Overview of Need-Based Aid

Northwestern University offers financial assistance to students on the basis of need. We are among a small group of private institutions that continue to meet the full demonstrated institutional financial need of our aid applicants.

Institutional need is the difference between cost of attendance and the expected family contribution, as determined by the family's particular financial circumstances. In short:

Cost of Attendance minus Expected Family Contribution equals Institutional Need.

A typical financial aid package consists of aid from various sources, usually a combination of educational loans, scholarship and grant assistance, and student employment.

Who Can Receive Financial Aid?

Any undergraduate student enrolled in a degree-seeking program may apply. Other eligibility requirements include:

• Student must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents.
• Student must be working toward their first Bachelor's degree.
• Student must maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress.
• Student must not exceed 12 quarters of financial aid, unless they are admitted to a program that requires more than 12 quarters for completion.

Please note: If a student's expected family contribution is equal to or greater than the cost of attendance, he or she will not qualify for need-based aid. In these cases, Northwestern may be able to recommend other financing options.

Cost of Attendance

The cost of attendance changes each year, and includes both standard and variable figures.

Standard figures, which do not vary on a student-by-student basis, include:

• Tuition & Fees: based on actual charges
• Room & Board: based on the weighted average cost of a double room on campus and the equivalent of a 19-meal board contract
• Books & Supplies and Personal Expenses: based on average costs

Variable figures include:

• Transportation: an allowance included to help offset travel expenses.  This amount is variable as it is dependent upon the distance betwwen a student's home and campus.
• Loan Origination fees: based on average charges. Not all students will have an allowance for loan origination fees.

The basic compenents used to calculate the cost of attendance for the 2012-13 academic year include:

Commuter Students

Commuter students, students who reside with parents/family, have a different cost of attendance than the one outlined above.  The total cost for commuter students is $50,855 which includes $984 for transportation and $2,325 for room and board.  The budgeted room and board cost is less since commuter students will reside at home. The transportation expense is an allowance toward commuting expenses to and from campus.

Expected Family Contribution

To determine the family contribution, Northwestern examines aid application materials and notes any special circumstances. The expected family contribution includes both a parental contribution and a student contribution.

The parental contribution is based on a number of factors, including the parents' income, assets, and family size. Both federal and institutional needs analysis formulas are used to determine this figure.

For the student contribution, students are expected to use a portion of their personal assets each year and savings from summer employment. The summer earnings expectation varies based on class level and actual reported income.

How is Institutional Financial Need Determined?

A student's financial aid award is established on an individual basis and depends upon the cost of attendance and the expected family contribution. The amount that remains after the family contribution has been subtracted from the cost of attendance is the student's institutional need.

Please watch our video below for a brief overview of how need-based eligibility is determined.