College Azimuth

Research brief & institution hub

Northwestern University

ILMedium private nonprofit institution · Overall rank #85 nationally

Data snapshot Updated

Azimuth ranks Northwestern University #85 among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions.

Who it’s a good fit for

Northwestern University is a private nonprofit university in Evanston, Illinois, whose degree mix is led by Social Sciences, Communication & Journalism, and Engineering. Return is among the highest we track.

Graduates out-earn what predicts for students like them. The factors the model measures add to expected earnings, while the remainder it cannot explain subtracts from them.

The price case turns on income: at the bottom of the scale, aid can nearly cover the published cost, while the highest band pays closer to it. Pell students complete below the overall rate, and access is well above average.

The admission rate sits below the median for comparable institutions. A student drawn to the largest programs should know the best-paid ones award fewer degrees.

Northwestern at a glance

Admissions and outcomes

Admission rate[1]
7.7%
Six-year completion[2]
95.1%
Four-year earnings[3]
$109,275

Cost and family borrowing

Average annual net price · $48–75K family income[6]
$7,898
Median student debt[4]
$15,000
Median Parent PLUS debt[7]
$26,966

Northwestern rankings: how Azimuth assesses value[5]

Northwestern University, a private nonprofit university based in Evanston, Illinois, enrolls 9,201 undergraduates. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, its composite standing sits near the top of the ranking (the 94th percentile).

Admission is highly selective: the university accepts just 7.7% of applicants, a rate that sits far below the 71.2% median for comparable institutions of the same type and size. 98.1% of full-time first-year students return for a second year, against a peer median of 83.4%.

95.1% of the first-time full-time cohort finish within six years, against a peer median of 68.8%. Because an estimated 11.6% of students arrive as transfers or part-time students, the six-year graduation rate reflects only the first-time full-time cohort and not the entire undergraduate population.

At Northwestern University, return is the strongest (the 98th percentile), while affordability is the weakest (the 43rd percentile). Access and mobility sit between those two poles, at the 86th and 89th percentiles, so the four pillars are spread wide and do not cluster tightly together.

Azimuth evaluates Northwestern University across four pillars among 1,467 nonprofit four-year institutions. The return pillar is the strongest, in the 98th percentile, while mobility and access follow at the 89th and 86th percentiles.

Affordability is the weakest pillar, in the 43rd percentile, a gap that separates the university's financial profile from its earnings results.

18.6% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. Those students complete at 89.1%, 6.0 percentage points below the rate for the entering cohort as a whole.

Azimuth ranks the university #213 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. Azimuth ranks the university #165 for mobility. Graduates earn about $8,042 more than the model expects for similar students.

How value-added outcomes are assessed · How to interpret program rankings

Northwestern rankings in context
GeographyRank
National#85
Illinois#4
Midwest#8

Azimuth overall value rankings within each geographic comparison group.

National pillar percentiles

Economic mobility
National percentile: 89
Access & reach
National percentile: 86
Affordability
National percentile: 43
Return on investment
National percentile: 98

Top-ranked majors

  1. Information Science/Studies#1
  2. Industrial Engineering#1
  3. Psychology, Other#1

This school’s three highest-ranked programs nationally. Each rank compares bachelor’s programs in the same field; field sizes differ.

Explore major rankings

01 / Northwestern briefing

Northwestern cost & financial aid[6][7]

The standard budget at Northwestern University carries a published cost of attendance of $91,250, covering $68,322 in tuition and fees and $21,126 for room and board. After financial aid, the average net price for recipients falls to $29,167, which represents a reduction of $62,083 from the sticker total.

Among comparable institutions (same type and size), the median net price is $27,371; the university is $1,796 above that level. Aid covers about 68% of the published cost for a typical aid recipient.

Roughly 18.6% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants. Among nonprofit four-year institutions, Azimuth ranks Northwestern University #807 for affordability. That places the affordability pillar in the 43rd percentile.

Northwestern University publishes a cost of attendance of $91,250, with tuition and fees at $68,322 and room and board at $21,126. The average net price—what aid recipients pay after grants and scholarships—varies sharply by family income.

For families earning under $30,000, the is $1,764; for the middle band ($48,001–$75,000), it is $7,898; and for families earning over $110,000, it is $48,777. The spread between the lowest and highest bands is $47,013, a gap that reflects the university's high-sticker, high-aid model.

Azimuth ranks Northwestern #807 for affordability among nonprofit four-year institutions. Aid covers about 68% of the published cost for the average aid recipient, an offset of $62,083 against the sticker price.

The average net price across all aid recipients is $29,167, which sits above the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $1,796. The published sticker is high, but the aid structure brings the net cost for most aided families well below the published figure.

Median federal student debt at completion is $15,000, with about 72.1% of federal aid recipients borrowing. That debt is below the peer median of $24,199 for comparable institutions by $9,199, and corresponds to an estimated payment of $170 a month if repaid over ten years.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower figure, is $26,966.

Your family income

Choose a household income range to see estimated net price.

Reported average annual net price · $48–75K$7,898

After grants and scholarships. Your aid offer may differ.

Averages within each income band; individual aid packages vary.

Borrowing and repayment at Northwestern

Borrowers who complete a degree at Northwestern University leave with a median of $15,000 in federal student loans. That is $9,199 below the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size).

If repaid over ten years, that median debt corresponds to an estimated payment of $170 a month. Parents who borrow through the Parent PLUS program hold a separate median of $26,966.

In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported that 24% of graduates borrowed from any source, with an average cumulative amount of $41,330 per borrower. Federal loans accounted for most of that, with 23% of graduates holding an average of $16,398. A smaller share of graduates, 3%, held private loans averaging $70,354.

Completers at Northwestern University earn about $8,042 more than the model expects for similar students, a gap that sits in the 79th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. Measured four years after completion, median earnings for graduates working and not enrolled are $109,275, placing the university in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions.

Azimuth models earnings scenarios from the university's program mix. The typical earnings scenario lands at $109,275, the downside scenario at $52,192, and the upside scenario at $137,236.

Among completers who borrowed federal loans, the median federal debt at completion is $15,000. That balance is below the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size). If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment is $170.

Median Parent PLUS borrowing, a separate parent-borrower population, is $26,966. The estimated monthly student payment if repaid over ten years is $170.

How Financial GPS measures payment burden · The four risk-and-reward zones

Financial GPS

What does repayment look like?

Institution median student debt
$15,000
Institution Parent PLUS debt
$26,966

Federal loans only; private or institutional loans aren’t included.

Estimated student payment · monthly
$170/mo
Estimated Parent PLUS payment · monthly
$343/mo

Payments use school-wide median balances, not a specific major’s.

Payment assumptions

Payments are 10-year standard payments on the median balance, before loan fees, used as a yardstick. Rates for newly issued loans may differ, and loans made after July 1, 2026 can repay over a longer term; existing loans keep their original fixed rates.

Explore your own numbers in Financial GPS
Read the full cost & aid brief

02 / Northwestern briefing

Northwestern career outcomes & earnings[3][8][9]

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $109,275. That figure sits in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions, and Azimuth ranks the university #33 for return.

Graduates earn about $8,042 more than the model expects for similar students. That places the gap at the 79th percentile.

The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $9,844. The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $1,802. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,646.

Four years after completion, Northwestern University graduates earn a median of $109,275, a figure that places the university in the 98th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The earnings cohort numbers 2,653 completers.

Graduates earn about $8,042 more than the model expects for similar students. Earnings scenarios anchored on the university's program mix show a typical outcome of $109,275, with a downside scenario of $52,192 and an upside scenario of $137,236.

An estimated 34.8% of programs' graduates continue to graduate study, a figure derived from the program mix rather than observed enrollment. The median earnings run $41,025 above the $68,250 median at comparable institutions (same type and size).

Four years after completing a degree, federally aided graduates who are working and not enrolled earn a median of $109,275. The peer median for comparable institutions (same type and size) is $68,250, leaving the university $41,025 above that mark.

Azimuth ranks Northwestern University #33 for return among nonprofit four-year institutions. Graduates earn about $8,042 more than the model expects for similar students.

That puts the gap at the 79th percentile. The part the model attributes to the factors it measures (field of study, enrollment and the local labor market) adds $9,844.

The part it attributes to a remainder it does not explain subtracts $1,802. Within the measured factors, the STEM component adds $4,646.

The fields involved span the social sciences, communication, and engineering, with an estimated 34.8% of graduates continuing to graduate study, based on the program mix. Earnings scenarios, estimated from the program mix, range from a downside of $52,192 to an upside of $137,236. The typical earnings scenario sits at $109,275.

The highest-earning programs at Northwestern University show the spread of outcomes four years after completion. Information Science/Studies graduates earn a median of $163,740, Computer Science completers reach $155,106, and Applied Mathematics graduates earn $148,740.

The earnings scenarios span from a downside of $52,192 to an upside of $137,236. The university's largest program, Economics, awards 335 bachelor's degrees and posts a median of $126,006, while the second-largest field, Radio, Television, and Digital Communication with 253 degrees awarded, shows a median of $51,471. That spread across the largest programs coincides with the wide scenario range.

Northwestern University graduates earn about $8,042 more than the model expects for similar students. Among federal student borrowers who finish a degree, the median debt at completion is $15,000 — below the $24,199 median for comparable institutions (same type and size) by $9,199.

If repaid over ten years, the estimated monthly payment is $170. Aid recipients face an average net price of $29,167, above the peer median of $27,371 for comparable institutions.

Aid covers roughly 68% of the $91,250 sticker price. The lowest income band sees an average net price of $1,764; the spread between the lowest and highest bands is $47,013. The separate Parent PLUS population records a median debt of $26,966.

What explains value-added earnings?
Program & institutional factors The part attributed to observed institutional characteristics.
+$9,844
Unexplained remainder What remains after the model’s observed factors.
-$1,802
Total modeled value added The modeled difference from expected earnings.
+$8,042

These are statistical model components, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

Read the full outcomes brief

03 / Northwestern briefing

Northwestern acceptance rate & admissions[1][10][11]

Northwestern University admitted 7.7% of applicants in the most recent cycle, a rate far below the median of 71.2% for comparable institutions (same type and size). In its 2025-26 Common Data Set, the university reported 52,648 applicants, 3,933 admitted students, and 2,139 enrolled first-year students.

SAT: reported composite scores
Admission rate
7.7%
25th percentile
1520
Median
1540
75th percentile
1560

CDS 2025-26 · enrolled first-year score submitters. This range is not an admission cutoff.

Read the full admissions brief

04 / Northwestern briefing

What are the largest majors at Northwestern?[12]

Northwestern University awards bachelor's degrees across 29 fields with published four-year earnings, and the highest-earning program is Information Science/Studies, where completers earn a median of $163,740 four years after completion. Computer Science follows at $155,106 with 102 degrees awarded, and Applied Mathematics reaches $148,740 on 34 degrees awarded.

Economics is both the most awarded program at 335 degrees and one of the highest-earning, with a median of $126,006 and an Azimuth national rank of #18. By contrast, Radio, Television, and Digital Communication, the second-largest program at 253 degrees awarded, shows a median of $51,471.

Psychology and Biology sit between those poles, with medians of $73,646 and $71,181 respectively.

Azimuth ranks 24 of Northwestern University's programs nationally, and earnings data are available for 29 programs. The largest program, Economics, awarded 335 degrees and shows median earnings of $126,006 four years after completion, ranking #18 nationally.

The highest-earning program is Information Science/Studies, with median earnings of $163,740 and 78 degrees awarded. Computer Science follows at $155,106 (102 degrees), and Applied Mathematics at $148,740 (34 degrees).

The top-ranked program is Information Science/Studies, which holds a national rank of #1 and median earnings of $163,740.

The program mix at Northwestern University leans toward the social sciences and communication, with Social Sciences accounting for 19.2% of bachelor's degrees awarded and Communication & Journalism next at 12.8%. Engineering follows at 11.1%, and across all fields, 38.1% of degrees are in STEM.

The university has 24 programs with an Azimuth national rank and 29 with published four-year earnings data. The largest single program is Economics, at 335 degrees awarded, followed by Radio, Television, and Digital Communication at 253 and Psychology at 153.

The highest-ranked program is Information Science/Studies, with 78 degrees awarded and median earnings of $163,740 four years after completion. Economics, the largest program, ranks #2 in Illinois within its field, and its graduates earn a median of $126,006, a benchmark ratio of 1.52x against the national median for its field.

The highest-earning program is Information Science/Studies, at $163,740 from 78 degrees awarded, a benchmark ratio of 1.92x. Computer Science follows at $155,106 with 102 degrees awarded.

Strength is concentrated in a few programs that are both large and well-ranked, with Economics carrying the most weight. The highest earnings sit in smaller technical programs like Information Science/Studies and Computer Science.

The largest programs outside of economics show more modest earnings, with Radio, Television, and Digital Communication at $51,471 and Psychology at $73,646. A student drawn to the social sciences or communication should know that the largest departments are not the best-paid ones.

They should also know that four-year earnings for fields that commonly precede graduate study understate later trajectories.

Four-year earnings · six largest reported fields
Economics 335 degrees awarded
$126,006
Radio, Television, and Digital Communication 253 degrees awarded
$51,471
Psychology, General 153 degrees awarded
$73,646
Biology, General 150 degrees awarded
$71,181
Political Science and Government 110 degrees awarded
$73,231
Neurobiology and Neurosciences 103 degrees awarded
$54,279

Fields selected by reported completions. Counts describe credentials awarded, not unique students or the earnings sample. Bars show median four-year earnings.

Read the full majors brief

05 / Northwestern briefing

How does Northwestern serve students from different backgrounds?

Azimuth places Northwestern University in the 89th percentile for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. The six-year graduation rate for the first-time full-time cohort is 95.1%, while Pell recipients complete at 89.1% — 6.0 percentage points below the overall rate.

Graduates earn about $8,042 more than the model expects for similar students, a result that sits in the 79th percentile nationally.

Azimuth places the access pillar of Northwestern University in the 86th percentile among nonprofit four-year institutions. The private nonprofit university admits 7.7% of applicants, a rate far below the peer median of 71.2%.

Pell Grant recipients make up 18.6% of the 9,201 undergraduates, and an estimated 11.6% arrive as transfers or part-time students.

06 / Northwestern briefing

What colleges are similar to Northwestern?[15]

Azimuth groups alternatives by admissions, location, cost and earnings, then orders candidates within each group. Peer earnings use the matched four-year cohort. How matching works.

A shortlist for different decisions

Choose a row to compare the figures with Northwestern.

Admissions peerUniversity of Chicago4.5% admitted
Comparison with Northwestern
MeasureNorthwesternUniversity of Chicago
Peer earnings · 4 years$109,275$127,757+$18,482 vs Northwestern
Average annual net price$29,167$14,860-$14,307 vs Northwestern · lower cost
Admission rate7.7%4.5%
Explore University of Chicago →
Higher-admission alternativeCal Poly Maritime Academy95.0% admitted
Comparison with Northwestern
MeasureNorthwesternCal Poly Maritime Academy
Peer earnings · 4 years$109,275$108,757-$518 vs Northwestern
Average annual net price$29,167$20,555-$8,612 vs Northwestern · lower cost
Admission rate7.7%95.0%
Explore Cal Poly Maritime Academy →
Nearby alternativeUniversity of ChicagoNearby option · IL
Comparison with Northwestern
MeasureNorthwesternUniversity of Chicago
Peer earnings · 4 years$109,275$127,757+$18,482 vs Northwestern
Average annual net price$29,167$14,860-$14,307 vs Northwestern · lower cost
Admission rate7.7%4.5%
Explore University of Chicago →
Higher-earnings alternativeCarnegie Mellon University$132,971 earnings
Comparison with Northwestern
MeasureNorthwesternCarnegie Mellon University
Peer earnings · 4 years$109,275$132,971+$23,696 vs Northwestern
Average annual net price$29,167$31,944+$2,777 vs Northwestern · higher cost
Admission rate7.7%11.7%
Explore Carnegie Mellon University →
Lower-cost alternativePrinceton University$6,128 average net price
Comparison with Northwestern
MeasureNorthwesternPrinceton University
Peer earnings · 4 years$109,275$108,590-$685 vs Northwestern
Average annual net price$29,167$6,128-$23,039 vs Northwestern · lower cost
Admission rate7.7%4.6%
Explore Princeton University →
Similar profileUniversity of Notre DameMatched across several measures
Comparison with Northwestern
MeasureNorthwesternUniversity of Notre Dame
Peer earnings · 4 years$109,275$100,684-$8,591 vs Northwestern
Average annual net price$29,167$26,780-$2,387 vs Northwestern · lower cost
Admission rate7.7%11.3%
Explore University of Notre Dame →

Each school is the first-ranked match in its category, not a recommendation across every measure. The same college may lead more than one category. Figures use the matching snapshot; earnings reflect the matched four-year cohort. — means unavailable.

Read the full similar schools brief

Data scope & methodology

Structured payloads generated Governed hub narrative Governed spoke corpus

Four-year earnings describe cohorts of completers. Figures for other horizons describe different cohorts and are not joined into a career-growth projection.

Azimuth's overall rank and pillar percentiles come from the school profile. Absolute pillar ranks, city, enrollment and official-site links are shown only when structured data supplies them.

Detailed earnings, cost, admissions and program values come from the endpoint responsible for each measure. Missing values are not replaced with zero. Value-added estimates are model associations, not causal effects.

Figures are refreshed with each data release, at most a quarter apart. The underlying source dates can be earlier than the release.

Explanatory text is AI-assisted drafting checked against those figures; it is not an additional data source.

Analysis and methodology by Daniel Rogers, founder of College Azimuth.

Read the ranking methodology, data definitions and limitations · About College Azimuth

Read the analysis behind value-added earnings and the change to four-year graduate earnings. These articles are published on collegeazimuth.com.

Data notes & source fields

Scorecard field codes identify the underlying measure; Azimuth-derived values are labeled separately. Snapshot dates are not measurement years. Source populations and reporting periods differ across measures. Field definitions are in the U.S. Department of Education · College Scorecard documentation; notes with a different source link it below.

  1. Admission rate. Reported applicants admitted; not a transfer-specific or individual admission probability.

    Source fields: ADM_RATE

  2. Six-year completion. First-time, full-time students completing at the institution within 150% of normal time, typically six years for a bachelor’s degree.

    Source fields: C150_4

  3. Four-year institutional earnings. Median earnings of graduates in the reported cohort who are working and not enrolled, four years after completion.

    Source fields: MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

  4. Median federal student debt. Federal student-loan debt among completers in the reported borrowing cohort. Excludes Parent PLUS and is not total debt across all students.

    Source fields: GRAD_DEBT_MDN

  5. National, regional and state ranks; pillar percentiles; major ranks. Derived scores within the stated eligible comparison set, not raw Scorecard fields. Major ranks compare institutions within a field; their denominators differ.

    Source fields: Azimuth rankings

    College Azimuth · Ranking methodology

  6. Annual net price by family income. Average annual cost after grants and scholarships for the eligible first-time, full-time aid-recipient cohort. Public-school figures reflect in-state tuition. Includes living costs; these are averages, not medians or individual offers.

    Source fields: NPT4_PUB/PRIV; NPT41_PUB/PRIV through NPT45_PUB/PRIV

  7. Parent PLUS debt, payments and GPS illustration. Stored payments use Financial GPS loan and repayment assumptions. The adjustable spectrum applies the published framework to annual student payments divided by earnings minus an expense allowance; its initial allowance uses the frozen 2024 framework baseline. It is an illustration rather than a school rating. Parent PLUS uses the completer median where available, otherwise the all-borrower median; these describe different borrowing populations.

    Source fields: PLUS_DEBT_ALL_COMP_MD; fallback PLUS_DEBT_ALL_MD; Azimuth Financial GPS calculations

    College Azimuth · Financial GPS methodology

  8. Downside and upside earnings; yellow band. The band spans the modeled lower and higher scenarios. It is not the P25–P75 interval for individual graduates. The median marker is the separately reported institutional median.

    Source fields: Azimuth modeled program-mix scenarios

    College Azimuth · Earnings scenario methodology

  9. Value added and its components. Observed-factor attribution plus the unexplained remainder equals total modeled value added. These are associations, not proven causal effects; the remainder is not a direct measure of teaching quality.

    Source fields: Azimuth statistical model

    College Azimuth · Value-added methodology

  10. SAT score range and reported midpoint. Reported scores of enrolled score-submitters, not admission cutoffs. The midpoint field is not necessarily the middle of the displayed range.

    Source fields: SATVR25 + SATMT25; SATVR75 + SATMT75; SAT_AVG

  11. First-year retention. Retention of the reported full-time cohort at four-year institutions.

    Source fields: RET_FT4

  12. Program earnings, completion counts and major-mix dots. Included bachelor’s programs have at least five reported completions. Counts are aggregated credentials, not unique people or an earnings sample. Major-mix dots group those counts by field of study; excluded programs are not zero activity.

    Source fields: EARN_MDN_4YR; IPEDSCOUNT1; CIPCODE

    College Scorecard · Field-of-study technical documentation

  13. Pell recipients. Share of undergraduates receiving a Pell Grant in the reported academic year.

    Source fields: PCTPELL

  14. Entering students outside the first-time, full-time group. This is not an observed transfer-in rate. It includes part-time entrants and other entering-student attendance patterns.

    Source fields: 1 − PFTFTUG1_EF

  15. Peer earnings and signed differences. Differences are peer minus this school, from the same matching snapshot. A positive earnings difference does not mean the peer is better on every measure.

    Source fields: Azimuth peer model using MD_EARN_WNE_4YR

    College Azimuth · Comparison methodology

How to interpret program rankings