Cost to Attend Northwestern University

What it Really Costs

Depending on many factors including student and parent income and assets, the total cost of attendance may be less than the $83,838 published price if scholarship or grant aid is made available to you.

Net Price

The net out-of-pocket total cost you end up paying or financing though student loans is known as the net price. The reported Northwestern net price for in-state students is $28,344* for the 2019/2020 academic year. This net price includes housing and meal expenses.

Pell Grants and other Grant Aid

62% of Northwestern University students received grant aid in 2019/2020. The average total aid amount was $50,310. 20 percent of students received aid in the form of Pell Grants from the U.S. Federal Government. The average Pell Grant awarded for 2019/2020 was $5,114. To apply for a Pell Grant to attend Northwestern University, the first step is to fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

Average Net Price by Family Income

The average net total cost of attendance for different levels of family income after federal, state or local government, institutional grant and scholarship aid are awarded. Data last published for the 2019/2020 academic year.

*Reported Average Annual Net Price for students receiving grant or scholarship aid reported to the U.S. Department of Education's Academic Year 2019/2020 IPEDS Survey. Financial aid is only available to those who qualify. Consult this school's net price calculator for further understanding of your potential net price.

Note that for colleges with no reported on-campus room and board, the average net price has been increased to account for living expenses. This number may not only reflect the net price paid to the school for tuition.

Other Costs

Cost Per Credit Hour and Cost for a Class

Some schools offer the ability to take single classes by paying on a per credit hour basis. The reported price per credit hour and estimated cost for one class at Northwestern University are as follows. Per credit costs are for reference only as many schools will not allow students to pay by credit hour.

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Student Loans and Debt

The second consideration after understanding the cost of college is determining how to finance it. Some students are fortunate enough to have some form of family financial assistance, but student loans end up financing a significant portion of higher education in the U.S. 23% of Northwestern University students receive U.S. Federal Student Loans with an average annual Federal Loan aid amount of $4,718.

Example Loan Payments and Costs

How much are student loan payments for Northwestern University? Obviously this varies based on a number of factors - offsetting financial aid you receive, percentage of fee you pay upfront while enrolled and the interest rate on your loans. We've modeled a sample student loan based on current Stafford loan rates to give you an approximate idea.

The following are the costs for a loan if you borrowed $108,452, 100% of the estimated average net price for a four year program and paid nothing while enrolled. The total of all payments including interest would sum $137,972.60. This could be your effective total out of pocket cost of an education at Northwestern University. Note that this calculation assumes you don't pay full list price tuition, are part of the reported 62% of students at this school who receive financial aid and you are paying an average annual net price of $27,113. If you do not financially qualify for a reduced net price, your student loan payments could be significantly higher than this example. Use our Northwestern University student loan calculator below to change loan assumptions and recalculate.

Student loans are not free money and must be repaid. You cannot dismiss student loans by via bankruptcy.

Affording Student Loan Payments and Post Graduation Salary

Can I afford to attend Northwestern? In the end, the answer comes down a determination if you will earn enough to comfortably pay back a student loan with your post graduation salary. This is an extremely important point to consider. In order to afford student loan payments and still meet all your other costs of living, it is recommended not to borrow more than you can pay back using 10% of your monthly income earned after graduation. If you're considering attending Northwestern University, you need to carefully consider if it will be realistic to make the post graduation loan payments based on your expected salary.

Using the 10% of salary threshold, an annual income of $137,972.60 would be needed to afford a $1,149.77 monthly payment in the example $108,452.00 loan modeled above. You will need to determine if it is at all realistic that you will be earning this type of salary after graduation. This assumes a loan payback over 10 years. You can change the terms of this example loan using the student loan calculator below.

Estimated Future Cost and Expected Tuition Increase

What will it cost to send your child to Northwestern University in the future? In the past four years, this school's published in-state tuition and fee total rose from $50,424 to $60,276. This amounts to an average annual price increase of 3.9%. Nationally, university tuition prices are rising around 5% per year. Looking out five, ten, fifteen or eighteen years, these are CollegeCalc's estimates how much you could expect to pay for a 4 year degree assuming tuition increases at the national average rate. Estimated future prices are based on the current 4 year cost of $335,352.00. Use the college savings plan calculator below to perform a more comprehensive analysis on future costs and how much you will need to save for Northwestern University.