Apply for Aid

All financial aid application materials must be submitted by:

Priority Deadline

• January 15, 2025 for students admitted on or around December 1, 2024
• March 17, 2025 for students admitted on or around March 1, 2025
• Within 5 days of admission for students admitted after March 15, 2025

Priority deadlines are based on admission date listed above. 

1. Complete the FAFSA 

Priority Deadline: Based on admission date listed above 

• Visit the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) website and complete the online 2025-26 FAFSA. If you do not already have an FSA ID, you will need to set one up before completing the FAFSA. This FSA ID will be used for many Department of Education websites.
• Designate Northwestern University - Evanston as the recipient of the information; our federal school code is 001739. Any other Northwestern University codes (001740, school-specific codes beginning with an "E") should not be used.
• After the FAFSA is processed, you will receive a FAFSA Submission Summary (FSS), summarizing your information. Resolve any incorrect information via the FAFSA web site or by returning the corrected and signed FSS. You can also monitor your FAFSA submission status by logging into studentaid.gov. Your FAFSA status will appear under "My Activity" on your dashboard.
• International students are not required to complete the FAFSA and are only required to complete the MD Entering University Aid Application and submit the supplemental documentation outlined in step 3.

2. Complete the MD Entering University Aid Application

Priority Deadline: Based on admission date listed above 

• The MD Entering University Aid Application can be completed online here. The application can take up to 45 minutes to complete. The application must be completed in a single session as you will not be able to save and return to the application after starting it .
• To complete the application, you will need:
  • A copy of the 2023 federal tax return for the student applicant.
  • A copy of the 2023 federal tax return for the applicant’s parent(s).
  • Information about your assets and your parent(s) assets, including investments, businesses, homes, trusts, and vehicles.
• Students age 26 and older are not required to provide parental information on the university aid application.
• Students under the age of 26 (or who will not be 26 by August 1, 2025 must provide parental information if they wish to be considered for institutional need-based grants.
  • Exceptions to requirements for parental information: 
    • If you are married, and your spouse is NOT a student, you only need to submit you and your spouse's information. If your spouse is a student, you will still need to submit your parents' information.
    • If you are active duty military or a veteran, you do not need to submit your parents' information.
    • All other exceptions are made on a case-by-case basis by the Director of Financial Aid and are extremely rare.
  • Note: If your parents are currently separated or were divorced after September 1, 2021, submit financial information for both parents; if they were divorced before that date, submit information for your custodial parent only. If your custodial parent has remarried, submit your stepparent's information as well.
• International students are not required to complete the FAFSA and are only required to complete the MD Entering University Aid Application and submit the supplemental documentation outlined in step 3.

The MD Entering University Aid Application is used to assist in determining eligibility for institutional need-based grants. If you do not wish to be considered for institutional need-based grants but do wish to apply only for federal student loans, then you only need to complete the FAFSA (unless you’re an international applicant) along with the Chicago Office of Financial Aid's short-form University Aid Application. The short-form University Aid Application is different from the more in-depth MD Entering University Aid Application noted above. In this case, please contact the Chicago Office of Financial Aid to request that our short-form University Aid Application be made available to you via CAESAR.

3. Submit additional items to our office

Priority Deadline: Based on admission date listed above

Submit all items to our secure document upload portal. Please note that CAESAR will be updated to reflect received documents within 3-5 business days of submission.

Student income information

• If you filed an Income Tax return for 2023, submit signed copies of your 2023 Federal Income Tax return and W-2 forms.
• If you have not yet filed or were not required to file your 2023 Federal Income Tax return download and complete the 2025-26 Verification of Student (and Spouse) Income form.
  • Please also submit a copy of your 2022 Federal Income Tax return and 2023 W-2 forms along with the Verification of Student (and Spouse) Income form.

• If you will be married by October 2025, you must also submit a copy of your spouse's 2023 Federal Income Tax return.

Parental income information

Students under the age of 26 (or who will not be 26 by August 1, 2025) must provide:

• Submit signed copies of your parents' 2023 Federal Income Tax return and W-2 forms.
• If your parents have not yet filed or were not required to file their 2023 Federal Income Tax return, download and complete the 2025-26 Verification of Parents' Income form
  • Please submit a copy of their 2022 Federal Income Tax return and 2023 W-2 forms along with the Verification of Parent's Income form.

•  Students age 26 or older on or before August 1, 2025 are not required to submit this information.

Northwestern Dependents with divorced parents may need to submit additional tax returns:

• If your parents are currently separated or were divorced after September 1, 2021, submit tax returns for both parents.
• If your parents were divorced before September 1, 2021 submit a tax return for your custodial parent only. If your custodial parent has remarried, submit your stepparent's tax return as well.

Once you have your NetID from Admissions, you can check the status of your application. Please allow 3-5 business days for your materials to be marked as received.

Please note that due to the late release of the FAFSA for 2025-26, the US Department of Education has notified schools that we will not start to receive FAFSA data until approximately January 31 and so your FAFSA application may not be marked as received until sometime in February or upon receipt from the Department of Education. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Steps 1 and 2 are remitted electronically. Steps 3 and 4 should be submitted to the Chicago Financial Aid Office by uploading through the secure upload process. If you are newly admitted and have not received your Net ID and NU email address, you can use your AAMC ID and email used with admissions to submit your documents.  Please allow 3-5 business days for your materials to be marked in the system as received.

Once all materials are submitted, Northwestern will determine your financial aid eligibility and financial aid package. 

The Chicago Office of Financial Aid releases preliminary financial aid packages by email to your Northwestern email account on a rolling basis in early-mid March for students admitted in December and late March for students admitted after January 1.

No action is required on your preliminary aid offer.

Once you have your NetID from Admissions, you can check the status of your application. Please allow 3-5 business days for your materials to be marked as received.  See this PDF on how to verify financial aid application materials have been received: https://www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/md-education/docs/checking-application-materials.pdf

Please note that due to the late release of the FAFSA for 2024-2025, the US Department of Education has notified schools that we will not start to receive FAFSA data until approximately January 31 and so your FAFSA application may not be marked as received until sometime in February. We apologize for any inconvenience. 

Priority Deadline

• January 15, 2025 for students admitted on or around December 1, 2024
• March 17, 2025 for students admitted on or around March 1, 2025
• Within 5 days of admission for students admitted after March 15, 2025

1. Complete the MD Entering University Aid Application

Priority Deadline: Based on admission date listed above 

• The MD Entering University Aid Application can be completed online here. The application can take up to 45 minutes to complete. The application must be completed in a single session as you will not be able to save and return to the application after starting it.
• To complete the application, you will need:
  
  • A copy of the 2023 federal tax return for the student applicant.
  • A copy of the 2023 federal tax return for the applicant’s parent(s).
  • Information about your assets and your parent(s) assets, including investments, businesses, homes, trusts, and vehicles.
• Students under the age of 26 (or who will not be 26 by August 1, 2025) must provide parental information if they wish to be considered for institutional need-based grants.
  • Exceptions to requirements for parental information: 
    • If you are married, and your spouse is NOT a student, you need only submit your and your spouse's information. If your spouse is a student, you will still need to submit your parents' information.
    • If you are active duty military or a veteran, you do not need to submit your parents' information.
    • All other exceptions are made on a case-by-case basis by the Director of Financial Aid are are extremely rare.
  • Note: If your parents are currently separated or were divorced after September 1, 2021, submit financial information for both parents; if they were divorced before that date, submit information for your custodial parent only. If your custodial parent has remarried, submit your stepparent's information as well.
  • All figures reported on the University Aid Application should be reported in whole US Dollars. Please do not use decimals or commas. Individuals with foreign income should convert currency to USD and note the conversion rate in the special circumstances section in the student section of the form.

 The Incoming MD University Aid Application is used to assist in determining eligibility for institutional need-based grants. If you do not wish to be considered for institutional need-based grants but do wish to apply only for private student loan funding, you are not required to complete the MD Entering University Aid Application. Please contact the Chicago Office of Financial Aid to request that our short-form University Aid Application be made available to you via CAESAR.

2. Submit additional items to our office

Priority Deadline: Based on admission date listed above 

Student income information

• Download and complete the 2025-26 Verification of Student (and Spouse) Income form
• Submit signed copies of your 2023 Federal Income Tax return and W-2 forms (if you filed an Income Tax return in 2023). If you have not yet filed your 2023 Federal Income Tax return, please submit a copy of your 2022 Federal Income Tax return and W-2 forms (if you filed US Federal Taxes in 2022).

• If you will be married by October 2025, you must also submit a copy of your spouse's 2023 tax forms.

OR

• Submit signed copies of your country’s tax forms for the most recent tax year (if you had foreign income in 2023). If your country does not have an annual tax form, please submit a signed wage statement from your employer verifying income. All non-US tax forms and earnings documents require official translation into English and must be converted to U.S. Dollars.  If converted to U.S. Dollars, the conversion rate must also be included.
• If you will be married by October 2025, you must also submit a copy of your spouse's 2023 tax forms.

Parental income information

If you are required to submit parent information based on the criteria above, you must submit the following income information: 

• Download and complete the 2025-26 Verification of Parents' Income form.
• Submit signed copies of your parents’ country's tax forms for the most recent tax year. If your country does not have an annual tax form, please submit a signed wage statement from your parents’ employer(s) verifying income. All tax or earnings documents require official translation into English and must be converted to U.S. Dollars. If converted to U.S. Dollars, the conversion rate must also be included.

Northwestern Dependents with divorced parents may need to submit additional tax returns:

• If your parents are currently separated or were divorced after September 1, 2021, submit tax forms for both parents.
• If your parents were divorced before September 1, 2021, submit a tax form for your custodial parent only. If your custodial parent has remarried, submit your stepparent's tax form as well.

Once you have your NetID from Admissions, you can check the status of your application. Please allow 3-5 business days for your materials to be marked as received. 

As noted above, application items are either remitted electronically or submitted to the Chicago Financial Aid Office by uploading through the secure upload process.

Once all materials are submitted, Northwestern will determine your financial aid eligibility and financial aid package. Learn more about how aid is determined.

The Chicago Office of Financial Aid releases preliminary financial aid packages by email to your Northwestern email account on a rolling basis in early-to-mid March for students admitted in December and late March for students admitted after January 1.

No action is required on your preliminary aid offer.

Once tuition and fee figures are finalized for the upcoming academic year, the Chicago Office of Financial Aid will begin releasing official financial aid offers.

The Chicago Office of Financial Aid will release official financial aid packages to Northwestern email accounts in early Summer. Once you receive notification that the official package is available in CAESAR, you must accept, reduce, or decline the loan assistance offered to you for the academic year. Learn more about the steps to accept or decline .

Once you have your NetID from Admissions, you can check the status of your application. Please allow 3-5 business days for your materials to be marked as received.  See this PDF on how to verify financial aid application materials have been received.

Complete 2025 2026 FAFSA (student section only). Use school code 001739.

• Visit the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) website and complete the online 2024-25 form. If you do not already have an FSA ID, you will need to set one up before completing the FAFSA. This FSA ID will be used for many Department of Education websites.
• Designate Northwestern University - Evanston as the recipient of the information; our federal school code is 001739. Any other Northwestern University codes or Northwestern College codes (001740, school-specific codes beginning with an "E") should not be used.
• After the FAFSA is processed, you will receive a FAFSA Submission Summary, summarizing your information. Resolve any incorrect information via the FAFSA web site or by returning the corrected and signed FAFSA Submission Summary. If you do not receive your FAFSA Submission Summary within four weeks, or if you need to request a duplicate, call 800-433-3243. You can also monitor your FAFSA submission status by logging into studentaid.gov. Your FAFSA status will appear under "My Activity" on your dashboard.

FAFSA FAQ

Complete the University Aid Application online via your to-do list in CAESAR under the 2025-2026 academic year. If you do not see the this form on your CAESAR to do list by mid March, please email Cynthia Gonzalez.

Students may access this document online via their "To-Do List" for the upcoming academic year in CAESAR in mid-March. Your "To-Do List" can be reviewed in CAESAR through either the "Tasks" tile on the homepage, or by clicking on the "Financial Aid" tile from the homepage and then selecting "To-Do List" from the left-hand navigation. If you are unable to access this document via your "To-Do List," please contact the Chicago Office of Financial Aid.

After you submit all application materials, Northwestern will determine your aid package. Next, our office will send financial aid eligibility notification emails detailing your financial aid package. Your package will likely include private international student loans. You must accept or decline any loan assistance offered via CAESAR. Please complete this step as soon as possible after your receive the financial aid eligibility notification. Learn more about the steps to accept or decline.

If you have been offered a private international student loan on your award notice, you must complete the application and be approved for the loan program of your choice through the lender's website. This online application must be completed each academic year in order to receive funds for this loan. Be advised that international students interested in obtaining a private student loan may need a credit-worthy U.S. citizen/permanent resident cosigner. Additional information about this process will be included on your financial aid eligibility notification email.