Northwestern University
IL · Private · Midwest · National university · Top 10 tier · 9,018 undergraduates (medium)
Admission rates
Latest admit rates
How much of the class comes from ED
~57% of enrolled freshmen were admitted through Early Decision.
This is a share of the freshman class, not an admit rate.
† Regular round (est.) = (all admitted students − Early Decision admits) ÷ (all applicants − Early Decision applicants).
Trends, Fall 2019–Fall 2025
Admission rates
Early plans
Fall 2027 applicants
Testing
Testing policy
Superscoring
What this means:
- SAT
- Superscores
- ACT
- Accepts superscores, not required
Source ↗ · checked Nov 3, 2026
Test-optional for fall 2027 entry. Score Choice allowed. ACT wording is mixed: Northwestern will not calculate its own ACT superscore but you may report your official ACT superscore.
How to send scores
Self-report accepted; official scores only after admission/enrollment
Send all scores? Score Choice allowed
School’s words: “admitted students who choose to enroll, and who included test scores as part of their application, will be required to submit official SAT or ACT scores that correspond to the highest self-reported test scores prior to matriculation. ... Yes, Northwestern allows for score choice. ... applicants who choose to submit certain scores are not obligated to report all scores from all test dates.”
Source ↗ · checked Nov 3, 2026
Students submitting scores
‡ Est. % submitting scores adds the share of enrolled first-years who submitted the SAT to the share who submitted the ACT.
Score ranges (middle 50%)
Enrolled first-years who submitted scores, Fall 2025. A quarter scored below the range and a quarter above.
Trends, Fall 2019–Fall 2025
Share of enrolled students submitting scores
SAT composite, middle 50%
ACT composite, middle 50%
Year-by-year data, Fall 2019–Fall 2025
| CDS year | Admitted | Admit rate | ED rate | ED share of class | Est. % submitting | % SAT | % ACT | SAT mid-50 | ACT mid-50 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019-20 ↗ | 3,673 | 9.1% | 24.9% | Not reported | 100% | 64% | 53% | 1450-1540 | 33-35 | |
| 2020-21 ↗ | 3,654 | 9.3% | 25.1% | Not reported | 100% | 58% | 55% | 1430-1540 | 33-35 | |
| 2021-22 ↗ | 3,321 | 7% | 24.3% | Not reported | 82% | 43% | 39% | 1490-1550 | 33-35 | |
| 2022-23 ↗ | 3,695 | 7.2% | 22.1% | Not reported | 78% | 47% | 31% | 1500-1560 | 33-35 | |
| 2023-24 ↗ | 3,739 | 7.2% | 22.5% | Not reported | 79% | 50% | 29% | 1500-1560 | 33-35 | |
| 2024-25 ↗ | 3,806 | 7.7% | 23% | 56% | 69% | 46% | 23% | 1510-1560 | 34-35 | |
| 2025-26 | 3,933 | 7.5% | 20.4% | Not reported | 73% | 48% | 25% | 1520-1560 | 34-35 |
Waitlist admit rate
Share of students who stayed on the waitlist and were later admitted, by entering class.
Test policy in each Common Data Set
History only. The current policy is under Testing above.
- Fall 2027 Test-optional2025-26 CDS
- Fall 2026 Test-optional2024-25 CDS
- Fall 2025 Test-optional2023-24 CDS
- Fall 2024 Test-optional2022-23 CDSThis form’s own wording says Fall 2023; every CDS here is read as covering the fall two years after its first year.
- Fall 2023 Not reported2021-22 CDS
- Fall 2022 Not reported2020-21 CDS
- Fall 2021 Not reported2019-20 CDS
Notes
- The total rows are blank in the Common Data Set; totals shown are the sums of the rows by sex.