Northwestern University
Application Dates & Deadlines
QuestBridge
Northwestern partners with QuestBridge to help identify high school seniors who have shown outstanding academic ability despite financial challenges through a process called College Match.
Ranking colleges through the College Match means that you are entering an agreement with the college that if you are matched, you are committed to attending that college and you must withdraw any other college applications.
Eligibility
In order to be eligible to apply to the National College Match in the fall of 2023, applicants must graduate from high school during or before the summer of 2024 and plan to enroll as a freshman in college in the fall of 2024.
The QuestBridge National College Match is open to all:
U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents or
Students, regardless of citizenship, currently attending high school in the United States.
For more information on applying through QuestBridge, email us at QuestBridge@northwestern.edu or visit the Questbridge website.
Early Decision
If you’ve done good college research and would be thrilled to land at Northwestern next fall, then Early Decision (ED) could be a good option for you. Applicants who choose ED send a strong, positive message to Northwestern. Given early applicants' high level of interest, and the academic and personal strength we see across our early pool, our ED acceptance rate is typically higher than that of Regular Decision (RD). As with all traditional ED plans, you agree to withdraw all applications at other colleges and enroll at Northwestern if admitted.
Your financial aid offer will be exactly the same whether you apply ED or RD. If you are considering ED but are concerned about cost, our Net Price Calculator tool can give you a preliminary estimate of whether you will qualify for need-based financial aid, and, if so, what your loan-free aid package will look like.
October: Standardized testing
Northwestern will be test optional for first-year applicants for the 2023-24 cycle.
If submitting scores, use Northwestern school code 1565 (SAT) or 1106 (ACT) to have your SAT or ACT sent directly to us.
Alternatively, applicants may self-report these scores, taking care to report their highest individual sections of the SAT and/or highest ACT composite score. Applicants are not obligated to report scores from all test dates, though are welcome to do so. Admitted students who choose to enroll, and included test scores as part of their evaluation, will be required to submit official SAT or ACT that correspond to the highest self-reported test scores prior to matriculation.
November 1 (by 11:59 pm applicant’s local time): Application deadline
The following must be submitted:
Common Application, Apply Coalition with Scoir, or QuestBridge application
Common Application or Apply Coalition with Scoir personal essay (OPTIONAL)
Northwestern supplement, (with additional writing supplements)
Secondary school report (includes high school transcript and counselor recommendation letter),
Teacher recommendation,
Standardized test scores (optional),
Early Decision agreement and
A nonrefundable application fee of $75 or application fee waiver.
Mid-December: Early Decision admission decision
When decisions are available for viewing in our applicant portal, we will send an email to the address provided in your application. If you’re admitted, and your family has provided the College Scholarship Service Financial Aid Profile (CSS Profile), you will be notified of your financial aid award details within one week of the release of your admission decision.
February 1: Enrollment decision and tuition/housing deposit.
To confirm your place in the first-year class, you must submit your nonrefundable tuition and housing deposits by February 1.
Regular Decision
Most students apply to Northwestern through Regular Decision, which allows them to potentially consider multiple offers of admission and financial aid. If you are interested, our Net Price Calculator tool can give you a preliminary estimate of whether you will qualify for need-based financial aid, and, if so, what your loan-free aid package will look like.
December: Standardized testing
Northwestern will be test optional for first-year applicants for the 2023-24 cycle.
If submitting scores, use Northwestern school code 1565 (SAT) or 1106 (ACT) to have your SAT or ACT sent directly to us.
Alternatively, applicants may self-report these scores, taking care to report their highest individual sections of the SAT and/or highest ACT composite score. Applicants are not obligated to report scores from all test dates, though are welcome to do so. Admitted students who choose to enroll, and included test scores as part of their evaluation, will be required to submit official SAT or ACT that correspond to the highest self-reported test scores prior to matriculation.
January 3 (by 11:59 pm applicant's local time): Application deadline
The following must be submitted:
Common Application, Apply Coalition with Scoir, or QuestBridge application
Common Application or Apply Coalition with Scoir personal essay (OPTIONAL)
Northwestern supplement, (with additional writing supplements)
Secondary school report (includes high school transcript and counselor recommendation letter),
Teacher recommendation,
Standardized test scores (optional) and
A nonrefundable application fee of $75 or application fee waiver.
Late March: Regular Decision admission decision
When decisions are available for viewing in our applicant portal, we will send an email to the address provided in your application. If you’re admitted, and your family has provided the College Scholarship Service Financial Aid Profile (CSS Profile), you will be notified of your financial aid award details within one week of the release of your admission decision.
May 1: Enrollment decision and tuition/housing deposit
To confirm your place in the first-year class, you must submit your nonrefundable tuition and housing deposits by May 1.
Applications that might require additional materials
Additional application requirements might be necessary for the following applicants:
Bienen School of Music applicants
School of Communication applicants to the Music Theater Certificate Program
Integrated Science Program applicants
Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences applicants
Standardized Test Scores
Northwestern will be test optional for first-year and transfer applicants for the 2023-24 cycle.
If students choose to take an SAT or ACT, there is no preference for either exam—and will review a “superscore” for both tests. For students who take the SAT or ACT more than once, this means that our system will combine the highest section scores across multiple test dates and calculate a “superscore” that will override the high score from a single sitting in our database. Applicants are not obligated to report scores from all test dates, though are welcome to do so.
Reporting ACT scores
For students who take the ACT section tests, we will factor any individual section scores into your ACT superscore. You may utilize ACT’s new superscore reporting option to report an official superscore.
Self-reporting SAT and/or ACT scores
Students may self-report all SAT and ACT scores, but please do not calculate your own ACT superscore—report your highest ACT section scores and your highest composite score from a single test date, and our system will calculate the ACT superscore. Admitted students who choose to enroll will be required to submit official SAT or ACT test scores that confirm highest self-reported section/composite scores prior to matriculation.
Letters of Recommendation
TIP: Letters of recommendation should be from individuals who can best speak to the range of your strengths and abilities.
We require two letters of recommendation.
One letter should come from your high school counselor. This could be your college counselor, guidance counselor, academic advisor, career center specialist or whoever can to best speak to your overall high school curriculum and involvement within the context of your high school. The second letter should come from one of your teachers who can address your strengths as a student in the classroom; this recommender should most likely be a teacher from one of your core subject areas, in your junior or senior year.
If you have an additional reference who would like to submit a letter on your behalf, we will accept supplemental letters of recommendation. It is in your best interest that each letter provides new or different information about you.
Personal Statement and Supplemental Essay(s)
Northwestern 2023–24 First-Year Writing Supplements
We have designed these writing supplements to help us understand your experiences throughout high school and imagine what kind of Northwestern student you may become. The supplemental questions below touch on areas we see as important for building Northwestern’s Class of 2028, but you should feel free to repurpose essays you’ve written for other applications (including the Common/Coalition Application personal essay, which we no longer require) if they tell the story you’d most like to share.
We also know there may be information or qualities not covered in our supplemental questions that you see as important to your application. To that end, we welcome—but by no means expect—your submission of a personal essay or additional information in the Common Application.
The following question is required for all Common Application and Coalition with Scoir applicants (optional for QuestBridge applicants). Please respond in 300 words or fewer:
We want to be sure we’re considering your application in the context of your personal experiences: What aspects of your background, your identity, or your school, community, and/or household settings have most shaped how you see yourself engaging in Northwestern’s community, be it academically, extracurricularly, culturally, politically, socially, or otherwise?
The following questions are optional, but we encourage you to answer at least one and no more than two. Please respond in fewer than 200 words per question:
Painting “The Rock” is a tradition at Northwestern that invites all forms of expression—students promote campus events or extracurricular groups, support social or activist causes, show their Wildcat spirit (what we call “Purple Pride”), celebrate their culture, and more. What would you paint on The Rock, and why?
Northwestern fosters a distinctively interdisciplinary culture. We believe discovery and innovation thrive at the intersection of diverse ideas, perspectives, and academic interests. Within this setting, if you could dream up an undergraduate class, research project, or creative effort (a start-up, a design prototype, a performance, etc.), what would it be? Who might be some ideal classmates or collaborators?
Community and belonging matter at Northwestern. Tell us about one or more communities, networks, or student groups you see yourself connecting with on campus.
Northwestern’s location is special: on the shore of Lake Michigan, steps from downtown Evanston, just a few miles from Chicago. What aspects of our location are most compelling to you, and why?
Northwestern is a place where people with diverse backgrounds from all over the world can study, live, and talk with one another. This range of experiences and viewpoints immeasurably enriches learning. How might your individual background contribute to this diversity of perspectives in Northwestern’s classrooms and around our campus?
Activity Chart
TIP: The activity chart is your opportunity to be thorough about the depth and range of your involvement, whatever it may be.
The activity chart is your chance to explain any and all activities in which you’ve been involved outside of your high school classes. Provide as much detail as you can, explaining any abbreviations or acronyms that may be unique to your school. If you have held any leadership positions or received any awards, honors or distinctions, be sure to include that information on the activities chart as well. There’s no “right answer” to what kind of activities we like to see: Northwestern has over 500 different clubs and activities on campus, so we appreciate a very wide range of activities and value diversity of student interests.
Interviews
Alumni Interviews
Alumni Interviews are an optional component of the application process, available on a limited basis. Alumni feedback is included in your file, but not participating in an interview has no negative effect on your chance of admission. Alumni interviews allow applicants to ask questions, and are primarily informational.
Interviews offer the admissions committee additional context about your potential fit for Northwestern beyond what we read in your application, and allows you to learn more about the university in the process. That said, an interview is not a required part of your Northwestern application. Please read the paragraphs below carefully to understand our interview process./p>
Who conducts interviews?
Regional alumni volunteers on our Alumni Admission Council (AAC) conduct all interviews off campus, which means our ability to offer interviews depends entirely on alumni geography, availability, and capacity. All AAC interviewers complete a comprehensive training program and sign a Volunteer Code of Conduct prior to meeting with students.
Interview format
For the 2023–24 academic year, Northwestern has adopted a hybrid interview policy. Interviews will be conducted virtually by default, but students will have the option to indicate on their request form whether they are comfortable meeting in-person. Depending on their interviewer’s comfort/availability, some interviews may then be conducted in-person. Please note that Northwestern assigns no higher value to either virtual or in-person interviews; equal consideration will be given to reports from both interview formats.
How can I schedule an interview?
The Admissions Office will contact all Early and Regular Decision applicants who attend high school in regions with active alumni interviewers—look for an email with instructions for making a scheduling request. Our alumni interview coordinators accommodate scheduling requests on a space-available basis.
Please add ug-admission@northwestern.edu to your contacts, so that our messages do not get caught in a spam folder.
If I choose to interview, what should I expect?
Interview requests are accommodated on a space-available basis. Alumni interview coordinators will match students requesting an interview with an alumni volunteer if space permits.
Your alumni interviewer will contact you via email or phone to coordinate an interview at a mutually agreeable time. If you have concerns about technology access or internet connectivity, you may share that with your interviewer. You may also contact aac@u.northwestern.edu if you need assistance with interview coordination.
You can expect a conversational setting where you can relax, be yourself, and ask questions in addition to answering them. You do not need to send a resume or other documents to your interviewer or prepare any other materials prior to the conversation.
If you can’t interview, no problem—we promise.
While we have a vibrant alumni volunteer team across the United States and abroad, it is not possible for us to offer interviews to all applicants. We encourage you to request an interview once you receive an invitation, but it is very important to understand the following:
We extend interview invitations based solely on alumni geography, availability, and capacity—not based on the strength of an application.
Your application will be at no disadvantage if you are unable to interview.
If geography or capacity prevent you from interviewing, rest assured that will not be held against you as we review your application. Your involvement, writing samples, and letters of recommendation lend a great deal of insight into who you are and what makes you tick. Plenty of students have gained admission in years past without an interview.
And if you were hoping to learn more about Northwestern by way of an interview, there are other great ways to explore our campus and community: take our virtual tour, head over to our YouTube channel, connect with our student teams, or send questions to ug-admission@northwestern.edu.
International Interviews via InitialView
For international students who do not have the opportunity to interview with our alumni volunteers, Northwestern will accept interviews from InitialView. Similar to alumni interviews, InitialView interviews are not required and a student is not a disadvantage without one. InitialView does not review or rate the interviews. Evaluation is done only by members of the admissions committee and provides an additional source of information and perspective about your English language proficiency, personality, academic interests and potential fit for Northwestern.
All InitialView interviews for the 2032-24 cycle must be completed by November 1 for Early Decision or January 3 for Regular Decision.
Questions concerning international interviews may be directed to nuinternational@northwestern.edu.
Selecting Early or Regular Decision
TIP: If Northwestern is a school that, if admitted, you would attend without hesitation, applying Early Decision best positions you within a competitive applicant pool. If you’re applying for financial aid, we use the same need-based process for financial aid awards for early decision and regular decision; your aid package will be the same regardless of when you apply.
If Northwestern is a top choice, and you feel comfortable applying through the Early Decision process, you are strongly encouraged to consider applying Early Decision. We use the same review criteria for both early and regular decision. Applicants in both cycles are very competitive. Last year we enrolled approximately 50% of our incoming freshman class from early decision. To learn more, please visit our Application Options page.
Northwestern allocates financial aid on the basis of demonstrated financial need. Should you receive an offer of admission, your financial aid (including scholarships) will not differ whether you apply under the early decision or regular decision time frame. Please use our Net Price Calculator to determine your expected family contribution. Northwestern guarantees to meet 100% of the demonstrated need between your expected family contribution and the total cost of attendance.
Applications That May Require Additional Materials
Some applications may require materials in addition to an application for undergraduate admission. Below, you will find a list of requirements for Bienen School of Music, Integrated Science Program (ISP), Mathematical Methods in Social Sciences (MMSS) and School of Communication's Musical Theater Program. For questions pertaining to the content of submission of supplemental application material, please contact the corresponding office directly.
Bienen School of Music
In addition to an application for undergraduate admission, all undergraduate applicants to the Bienen School of Music must submit a Bienen School Supplement. Submitting the Supplement ensures that the Bienen School of Music is aware that you are applying for a music major, and provides a portal to submit music application materials. Bienen School applicants also register for auditions via the Supplement.
Supplement materials:
Music prescreening and/or portfolio materials
Music teacher recommendation letter (required, submit via Bienen School Supplement)
See instructions and deadlines for submitting the supplement. Please note that many supplement deadlines fall prior to those of the general application for admission.
Integrated Science Program (ISP)
Students who wish to apply to the Integrated Science Program must also complete an ISP application using the online application.
The application processes to Northwestern and to ISP are separate. Admission to Northwestern is not a guarantee of admission to the ISP and the status of your ISP application will not affect your Northwestern general acceptance decision.
Supplement materials:
For an updated list of required materials, please see the ISP website.
ISP application considerations:
Your high school preparation should include four years of mathematics, including one year of calculus, and four years of science, including chemistry and physics. Taking AP Physics and Chemistry is highly recommended.
You should complete the study of one-variable differential and integral calculus before enrolling in ISP. If you will not complete this study in high school, we will ask you to outline how you plan to fulfill this requirement.
See instructions and deadlines for submitting the supplement.
Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences (MMSS)
Students who wish to apply to the Mathematical Methods in the Social Sciences program must also complete an MMSS application using the online application.
The application processes to Northwestern and to MMSS are separate. Admission to Northwestern is not a guarantee of admission to the MMSS and the status of your MMSS application will not affect your Northwestern general acceptance decision.
MMSS application considerations:
A strong high school curriculum, including a year of calculus, is required for admission.
School of Communication Applicants to the Music Theatre Certificate Program
Students applying to the Northwestern University School of Communication Theatre Major who are interested in pursuing admittance to the Northwestern University Music Theatre Certificate Program are encouraged to submit an optional Music Theatre Supplement.
Students who are interested in Music Theatre and are applying to the Bienen School of Music do not need to submit this Music Theatre Supplement. Bienen School of Music Voice Majors must audition for the program after their first quarter of study.
Supplement materials include:
Personal statement (video) responding to the following questions:
How do you see yourself contributing to the future of music theatre as a field?
How can a liberal arts education in music theatre at Northwestern bring you closer to your specific goals?
Performance selection (video)
Please prepare two contrasting musical selections that you love to sing.
Optional supporting materials
Video of a monologue, dance, instrumental skills, etc.
Visit the School of Communication for Music Theatre Supplement instructions and deadlines, including a complete list of requirements
