Northwestern University is one of the top ranked universities. It has a ranking of #28 in the world and #14 in the USA based on the Shiksha Popularity Rankings 2025. It also has been ranked well for its academic schools on the main Illinois campus. The rankings of the university by ranking bodies are mentioned in the table below:

Ranking Body Name	2024	2025	2026
QS	47	50	42
US News	24	24	NA
Times Higher Education	28	31	NA

Is Northwestern University difficult to get into?

heena agrawal

Hi.

Yes, Northwestern University is highly difficult to get into. It is one of the most selective universities in the United States, with a very low acceptance rate.

Indicators of the Difficulty

Low Acceptance Rate: The overall acceptance rate for recent incoming classes is approximately 7% to 8%, meaning that fewer than 8 out of every 100 applicants receive an offer of admission.
Exceptional Academics: Admitted students typically rank at the very top of their high school classes and have outstanding academic records.
- GPA: The average GPA of admitted students is close to a 4.0 (unweighted), with student

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Is Northwestern a top 10 school?

Tasneem Hoda

Northwestern University has a lot of academic schools in areas such as Medicine, Journalism, Communication, Music among others. It is included in the 4 top 10 national universities and is also included in the top 20 in the 4 graduate school rankings. The school rankings at the university are mentioned below:

School Name/Course Name	Rank
Business School	#2
Education School	#10
Engineering School	#16
Materials Engineering

Is a 3.7 GPA good for Northwestern?

Pallavi Garg

Northeastern University has not specified any minimum GPA requirement for admissions. But from the past data, a GPA of 3.85 on a 4.0 scale is very competitive. Most of the applicants with the mentioned GPA were offered admission.

On a related note, although the entrance tests like the SAT or ACT are not required for this year admission cycle, having a good score in these exams and submitting them with your application can raise your chances of admission at Northwestern.

Is it harder to get into Harvard or Northwestern?

Virajita Bisht

The Harvard University tuition fee is lower than that of Northwestern University, Harvard is way harder to get into, as its acceptance rate is just 6%. The Northwestern University acceptance rate is 13% which is more than double that of Harvard. So, if you are looking for better chance to get in, Northwestern is calling, but if you want cheaper tuition and the ivy league status, Harvard is reallly good.