Aid Award Package FAQs

A financial aid award may consist of need-based Northwestern Scholarship, part-time employment through the Federal Work-Study program, Federal or state grants, and/or student loans. Northwestern scholarship assistance bridges the gap between what Northwestern has determined your family can afford and the other aid for which you have qualified. Grants from federal or state sources are included in the aid package for all eligible students. The University does not award its scholarships based on academic merit; it reserves assistance for students who otherwise would not be able to afford to attend.

Northwestern is required to inform students of their eligibility to borrow optional federal subsidized and unsubsidized student loans. While loans are not offered on an initial award to meet your institutional need, most students are eligible to borrow federal loans as a financing option. Students can accept or decline their optional loans in CAESAR > Financial Aid > Accept/Decline Financial Aid. Accepting or declining loans will not have any impact on other financial aid.

Yes! Students can reduce loan amounts when they accept their loan(s) in CAESAR. Students who later decide they would prefer to borrow less after already accepting the loan(s) online should email us a request from their Northwestern email address. Visit our Budgeting & Borrowing page for additional considerations.

The family contribution is an estimate of the amount a family will be expected to contribute for annual college expenses. The family contribution is not the exact amount a family will owe to Northwestern, but an estimate of total "out-of-pocket" costs. These estimated out-of-pocket costs may include items directly charged by Northwestern as well as indirect costs associated with attending college. The family contribution is calculated based on a family's unique financial circumstances, as reported on the financial aid application, including the FAFSA, College Board CSS Profile, and other documents.

Financial aid eligibility is determined by the information provided in the financial aid application materials. If your family has experienced a change in financial circumstances not reflected in those materials, you are welcome to submit a Special Circumstances application to request to have your aid eligibility reconsidered. Supporting documentation is required.

Students who do not qualify for the need-based work-study program can seek non-work-study jobs. Students who wish to work are usually able to find employment either on or off campus. Students might consider exploring Quadjobs and Northwestern Sitters and Tutors Network.

A student is considered to be independent for federal funding purposes if they are at least 24 years of age, a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces, an orphan or ward of the court, has legal dependents other than a spouse, is married, or is a graduate student. However, a student entering Northwestern as a dependent student will remain dependent for institutional funding purposes unless they can provide documentation of extreme mitigating circumstances. Unwillingness to pay on the part of a parent is not considered a sufficient reason for a student to be considered independent.

Your family contribution is calculated each year based on information reported in the financial aid application. If your family's financial circumstances change from one year to the next, your family contribution may also change; the most common reasons are significant changes to your family's income, assets, and/or the number of siblings enrolled in college. Feel free to contact our office if you have specific questions related to your family contribution or aid eligibility.

You will need to accept/decline your award through your CAESAR account: Main Menu > Financial Aid > Accept/Decline Financial Aid.

If your family's financial circumstances remain relatively similar from year to year, you can expect a similar aid package in future years. Fluctuations in income, assets, family size, and number of children in college may affect your aid eligibility.

Merit-based outside scholarships are applied to the self-help (subsidized loan or work-study) portion of the student's financial aid package before reducing Northwestern Scholarship. For example, if a student receives a $1,000 scholarship from the local PTA and that student has a $3,000 Federal Work-Study award, that work-study award will be reduced by $1,000.

Outside scholarship checks that students receive directly should be forwarded to our office, Undergraduate Financial Aid, Attention: Scholarship Coordinator.

Outside scholarships must be reported to our office.