Transferring to Northwestern

Students who have enrolled in, and earned credits from, post-secondary study after secondary school graduation must apply as a transfer student. 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).

You must be in good standing and eligible to continue studies at your most recent institution.

Northwestern only considers transfer applications for fall-quarter enrollment. The application deadlines will be March 2, 2026 for Early Decision and April 1, 2026 for Regular Decision.

Northwestern follows a test-optional policy and will not require ACT or SAT scores from transfer candidates.

Required items:

• Common Application or Apply Coalition with Scoir application (additional Transfer Writing Supplements required, additional personal statement recommended).
• Official secondary school transcript(s) noting proof of graduation (Common Application Secondary School Report completed by a high school counselor is not required) or equivalent
• All official university transcript(s)
• College report
• One academic evaluation (letter of recommendation)
• Early Decision Agreement for ED applications
• Nonrefundable application fee ($75)

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.

For students who apply for financial aid, the financial aid offer will be exactly the same whether you apply ED or RD.

The College Report is a form that remarks on a student’s academic and disciplinary standing. The form should be completed and sent to us by a school official who can verify the required information.

The official evaluation of your credits will be made by Northwestern's Registrar's Office. Once a transfer applicant has been accepted, the Office of Undergraduate Admission will initiate the process of credit evaluation. Students can expect to receive a preliminary credit evaluation following an offer of admission.

Regular decision applicants will need to submit a deposit by early June (additional information regarding deposit submission will be communicated to students if admitted). Deadline extension requests should be submitted to our office via email and will be reviewed on an individual basis. Since a final evaluation may not be emailed to you before your tuition deposit is due, you should review the following guidelines to better understand how your previous courses will be appraised:

• The following courses do not transfer:
  • Courses completed at an unaccredited college or university.
  • Physical education or hygiene courses.
  • Courses for which credit was granted by institutional examination or CLEP examination rather than course attendance.
  • Courses worth less than three quarter hours or two semester hours.
  • English as a Second Language courses.
  • Courses graded with P (Pass) or S (Satisfactory) grades.
  • Work in a curricular area generally not recognized for credit at Northwestern.
• A credit conversion formula is used to determine the number of NU units a student is awarded. The sum of transferable credits is multiplied by the number of credits required to earn an NU degree (42, 45, 48 or 50), then the result is divided by the number of credits required to earn a degree at the student’s previous institution. Courses acceptable for credit must be in a curricular area generally recognized for credit at Northwestern (as listed in our course catalog).
• Eligible Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) scores may be used toward a bachelor’s degree. The type and level of test credit awarded is standardized across the undergraduate schools, though each school has separate rules regarding the use of test credit to fulfill degree requirements. You must arrange to have your scores sent to Northwestern. These credits will not appear on the preliminary credit evaluation and will be evaluated after a student has matriculated to Northwestern.
• Transfer credit accepted from another institution is reflected on the Northwestern University transcript with a grade of "T", not the actual grade received at the other institution. The "T" (Transfer) grade is not used in calculating the Northwestern GPA.

More details about these policies are located on the Northwestern Office of the Registrar website.

Transfer applicants may apply to all departments at Northwestern’s undergraduate schools. However, please note that spaces in the Theatre department in the School of Communication are limited and only occasionally available. Additionally, the Bienen School of Music requires an additional supplement and audition.

SAT/ACT

Northwestern follows a test-optional policy and will not require ACT or SAT scores from transfer candidates.

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 will be required to submit official SAT or ACT 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.

SAT Subject Test/AP/IB

Any SAT Subject Test scores, AP, or IB scores can also be sent as part of the application but these scores are not a required for a complete application.

English Proficiency

International applicants whose first language is not English, or whose secondary school or post-secondary curriculum has not been taught in English, must submit proof of English proficiency. Northwestern accepts scores from the following English proficiency exams: The Duolingo English Test (DET), the IELTS including IELTS Indicator, and the TOEFL including TOEFL IBT Special Home Edition.

International transfer applicants currently attending a US institution are not required to submit results from an English proficiency exam (unless noted above).

Transfer applicants who are U.S. citizens or permanent residents are eligible to apply for financial aid in the form of grants, loans and part-time employment.

Financial aid is awarded on the basis of need but is dependent upon availability of funds.

Financial aid is not offered to international transfer applicants. Students in the process of obtaining lawful permanent residency status in the United States cannot be considered for federal financial aid until they receive actual documentation of their immigration status. Once permanent residency status is finalized, students will qualify for aid under the domestic aid budget.

To apply for financial assistance, you must complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Assistance (FAFSA) and the College Scholarship Service (CSS) Financial Aid Profile. For best consideration and to ensure the notification at the time of your admission decision, you should apply for financial aid at least one month prior to your application deadline. Only independent or self-supporting students (as defined by the eligibility guidelines for federal aid programs) may file these forms without parental information.

For more information please refer to our Tuition and Aid section.

Northwestern’s transfer review process is holistic, incorporating elements such as financial need alongside academic credentials and potential campus contributions with no single determining factor.

Separately, please note that many transfer students do receive financial aid and the appearance of this statement regarding financial need is not indicative of a change in policy.

Early Decision transfer applicants can expect to receive their decision in early April. Regular Decision transfer applicants can expect to receive their decisions in mid- to late-May.

Admission to Northwestern is highly competitive. Typically, under 15% of transfer applicants are admitted each year. Strong applicants have completed course work across the full range of the liberal arts and sciences courses and maintained a B average.

Applicants who previously applied to Northwestern and received an admission decision are eligible to reapply but must wait until the following application cycle.

Northwestern does not consider deferral requests from admitted transfer students; students should apply for the term in which they intend to enroll.

Per the Undergraduate Registration Requirement, there are required minimum numbers of Northwestern credits and quarters students must earn in order to complete a Northwestern degree; for incoming transfer students pursuing a four-year degree, this generally means 6 quarters (two full academic years) of full-time study. These minimums also affect the numbers of Advanced Placement (AP), transfer credit, and/or other external credit (such as International Baccalaureate) that may be applied toward the undergraduate degree. The requirement varies depending upon whether a student enters as a freshman or transfer student, and whether the degree program is a four-year program or a dual bachelor’s degree program.

While there are no specific required courses, 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).

All admitted transfer students are required to live on campus for their first year unless:

• the transfer student is matriculating as a third-year or fourth-year student as of September 1 of their entering year and/or

• the transfer student will be 21 years of age or older as of September 1 of their entering year

For more information, please visit the Residential Services webpage.

International students who have enrolled in, and earned credits from, post-secondary study after secondary school graduation must apply as a transfer student. Additionally, international transfer applicants whose first language is not English or whose college or secondary school education was not taught in English are required to submit proof of English proficiency scores.

Please note that international transfer students are not eligible for financial aid.

If you have additional questions regarding applying as an international transfer student, please contact our International Student Specialist.