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Northwestern scholarships and merit aid

Two prices: the posted one, and yours.

Posted price$96,236per year · 2025-2026 · On-campus
Yours?depends on the rules below

The short answer

Northwestern may be worth checking, but its awards do not follow a simple grades-and-scores chart. Start with the published scholarships below.

Where does your student land?

Verified Jul 2026
7 school sources to explore

Published rules, with the school sources close at hand. Confirm the details before you count on an award.

The award collection

Published scholarships

These amounts and requirements come from the school’s own published pages. Open an award to see who qualifies and how to keep it.

Where does your student land?

  1. Bienen School of Music Merit ScholarshipVaries. The most prestigious awards cover full tuition, room, board, and a stipend for music expenses. Other awards are partial. Specific dollar amounts are not published.Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    Bienen School of Music Merit Scholarship

    Varies. The most prestigious awards cover full tuition, room, board, and a stipend for music expenses. Other awards are partial. Specific dollar amounts are not published.

    Variable or qualified amountNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for Bienen School of Music Merit Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Admitted to the Bienen School of Music as an undergraduate. Must complete a musical audition that demonstrates remarkable excellence. No separate scholarship application is required beyond the audition. International applicants are evaluated using the same merit-based process. Merit scholarships are a factor in calculating offers based on demonstrated financial need.

    How to keep it

    Renewable for four years, subject to satisfactory academic progress and continued participation in the Bienen School. Specific renewal GPA thresholds are not published.

    Worth knowing

    Approximately 15 freshmen per year received institutional non-need-based scholarship or grant aid in 2024-2025 (CDS H2A, line N), averaging $29,000. These are believed to be primarily Bienen music merit awards. The Bienen School states it awards selective merit-based scholarships to students whose auditions demonstrate remarkable excellence, but does not publish named programs, dollar tiers, or selection counts.

  2. NROTC ScholarshipFull tuition, book stipend, educational fees, and a monthly living stipend. Four-year, three-year, and two-year scholarships available.Not automaticRenewable
    Published awardOther selection criteria

    NROTC Scholarship

    Full tuition, book stipend, educational fees, and a monthly living stipend. Four-year, three-year, and two-year scholarships available.

    Published coverage or packageNot recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read the selection rules. Confirm the policy year with the school.

    Start with the award’s published eligibility.

    RenewableCheck the conditions
    Open award details for NROTC Scholarship

    Who qualifies

    Highly competitive national selection process through the U.S. Navy. Must be admitted to Northwestern and accepted into the NROTC program. Based on merit and personal qualifications. Applicants apply directly through the Navy, not through Northwestern's financial aid office.

    How to keep it

    Renewable for the duration of the scholarship term (two, three, or four years). Requires maintaining academic standing and fulfilling NROTC program requirements including coursework, physical fitness, and summer training.

    Worth knowing

    Northwestern is one of the few elite private universities that hosts an NROTC unit on campus. The 2024-2025 CDS reports 99 freshmen received institutional non-need-based athletic scholarships (averaging $53,131) and 375 undergraduates total, but ROTC scholarships are federally funded and reported separately. Army ROTC is available through the University of Illinois at Chicago; Air Force ROTC through the Illinois Institute of Technology.

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Deering Library at Northwestern University

Deering Library at Northwestern University

What makes Northwestern different

A highly selective private research university that explicitly does not award academic merit scholarships. All institutional financial aid is need-based, and Northwestern meets 100% of demonstrated financial need without loans. The only non-need institutional awards are a small number of Bienen School of Music audition-based merit scholarships (roughly 15 per year) and ROTC scholarships.

Merit tiers2See who qualifies
First-year students with school awards1%First-year students, CDS 2024-2025
Research checkedJul 2026By our research team

Selection beyond grades and scores

Start with the selection process.

These awards are not recorded as automatic on grades and scores. Read each award's selection rules, application steps and dates. Meeting a minimum is not an award offer.

  1. Read the selection rules

    Look for the school's stated criteria and whether an additional application is needed.

  2. Check the application dates

    Confirm the current admission and scholarship deadlines directly with the school.

  3. Know what happens next year

    Check renewal, credit requirements and how other aid affects the award.

The fine print / Three questions to carry forward

Before you count on it.

Does it apply to us? Confirm the entering year, residency and every eligibility condition.

Can we keep it? Check renewal GPA, credits and how long the award lasts.

Can we combine it? Ask how outside scholarships and other school awards change the offer.

Take Northwestern's decision sheet

A printable research summary, source links and room for your questions.

See what could change an award

Straight from the aid office

What Northwestern's aid office says

Per the Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid, Northwestern University, August 2026. How we verify

Basis of financial aid

Is Northwestern's financial aid need-based or merit-based?

All financial aid at Northwestern is need-based, except for athletic aid and a few merit scholarships within the Bienen School of Music.

“All financial aid at Northwestern is need-based, with the exception of athletic aid and a few merit scholarships within the Bienen School of Music.”
Annual reapplication

Does a student need to reapply for aid every year?

Students must reapply for financial aid each year.

“Students must reapply for financial aid each year, and aid eligibility may change if the family's financial circumstances fluctuate.”
Satisfactory Academic Progress

Does the student need to maintain academic progress to keep aid?

Students must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to remain eligible for aid.

“Students must also maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) to remain eligible for aid.”

What families often miss

  1. Northwestern explicitly states it does not award scholarships based on academic merit. The CDS confirms zero freshmen received non-need-based scholarship or grant aid through the general financial aid process in 2024-2025 (H2, line G). The only non-need institutional awards go to a small number of Bienen School of Music students (roughly 15 per year) based on audition, and to recruited athletes. No SAT, ACT, or GPA threshold will trigger a merit offer.

  2. Northwestern meets 100% of demonstrated financial need without loans. The average financial aid package for freshmen with need is $67,785, and over 60% of undergraduates receive financial aid. These large numbers are entirely need-driven. Families earning under $150,000 typically attend tuition-free, and families under $70,000 typically attend at no cost. But if your family does not demonstrate financial need, there is no institutional discount available through the general admissions process.

  3. Northwestern uses both federal methodology and institutional methodology (IM) to determine aid. Institutional methodology can produce significantly different results from FAFSA alone, especially for families with home equity, business assets, or non-custodial parent situations. Families with income levels they assume disqualify them may still demonstrate institutional need. Skipping these forms guarantees full-price payment. Northwestern requires FAFSA, CSS Profile, and tax documents.

  4. Because Northwestern meets full demonstrated need, outside scholarships first reduce loans and work-study (which is genuinely helpful for reducing student debt), but once those self-help components are eliminated, additional outside dollars reduce the Northwestern Scholarship dollar-for-dollar. A family whose EFC already determines their contribution will not see that contribution drop because the student won a $5,000 Rotary scholarship. Outside awards primarily reduce borrowing, not the family share.

See costs and school data

Who this school may work for

Families who need to understand that Northwestern is functionally a no-merit school. If your family does not qualify for need-based aid, you will almost certainly pay full price ($96,236 on-campus COA for 2025-2026). Northwestern's admissions page states directly that the university does not award scholarships based on academic merit. The Bienen School of Music awards a small number of audition-based merit scholarships, but these go exclusively to admitted Bienen students whose musical auditions demonstrate remarkable excellence. For the other five undergraduate schools (Weinberg, McCormick, Medill, Communication, SESP), there is no merit aid of any kind. Families earning under $70,000 typically attend at no cost; families under $150,000 typically attend tuition-free.

Cost of attendance$96,236 for 2025-2026Each bar is the full published cost for that scenario, sized against the highest figure so totals compare at a glance.
On-campus$96,236
  • Tuition & fees
  • Housing & food
  • Books
  • Personal
  • Loan fees

On-campus full COA; optional NU-SHIP health insurance and variable transportation excluded.

Northwestern cost-of-attendance source

Cost and graduation facts

Federal reporting on who actually enrolls at Northwestern, what they paid after aid, and what happened next — independent of anything the school markets.

Average annual net price by family income at Northwestern, academic year 2021-22
Family incomeAverage net price paid
$0–$30,000$1,764
$30,001–$48,000$6,099
$48,001–$75,000$7,898
$75,001–$110,000$18,282
$110,001+$48,777
All income levels (average)$29,167

Sticker price vs. what students actually pay

Published tuition & fees, AY 2022-23
$68,322
Average net price paid (all Title-IV aid), AY 2021-22
$29,167

That works out to roughly a 68% discount below the federal AY 2021-22 average cost of attendance of $91,250 (College Scorecard — a separate, federally reported figure, not the published cost of attendance shown above).

Outcomes for students who enrolled here

Graduation rate (150% of normal time), 2016 cohort
95%
First-year retention rate, 2021 cohort
98%
Median debt at completion, 2020–2021 completers
$15,000 (~$159/mo on a 10-yr plan)
Median earnings, 10 years after entry (measured 2020-21)
$89,363
Share of students receiving a Pell grant, AY 2021-22
21%
Share of students receiving a federal loan, AY 2021-22
19%
See other scholarships and cost examples

If your student brings another scholarship

Outside scholarships first reduce Federal Work-Study and need-based loans. Only after those are fully eliminated do outside scholarships reduce the Northwestern Scholarship (institutional grant). The financial aid office makes every effort to avoid reducing institutional grants.

Northwestern meets 100% of demonstrated financial need. When a student receives an outside scholarship, the university applies it in a strict sequence: (1) Federal Work-Study is reduced first, (2) need-based loans (Subsidized Direct Loans) are reduced second, (3) only after work-study and loans are fully eliminated does the Northwestern Scholarship get reduced. In limited cases where the CSS Profile parent contribution exceeds the FAFSA SAI, the parent contribution may also be adjusted. The financial aid office states it makes every effort to avoid reducing Northwestern Scholarship assistance. Students must report all outside awards using the online Scholarship Reporting Form. There is no published cap on outside scholarships, but total aid from all sources cannot exceed the cost of attendance.

Source

More school data

From the Northwestern Common Data Set 2024-2025:

Merit penetrationHow likely is merit aid here?From Northwestern’s Common Data Set: the share of first-year students who receive institutional merit and the average dollar amount when they do.
1%of admitsget merit
Average award$29,000Covers ~30% of $96,236 cost of attendance

At Northwestern, roughly 1 in 100 first-year admits receive institutional merit aid. The average award is $29,000 — about 30% of total cost.

SAT mid-50%1510–156025th / 75th percentile
ACT mid-50%34–3525th / 75th percentile
Receive institutional merit1%First-year students
Average merit award$29,000Across recipients

Source: Common Data Set

Other Northwestern scholarships worth checking

These awards can be harder to find. Each one has its own rules.

AmountVaries (subsidizes personal expenses during the academic year)EligibilityMember of the Northwestern Debate Society who demonstrates financial need. Two awards given per year.

Not listed on the main financial aid scholarships page. Administered through the Debate Society, not through the Office of Undergraduate Financial Aid. All debate team travel expenses (meals, lodging, transportation, entry fees) are separately paid by Northwestern regardless of scholarship status.

Source

AmountFull financial aid package meeting 100% of demonstrated need without loansEligibilityHigh-achieving, low-income students who match with Northwestern through the QuestBridge National College Match process. Binding early commitment.

Need-based, not merit. Northwestern is a QuestBridge partner school. Students matched through QuestBridge receive the same no-loan financial aid package as other aided students, but the QuestBridge process provides an early pathway for low-income students who might not otherwise apply.

Source

AmountBased on demonstrated financial needEligibilityGraduates of select Big Shoulders Fund partner high schools in the Chicago area. Must demonstrate financial need. Beginning with the 2025-2026 academic year.

New for 2025-2026. Need-based, not merit. Replaces Northwestern Scholarship dollars on a 1:1 basis (does not add additional funding beyond what need-based aid would provide). Easy to miss because it launched recently and targets a specific set of Chicago-area high schools.

Source

AmountBased on demonstrated financial needEligibilityStudents demonstrating commitment to Native American and Indigenous studies at Northwestern.

Need-based, not merit. Replaces Northwestern Scholarship funds rather than adding on top. Renewable for up to four years. Not prominently featured on the main scholarships page.

Source

Northwestern merit aid FAQ

  • Does Northwestern offer merit scholarships?

    No, with one narrow exception. Northwestern's admissions website explicitly states the university does not award scholarships based on academic merit. All institutional financial aid is need-based. The sole exception is the Bienen School of Music, which awards a small number of audition-based merit scholarships to students whose musical performance demonstrates remarkable excellence. Per the 2024-2025 CDS, only 15 freshmen with no financial need received any institutional non-need-based scholarship or grant aid, averaging $29,000. For the other five undergraduate schools (Weinberg, McCormick, Medill, Communication, SESP), there is no merit aid.

  • If my family does not qualify for need-based aid, will we pay full price?

    Almost certainly yes. The 2025-2026 on-campus cost of attendance is $96,236 (tuition $69,375, room and board $21,975, fees $1,214, plus books, personal expenses, and loan fees). Northwestern does not offer broad merit scholarships. Unless your student is admitted to the Bienen School of Music and receives one of the approximately 15 audition-based merit awards, or is a recruited athlete, there is no institutional discount for families without demonstrated need.

  • What SAT or ACT score do I need for a scholarship at Northwestern?

    No SAT or ACT score will trigger a scholarship at Northwestern. Test scores are not required for admission (test-optional) and are rated only as Considered (not Very Important or Important) in the CDS. The enrolled class middle 50% is SAT 1510-1560 and ACT 34-35, but these scores are relevant only for admission competitiveness, not for any scholarship. Northwestern does not have a test-score-to-merit-dollar grid.

  • How does Northwestern handle outside scholarships?

    Outside scholarships first reduce Federal Work-Study and need-based loans in the aid package. Only after those self-help components are fully eliminated does the Northwestern Scholarship (institutional grant) get reduced. This means outside scholarships are most valuable for reducing student debt. However, because Northwestern meets full need, total aid cannot exceed the cost of attendance, so outside awards will not reduce the family's expected contribution once self-help is gone. Students must report all outside awards.

  • Should my family still file FAFSA and CSS Profile even if we think we earn too much?

    Yes. Northwestern uses both federal methodology and its own institutional methodology to determine aid. Institutional methodology considers factors like home equity, business assets, and non-custodial parent income differently from FAFSA. Families earning between $70,000 and $150,000 often receive significant aid, and some families above $150,000 still receive partial support. The average need-based scholarship for freshmen with demonstrated need is $65,983. Filing costs nothing and guarantees you are considered. Not filing guarantees full-price payment.

See sources and other schools

How Northwestern compares

  • 145 of 749 verified schools in our dataset use loan-first displacement.

    Northwestern is in a recognizable cluster (145 schools share this category). That framing matters when comparing peer schools that may publish the policy differently or not at all.

  • 665 of 749 verified schools publish at least one four-year renewable merit award.

    Northwestern is one of them. The cohort minority (84 schools) only awards one-year scholarships, which means the four-year value families assume on a brochure quote isn't guaranteed at every school.

Sources used on this page

Every claim is checked against Northwestern’s own published materials. Below is the full reference set.

Compare with similar schools

Keep exploring Northwestern merit aid

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