Discover which option makes sense, for you.
Learn about the different applicant types at Northwestern: QuestBridge, Early Decision, Regular Decision and Transfer. Be sure to note different requirements and deadlines.
|
QuestBridge Applicant |
Early Decision First-Year Applicant |
Regular Decision First-Year Applicant |
Early Decision Transfer Applicant |
Regular Decision Transfer Applicant |
| Application Due Date |
September 30, 2025 |
November 1, 2025 |
January 2, 2026 |
March 2, 2026 |
April 1, 2026 |
| Financial Aid Due Date |
September 30, 2025 |
December 1, 2025 |
February 1, 2026 |
March 2, 2026 |
April 1, 2026 |
| Decision Release |
December 2025 |
December 2025 |
March 2026 |
Early April 2026 |
Mid- to late-May 2026 |
*Visit the Undergraduate Financial Aid page for more information regarding 2025–26 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 2025, applicants must graduate from high school during or before the summer of 2026 and plan to enroll as a freshman in college in the fall of 2026.
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.
Dates and Deadlines
See the QuestBridge website for dates and deadlines.
Note for prospective music majors
QuestBridge applicants interested in majoring in music are required to submit the Bienen School Supplement with any applicable prescreening/program requirements by October 15. Auditions take place in early November. Visit the Bienen School of Music website to learn more.
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.
Dates and Deadlines
October: Standardized testing
Northwestern follows a test-optional policy and will not require ACT or SAT scores from first-year or transfer candidates.
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.
Due to the ACT’s staggered roll-out of its enhanced format and revised formula for calculating score composites*, Northwestern will not calculate a superscore for students reporting ACT scores in the 2025–26 application cycle. Instead, applicants who wish to submit ACT scores from multiple test dates should self-report your highest section scores from individual test dates, as well as your official ACT superscore, available in your MyACT account. Please be sure you are reporting this official ACT superscore and do not calculate your own ACT superscore. ACT testers who sat for multiple tests prior to the rollout of the enhanced test may report composite scores or official superscores inclusive of their Science section, whereas ACT testers who sit for multiple tests after the new rollout will report composite scores or superscores reflective of ACT’s new approach, i.e. a composite based on English, Math, and Reading scores only.
*The enhanced ACT will became available in some settings in April 2025 and will be issued in all settings by spring 2026. In fall 2025, the ACT will begin calculating all composites, regardless of test format, based on English, Math, and Reading scores only.
November 1 (by 11:59 pm applicant’s local time): Application deadline
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 deposit
To confirm your place in the first-year class, you must submit your nonrefundable tuition deposit 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.
Dates and Deadlines
December: Standardized testing
Northwestern follows a test-optional policy and will not require ACT or SAT scores from first-year or transfer candidates.
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.
Due to the ACT’s staggered roll-out of its enhanced format and revised formula for calculating score composites*, Northwestern will not calculate a superscore for students reporting ACT scores in the 2025–26 application cycle. Instead, applicants who wish to submit ACT scores from multiple test dates should self-report your highest section scores from individual test dates, as well as your official ACT superscore, available in your MyACT account. Please be sure you are reporting this official ACT superscore and do not calculate your own ACT superscore. ACT testers who sat for multiple tests prior to the rollout of the enhanced test may report composite scores or official superscores inclusive of their Science section, whereas ACT testers who sit for multiple tests after the new rollout will report composite scores or superscores reflective of ACT’s new approach, i.e. a composite based on English, Math, and Reading scores only.
*The enhanced ACT will became available in some settings in April 2025 and will be issued in all settings by spring 2026. In fall 2025, the ACT will begin calculating all composites, regardless of test format, based on English, Math, and Reading scores only.
January 2 (by 11:59 pm applicant’s local time): Application deadline
The following must be submitted:
- Common Application or Apply Coalition with Scoir (including Northwestern supplement)
- Official university transcript(s) from all universities attended, must demonstrate at least one year of full-time undergraduate study
- Official secondary school transcript(s) from all schools attended and final transcript noting graduation
- College report
- Academic evaluation
- Non-refundable $75 application fee or fee waiver
APPLY VIA COMMON APPLICATIONAPPLY VIA COALITION WITH SCOIR APPLICATION
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 deposit
To confirm your place in the first-year class, you must submit your nonrefundable tuition deposit by May 1.
Transfer
Students who have enrolled in, and earned credits from, post-secondary study after secondary school graduation must apply as a transfer student. Note that Northwestern only considers transfer applications for fall-quarter enrollment. Successful transfer applicants typically arrive at Northwestern having completed at least one academic year of full-time college coursework (24 semester hours or 36 quarter hours).
Please note the following possible restrictions to transfer applications:
- The School of Communication: Theatre department spaces are only occasionally available.
- The Bienen School of Music: Contact the Bienen School of Music to inquire if a vacancy exists in your performance area and to schedule an audition. Due to the limited number of openings each year in the Bienen School of Music, transfer applicants are encouraged to audition in February during our published audition dates. If you wish to take your audition for the Bienen School in February, you must follow the application and prescreening deadlines above for Freshman Regular Decision. Transfer applicants who do not register for an audition by December 1 will have to wait until March 2 to schedule a live audition.
Early Decision
Northwestern offers transfer applicants two pathways to join our community: Early Decision (ED) Transfer and Regular Decision (RD) Transfer. By applying Early Decision, you commit to enroll at Northwestern and withdraw your applications from other schools if you are admitted.
Early Decision is a good fit for applicants who have identified Northwestern as their top choice; transfer applicants who choose ED send a strong, positive message of commitment to Northwestern. While our holistic review process will remain consistent across all applicants, we expect to see a higher acceptance rate for Early Decision Transfer applicants due to the high level of interest, the anticipated strength of the pool, and the strong alignment between candidates’ visions for college and Northwestern’s institutional values, academic culture, and campus community.
For students who apply for financial aid, the financial aid offer will be exactly the same whether you apply ED or RD. All of our financial aid is based on demonstrated financial need—to get a sense of your potential financial aid package, you can use our Net Price Calculator. Following admission, the Office of the Registrar will conduct a preliminary evaluation of your submitted transcripts, and you will receive a report that lists the courses accepted for transfer credits and the estimated total number of transferred units.
A Transfer Early Decision Agreement is required for Early Decision applicants and can be downloaded, completed, and uploaded to your Northwestern Applicant Portal.
Dates and Deadlines
March 2 (by 11:59 pm applicant’s local time): Early Decision
Northwestern will be test optional for first-year applicants for the 2025–26 cycle.
The following must be submitted:
- Common Application or Apply Coalition with Scoir application (additional Transfer Writing Supplements required, additional personal statement recommended).
- Official secondary school transcript from all schools attended and final transcript noting graduation
- Official university transcript(s)
- College report
- Academic evaluation
- Early Decision Agreement
- A nonrefundable application fee of $75 or application fee waiver.
APPLY VIA COMMON APPLICATIONAPPLY VIA COALITION WITH SCOIR APPLICATION
April 1 (by 11:59 pm applicant’s local time): Regular Decision
Northwestern will be test optional for first-year applicants for the 2025–26 cycle.
The following must be submitted:
- Common Application or Apply Coalition with Scoir application
- Official secondary school transcript from all schools attended and final transcript noting graduation
- Official university transcript(s)
- College report
- Academic evaluation
- A nonrefundable application fee of $75 or application fee waiver.
APPLY VIA COMMON APPLICATIONAPPLY VIA COALITION WITH SCOIR APPLICATION
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
See these requirements