Undergraduate tuition to increase 3.9 percent in 2019-20

Undergraduate tuition, fees and room and board charges at Northwestern University will increase 3.5 percent for the 2019-20 academic year. 

Specifically, undergraduate tuition will increase 3.9 percent to $56,232 for the 2019-2020 academic year from the current year’s $54,120. Student activity and athletic fees will increase 4.5 percent to $258, while the student health fee will remain unchanged at $201. Standard room and board rates will increase 2.4 percent to $17,019 from $16,626 for an undergraduate student living in a double room with a full meal plan option. 

The University will provide more than $233 million in aid to undergraduates in 2019-2020, an increase of 10.8 percent over the current year total of $210 million. The additional aid will allow Northwestern to provide increased funds for students from low-income families. The aid also will further support students from middle-income families. Approximately half of Northwestern’s undergraduate students receive financial aid from the University.

Northwestern will continue its policy of need-blind admission for U.S. citizens and permanent residents, under which a student’s ability to pay is not considered during the admission process. In addition, the University will continue its policy, which began in 2016, that all entering first-year students who receive financial aid will not have loans as part of their financial aid package. 

Their aid offer will include only grants, scholarships, summer earnings expectations and a work-study job opportunity. The all-grant package enables students to graduate without incurring debt for their main educational expenses. For returning students who entered before 2016, the total for need-based loans from Northwestern has been capped at a maximum of $20,000.