOAA; FEMA; Urban Institute Education Data Portal (ODC-By); Wikidata. “Colleges we cover” means colleges awarding bachelor's degrees to at least 100 undergraduates. Averages are not quotes; confirm costs with the school. How we score
Data: download this school's data (JSON) · Markdown · all datasets
Cite this: “Northwestern University: cost, admissions and outcomes,” EducationGuide.com, https://educationguide.com/colleges/northwestern-university (College Scorecard and IPEDS data).