Top College in US is Northwestern University

Founded in 1851, Northwestern University is a private university. As of fall 2022, there are 8,659 undergraduate students enrolled overall, and the campus spans 231 acres. It follows the academic schedule based on quarters. Northwestern University is ranked #9 among national universities in the 2024 edition of Best Colleges. The total cost of attendance is $65,997.

A Division I institution in the Big Ten conference is Northwestern University. The women's lacrosse team at Northwestern has won numerous NCAA national titles. To accommodate the wide range of interests of students, the institution offers hundreds of campus organizations. For two years, all first-year students must reside on campus. Ten residential colleges within the school provide academic and social programs in themed living quarters. Evanston and Chicago, which are situated around Lake Michigan, are home to Northwestern's main campuses. Northwestern established a third location in Doha, Qatar, in 2008.

Ten Northwestern schools offer graduate and professional programs, while nine offer undergraduate programs. The Feinberg School of Medicine, the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science, the Kellogg School of Management, the School of Education and Social Policy, the Pritzker School of Law, and the Interdepartmental Biological Sciences Program are just a few of Northwestern's highly regarded graduate programs. The Medill School at Northwestern University is renowned for its robust graduate journalism program.

Established in 1975, Northwestern University's Dance Marathon stands as one of the nation's biggest student-run charitable organizations, having amassed over $20 million for charitable causes in the Chicago region. Distinguished alums comprise of Rahm Emanuel, the 55th mayor of Chicago; retired Justice John Paul Stevens of the United States Supreme Court; Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex; ESPN pundit Michael Wilbon; comedian Stephen Colbert; and Gwynne Shotwell, the president and COO of SpaceX.

Rankings of Northwestern University

There are 439 national universities, and Northwestern University is ranked #9. Schools are ranked based on how well they perform across a range of commonly recognized excellence metrics. Learn more about our school ranking system.

Academics at Northwestern University

Northwestern University has a 7:1 student-faculty ratio and 77.7% of its classes have fewer than 20 students. Northwestern University's most sought-after majors include: No information is available. 98% is the average freshman retention rate, which is a measure of how satisfied students are. 

At Northwestern University, what's new?
Northwestern University's transfer applicant application deadline is March 15, 2024. However, for the academic year 2023–2024, early decision applications are already closed.
International applicants should confirm the admission deadlines prior to submitting an application to Northwestern University, as the deadlines for admission to postgraduate programs differ depending on the course.

According to the Financial Times' 2024 rankings, Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management is rated sixth among business schools.

Scholarships at Northwestern University

During the 2021–2022 academic year, the institution gave out about USD 200 million in scholarships to students. A little over half of undergraduates are awarded scholarships from Northwestern University.


All scholarships offered by the university will be automatically available to students who apply for the scholarship after verifying their eligibility. Undergraduate scholarships are available from Northwestern University based on need, whereas graduate scholarships are awarded by the individual schools and colleges.

Due to the university's need-aware admissions policy, an applicant's request for a scholarship and its value may be taken into consideration when determining whether or not to be admitted.