How this school serves students from different economic backgrounds, including Pell students, first-generation pathways, and long-term mobility outcomes.
Northwestern University admits about 7.7% of applicants, making it among the most selective institutions in the Azimuth coverage set. Among admitted students who submitted scores, the middle 50% scored between 1,510 and 1,570 on the SAT or between 33 and 35 on the ACT (interquartile range). 18.6% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants and 15.2% are first-generation college students — a relatively narrow low-income and first-generation cohort by the standards of broad-access institutions. Transfer enrollment is limited, at 11.6% of the student body. Azimuth ranks Northwestern University #217 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. The access ranking reflects the structural constraint of a highly selective admissions funnel: the number of Pell-eligible and first-generation students Northwestern enrolls is limited relative to institutions that admit larger shares of their applicant pools. The six-year graduation rate is 95.1%, with 89.1% of Pell-eligible students completing within the same window — a strong completion signal for the students who do gain admission. Freshman retention stands at 98.1%. Azimuth ranks Northwestern University #165 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Low-income graduates earn median earnings of $99,900 on a historical 10-year Scorecard measure, placing this cohort in the 99.3 percentile for low-income graduate earnings among nonprofit four-year institutions. The pattern is clear: low-income students who gain admission to Northwestern University complete at high rates and achieve among the strongest post-graduation earnings outcomes in the country — but the institution's admission scale limits how many students benefit from that pathway. As Azimuth's Illinois data analysis explores, the gap between what outcomes show Northwestern could deliver for mobility and what admission volume does deliver is the structural constraint on its access and mobility profile.
Northwestern University admits about 7.7% of applicants, making it among the most selective institutions in the Azimuth coverage set. Among admitted students who submitted scores, the middle 50% scored between 1,510 and 1,570 on the SAT or between 33 and 35 on the ACT (interquartile range). 18.6% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants and 15.2% are first-generation college students — a relatively narrow low-income and first-generation cohort by the standards of broad-access institutions. Transfer enrollment is limited, at 11.6% of the student body. Azimuth ranks Northwestern University #217 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. The access ranking reflects the structural constraint of a highly selective admissions funnel: the number of Pell-eligible and first-generation students Northwestern enrolls is limited relative to institutions that admit larger shares of their applicant pools. The six-year graduation rate is 95.1%, with 89.1% of Pell-eligible students completing within the same window — a strong completion signal for the students who do gain admission. Freshman retention stands at 98.1%. Azimuth ranks Northwestern University #165 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Low-income graduates earn median earnings of $99,900 on a historical 10-year Scorecard measure, placing this cohort in the 99.3 percentile for low-income graduate earnings among nonprofit four-year institutions. The pattern is clear: low-income students who gain admission to Northwestern University complete at high rates and achieve among the strongest post-graduation earnings outcomes in the country — but the institution's admission scale limits how many students benefit from that pathway. As Azimuth's Illinois data analysis explores, the gap between what outcomes show Northwestern could deliver for mobility and what admission volume does deliver is the structural constraint on its access and mobility profile.
Northwestern University admits about 7.7% of applicants, making it among the most selective institutions in the Azimuth coverage set. Among admitted students who submitted scores, the middle 50% scored between 1,510 and 1,570 on the SAT or between 33 and 35 on the ACT (interquartile range). 18.6% of undergraduates receive Pell Grants and 15.2% are first-generation college students — a relatively narrow low-income and first-generation cohort by the standards of broad-access institutions. Transfer enrollment is limited, at 11.6% of the student body. Azimuth ranks Northwestern University #217 for access among nonprofit four-year institutions. The access ranking reflects the structural constraint of a highly selective admissions funnel: the number of Pell-eligible and first-generation students Northwestern enrolls is limited relative to institutions that admit larger shares of their applicant pools. The six-year graduation rate is 95.1%, with 89.1% of Pell-eligible students completing within the same window — a strong completion signal for the students who do gain admission. Freshman retention stands at 98.1%. Azimuth ranks Northwestern University #165 for mobility among nonprofit four-year institutions. Low-income graduates earn median earnings of $99,900 on a historical 10-year Scorecard measure, placing this cohort in the 99.3 percentile for low-income graduate earnings among nonprofit four-year institutions. The pattern is clear: low-income students who gain admission to Northwestern University complete at high rates and achieve among the strongest post-graduation earnings outcomes in the country — but the institution's admission scale limits how many students benefit from that pathway. As Azimuth's Illinois data analysis explores, the gap between what outcomes show Northwestern could deliver for mobility and what admission volume does deliver is the structural constraint on its access and mobility profile.
