Northwestern announced a 3.3% increase in undergraduate tuition for the 2025-26 academic year Tuesday morning.
The total cost for undergraduates living on campus will be $92,564, NU’s highest price tag yet. This figure is up from $89,448 last year. The overall $3,116 increase in cost is split between tuition, up $2,217 to $69,375; standard room and board, up $849 to $21,975; and fees, up $50 to $1,214.
With this change, NU’s 2025-26 tuition outpaces any other top 10 university’s 2024-25 tuition, according to numbers from the U.S. News & World Report’s annual ranking.
Tuition funds student instruction as well as student and faculty research. Room and board covers residential services and students’ dining plans. Additional fees are split up among a health and wellness fee, an activity fee and an athletic fee so undergraduates can attend regular season home athletics events at no additional cost.
The University plans to provide $306 million in undergraduate financial aid alongside this increase in cost, according to a Tuesday news release. While there has been a 46% increase in undergraduate financial aid since 2019 overall, the $306 million figure for the upcoming year is down from the $307 million dollars NU provided in financial aid for the 2024-25 academic year.
This decrease in financial aid follows the $790 million federal funding freeze for NU, first reported April 8.
On its website, NU promises to meet students’ full demonstrated financial need. More than 60% of incoming first-year undergraduate students receive financial aid, according to the news release. The University will also continue to uphold its policy established in 2016 to meet cost-of-attendance needs without loans for students who are eligible, the news release said.
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