How To Get Into Northwestern: Admissions Data And Strategies

Located in Evanston, Illinois, near the desirable city of Chicago, Northwestern University is home to slightly more than 8,800 brilliant undergraduates and several of the top academic programs in the world. The notion of Northwestern being a highly selective school is nothing new, but—as with most elite institutions in 2025—getting into Northwestern and becoming a Wildcat is more challenging than ever before. The Northwestern acceptance rate has remained sub-9% over the last five years (the ED acceptance rate is much higher).

Wind back the clock to 1993 and 42% of applicants to Northwestern were welcomed aboard; even in 2009, a solid 27% of those who submitted an application ultimately received good news. Some simple math tells us that getting into this powerhouse private Midwestern research university is three to four times more challenging in 2025-26 than roughly a decade ago. Given this turn toward increased selectivity over the past decade, you’ll need every advantage you can get. The purpose of this blog is to provide you with an overview of the following:

• Northwestern acceptance rate – Class of 2028
• Northwestern ED acceptance rate
• SAT, ACT, and class rank of accepted Northwestern University applicants
• Admissions trends from the Class of 2028
• The demographics of current Northwestern University undergraduates
• Northwestern University’s yield rate
• How Northwestern’s admissions officers evaluate candidates
• Tips for applying to Northwestern
• Essay tips for the Northwestern writing supplement 
• How to assess whether applying to Northwestern is even worth the $75 application fee (for you)

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Northwestern Acceptance Rate – Class of 2028

In creating the 2024-25 freshman class, Northwestern received 50,018 applications and accepted 7.6%. This is comparable to previous years.

Recent historical Northwestern acceptance rates are as follows:

Applicants	Admits	Acceptance Rate
Class of 2027	51,769	3,739	7.2%
Class of 2026	51,261	3,695	7.2%
Class of 2025	47,636	3,321	7%

Northwestern ED Acceptance Rate

The university plucks approximately 50% of its incoming freshman class from the ED round. For the Class of 2027 (the most recent data available), Northwestern received 5,207 applications and accepted 1,174 of them, for an ED acceptance rate of 22.5%.  The conclusion is obvious: Those who are serious about attending Northwestern should definitely consider applying via binding early decision.

What class rank do you need to get accepted to Northwestern?

An impressive 94% of enrolled 2023-24 first-year students placed in the top 10% of their graduating class, while 98% earned a place in the top quarter.

What is the minimum SAT or ACT score for Northwestern?

Even though Northwestern is test-optional, nearly 80% of enrolled Class of 2027 freshmen submitted test scores alongside their application. Of that bunch, the mid-50% SAT range was 1500-1560 and the ACT range was 33-35.

Admissions Trends & Notes – Class of 2029

• Northwestern received approximately 6,000 ED applications for the Class of 2029, which is 16% higher than the previous year.
• The incoming class size has grown about 5% since pre-pandemic.
• Over 12,000 high schools were represented in the applicant pool.
• 16% of those in the Class of 2028 are first-generation college students, up from 14% several years ago.
• Undergraduates now come from all 50 states and 100+ countries.

Who Actually Gets Into Northwestern University?

Let’s look at the demographics of the Northwestern University Class of 2028:

• 13% of incoming students are international, more than double the figure from a decade ago.

In one recent cycle, the greatest percentage of students came from the following states:

1. Illinois
2. California
3. New York
4. Florida
5. Texas
6. New Jersey
7. Ohio
8. Massachusetts
9. Wisconsin
10. Michigan

As at any highly selective university, competition is toughest among those hailing from states with endless streams of qualified applicants (New York, California, Massachusetts). If you come from a less populated state like Alaska, North Dakota, or Montana, your location is more likely to provide a boost to your admissions chances.

Looking at ethnic identity, the breakdown of the Class of 2028 was:

• Asian: 26%
• Hispanic: 18%
• Black or African American: 15%
• White: 43%

The breakdown by gender of the Class of 2027 was split in favor of women:

• Male: 46%
• Female: 54%

Yield Rate

Northwestern University’s yield rate—the percentage of accepted students who elect to enroll, divided by the total number of students who are admitted—was 56% for the Class of 2027, slightly lower than the previous year. For comparison, other top-ranked private schools have the following yield rates: Duke (60%), WashU (48%), and Rice University (46%).

How the University Rates Applicants

There are eight factors that Northwestern University ranks as being “very important” to their admissions process: rigor of secondary school record, class rank, GPA, essay, recommendations, extracurricular activities, character/personal qualities, and talent/ability. An additional seven factors are “considered”: standardized test scores, first-generation status, alumni relation (legacy), geographic residence, volunteer work, paid work, and the level of an applicant’s interest in Northwestern.

In the admissions office’s own words: “Northwestern evaluates applications holistically. We seek to develop a contextual understanding of a student based on different sources of information.” Elaborating on this process, the Dean of Undergraduate Admission recently stated the following:

“Our review process is extremely thorough, taking into account the vast differences between student experiences represented in our applicant pool. Every student’s achievements, talents, and skills are considered within the context of her or his high school and community setting. Our decisions are not based upon any particular formula or quota. Northwestern has the resources to meet the full financial need of all admitted students. If you applied for financial aid as a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or undocumented U.S. high school student, your financial need did not factor into our final decision.”

It definitely helps if you are recruited as an athlete to join one of Northwestern University’s 19 Division I sports teams. There are presently around 500 varsity athletes at the school.

Tips for Applying to Northwestern University

If you plan on joining the 50,000+ Wildcat hopefuls for the next admissions cycle, you should know the following:

• Northwestern will remain test-optional for the 2025-26 application cycle.
• Northwestern University expects to see evidence of advanced coursework in high school. Taking multiple advanced classes, particularly within your area of academic interest is a must.
• You must apply to one of the six academic schools on your application. Some have different admissions requirements and standards. The schools are: 1) The College of Arts & Sciences 2) the School of Engineering and Applied Science 3) the School of Communication 4) the School of Education and Social Policy 5) the School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications 6) the School of Music.
• Northwestern University does offer optional alumni interviews, both in-person and virtually. However, they state that is not possible to accommodate every applicant.
• Northwestern University weighs “demonstrated interest” in the admissions process. Therefore, you will be judged on whether or not you made a campus visit (in non-pandemic times), contacted an admissions officer, etc.
• Make sure to dedicate sufficient time and effort to the supplemental essays offered by Northwestern. In the 2025-26 cycle, the prompts are as follows:

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, your school setting, your community, your household, etc.) have most shaped how you see yourself engaging in Northwestern’s community, be it academically, extracurricularly, culturally, politically, socially, or otherwise?

Recommended Northwestern Essay Prompts

We encourage you to answer at least one and no more than two of the following questions. 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?

For detailed advice on how to write the Northwestern essay, visit our blog: Northwestern University Supplemental Essay Prompt and Tips.

Should I apply to Northwestern?

With an acceptance rate hovering around 7% in recent years, Northwestern is a school that is looking for students who are at (or above) the 98th percentile on standardized tests and who placed toward the very top of their high school class. In other words, just about all “A’s” and an AP-heavy curriculum are expected.

Northwestern University Acceptance Rate – Final Thoughts

If Northwestern University is your aim, make sure to also have a rock-solid backup plan. All students need to make sure that they formulate an appropriate college list, containing a complement of “target” and “safety” schools. You’ll definitely want to get your counselor’s input during this process.

Ready to start building your college applications? Consider checking out the following:

• Should You Start College Applications in the Summer?
• What is Demonstrated Interest?
• Do Colleges Look at Social Media?
• College Fair Advice for High School Students
• How to Complete the Common App Activities List
• Common App Essay Prompts
• 25 Inspiring College Essay Topic Ideas
• Should I Complete Optional College Essays?