How to get into Northwestern

Admitted vs. rejected: grades are not the difference

When the rejected applicants’ numbers sit this close to the admitted ones, the decision was made somewhere else in the file: the activities, the essays and the letters. That is where the rest of this page looks.

What Northwestern admits did outside class

Share of admitted applicants listing at least one activity of each type.

• Nonprofit/Service64%
• Athletics45%
• Tutoring/Teaching38%
• Music37%
• Internship37%
• Research36%
• STEM club/competition36%
• Work/Job33%

Early vs. regular decision at Northwestern

• Early (97 results)38%
• Regular (648 results)24%

Share of posters in each round who were admitted. Early applicants are a different group (often stronger and more certain), so read this as a description of these posts, not as odds.

Intended majors of Northwestern admits

• Engineering17%
• Computer Science11%
• Economics8%
• Political Science7%
• Biology6%
• Math6%

Who got in

Of the admitted posters, 14% first-generation, 18% low income, 27% underrepresented minority, 10% legacy, 1% recruited athlete and 14% international. Of those who said where they enrolled, 29% chose Northwestern.

Three recent Northwestern admits

• 2026 cycle · Computer Science

  CS researcher with ISEF-placing ML work, robotics, cybersecurity research at UCLA, and suicide-prevention volunteering.

  GPA 4.00 UW · ACT 36 · Original post

• 2026 cycle · RD · Economics

  Debate champion and civic organizer who co-founded a national debate organization and runs student education outreach.

  GPA 4.00 UW · SAT 1550 · Original post

• 2026 cycle · Economics

  Debate-focused student with public speaking coaching, nonprofit vocational-school work abroad, and law-related research.

  GPA 4.00 UW · SAT 1550 · Original post

Essays that worked for Northwestern

• My Mother's Hands

  “With fingers long and elegant, and nails always red, my mother’s hands once held the magic power to soothe my woes.”

  Published by The New York Times

Where else Northwestern admits got in

• University of Michigan 24%
• Columbia 21%
• USC 21%
• Duke 20%
• Brown 20%
• UC San Diego 20%
• Cornell 19%
• UCLA 19%

Northwestern admissions questions

What GPA do you need to get into Northwestern?

Among 322 applicants who posted a Northwestern admission on r/collegeresults, the median unweighted GPA was 3.99 and the middle half reported 3.93 to 4.00 (250 reported a GPA). Northwestern sets no minimum GPA; these are what admitted posters reported.

What SAT score do you need for Northwestern?

Among 322 applicants who posted a Northwestern admission on r/collegeresults, the median SAT was 1,545 and the middle half scored 1,508 to 1,560 (240 reported an SAT). The median ACT was 35.

Does applying early help at Northwestern?

In these posts, 38% of early applicants who reported a result were admitted (37 of 97), against 24% in regular decision (155 of 648). Early pools differ in who applies, so this is a description, not a promise.

What extracurriculars do Northwestern admits have?

The most common activity types among admitted posters were nonprofit/service (64%), athletics (45%), tutoring/teaching (38%), music (37%). 91% held at least one leadership role and 79% listed a national or international award.

What is the Northwestern acceptance rate?

The official rate is published by Northwestern in its Common Data Set. These pages do not compute one: people who post results are a self-selected group, so the share of admits among them is far higher than the real rate.