Northwestern was dubbed a top six undergraduate institution earlier last year by U.S. News & World Report, but prospective students may encounter a significant discouraging factor about the school as National College Decision Day rapidly approaches: NU’s tuition.
The current cost for students living on campus at NU is $89,448, which is higher than the median household income in the United States in 2023, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. As high school seniors choose where to spend their next four years, tuition is a significant factor.
The Daily examined NU’s tuition in comparison to previous years, other top institutions and the other Big Ten Conference schools.
Both NU’s baseline tuition and the on-campus costs increased relatively linearly over the past 10 years. Northwestern on-campus cost reflects the required costs of attendance for students living on campus. This number includes room and board, tuition and other associated fees. It does not incorporate transportation, books and supplies or personal expenses into the figure, as these expenses vary between students.
NU’s fees, prior to 2023-24, included an activity fee, athletic fee and student health fee. Since then, these are collected as one sum value.
NU was ranked sixth in the “Best National University Rankings” in the U.S. News & World Report for the 2024-25 school year. However, NU falls in second place in the top school tuition race. NU students pay only $92 less than Yale University in tuition, where students pay $67,250.
On-campus cost includes room and board, tuition and fees as a consistent baseline cost across all universities. Many of the schools had varying costs based on the type of meal plan and the specific dorm. The Daily used the average cost presented from the website when the data was available. When the cost of attendance varied depending on the student’s grade, the cost for first-year students was used to reflect costs for prospective college students, factoring tuition into their college decision process. With these costs for the 2024-25 school year, NU students also pay the second-highest amount, beaten only by Stanford University.
Tuition among Big Ten schools varied greatly for students, especially considering the reduced tuition offered at 16 of the 18 schools for in-state residents. Only NU and the University of Southern California do not offer in-state tuition.
On-campus (out-of-state) costs include out-of-state tuition, room and board and fees to accurately reflect across all schools, including the two without in-state tuition options.
For all three metrics, Purdue University students pay the least for their 4-year education. On the other hand, NU students again pay the second-highest tuition and on-campus costs behind the University of Southern California.
While over 60% of students receive a financial aid package at NU, around 40% are expected to pay the full sticker price. Across the schools examined by The Daily, which were Big Ten and top 10 universities, cost of attendance is not a plus factor for NU students looking at full-price tuition.
Email: AshleyWei2028@u.northwestern.edu
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