by our College Data Analytics TeamHere you will find what students actually borrow to attend Northwestern University: median debt, the percentile spread, total borrowing including PLUS loans, and the cost to repay. The data below is drawn directly from federal sources.
For incoming students at Northwestern, 20% of new students use loans toward freshman-year expenses, averaging $7,318 per borrower, covering both private and federal loans.
The typical federal loan comes to $4,680, amounting to 85.1% of the $5,500 federal limit that applies to a typical first-year dependent borrower. Bear in mind the undergraduate averages later on cover federal loans only, whereas this freshman total folds in private loans too.
Among all degree-seeking undergrads at Northwestern, 17% borrow through federal student loan programs, averaging $5,773 per year. It comes to 23.4% more than the first-year federal average of $4,680.
At a steady annual pace, that totals around $11,546 over two years and about $23,092 over four years. This projection keeps yearly federal borrowing flat and excludes private and Parent PLUS loans.
| Undergraduate federal borrowing | Value |
|---|---|
| Share using federal loans | 17% |
| Average federal loan per year | $5,773 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan | 1,564 |
| Total federal loans (one year) | $9,028,591 |
The median student at Northwestern borrows $14,000 in federal student loans.
| Borrower group | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| All federal borrowers | $14,000 |
| Students who completed (graduates) | $15,000 |
| Students who withdrew | $9,000 |
Withdrawn-student debt matters because those borrowers carry the loans without the degree that helps repay them.
The median hides the spread, so the percentiles below show cumulative federal debt at four points in the distribution for Northwestern.
| Percentile | Cumulative Federal Debt |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile (lowest-debt students) | $4,467 |
| 25th percentile | $7,500 |
| 75th percentile | $22,500 |
| 90th percentile (highest-debt students) | $27,000 |
The spread between the lowest- and highest-debt deciles summarizes how variable outcomes are at Northwestern.
The figures above count only the students own federal loans. Adding PLUS loans (borrowed by parents or graduate students) gives a fuller picture of total borrowing at Northwestern.
| Group | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| All borrowers | 1326 | $25,000 |
| Completed (graduates) | 1036 | $26,966 |
| Did not complete | 290 | $22,701 |
On a standard 10-year plan, the median completing borrower would pay about $320.65/mo.
The split below distinguishes Stafford borrowers from non-Stafford borrowers at Northwestern.
Stafford vs Non-Stafford (any year)
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Used a Stafford loan | 1276 | $24,567 |
| No Stafford loan | 50 | $47,255 |
Borrowers With a Stafford Loan This Year
| Cohort | Borrowers | Median debt incl. PLUS |
|---|---|---|
| Stafford loan this year | 911 | $26,672 |
| No Stafford loan this year | 415 | $23,000 |
Repayment burden translates the debt figures into what a borrower actually pays each month. Northwestern.
The default rate measures how many borrowers fall behind and ultimately fail to repay their federal loans. The official Department of Education two-year default rate for Northwestern appears below.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| 2-year cohort default rate | 0.7% |
| Borrowers in the cohort | 3164 |
A lower default rate generally signals that graduates earn enough to manage their loan payments.
Borrowing varies by family income, by first-generation status, and by dependency status.
Borrowing by Income Tier
| Income tier | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Low income | $12,500 |
| Middle income | $12,369 |
| High income | $15,000 |
First-Gen vs Continuing-Gen Borrowing
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| First-generation students | $13,572 |
| Continuing-generation students | $14,000 |
By Dependency Status
| Cohort | Median federal debt |
|---|---|
| Dependent students | $13,666 |
| Independent students | $17,534 |
Federal data publishes the following gap measures for Northwestern.
The Difference Between Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans
Subsidized loans pause interest while you are in school; unsubsidized loans do not. That difference compounds over four years, so the type of loan you take matters as much as the amount.
Did You Know?
Declaring bankruptcy does not erase federal student loan debt. If you stop paying, the federal government can garnish a portion of your wages until the loans are repaid.
References
More about our data sources and methodologies.