Northwestern Parent Loan
The Northwestern Parent Loan is no longer available for the 2025-26 academic year. The application for the 2026-27 academic year will open in June 2026.
The Northwestern Parent Loan is a financing option available to parents of undergraduate students.
- Who Can Borrow: Parents or legal guardians with satisfactory credit history are the primary borrowers of this loan, which is administered by the Northwestern University's Student Finance Office. The Northwestern Parent Loan is not available for the summer term.
- Lender: Northwestern University
- Loan Amount: The NU Parent Loan has a maximum yearly amount of $65,000. The maximum offered will be $65,000 or the remaining cost of attendance after other aid the student has received, whichever value is lower. There are no application or loan fees associated with this loan.
- Enrollment Requirement: Students must be enrolled and stay enrolled full-time to utilize the NU Parent Loan.
- Interest Rate: The interest rate is variable. The interest rate is 7.5% for the 2025-26 academic year.
- Repayment Terms: Repayment of both principal and interest begins within 45 days of the initial disbursement and can extend up to a maximum of ten years.
- Deferment: Not available.
- Application Instructions: The Northwestern Loan application is available online. Students must initiate the process by completing the student portion of the NU Loan application through CAESAR (CAESAR > Student Homepage > Financial Aid > Institutional Loan Application). Once the student initiates the process, the parent borrower will receive an ID and password for the online Northwestern Loan Application (NLPA) to complete your application.
- Terms and Conditions: Please reference the Student Finance site for up-to-date Terms and Conditions for the NU Parent Loan.