How has Northwestern University changed over time?
Multi-year trends in admissions, enrollment, test scores, and cost. Every chart is labeled with its data source and the years it covers — no smoothing, no mixing sources.
Admission rate
Admission rate fell from 27% (2010) to 7.7% (2024).
Applicants and students admitted
Applicants rose from 25,369 (2010) to 49,474 (2024).
Enrollment
Total enrollment rose from 20,481 (2010) to 23,856 (2024).
SAT mid-50% range
SAT mid-50% range moved from 1400–1560 (2016) to 1510–1570 (2024).
- Score data describes enrolled freshmen, not all admitted students.
ACT mid-50% range
ACT mid-50% range moved from 30–34 (2008) to 33–35 (2022).
Cost
In-state tuition rose from $41,983 (2011) to $70,589 (2025).
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Data from IPEDS and the College Scorecard (U.S. Department of Education) and school Common Data Set filings; each chart names the source its series comes from. Most recent data year: 2025. Last updated October 19, 2026.